01 Three Ways to See Hanukkah Audio
This lesson on Hanukkah was recorded live with audience participation. Three ways to see the holiday: Pop-culture, Spiritual and Historical perspectives. How far back do Hanukkah traditions go?...
Welcome to Jewish and Biblical Studies by Pinchas Shir
Beyond Menorahs and Dreidels
Hanukkah is so much more than Menorahs and Dreidels. Learn more about this celebration and its history in this three-part seminar (exclusively on pshir.com) In this hour and a half we explore what the book of Maccabees tells us about Hanukkah. We also consider how Josephus explains those events...
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs
The Testaments of The Twelve Patriarchs is an extrabiblical Jewish book from 2 Century CE. Original English translation by Robert Henry Charles, 1917. The book reports the final words and wisdom of the twelve sons of Jacob, spoken as final charges prior to their deaths....
The Book of Jubilees
Jubilees is an extrabiblical Jewish book from 2 Century BCE. Original English translation by George Henry Schodde, 1988. It is an ancient retelling of well-known Genesis stories chronologically structured in multiples of seven and adding up to 49, hence the name....
Who Was Judah the Maccabee? by Breaking Matzo
Spend a couple of minutes and get a quick summary about Judah Maccabee in this informational video by Breaking Matzo. Learn who Judah was and why he is significant in Jewish history....
God's Name in the Hebrew Bible: Yahweh, Jehovah & Adonai
I was lecturing to a group of students at a Christian University and one of the students asked me about God's name in the Hebrew Bible. Is it Yahweh, is it Jehovah? This video an excerpt from my lecture. I put my notes aside and explain the popular...
Was Jesus the First Christian? by Bible History
If Jesus was a Jew, and Christianity became his religion, then it makes sense that Jesus was the first Christian. However, Dr. James Charlesworth, of Princeton Theological Seminary argues that this was just not the case; Jesus did not part ways with Judaism....
Did Paul Actually Convert to Christianity? by Bible History
The late Dr. Krister Stendahl, of Harvard Divinity School, suggests that he did not. This video summarizes his reasons why. Stendahl notices that Paul and the author of Acts describe Paul's transformative experience with Jesus in the same terms as the Jewish prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel describe...
Have Kosher Laws Been Abolished? by Bible History
In his book, Torah Praxis After 70 CE: Reading Luke-Acts as Jewish Texts, Dr. Isaac Oliver of Bradley University argues that Peter's vision in Acts is not about the abolishment of kosher laws, but the “purification and sanctification of Gentile believers"...
