Post How Many Plagues Were There? Every schoolchild knows that Egypt was struck by ten plagues before the Hebrews were set free. But a different count is given in Psalms and several different options for enumerating… Read More
Post Mount Sinai: The Burning Bush to the Giving of the Torah The Burning Bush described in this week’s Torah portion has become the archetypal symbol of the divine call to action. Referred to in theology as a theophany, the bush was… Read More
Post Jacob’s Deathbed vision of the Messiah Before dying, Jacob blesses his sons in a burst of prophetic vision, blessing Judah as the father of the Davidic dynasty by saying, “The scepter shall not depart from Yehuda,… Read More
Post Jacob’s Redeeming Angel More than any other character in the Bible, Jacob encounters angels. In his nighttime vision after fleeing Esau, Jacob sees angels ascending and descending a ladder to heaven. Upon returning,… Read More
Post Sheol: The Grave or so Much More? The meeting between Joseph and Judah was fraught with import for all present, but also impacted the house of Jacob and all the future generations of Israel to come. But… Read More
Post The Bible Verse That Launched “The Israel Bible” On January 1, 2012, Rabbi Tuly Weisz sent his first daily newsletter to several dozen friends and family members (and hasn’t missed a day since in the past decade!). “I… Read More
Post The Biblical New Year Establishing a calendar in Judaism requires a total reset from how time is marked on a secular calendar, realigning the days, weeks, months, and years according to Biblical principles. Days… Read More
Post Goshen: Where Israel Became a Nation When the house of Jacob went to Egypt, they were given the land of Goshen to settle (Genesis 45:10). The Children of Israel settled in Goshen for 430 years, growing… Read More
Post The Many Names of God In Moses’ dramatic first encounter with God, he asks who he should say sent him to free the Jews. More precisely, he asks, “When I come to the Israelites and… Read More
Post The Mystery of the Burial Site of the Maccabees The Book of Maccabees describes Modi’in as the home of the Hasmonean family, the priest-warriors who led the revolt against the Seleucid rule over Judea and the Hellenisation of its… Read More