The last two posts I made on prophetic analysis covered my approach to scripture and prophecy and the context of Yeshaiyahu’s (Isaiah’s) prophecies. This post discusses the first nine chapters of Yeshaiyahu, and subsequent posts will cover similarly sized chunks of this book. Before I discuss what I think are particular points of interest in … More Yeshaiyahu 1-9
Over the course of the last year, I have written and beta tested a schedule for reading the entirety of the TaNaKh in the course of a year. My efforts have partially been based on an expressed desire for such a schedule from other Jews and partly based on my own desire for a schedule … More Reading Scripture
(Source: Wikipedia) For most Avrahamic religions, the story of the shofet Samson is one of a hero. Samson’s life has all the hallmarks of a mythical hero: superhuman in his strength, a close relationship with the divine, a flawed and difficult personal life that ends in the ultimate self-sacrifice. But was Samson the hero he’s … More Samson: Hero or Cautionary Tale?
1. And YHWH said to Moshe saying: Speak to the Children of Yisrael, and say to them, and they shall make for themselves sisith [fringe/tassel] on the extremities of their garments throughout their generations, and they shall place upon the sisith [fringe/tassel] of the extremity a twisted thread of blue. And it shall be to … More Tzitzit
We’ve finished Yesheyahu (Isaiah) and moved on to Yeremyahu (Jeremiah). One of the images that Yeremyahu uses in his prophecy is that of a cuckolded husband forgiving his wayward wife or ex-wife. This theme first appears in chapter three, in which G-d says, in essence, that the Law forbids a man to take his wife … More Thoughts from Yirmiyahu 3
The Lord G-D hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. –Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 50:4 As I read yesterday in Yeshayahu 50, this verse caught my … More The definition of wisdom
Every morning we read a chapter of the TaNaKh aloud around the breakfast table. Since the Parsha schedule takes us through the Torah every year, we use our breakfast reading as an opportunity to hear the rest of the scripture. Right now, we are in Yesheyahu (Isaiah). Today’s chapter was 47. In it, G-d addresses … More When Virtue Becomes Vice
The Bible Unearthed is a book and documentary on the theories of Israel Finkelstein, a professor of archaeology at Tel Aviv University, and Neil Asher Silberman, a contributing editor for Archaeology Magazine. The documentary discusses the archaeological evidence of the stories contained in the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures). The Bible Unearthed presents the narrow academic view … More The Bible Unearthed: A Review
The role and rights of women according to the Torah (and the examples set in the rest of the TaNaKh) are important to me, and not only because I am a woman. The biblical portrayal of women has set the tone for the treatment of women throughout both Western civilization and the Muslim world. It … More The Rights of Women in Judaism
About 3500 years ago (see post on dating of the Exodus), Moshe (Moses) led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the wilderness. At Mt. Sinai, Moshe gave the Israelites the ten basic commandments and then went on to write a complete constitution for the construction of an entire civilization–a complete society with the basics … More History of Karaite Judaism
Silver Trumpets 