Aleph Beta

Summary. Aleph Beta (alephbeta.org) is Rabbi David Fohrman's video-based Tanakh learning platform. Fohrman's distinctive method is close textual analysis: detecting parallels, chiastic structures, repeated phrases, and intertextual echoes across the Tanakh. His video on the Akeida, on Joseph and Judah, on the Megillat Esther's hidden Mordechai-Esther parallels — these are exhilarating and accessible. A subscription service ($12–$15/month in 2026) gives access to the full library. Highly recommended for the New Jew who likes textual close reading.

Fohrman's Method

Rabbi David Fohrman (Yeshiva University, Johns Hopkins) treats the Tanakh's text as a literary masterpiece with deliberate structural patterns. He looks for: parallels (when two passages echo each other), chiasms (A-B-C-B'-A' patterns), keyword repetition, narrative inversions. Every parshah video pursues one such pattern and reveals what it teaches. The method is rigorous, surprising, and addictive.

What's Available

Weekly parshah videos — short (5–15 minutes) for the family Shabbat table.

Deep dives — multi-part series on Bereshit, the Exodus, the Megillot, and key passages.

Holidays — videos for every Yom Tov and Chag.

Premium subscription — the full library plus discussion guides and downloadable source sheets.

Best for

A New Jew who learns visually and who is drawn to literary analysis. A family with school-age children (the videos are usable across generations). A regular Shabbat-table parshah review (watch on Friday morning, discuss on Friday night).

Where Denominations Diverge

Modern Orthodox; the textual analysis approach is denomination-neutral.

Sources

The Ten Commandments — Sefaria.

alephbeta.org

Further Reading

Rabbi David Fohrman's books — The Beast that Crouches at the Door, The Queen You Thought You Knew.