I love that the New Testament (Heb. habrith hachodesh) begins with the genealogy of Jesus. I love this because the Old Testament (Heb. Torah) begins the same way with the repeated genealogical theme found in Genesus (Heb. Breshith). The phrase...
Some folks make the point that Jesus verbally taught more in the last six months of his life than any other time in his ministry on earth (any observant red letter Bible reader notices this). It is also apparent to any observant Bible reader that...
The word matzah in Hebrew means “unleavened bread”. According to Deuteronomy 16:3, it’s also known as the “bread of affliction”. This is the bread associated with the Passover (Pesah) story found in Exodus. The idea behind matzah as “bread of...
Parashat Bo (Exodus 10:1-13:16) “Let my people go, that they may worship me.” (Exodus 10:3) Rabbi Joseph Telushkin aptly writes, “Perhaps the most famous political demand in all history is the one Moses directs at Pharaoh: ‘Let my people go!’ In the...
In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover. (Exodus 12:11) So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their...
But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as YHWH had said (Exodus 8:15) True transformation of the heart (salvation) is never be the result of repentance motivated by selfish interest. Every...
This is Jacob’s dying request. Jacob was confident of the promise of God represented by the Promised Land. Even here, in Egypt, Jacob’s heart longs for the fulfillment of God’s promise to him, his fathers, and his sons. Things were good in Egypt...
The Benedictus (the title being derived from the first word of the song “Blessed” in Latin: Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel), found in Luke 1:68-80, is traditionally read during the Advent season celebrating events surrounding the coming of Jesus...
With that he embraced his brother Benjamin around the neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. He kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; only then were his brothers able to talk to him. (JPS, Genesis 45:14-15) These verses from parashat...
I’m currently reading parashat vayigash (Genesis 44:18-47:27). What an incredible story. This story, as the culmination of the various patriarchal episodes, has its finger on the pulse of the theological message, or “sermon”, of the book of...