by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 6, 2022 | Hebrew Language, Messiah, Purity, Temple, Tetzaveh
The portion of Tetzaveh begins by telling the Children of Israel to bring pure olive oil for use in the Menorah in the Tabernacle (Exodus 27:20). For normal use, oil is extracted from olives by pressing, but the Torah specifies that in this case the olives are...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 26, 2022 | Hebrew Language, Repentance, Responsibility, Yitro
In the Book of Exodus, directly after God presented the Ten Commandments to the Hebrews which explicitly prohibit murder, the Torah restates the rule but adds an exception: He who fatally strikes a man shall be put to death. If he did not do it by design, but it came...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 16, 2022 | Hebrew Language, Israel, Kedoshim, Tu B'shvat
Tu B’Shevat, the New Year for the Trees, is considered a minor festival in Judaism. There is no reference to the holiday of Tu B’Shevat in the Bible, but the Mishna (Rosh Hashana 1:1) notes that there are four distinctive New Years in the Jewish calendar:...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 21, 2021 | Fear of God, God, Hebrew Language, Holiness, Prayer, Shemot
In Moses’ dramatic first encounter with God, he asks who he should say sent him to free the Jews. More precisely, he asks, “When I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 19, 2021 | Antisemitism, Fear of God, God, Good and Evil, Hebrew Language, Israel, Kindness and Compassion, Prayer, Shemot
While Israel was being blessedly prolific in Egypt and growing into a nation, Pharaoh ordered the midwives to kill the male Jewish babies. Shiphrah and Puah defied Pharaoh’s order and received God’s blessing for their courage. Their actions allowed Moses to be saved...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 19, 2021 | Hebrew Language, Vayishlach
Benjamin was Jacob’s only son born in the holy land, coincidentally right after Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. Rachel named her second son with her dying breath ‘Ben-oni’ (בֶּן־אוֹנִי). The Sages explain the name as meaning ‘son of my suffering’ or,...
