THE PURIM MIRACLE 3

BS”D KNOW YOUR BIBLE: Esther 5-6 Study Notes by Avraham ben Yaakov ESTHER CHAPTER 5 V 1: “And it was on the THIRD day…” – “Israel is not left in trouble for more than three days. Joseph put his brothers ‘into custody for THREE days’ (Genesis 42:17); Jonah was in the belly of the fish…

THE PURIM MIRACLE 2

BS”D KNOW YOUR BIBLE: Esther 3-4 Study Notes by Avraham ben Yaakov ESTHER CHAPTER 3 V 1: “After these things Ahashverosh promoted Haman…” Ahashverosh’s feast had taken place in the third year of his fourteen-year reign (Esther 1:3), while Esther became queen four years later, in the seventh year of his reign (Esther 2:16). It…

Parashat Vayigash / פרשת ויגש

VAYIGASH Torah Reading: VAYIGASH Gen. 44:18-47:27. “AND JUDAH STEPPED FORWARD.” The key to the dramatic encounter between Judah and Joseph with which our parshah of VAYIGASH begins is to be found in the Haftara our sages attached to this parshah: Ezekiel’s vision of the joining of the two sticks. One stick the prophet was to…

Parashat Vayeilech / פרשת וילך

Vayelech “He went” Deuteronomy 31: 1 – 30 Isaiah 55: 6 – 56: 8; Romans 10:14-21; 12:14-21 Moshe formally gathered the children of Israel together to ratify their covenant with Yahweh. He then pleads with the people to choose life – the path of obedience to the Torah and the commandments of Yahweh. If they…

Parashat Kedoshim / פרשת קדשים

LET’S STUDY ONKELOS A Guide for Rabbis, Teachers and Torah Students to Study and Teach the Parashat Hashavua through the Eyes of its Most Important Translator By Stanley M. Wagner and Israel Drazin Based on the five volume, Onkelos on the Torah (Genesis-Deuteronomy), Understanding the Bible Text, by Israel Drazin and Stanley M. Wagner, published…

Parashat Tazria / פרשת תזריע

Tazria From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tazria, Thazria, Thazri’a, Sazria, or Ki Tazria‘ (תַזְרִיעַ — Hebrew for “she conceives”, the 13th word, and the first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 27th weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fourth in the book of Leviticus. It…

Wisdom, the Highest Good

THE DUTIES OF THE HEART Wisdom, the Highest Good The supreme benefit, and the highest good bestowed by the Creator on human beings (after the gift of existence and the perfected faculties of perception and intelligence), is Wisdom. This, indeed, is the very life of their spirits. It is the lamp of their reason, which…

Ta’anit Esther / תענית אסתר

The Fast of Esther (Ta’anit Ester, Hebrew: תַּעֲנִית אֶסְתֵּר) is a Jewish fast from dawn until dusk on Purim eve, commemorating the three-day fast observed by the Jewish people in the story of Purim. If the date of the Fast of Esther falls on Shabbat (Saturday), the fast is instead observed on the preceding Thursday….

Aramaic Thoughts 8

Aramaic Literature 8  The Mishnah The eleventh treatise in Mo’ed is called Katan (half-feasts). Originally it was called Mashkin, from the first word in the treatise. It deals with the middle days of Passover and Tabernacles, that is, those days between the first two and the last two days of the particular festivals. However, as…

Shabbat Zachor

Shabbat Zachor (“Sabbath [of] remembrance שבת זכור) is the Shabbat immediately preceding Purim. Deuteronomy 25:17-19 (at the end of Parasha Ki Teizei), describing the attack by Amalek, is recounted.

Parashat Vayikra / פרשת ויקרא

Note: The Shabbos Torah Reading is divided into 7 sections. Each section is called an Aliya [literally: Go up] since for each Aliya, one person “goes up” to make a bracha [blessing] on the Torah Reading. 1st & 2nd & 3rd Aliyot: The instructions for offering a “Oleh” – burnt offering (fully consumed on the…

An Aramaic Approach to the Church Epistles

  An Aramaic Approach to the Church Epistles By Karen Masterson   Commentaries and biographies almost unanimously regard the Apostle Paul as a Hellenistic Jew. They regard him as a Jew whose native language was Greek, who thought in terms of Greek ideas and culture. They compare him to men such as Philo, who explained Judaism…