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
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
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
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?
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,
It's Yom HaShoah today, an annual day of reembrace of the Holocaust. The question about certain Christian interpretations of the Bible and their role in the events of the Holocaust is a hard question that many people would
In Exodus 13:17, the Torah says that God did not lead the Israelites through the land of the Philistines, a much shorter route. Hebrew texts literally says, ki karov hu “though it was closer.” Instead, God led the Israelites
We live in the age of science, logic, and information, when many spiritual beliefs that cannot be rationally explained are questioned and dismissed. There is one particular belief that lies at the core of Jewish and Christian faiths that is
Have you ever felt as you read the Bible that it makes no sense? You understand the words but not the meaning or the point the text is trying to make. The truth is - you are not alone. I have
One of the main features of the Jewish Passover celebration is Matzah (מַצָּה), the unleavened bread. In fact, there is no Passover without this basic ingredient. Its tale is central in the ritual of remembering the Exodus deliverance.
In Chayei Sara we read the story of Abraham commissioning his servant to search for a wife for his son Isaac. Abraham is certain that he does not want a wife from any of the local families in Canaan. Why?
In October of 2016 Israel Antiquities Authority unveiled a papyrus that is believed to be 2,700 years old. Israeli archaeologists have discovered an ancient wine ledger that they believe contains the earliest written reference to Jerusalem outside the Bible.
This is an audio lecture by Rachel Elior, a Professor of Jewish Philosophy and Jewish Mystical Thought at the Hebrew University, a talk given in front of an audience of peers. Her research is current and meticulous and often challenges
It is hard to speak of trust in a world filled with deception. It is very hard to trust, especially if you have been misled and taken advantage of in the past. Life experiences often drive us to put up
Was Jesus truly a Rabbi? What did it mean to be a Rabbi in antiquity? What are some of the earliest historical references we have to rabbis? How did he go from Rabbi to Lord, and why? How did Hebrew
Midrash Rabbah is a homeletic, ethical, and moral commentary on the Torah expounded by the Rabbis during Talmudic times. The Midrash represents the essence of Judaism, its ethical standards, and its insight into the human heart in a unique literary
Midrash Rabbah is a homeletic, ethical, and moral commentary on the Torah expounded by the Rabbis during Talmudic times. The Midrash represents the essence of Judaism, its ethical standards, and its insight into the human heart in a unique literary
