The world through the lens of Torah
“Yom Ha’atzmaut – Israel Independence Day!” This week, we are celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut in Israel. Literally translated it means Independence Day. On the 5th of the Hebrew month of Iyar, in 1948, David Ben Gurion proclaimed Israel as an independent Jewish State in its Land for the first time in over 2,000 years (since the […]
In this session I hosted for Bridges for Peace arranged by GG Subscriber Lindsay Ingalls, you’ll learn the following: Shmuel’s Aliyah Story Learn why Hebrew, the Holy Language is unique What does the word Holy (Kadosh) really mean? What is the common link between the Holy Land, Holy Nation, Holy Torah, Holy Sabbath and Holy […]
Shalom from Tiberias, Tiveryah, Rakkath, Hammath! Recently I wished my FB Friends “Shabbat Shalom from Tiberias, Israel!” Pretty quickly I received a message in reply, “Good Shabbos to RAKKAH, Israel… the more Rakkah is used, more people will acknowledge the truth and use this REAL NAME [for Tiberias] = RAKKAH, Israel.” (sic) Well I appreciate […]
There’s is no question that the ISRAEL/UAE peace deal is a game changer in the Middle East. But many people have been asking, ‘does this help, or hinder the Biblical destiny of the Nation of Israel?’ How does this agreement fit in politically? Is it a good idea? How does suspending annexing of parts of […]
Our Matriarch Leah not only taught us about “Thanksgiving” but she understood that the essence of the of the mission of the 12 tribes would depend on “acknowledging that everything comes from God — there is no other power or source of blessing other than God. There is no real word in Hebrew for “thank.” […]
When reading the Torah in English, it’s not clear what the Name of the God of Israel is. However, when you read it in the original Hebrew things get even more complicated. There are SEVEN main Names for God and many other minor Names!!! How is it possible that the one true monotheisitic God has […]
This week’s Torah portion begins the book of Exodus (Shemot) The book of Genesis details the beginnings of the Family of Israel. In Exodus, we will be forged into the Nation of Israel, after passing through the iron furnace of Egyptian slavery. At the “burning bush” the Almighty reaches out to Moshe and explains to […]
Among the 613 “Commandments” given to Israel at Sinai are: 1. To Love God 2. To Fear God But aren’t “love” and “fear” emotions? How can we be commanded to “feel” something? We’ll take a deep dive into the Hebrew definitions of these words and learn how the Sages explain how we can fulfill these […]
For the 12th week in a row, there were protests on Saturday night around the country, primarily in “left wing, secular” strongholds. The biggest protests were in Tel Aviv as seen in the photo above. Based on the banner above, you might think the protests are against Netanyahu personally, but the protests are supposedly about […]
As we approach Tisha B’av, the anniversary of the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem I wanted to share this story with you. My friend A.Y. Katsof pictured above left is an Ashkenazi Jew who currently lives with his family in biblical Samaria. The press would consider him a “settler.” In 1999 when he discovered […]
