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.
The passage called Mishpatim in Torah begins with laws about slaves and slavery. It’s not an easy topic to discuss in America. Colonial slavery most people are familiar with in America, was truly brutal, unjust, and inhumane. The mistreatment
In Numbers 17:7, Torah says that a cloud of God’s glory appeared all around them. God spoke to them, hiramu mitoch haedah “Get away from the midst of the assembly.” And God continued, va’akhaleh otam ke’raga
Sometimes people genuinely lack humility, and they are totally unaware of it. People can be very proud and self-important, conceited, pumped up about themselves, and have an inflated view of themselves. Sometimes people are arrogant and stubborn, overconfident, snobbish,
On the one hand, Leviticus offers us dull instructions for something that does not even happen anymore. Sacrifices, Offerings, the Altar. The Temple has been destroyed for almost two thousand years now. But on the other hand, these instructions to
Joseph, Jacob’s youngest son, foolishly tells his brothers about his dreams. Torah tells us that the disposition of Joseph’s brothers towards him was extremely negative. In Gen 37:4 we read venisneu oto “and they hated him” velo
Paul's letters to Rome and to Galatia were written for two different communities who had different ideas about how gentiles belonged to the Jewish church. Geography mattered, but so did the social context. This week we focus primarily
Some people read Galatians as an anti-Jewish letter, but the key to understanding Paul's message is rooted in the Galatian context. Galatian gentile believers wanted to be circumcised to become Jews. They felt that would give them
How is the message about a God who made covenants with a particular people in a particular land move into the gentile world? This was a perplexing issue for the early church, and the early Jewish leaders used the book
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
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?
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
As soon as Jacob resolved to head back home to Canaan, he knew he would be in danger because of his brother. Him and his entire family. So, in Gen 32:12, Jacob prays - hatizileni na meyad achi “Deliver me
