Posts by Julia Blum

Ever since the last post I’ve been contemplating this amazing “second revelation” that we see in the very beginning of Torah Portion Va’era, in Exodus 6. There are some crucially important details in this revelation, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I couldn’t and shouldn’t just skip them. So, […]

More than just a Name I suppose, most of my readers have watched “The Lord of the Rings”; maybe some even love the book, as I do. Today, however, I actually want to refer to the movie. You might remember how we all were waiting for the second part after seeing the first one? Then […]

In our Torah reading, we just finished the book of Genesis and are now entering the book of Exodus – entering, at the same time, a new year in our lives. I usually start a new series after the New Year – it always seemed a proper beginning for this time of new beginnings. However, […]

My dear readers, I’ve been writing this blog for almost five years now, so this is the fifth time I am entering a new year together with you.  It’s interesting that even though in the previous years, I have written the “New Year” posts: ENTERING 2017 FROM JERUSALEM, ENTERING 2018 FROM JERUSALEM, ENTERING 2019 FROM […]

Those following this blog for a while would already know that I love finding connections between the events of our lives and the Torah Portions read at these times. In particular, I love analyzing the Torah portions read during the Christmas and New Year.  I know some of my readers would not approve of this. […]

Our new Torah Portion – Vayeshev – opens Joseph’s saga, the last part of the book of Genesis. It starts with the word Vayeshev (hence the name of the Portion), usually translated as “settled”, or “dwelt”:  “Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.  In Hebrew, the contrast […]

Penuel Today, we are going to discuss the most important encounter of Jacob’s life – the one that defined his name and destiny, and the name and destiny of the whole people: Penuel.  This encounter happened right before his meeting with Esau, and undoubtedly changed this meeting from how it could have been to the […]

Torah portion Vayetze covers twenty years of Jacob’s life – and as you undoubtedly know, so many things happened to him during these years that as always, I have to restrain myself and choose carefully the few topics I am going to comment on today. As always, I will try to focus on the parallels […]

Godly Spouses Last time, we spoke about the story of Genesis 24. First, we saw the faith of different people—Abraham, his servant, Rebecca—but at the end of this long and eventful chapter, we read: Isaac …took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her (יֶּאֱהָבֶ֑הָ). It’s important to note that in a romantic […]

A Sword Piercing the Soul Right after Aqedat Itzhak, in Chapter 23 of Genesis, a new Torah Portion begins:  “Chayei-Sarah”. Despite the title: “Chayei-Sarah,” which means “Sarah’s life,” Sarah dies in this portion; moreover, she dies right away, in the second verse of Chapter 23. Then in the next chapter, the Torah moves to Isaac—to […]