The question: “What does the (Law of) Shmitah (Sabbatical year) have to do with Mt. Sinai?” is a well known phrase in Hebrew. Hebrew speakers use it whenever they argue that the two issues you just brought up are not dependent on each other, actually have nothing to do with each other. The source of […]
The last message of the last prophet
Shabbat HaGadol -5775 “The offering (minchah) of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasant to Adonai as in the days of old and as in ancient years.” [Malachi 3:4] This verse, which begins the Haftarah on the Sabbath preceding Passover, Shabbat HaGadol, received a surprising modern Midrashic interpretation in the early 20th century. The noun ‘Minchah’ […]
The Last Message of The Last Prophet
Shabbat HaGadol -5775 “The offering (minchah) of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasant to Adonai as in the days of old and as in ancient years.” [Malachi 3:4] This verse, which begins the Haftarah on the Sabbath preceding Passover, Shabbat HaGadol, received a surprising modern Midrashic interpretation in the early 20th century. The noun ‘Minchah’ […]
Why Were We Redeemed? –Judaism by the Genes or by The Gains?
Shabbat haChodesh 5775 Why did God redeem us from slavery, persecution and suffering from Egypt, Babylon, and other countries already 3 times in our 35 centuries of history? The basic, common answer is simple: God promised Abraham to rescue his offspring. “VeHee sheamda laavoteinu velanu =This ancient Divine pledge secured our survival and the survival […]
Why Did Moses Break the Two Tablets?
Ki Tissa 5775 Why did Moses break the two tablets of the covenant? Did he do it deliberately or they simply fell off his hands and broke as they hit the mountain rock under him?An early reply for the second question is given by the ‘Masora’ which reads “shibarta” instead of “Shavarta” in Exodus 34:1 […]
Bo – 5775
23 stycznia 2015/3 szwat 5775 The first Divine commandment to all humans is “Be fertile and increase” [Gen.1:28]. The first Divine commandment to the Israelites is “This month [of Springtime] is for you the first of the months, it is the beginning of the year” [Ex.12:2] i.e. Establishing a national calendar in which the first […]