Post Israel is the “Climate Innovation Nation” King David declares that “the earth is Hashem’s” implying that we have a sacred duty to safeguard the planet and not to destroy our precious natural resources. With growing concern… Read More
Post Jacob or Israel: What’s in a Name? Names, especially names of Biblical characters, are very significant. The granting of a name is a divine gift bestowed upon Adam, giving him an active role in Creation Genesis 2:19:… Read More
Post Jacob’s Sheep Make their Way Home to Israel Let me pass through your whole flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted animal—every dark-colored sheep and every spotted and speckled goat. Such shall be my wages. אֶעֱבֹר… Read More
Post Joseph: the master of dreams Joseph has been called the biblical King of Dreams. Truly, Genesis relates three pairs of dreams that changed his life and guided his destiny while also affecting the fates of… Read More
Post Learn Hebrew Through the Torah Portion of Toldot Have you ever wanted to learn the Bible in Hebrew? Rabbi Elan Adler goes through the weekly Torah portion of Toldot and offers insights into the Hebrew meaning of the… Read More
Post Mandrakes are the Biblical Love Plant The conflict between the sister-brides Rachel and Leah takes a strange twist when Reuben finds some mandrakes, in Hebrew dudaim (דוּדָאִים), while harvesting wheat and brings them to his mother,… Read More
Post Sibling Rivalry Between Jacob and Esau Sondra Oster Baras explains the sibling rivalry between Jacob and Esau. Jewish Bible commentaries explain that the rivalry between Jacob and Esau is carried out by their descendants, Jews and… Read More
Post The Gateway to Heaven Bethel, or Beit El in Hebrew, literally means ‘the house of God.’ It was first mentioned in the Bible as being near Ai and the place where Abram first pitched… Read More
Post The Night of Broken Glass that Started the Holocaust “Kristallnacht” (Night of Broken Glass) occurred on the night of November 9, 1938, launching massive and widespread pogroms targeting Jews throughout Germany. The Nazi party’s Sturmabteilung (SA) paramilitary forces were… Read More
Post The Older Will Serve the Younger After years of infertility and countless heartfelt prayers, Rebecca finally conceives. As grateful as she must have been for being blessed with carrying a child, she finds the pains of… Read More