“Life is sacred” is a fundamental principle in the Scripture. We have explained this principle in the series of articles Sanctity of Life. But still, it is equally important to clarify one more thing. If life indeed begins at conception and is sacred as the Scripture testifies, is that which we call “fetus” a human being? And if “fetus” is a human being, when does it receive its soul: at conception or at birth? In other words, the...
Read More »The Hebrew Bible has the miraculous stories of six barren women, their conception, and giving birth to male children. We will address them in the following vein and offer another one for the reader’s consideration, as we will explain the reason for this in due course. There is a well-established Rabbinic tradition that the conception of Yitschak the son of Avraham was entirely by way of promise, not natural. His miraculous conception and birth, however, are not unique to...
Read More »In the following, we will explain what one needs to know about the controversial topic of “flat earth”. Is the Earth round or flat? How did the Creator create the planet Earth: flat or round? The issue of round or flat Earth is well known, so here we will only offer a basic outline of what we intend to say. The old saying, “The language of the Torah is like the language of man”, takes precedent when such a matter as scientific facts in the Bible is discussed....
Read More »The primordial light having existed from the beginning in the earliest state of the universe was created with the decree, “Light exist!”, and the light existed. Maimonides, the greatest Jewish scholar of the Middle Ages, in his fundamental work Guide for the Perplexed, states that there is a difference between “first” and “beginning” (or principle). For example, heavens and earth were the first to be written in Genesis, after them came...
Read More »The genealogy of the 70 nations in Genesis 10 traces their origin back to the common father of mankind, Noach. After the universal deluge, Noach’s family settled in the plain of the land of Shinar, where they multiplied into many families. The genealogy of Noach aka the Table of the 70 Nations, through his sons Shem, Cham, and Yaphet, prepares the reader for the event which led to the division of the one human race into 70 nations with distinct languages and cultures....
Read More »What was it before the Creation, before even Gen 1:1 has begun? Before the creation, there was nothing; nothing existed but the Everlasting One, YHVH. Before the process of creation has even begun, YHVH (His Name means “He who exists continually”) was Yachid, the only One, no one else; after the creation He became Echad, He and His creation are together, one or unity. Yachid is exclusive; Echad is inclusive. We will rewind the time and try to explain what it was...
Read More »Much is known of the involvement of the tribe of Levi in the Temple service and reverence for YHVH. Traditional commentators offer extended explanations of the Levites’ role in the Temple, but very little of Binyamin and the sanctuary. In the following, we would like to posit another way to look at the youngest son of the patriarch, Binyamin, and specifically in reference to his merit to have the Temple built on the land of his tribe. We will explore the connection of...
Read More »There is strong belief that “the great sound of the shofar” (in Mat 24:31), “the great shofar that shall blow” (in Isa 27:13), and the seventh [and the last] trumpet in the Book of Revelation are one and the same. But while they all depict the coming of the Savior on the clouds of the heaven with a great host and with dreadful appearance, and the establishment of the Kingship of the Messiah, they do not connect this awesome event to any particular...
Read More »Only if the sons of Ishmael recognize that they and the sons of Israel are all children of Avraham (Arabic, Ibrahim), and they are brothers. And if they do, then they should also recognize that the sons of Israel have the right to exist as they do. If the sons of Ishmael recognize that they and the sons of Israel have common history, they should also recognize that they have common future. If the sons of Ishmael recognize the Creator of the earth as the God of Avraham, as...
Read More »Is it true that the Torah requires a raped girl to marry her rapist, and the only punishment to the rapist is a monetary fine? In our modern society, the mere suggestion that a raped girl marry her rapist is inconceivable and repulsive to say at least. The emotional and physical pain and fear the girl has suffered at the time of the rape, however, have long term metal effects that may last for life. In the past, women depended entirely on their fathers or husbands for...
Read More »Does the Torah allow trespassing of private property and taking advantage of the produce of the land? But it appears that Yeshua and his disciples entered unlawfully on someone’s property and ate some of his produced. The Torah however offers no possibility that any person could enter someone’s field at any time for any reason and eat the produce of the land. Such a trespassing would fundamentally interfere with a person’s right to hold private property....
Read More »It seems that in the law of divorce in Deuteronomy, the woman is depicted as completely passive in the divorce. If the husband finds no favor in his eyes on the account of uncleanness, he writes her a letter of divorce and sends her away so that she can remarry another man. The law of divorce thus applies solely on the husband, who is forbidden to take his ex-wife back. But what if the wife finds no favor in her eyes because she has found a matter of uncleanness in him. Can...
Read More »