Build A Mikdash
In Exodus 25, verse 8, Hashem says, veasu li Mikdash veshakhanti betokham – “and they shall make me a sanctuary, and I will dwell in the midst of them.” It struck me that after giving instructions, God charged Israel to build
>Books
"Hearing Distant Echoes" by Pinchas Shir
This book captures many ancient voices, a collection of literary excerpts from ancient Jewish books: Jubilees, Josephus, 4 Ezra, Qumran Scrolls, Talmud, Enoch, Baruch, Maccabees, Mishna, Judith, Apocalypse of Moses, Philo, Mishna, Ben Sira, and many others, fifty passages to be exact. The excerpts are mostly short, sometimes even intentionally
/Articles
You Are God's Temple: 1 Corinthians 3:16
Apostle Paul was a first-century religious Jew, trained at the feet of the best rabbis of his time. Though he addresses primarily non-Jewish audiences, Shaul often writes as a rabbi, resorting to midrash and employing metaphors to illustrate his ideas. Sadly, his readers are not used to this
/Video
A Morning Prayer: May Your Will Always Be...
I wanted to share with you a Morning Prayer and, more specifically, a musical piece I created based on it. The words of this song are inspired by the words of the traditional morning blessings found in the Siddur (Jewish Prayer Book). The person who is praying in the early
>Seminars
The Sign of Jonah and Something Greater (~3hrs)
What is this Sign of Jonah? The traditional thinking is that it's Jesus' resurrection, three days and three nights... But the passage may not be so simple as it appears on the surface. Interested in taking a closer look and discovering another way to read the text?
/Articles
Study the Three Visions of Enoch!
Over the years of teaching, I have often referred my students to the books of Enoch. But most of the time, I did so with some reservations. I knew that the broadly distributed copies they would likely come across would be littered with archaic and hard-to-digest language. Finally,
The Paths of Repentance and Forgiveness (~2.5hrs)
I teach about repentance and forgiveness on a regular basis. Every year, I am asked questions about how repentance works. I am asked questions about the dynamics of forgiveness. So, periodically, I take the core ideas and key questions I
Psalm 25 Meditation
This video was inspired by my reading and translation of Psalm 25. As I meditated on the psalm, new words simply flooded my mind and quickly blended with what I read. I hope you enjoy the message of this psalm
Wilderness Temptations
This is part 2 of a longer conversation. (Part 1 here). What was Jesus meditating on when he was in the wilderness for 40 days? It is speculation, but I like to think he was dwelling on the verses from
Commandments and Eternal Life
This is Part 1 of a longer conversation... Professor Shir has a great fondness for the book of Deuteronomy and its connections throughout the Bible. He authored a course that provides a small taste of how influential Deuteronomy is in
Sample the Apocalypse of Abraham
Most people have never heard of The Apocalypse of Abraham (התגלות אברהם, hitgalut Avraham). It is an ancient Jewish apocalyptic text believed to have been written between 70 CE and 150 CE. Like many midrash stories about Abraham, it extols
Being It
A witness, or a testimony exists to bare the facts of something. It is connected to the idea of empirical accounting, a report, and an audit, a story one can see for himself and decide. Sometimes we need a cloud
Jewish Customs and the Cup in Passion Narratives
The Bible is full of customs, traditions, and rituals. Many Jewish cultural practices seem unusual to the rest of the world, and others were successfully assimilated via the broader Christian culture. People don't even think of them as
A Wisely Build Roman Road in Golan
Mighty Romans are gone, but Roman roads remain all over the Mediterranean and in Israel. Originally, the roads ensured the smooth movements of troops and military equipment, but one can imagine the ancient highways came in handy in many situations.
How did Jesus "fulfill" the Torah?
Messiah’s famous words about Torah declare, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill” (Mat 5:17 NASB). This verse has been explained countless times
Coming Clean
In Exodus 35:31, the craftsmen received abilities to do melakha “work” or “labor” or “craft” that was assigned to them. But besides all the knowledge and abilities, the Torah says in Exodus 35:35 ulehoret natan belibo “he put
Listen to 4 Chapters of 3 Enoch
The Third Book of Enoch (Hebrew Enoch), or "The Book of Palaces," is an ancient Jewish mystical composition. Though named after Enoch, it was not written by the biblical Enoch himself. He is, however, the main character in