We are all familiar with two very different arks that are mentioned in the Bible: The Ark of Noah and the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of...

Reuven Chaim Klein My wife and I were once traveling in the subway in Los Angeles, and a friendly African-American stopped us to ask,...

In one of Isaiah’s prophecies (that happens to be read as the Haftarah for Parshat Lech Lecha), he describes G-d as, “The Giver of...

The Hebrew word for a blind person is iver. Cognates of that word appear in such Biblical quotations as “Do not put a stumbling block in...

The two seemingly unrelated stories in this week’s Parshah find common ground in bowing. When telling of Abraham buying the plot that...

The word “maybe” in English is neutral; it belies not the speaker’s preference regarding the possibility of which he speaks. The same is...

My wife and I were once travelling in the subway in Los Angeles, and a friendly African-American stopped us to ask, “Hey! Are you guys...

I’m not a geologist, nor do I pretend to be one. But I do think that we can draw some fascinating insights into the Holy Language by...

The Gift of Giving Ahead of the epic meeting of brothers, Jacob sent his older brother Esau quite a generous tribute, consisting of 550...

A “messenger of G-d” refers to either an angel or a prophet, but what about a “messenger of Jacob”? When Jacob sent a message of peace to...

Olives and Oil During these days of Chanuka, everybody is talking about the miracle of the Menorah and the jug of shemen zayit zach (pure...

When a very pregnant Rivka consulted with the prophets Shem and Ever to find out what is in store for her unborn child, she was informed...

Playing with Fire When telling of the future downfall of the descendants of Esau, the prophet Ovadiah (Obadiah 1:18) refers to the House...

Speaking in Tongues In the Hebrew language, there are two different words for “language”—safa and lashon. If taken hyper-literally these...

In the Hebrew language there are two different words for “language” — safa and lashon. If taken hyper-literally, these two words actually...

Upon his deathbed, Yaakov bequeaths to his favorite son Joseph the city of Shechem “which I took from the Amorites with my sword and my...

When G-d appoints Moshe as His emissary to redeem the Jewish People from their Egyptian bondage, He splits the leadership position into...

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com The Pharaoh and the King I still remember my fifth grade Rebbe, Rabbi A. Y. Berman, asking the one...

Before bringing the Plague of Blood, G-d tells Aharon to stretch out his staff over the different bodies of water in Egypt. He tells...

Just Because Before the Plague of Hail, Moshe warns the Pharaoh that he truly deserves to be killed, but that G-d had said, “nonetheless,...