Pinchas Shir

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Binding and Loosing like Jesus

In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus said to his disciple Peter, “I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt 16:19). A couple of

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The Jewish Gospels by Daniel Boyarin

One of the books I often recommend is "The Jewish Gospels" by Daniel Boyarin. A short but provocative book written by an eloquent and erudite professor who taught at Hebrew University, Yale, Harvard, Yeshiva University and now at Berkley. The book presents a cogent academic take on the Jewish nature

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Be One More

In our parsha, Vayera, we read the story of Sodom and Amorah, the story of true sinners in the hands of an angry God. Only things are a bit different. In Torah we see Abram and how he graciously pleads for the evil people of Sodom, imploring God not to

Audio

Hope in Revelation

The role of the prophet is not to predict what is to come, but to speak into their present moment, so how does Revelation fit into the prophetic category? We also discuss how the author uses imagery to connect the dots between the ideas of a suffering Messiah and a

Audio

Revelation: Pop Culture and Armageddon

Have you been fascinated by the Book of Revelation but felt that something must be missing in modern interpretations of this anti-Roman, Jewish document? In this week's episode, we explore what books like Enoch or Baruch or what geography and the Torah have to do with interpreting the book of

Audio

Revelation: The end of the world...or is it?

What is apocalyptic literature, and how does it change the way we read Revelation? What were the cultural developments that birthed the apocalyptic genre, and is that genre a Greco-Roman or Jewish style of literature? This week we talk about the overall context of Revelation and why pop culture has

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Villains and Heroes of Hanukkah

The story of Hanukkah is epic, much more epic than the books of Maccabees paint it. Yes, it’s the story of the Jewish wars against the mad and tyrannical Antiochus IV. But the Seleucid king himself was entangled in a series of wars that began long before he was

Video

Hanukkah Modern and Ancient

Many people know what Hanukkah is like based on how it is celebrated today. But not many know how the ancient people viewed it. Hanukkah is over 2000 years old! Peek into some old perspectives on Hanukkah.

Video

Development of Christmas Customs by History Channel

Christmas is an important cultural holiday in the Western world. And while most Jews don't participate in it, it is a very meaningful celebration for the majority of Christians. Its foundation is the birth of Jesus in the New Testament. But did you know Christmas wasn't always celebrated on December

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Be The Light

In Gen 1:14-19 the Torah says that Hashem has set the lights in the sky for several reasons. First - to separate the day from the night. Second - to serve as signs for the times, days, and years. In other words to display stable predictable patterns to help

Video

The History of Hanukkah by History Channel

How much do you know about Hanukkah? Though for many today presents are involved it's not a Jewish version of Christmas. History Channel explores the traditions of Hanukkah in this short video. Learn something new or see how much you really know about the Festival of lights.

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>Seminars

Atonement and Messiah's Sacrifice

Do you understand Atonement? In this multi-part seminar, we look at the language of Atonement, Sacrifice, and Redemption in the New Testament as it is applied to Jesus and consider it in the broader light of the Hebrew Bible and tradition. We study through chapters 9 and 10 of Hebrews,

Articles

A Neighbor According to Rabbi Jesus

A “Torah expert” (νομικός; nomikos) once asked Yeshua, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Lk 10:25). Like a good rabbi, Jesus answered with a question: “What is written in the Torah?” (10:26). The learned man replied that, of all the Torah commands, it is most important

Video

Samaritans: Documentary

How much do you know about the Samaritans? This video is a fascinating look into the life and history of the Samaritan community. Most people have heard the name "Samaritan" but know so little about these ancient people. It is a true miracle that some modern descendants of ancient Samaritans

Video

Psalm 145 in Hebrew

Psalm 145 expresses profound thanksgiving for the care God takes for all of his creatures. (Translation by Pinchas Shir) תְּהִלָּה לְדָוִד אֲרוֹמִמְךָ אֱלוֹהַי הַמֶּלֶךְ וַאֲבָרֲכָה שִׁמְךָ לְ

Video

Two Thousand Year Old Stone Vessel Factory found in Israel

A rare workshop for the production of chalkstone vessels, dated to the Roman period, is being excavated and studied at Reina in Lower Galilee. Excavations are unearthing a cave in which archaeologists have found thousands of chalkstone cores and other types of production waste, including fragments of stone mugs and

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>Books

Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer

Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer is an ancient Jewish commentary on various passages of the Torah. This book is attributed to Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, who lived in the 1st century CE. Yet most scholars do not see a direct connection between the contents of this volume and the early sage. Ascribing

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Borderlines by Daniel Boyarin

This book by Prof. Daniel Boyarin explores the popular topic of the parting of ways between Christianity and Judaism. Only instead of tracing the historical circumstances of how the Synagogue and Church slowly drifted apart, he proposes a completely different outlook on how it really happened. I was deeply intrigued

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Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit by Jodi Magness

Jodi Magness is a Distinguished Professor of Early Judaism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This book is cleverly subtitled "Jewish daily life in the time of Jesus" to afford it a broader Christian readership. The

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06 How Yeshua became Jesus

How did the name Jesus emerge from the Hebrew name Yeshua? Are you curious? Take a few minutes and untangle the process of how the name Jesus commonly known to people today came to be. It is actually not that complicated, so get some clarity.

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05 From Yehoshua to Iesous

How did the Jewish name Yehoshua turn into Jesus? They do not even look or sound the same. The reason they do not is that Hebrew and Greek had very different phonetics. Follow the logic from Hebrew to Greek.

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04 The Son of Man and Lord

Is Lord the loftiest title used by Jesus? Terms have meaning. Sometimes their meaning is tightly tied to culture and lore. Understand the terminology and consider which titles carry the heaviest weight in the gospel narratives.

Video

The One God who is Two

This is a lecture by Shaye J. D. Cohen who is a Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University. He is a well-known historian who also holds rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary. His lectures often probe deep

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>Seminars

Embracing Spiritual Duty: Benei Mitzvah Tradition

Many cultures around the world have rituals that signify the coming of age. Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremonies are customs of this variety that have developed in Jewish culture. In the Jewish context, however, the custom has to do with reaching spiritual maturity. It's a moment when a young man

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Articles

Altar of Incense in the Holy of Holies?

Not long ago I received a curious question from a man who was struggling reading through the book of Hebrews in the New Testament. His question had to do with the temple and with the tabernacle arrangement, which was originally described in the book of Exodus. In Exodus the מִ