by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 21, 2022 | Chanukah, Covenant, Faith, Mikeitz, Mourning
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz Many scholars place Joseph’s descent to Egypt at around 1500 BCE. The Maccabees dedicated the Temple in year 165 BCE. These two events were separated by more than one thousand years and seem entirely disconnected, but the Torah portion that...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 12, 2022 | Beha'alotcha, Israel, Leadership, Light Unto the Nations, Temple
I often find myself walking around my house, turning off lights in empty rooms. Why waste electricity if there is no one there to benefit from it? Interestingly, a similar question arose thousands of years ago, in the Temple itself! In the eighth chapter of Numbers,...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 11, 2022 | Chanukah, Miracles, Purity, Temple, Tetzaveh
When God instructs the Children of Israel to make the menorah, He tells them to gather oil “for kindling lamps regularly” (Exodus 27:20). Rashi explains that the light was to be lit all night, every night, though not necessarily during the day. The lights...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 9, 2022 | God, Ki Tisa, Temple
Even though no man ever came as close to God as Moses, when it came time to construct the Tabernacle, God assigned the task to Bezalel (meaning “in the shadow [i.e. the protection] of God”) the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, from the tribe of Judah. Caleb...
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...
