Posts by Julia Blum

My dear readers, every year I write here about Purim, and every year I discover something new about this fascinating festival. Today, we will start with a very simple question (although the discourse this question leads to is not simple at all): Why is there a masquerade on Purim? Why do we dress in costumes […]

TL;DR: Rachel, Jacob’s beloved wife, was likely 22 years old when Jacob first met her, while Jacob himself was approximately 77 years old, based on a careful reading of biblical genealogies and timelines. YOUNG FAMILY? Last time, we spoke about Leah, who was “hated”—not chosen. The last one of the four mothers, Rachel is depicted in […]

When we spoke about Rebecca, we saw an interesting detail in her story. At the end of Genesis 24, we are told that Isaac loved Rebecca (יֶּאֱהָבֶ֑הָ) – and this is the very first time the verb “love” (in Hebrew ahav) occurs in the Torah in a romantic sense, as referring to a relationship between […]

My dear readers, today we are going to talk about one of my favorite characters in the Bible. Of all the four matriarchs (Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, and Rachel), Rebecca’s personality is the most fully defined and described in Scripture. First, we see Rebecca as a young girl; then, she is a wife and a pregnant […]

Dear friends, we are back to our “Three plus Four” series and are now moving to the “Four” part: the Matriarchs. You know, when I started to write this series, the title just “popped up” in my head, seemingly randomly. However, the more I’ve thought about it during these last months, the more meaningful and […]

My dear readers, since I publish my posts only once a month now – and this is a very special month indeed – I will discuss all the Fall holidays in this article. We are in the Hebrew month of Tishrei, the seventh month in the Hebrew calendar. As you all know, the number seven […]

My dear readers, we are still in the “three” part of “THREE PLUS FOUR” series. Our final installment of this part is about Jacob the Patriarch. Today, we will dig into the story of his way back to the Land of Israel after 20 years of exile – and will discover the amazing details and even […]

We continue our “THREE PLUS FOUR” series, and we are still in the “three” part: the Fathers. Last time, we spoke about Abraham; today, we will speak about Isaac. I remind you that my task here is not to draw a full biblical portrait – especially now, when the posts are being published once in […]

We continue our “three plus four” series, and this is my second post on Abraham. Today, with the help of Hebrew, we will see some additional insights into this amazing character. As we all know, Abraham was a man of faith, following God unquestioningly – and in this sense, many things in his life were […]

The Puzzling Title My dear readers, as probably most of you know by now, I love series. I am starting a new series today, and I bet the title of this series will intrigue you. I will explain in a second why I chose this name. However, first I need to tell you something. You […]