Post Are twins double the trouble in the Bible? The narrative of Joseph’s descent into Egypt is put aside for one chapter as the Torah relates the unusual story of the levirate marriage between Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar…. Read More
Post Beersheba: The City Where all Three Patriarchs Lived Beersheba was the Biblical capital of the southern Negev region. Its name is a bit ambiguous, being made up of the two Hebrew words: Be’er (באר) meaning ‘well’, and the… Read More
Post Chana Senesh Zionist Heroine Chanah Senesh, whose centenary birthday we mark this year, is a famous figure in the story of Israel and Zionism. Her diary and poems have been read by Israelis for… Read More
Post Do Clothes Make the Man? Joseph’s Coat of Many Colors Clothes frequently play an important role in the Biblical narrative, but perhaps never more so as in the story of Joseph and his brothers. Described simply as a ketonet pasim,… Read More
Post Was Esau the Father of Christianity? While she was pregnant, Rebecca complained of pain. God reassured her that the twins she was carrying would both establish great nations (Genesis 25:23). The Bible follows the story of… Read More
Post How does Levirate marriage set the stage for the resurrection of the dead? The story of the Children of Israel descending into Egypt, so central to the rest of the Bible, is interrupted by the anomalous story of Judah and Tamar. A deeper… Read More
Post How to Cook Jacob’s Lentil Stew Jacob then gave Esau bread and lentil stew; he ate and drank, and he rose and went away. Thus did Esau spurn the birthright. וְיַעֲקֹב נָתַן לְעֵשָׂו לֶחֶם וּנְזִיד עֲדָשִׁים… Read More
Post How to Get High on God? What’s the difference between getting high on drugs and getting high on God? Rabbi Shlomo Katz explains based on the Torah portion of Toldot that a Godly high keeps you high,… Read More
Post How to light the Hanukkah candles Hanukkah is the eight-day holiday celebrating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the… Read More
Post The Land of Israel is the Birthright of the People of Israel Yaakov said, “First sell me your birthright.” And Esau said, “I am at the point of death, so of what use is my birthright to me?” But Yaakov said, “Swear… Read More