As Christmas and Hanukkah both draw near, I would like to take some time to contemplate these two winter festivals. We all know that neither of them is in Leviticus 23 – which means that neither of them is a biblical Festival, neither of them was commanded by God. So, why do we observe […]
In the previous Torah Portion, we saw Jacob fleeing from the wrath of his brother. Now we see him returning to the Land – but in order to secure the future, Jacob has to face the past: he must reconcile with Esau. Twenty years have passed, many things have changed, and all the external circumstances […]
The Ladder between the Heaven and Earth Close to the beginning of today’s Torah Portion, we find the famous dream of Jacob in Bethel. You may remember that Jacob was running from the wrath of his brother after deceiving his elderly father in the previous Portion (Toledot). At that point he was probably concerned only […]
New and Old “And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begot Isaac” (VaEile toledot Izhak) – this is the beginning of our Torah Portion today, and this beginning should be very significant for any New Testament believer. Why? Because the New Testament opens in almost the same way – in a sense, […]
Why did Sarah die? Right after Aqedat Itzhak, in chapter 23 of Genesis, a new Torah Portion begins: Chayei-Sarah. Despite the title: “Chayei-Sarah” means “Sarah’s life,” Sarah dies in this portion; moreover, she dies right away, in the second verse of chapter 23 – and here is the first lesson of this portion: the Lord […]
From Annunciation to Sacrifice To Christians our today’s portion, VaYerah, undoubtedly presents a special interest, because its structure is similar to the structure of the Gospels, especially the Gospel of Luke: this portion begins with the Divine Annunciation of the miraculous birth of the son of the promise, and ends with Aqedat Itzhak, the sacrifice […]
The Redemptive History Begins If you follow the Torah reading cycle, have you ever caught yourself on the thought: “Oh, finally we are in Genesis 12: we are entering the real story!” To me, it happens every year – because indeed, when we enter Torah Portion Lech-Lecha, an entirely new period begins! So far, […]
The Watchers The second Parashat Shavua of the year is Noach (Noah). Last time, we spoke of Genesis 3 as the crucial chapter for understanding Christian theology: indeed, if we ask any Christian today, “Why is there sin in the world?” almost undoubtedly “The Fall” would be the answer. However, it was not always so. “If […]
Joy of the Torah Sukkot is zman simchateinu, “the season of our joy” – and the joy of Sukkot – reaches its climax during Simchat Torah. Simchat Torah (lit. Joy of the Torah) is the holiday that follows immediately after the festival of Sukkot and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah reading, and […]
Chol Hamoed We are still within the “intermediate days of Sukkot” (Feast of Tabernacles), and it’s probably a good time to clarify this expression: what does it actually mean when we say, Chol Hamoed (“intermediate days of Sukkot”)? In Leviticus 23, we read about Moadei Adonai – the Biblical Feasts, the special times of the […]
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