Portfolio
An evolving collection of films exploring the texts, ideas, histories and questions at the heart of Devarim Media.
EP. 01
Thursday · 1 hr
Exploring the opening verses of the book of Genesis. What was "the light"? And how is it different from the day? Was it visible light as we know it? What was "the darkness"? And how is it different from the night. What makes light different from darkness? And does either in the truest essence of their nature, have anything to do with the visible section of the electromagnetic spectrum of light. Are the opening verses of the gospel of John a recapitulation of the opening verses of Genesis? How and why? Light/Darkness, Waters/Waters, and Waters/Land required separation. Why ? . . . and what is the necessity of separation? Can these three distinct modalities of separation provide a model for organising our relationships with people and ideas today?
EP. 02
Thursday · 1 hr 3 min
Exploring the nature of the different models of separation presented in the opening verses of the book of Genesis. How are the different models of separation represented in the lives and relationships of characters in the Bible? How did they navigate their relationships with family, friends, and foes, in situations that were complex, and highly dynamic without compromising their values? And what was the consequence(s) when they either failed to do so or did not manage to do so skilfully? Abraham, Lot, Samson, Paul, Barnabas, David, etc. . . . How did their choices in human interactions map onto the necessity of separation as instantiated in the Light/Dark, Waters/Waters, and Waters/Land model stated in Genesis chapter 1?
EP. 03
Thursday · 39 min 8 sec
Exploring the second half of the first chapter of the book of Genesis. What is the seed? And why is the word "seed" and "according to its kind" used in a seemingly redundant fashion after the vegetation and animals were created? What is a blessing, and what is the nature of a blessing? What is the relationship, if any, between a blessing and a seed? Why the modern suggestion by a sect of christendom that "seed" is money, a house or any other material possession, to be extorted in God's name, is not true. From the lips of Christ Himself, we got a precise technical definition of the seed: "The seed is the word of God" Man was created in the image (Tzelem) and likeness (Demut) of God. What does that mean? Does God have a morphology similar to the physical framework of humans? What is an anthropomorphism and an anthropopathism? Why it is a preposterous idea for humans to suggest that they are God. What is the proper and authentic representation of God on Earth. Why Scriptures warn against re-creating God in another image (Pesel) and another likeness (Temunah). How idolatry unravels the ordered Cosmos of creation and sends it hurtling back towards the Tohu va Bohu ( without Form and Void) of primordial Chaos.
EP. 04
Thursday · 30 min 10 sec
Exploring "The Prime Directive" -- the first blessing / command / instruction given to mankind at their creation captured in the tetrad: - Be fruitful - Multiply - Fill the Earth - And subdue it. We will interrogate what each element of this tetrad speaks to - what it suggests to be fruitful, to multiply, to fill the earth, and finally to subdue it. Does "subdue" mean to be tyrannical over people and the Earth? We will fast-forward into the genealogy of Adam and will also explore his fathering of Seth.
EP. 05
Friday · 57 mins 50 sec
Exploring these three parables of Christ: The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin, The Prodigal Son. Although they seem different, these three parables are telling the same story. The prodigal son was lost in the wilderness just like the sheep who was also lost in the wilderness, and the older brother was lost at home just like the silver coin was lost at home. There is something to learn from the two brothers and their father. Often, the parable is interpreted with the father as a placeholder for God. But, we propose a different model. In our model the father is not God. God would have gone after the son in the wilderness like the shepherd, and gone after the lost coin like the woman. The father of the sons did not do that — he was more passive.
EP. 06
1 hr 5 mins
Exploring The Parable of The "Unjust Steward". This parable is one of the more complex parables of Christ which requires considerable contemplation. The parable should be more aptly named "The Parable of the Unjust Debtors". Was the Manager unjust? If he was, why was was he commended by his temporal master (the wealthy man) and his shrewdness held up as something to be emulated by his eternal master (Christ)? God is just, righteous and holy, so he could not have been recommending that his children practice unrighteousness. Is there something more to this parable that is not usually considered. What has the Greek phrases: "oikonomos tes adikias" (manager of unrighteousness) and "mamonas tes adikias (mammon of unrighteousness) have to do with anything? Who is really unrighteous in this parable? We present a model of interpretation that is worth considering.
EP. 07
1hr 6mins
This parable in part recasts the essence of the prime directive to mankind: to be fruitful, multiply, fill the Earth and subdue it. The natural next step of fulfilling this tetrad is dominion from a position of rest.
EP. 08
56 mins 43 secs
Continuing our exploration of The Parable of The Talent. The servant who was given one talent buried it in the ground because he said -- "the master was a hard man who reaped where he did not sow and gathered where he did not scatter seed" -- but his master responded that the least the servant should have done was leave the talent in the bank. What the bank, and what is the ground?
EP. 09
September 22, 2026 · 1 hr 4 mins
We explore the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. Understanding the tradition of weddings/marriages in ancient Israel is required to fully grasp the imagery and allusions used in this parable and in other utterances of Christ that also directly applicable. All 10 ladies were virgins, so what made 5 of them wise and 5 of them foolish? What does it mean to be wise and what does it mean to be foolish? What is the oil, and why did some take extra oil and some did not? Does Scriptures give us hints to these questions? Join us as we explore these questions together.
EP. 10
September 23, 2026 · 1 hr 17 mins
Exploring the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. Does the oil represent the word of God? The five foolish virgins did not have the word of God but the five wise ones did. Were the wise virgins unkind for not sharing their oil with the foolish virgins? What is kindness? Is sharing not kindness? Wisdom — phronimos — is a prerequisite to live properly in the world. Understanding whether the wise virgins were unkind or not affects the price of bread and milk if you know how they are connected. Things are not always as divorced from other things as one might think.
Coming soon.
