This coming shabbat is one of the special Shabbats in the traditional Jewish calendar. It is known as Shabbat Nachamu (Shabbat of Consolation), based on the opening words of the Haftorah (Isaiah 40:1-26): “Nachamu, nachamu, ami – Comfort, comfort my people” (v. 1). Shabbat Nachamu is always read on the Shabbat following
The Hebrew Bible and its Reading Schedule
With Simchat Torah upon us, and the new TLV presently circulating among us, now might be a good time to consider how Jews actually got the Torah–and the Bible, on the whole. The book we call the Bible isn’t really a book in the
Capitalizing Pronouns in Scripture: Restoring the clarity of the difference between the Creator and the creation
Continuing on with our exploration of the TLV Translation Guidelines, we come to our third principle: Restoring the clarity of the difference between the creator and the creation. We will capitalize all pronouns that refer to the deity, of both Father and
The 3 Elements of the Passover Seder
A reading of the Passover Haggadah will bring one to the statement by Rabbi Gamaliel that he who does not make mention of the three elements of the Passover- the lamb, the matzot (unleavened bread), and the bitter herbs- has
Why do we clean our homes for Passover?
I love the Passover season when we begin preparing our homes for the observance of the memorial celebration of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. Weeks before Passover begins, we start searching our homes and our hearts for chametz (Leaven).
The Plague that Altered the Calendar
After a tenure of 4 centuries of slavery in Egypt, the time finally came for Israel’s deliverance. ADONAI had told Avram during the reaffirmation of His covenant in Genesis 15, that “your seed will be strangers in a land that is not