Teaching in Your Heart
In Exodus 35 and 36, we read the stories about craftsmen Betzalel ben Uri and Ben Hur and how Hashem endowed them with his spirit, Ruach Elohim, the “breath of God,” as Torah says in Exodus 35:31. Torah says
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104 posts
Sometimes listening is preferable to reading. Listen to select teachings in audio, or explore an ever-growing list of short, inspirational messages from the Torah and the Prophets.
Remove the Ashes
Our weekly reading begins with explanations about the burnt offerings. Offerings can teach us a lot. Vayikra, Leviticus 6:2 tells us that Aaron was to leave the Olah on the altar all night long, and the fire is to
Managing Setbacks
Everything was going well for Joseph until he deemed some amazing dreams that he unwisely shared with his brothers. He almost ended up dead because of that. Due to circumstances that were not entirely of Joseph’s own doing, the
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
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
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
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
Missing Out
Torah says that Olah was to be brought to the entrance of the tent. Why? Because not every offering is automatically accepted. The priests carefully examined offerings at the entrance, and only then were they presented to God on the
Fight For Your Future
Sometimes we get tired of fighting for just about everything in life. Moses was at the end of his life, well over a hundred, and yet he was still in a fight. In Numbers 31, Moses was told that he
Fear of the Unknown
In Torah, in parsha Shemot (Exodus 6), we read how a new king arose in Egypt, a king who did not know Joseph. This was not great for Jacob's family. His fear of the Unknown (in his case,