Posts by Julia Blum

 My dear readers, we will  definitely continue with our New Testament series – but I just could not miss this week’s Torah Portion, Ki Tissa, my favorite Parashah. There are many amazing stories here –   Ki Tissa is one of the richest and most complex portions in the entire Torah; however, there is a particular startling story in […]

                     …like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old                                                                    Matt. 13:52   Today, we are going to talk about the parables. The parables make up most of the teaching of Jesus: “With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.  He did not say […]

                   …like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old                                                                    Mat.13:52 We continue our journey through the Gospels. Our goal here is to show how much can be taken out of the New Testament, when it is understood through the Tanach. JESUS AND SHABBAT And they questioned Jesus, asking, “Is it lawful […]

                              …like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old                                                                    Mat.13:52 SERMON ON THE MOUNT AND TORAH PORTION Even among non-Christians, there is a general consensus that Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is the greatest moral discourse ever […]

We continue our journey through the first chapters of Luke – my favorite Gospel. So far, we’ve seen some interesting details in the first chapter; today we are going to speak about second chapter of Luke’s Gospel. WHEN WAS JESUS BORN? In Luke 2, an angel appeared to the shepherds in the fields and said […]

We are still in Luke’s Gospel – but today,  from  Ein Karem we are moving to Nazareth. Something of incredible importance is happening right before our eyes – however, in order to unlock this mystery, we would need to use our key again and to turn to the Hebrew Scriptures. THE GOSPEL IN GENESIS When we […]

Last time, we spoke about the very beginning of Matthew’s Gospel. This time, let us move to the beginning of Luke’s Gospel and try to see it through the Tanach and Jewish background. THE ANGEL AND THE PRIEST Have you ever been to Ein Karem, one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in Jersualem? Two thousand […]

Happy New Year, my dear readers! Most of us love new beginnings – and most of us enter a new year with some wonderful New Year resolutions. No doubt some of my readers have decided to read through the whole Bible during this year! Last year, we spent a lot of time talking about the […]

We have just finished the book of Genesis, my dear readers, and are about to enter book of Exodus – along with entering a new year of our lives. I am not going to continue with the Torah Portions’ comments on these pages -however, before we plunge into the new series next time, I would […]

I know, some  of my readers would smile skeptically at this title: the statement that “Christmas is a pagan holiday” is so popular nowadays that many people prefer to have nothing to do with Christmas – and definitely, would not expect an article about Christmas on Israel Biblical studies blog. Yes, there is nothing to […]