by Eliyahu Berkowitz | f 6, 2021 | Chanukah, Israel, Temple, Vayechi
The Hanukkah story is clearly one of conflict, pitting the underdog Judeans against the powerful Seleucids and King Antiochus IV. The Judeans were also up against their Hellenized brethren who actively sought to end the Temple service and the observance of the Torah’s...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 3, 2021 | Chanukah, Haggai, Redemption, Temple
The Book of Maccabees is a collection of four volumes that recount the history of the Maccabees, the leaders of the Jewish rebellion against the Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes, and the Seleucid dynasty. They do not appear in the Jewish canon of the Tanakh (i.e....
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 26, 2021 | Messiah, Vayeishev
The narrative of Joseph’s descent into Egypt is put aside for one chapter as the Torah relates the unusual story of the levirate marriage between Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar. This unusual union resulted in twins and, similar to Jacob and Esau, the twins...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 21, 2021 | Bible Study
The story of the Children of Israel descending into Egypt, so central to the rest of the Bible, is interrupted by the anomalous story of Judah and Tamar. A deeper look at the story will reveal why Judah and Tamar are also essential to the ultimate story of Redemption....
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,...
