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The 9th of Av (Tisha B'Av) stands as one of the key solemn dates on the Jewish calendar, marking a day when tragedies have repeatedly befallen the Jewish people throughout history. According to the Talmud, Ta'anit 29a, the origins of this day of mourning among Jews
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What happens at a synagogue service? What are the rules for keeping kosher? How do I light the Hanukkah candles? What is in the Hebrew Bible? What do the Jewish holidays signify? I frequently get questions about Jewish culture and life, both ancient and modern, practical and theoretical. A general
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I periodically meet people who are hesitant to read books designated as Pseudepigrapha or Apocrypha. I was even flat-out told "they are forbidden." Admittedly, these are both scary-sounding technical and academic terms, but with really simple meanings. If I am describing you, and Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha make you
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In 2013 a volunteer looking through the dirt that had been excavated from Robinson’s Arch (near the Western Wall) found a 1-cm seal impression. After closer examination, some archaeologists came to believe that this was a First Temple era seal. The impression, or in Latin bulla, would have sealed
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The Psalms of Solomon are sometimes called Songs of Shlomo (מזמורי שלמה), a book that should not be confused with the Wisdom of Solomon and the Odes of Solomon. Solomon was popular in antiquity, so a number of ancient books bare his name. Psalms of Solomon is a collection of
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In modern Shavuot celebrations, it is customary to stay up late and to study Torah into the morning hours. Why? Many rabbis would say that we follow this custom because when Hashem decided to give Israel the mitzvot (commandments), they were asleep at the foot of Sinai. They were not
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We live in a world full of people who think they know how everything works. The audacity of science and investigative thought is often revealed in claiming to have figured it all out, as mere theories are too often presented as facts. This is sadly true with all human knowledge
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Many Jewish scrolls scribed between 300 BCE and 200 CE can be classified as “apocalyptical” because of their frequent focus on the heavenly scenes, secrets, revelations, and visions of the future. Apocalypse is a Greek word that means “to reveal” or “uncover something hidden.” So, these books contain a good
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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, between 2023
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The Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem carries a unique name, alluding to the "one who was sent." I have recently shared a couple of articles about the connection between this unique place and Jesus' miracles. I realize that such articles often fuel further curiosity and research about
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To readers of the Bible, Siloam (Σιλωάμ) is a familiar water source in ancient Jerusalem. It was there that Jesus healed the man born blind (John 9). In Hebrew, the pool is called Shiloach (שִׁלֹחַ) or Shiloah, meaning "sent." Yeshua (Jesus) saw himself as שָׁלִ
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When Jews celebrate Passover today, the festive tables feature a special plate with traditional foods tased during the celebration. There are bitter herbs of several kinds to remember the bitterness of slavery in Egypt (Num 9:11). There is also a lamb bone to remember the sacrifice that was offered