by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 1, 2022 | God, Temple, Terumah
After leaving Egypt and receiving the Torah at Sinai, the Jews were commanded to build a Tabernacle. At the epicenter of the Tabernacle was the Ark of the Covenant into which were placed the stone tablets. Made of acacia (shittim) wood and measuring a half amah long,...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 27, 2022 | Community, Covenant, God, Holiness, Responsibility, Revelation and Prophecy, Yitro
The Exodus from Egypt would not have been complete without entering into a covenant with God. In this covenant, the nation of Israel swears to keep the Torah. Just like the covenant made with Abraham, the covenant at Sinai was sealed with blood (Exodus 24:8). Unlike...
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 2, 2022 | Bo, God, Gratitude, Prayer, Temple
Judaism is an ethnic identity that bears with it many religious obligations. It is widely known that Jews circumcise their sons on the eighth day, a ritual called brit milah, as mandated in the Torah. But less well-known is the commandment of pidyon haben, redeeming...
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...
