by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 19, 2021 | Bible Study
Names, especially names of Biblical characters, are very significant. The granting of a name is a divine gift bestowed upon Adam, giving him an active role in Creation Genesis 2:19: And Hashem formed out of the earth all the wild beasts and all the birds of the sky,...
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,...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 18, 2021 | Good and Evil, Hebrew Language, Revelation and Prophecy, Vayishlach
Jacob is perhaps the Biblical character whose life is more closely followed than any other, with the Torah following his conflict with his brother while still in the womb and relating his deathbed blessings. Perhaps the most pivotal moment in his conflict-laden life...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 16, 2021 | Hebrew Language, Vayishlach
Before facing his brother, Esau, Jacob goes off alone and encounters a mysterious assailant in the middle of the night (Genesis 32). Though the Torah describes the attacker as a man, the Sages explain that unbeknownst to Jacob, the assailant is, in fact, an angel of...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 12, 2021 | Community, Covenant, Israel, Vayeitzei
The story of Jacob and his wives is far more than a biographical account. It is, in fact, the beginnings of the nation that takes its name from Jacob’s second name: Israel. From four wives he fathered twelve sons from which the twelve tribes of Israel were born. The...
