Post The Month of Adar: Turning Darkness into Light The Bible does not name the Hebrew months, but declares that the month containing the holiday of Passover, the month we refer to as Nisan, is the first month. The… Read More
Post The Peace Offering in the City of Peace People who are unfamiliar with the Bible think that a sacrifice is an unspecified animal that is slaughtered haphazardly and thrown into a blazing fire to be burnt entirely. But… Read More
Post The Status of the Priests, Then and Now After the sin of the Golden Calf, the tribe of Levi is chosen to serve in the Temple instead of the firstborn as they did not participate in the sin…. Read More
Post Tzaraat On Clothing: The First Warning Leviticus introduces the affliction of tzaraat. Commonly mistranslated as leprosy, tzaraat can afflict the body, a home, or even clothing. Tzaraat only afflicts clothing made of three materials: wool, linen,… Read More
Post Tzaraat: Leprosy or the Messiah’s Affliction? The Torah portion of Tazria (Leviticus 12–13) deals with tzaraat, a disease usually mistranslated as leprosy. Tzaraat is a malady that afflicts the body, clothing, and the walls of houses…. Read More
Post Why Are the Details of the Tabernacle Repeated? After describing the instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle in great detail, the Torah then repeats these details, describing the same elements after the Tabernacle has been erected. Of… Read More
Post Why Do We Read About Amalek Before Purim? The Shabbat which immediately precedes the holiday of Purim is known as Shabbat Zachor, the Sabbath of remembering. In addition to the regular Torah reading, we read the verses commanding… Read More
Post The Small Aleph at the Start of Leviticus The Hebrew names of the books of the Torah are named for the first word that appears in each book. The Hebrew name of the the book of Leviticus, therefore,… Read More
Post Why Giving Birth makes a Mother Impure Leviticus (chapter 12) discusses the laws relating to a woman who has given birth. It mandates a seven-day period of impurity for a woman after giving birth to a male,… Read More
Post Will Sacrifices be Reinstated in the Third Temple? The Torah states explicitly that the mitzvoth (commandments) are eternal, to be performed by all generations of Jews after the revelation at Mount Sinai. This was clearly stated in several… Read More
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Why Are the Details of the Tabernacle Repeated?
After describing the instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle in great detail, the Torah then repeats these details, describing the same elements after the Tabernacle has been erected. Of…