Posted by Navah on Dec 19, 2022 in Bible Study
Tanak (the Hebrew Scripture) is Judaism’s the most authoritative and foundational text. The word “TaNaK” is an acronym of Torah (The Five Books of Moses), Nevi’im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings). The Tanak is revered as a direct revelation (the Torah and the Prophets) by the Creator first to the nation of Israel and then to the nations, and the third part as inspired writings. The first book of the Tanak is Genesis, and the last book is Malachi. On the other side is the...
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Posted by Navah on Dec 8, 2022 in The Name of YHVH
Are we allowed to swear in the Name of YHVH? According to the Sermon on the Mount, we are not allowed to swear at all, while the Torah allows us. Is there any contradiction between the Torah and the Messiah? It is true, of course, as we are all aware, that if anyone who claims to be the Messiah has changed, annulled even one law of the Torah and taught the others to do so, he cannot be the Messiah. Yet, the Torah and the Sermon on the Mount appear to express two...
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Posted by Navah on Dec 4, 2022 in The Patriarchs' Saga
Did Ya’akov hate his wife, Leah? It appears so, when we read the verse which clearly says that YHVH saw that Leah was hated. But was she indeed hated by her husband Ya’akov? For the purpose of this study, we will focus on a single verse in Genesis 29 which indeed says that Leah was hated. In the following, however, we will argue that Ya’akov did not hate Leah, on the contrary, he loved her. By this we will not question the credibility of the Torah, let it...
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Posted by Navah on Nov 25, 2022 in Sanctity of life
“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...
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Posted by Navah on Nov 20, 2022 in The Patriarchs' Saga
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...
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Posted by Navah on Nov 10, 2022 in The Origin
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....
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Posted by Navah on Nov 6, 2022 in The Messiah
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...
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Posted by Navah on Oct 30, 2022 in The Origin
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....
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Posted by Navah on Oct 24, 2022 in The Origin
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...
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Posted by Navah on Oct 16, 2022 in The Patriarchs' Saga
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...
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Posted by Navah on Oct 11, 2022 in The Appointed Times of YHVH
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...
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Posted by Navah on Sep 28, 2022 in Hebrew Study
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...
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