This is a double parsha, made up of parshas Behar and Bechukotai. The seven aliyot of this week’s reading are indicated by special aliyah markings within those two parshas in the Chumash. Parshiyot Behar and Bechukotai are power-packed doubleheaders, this one emphasizing the connection between the Jew and Eretz Yisrael. The lunisolar Hebrew calendar contains up to 55 weeks, the exact number varying between 50 in common years and 54 or 55 in leap years. In leap years, parshah Bechukotai is read separately. In common years, parshah Bechukotai is combined with the previous parshah, Behar, to help achieve the needed number of weekly readings. Behar: The thirty-second reading from the Torah and second-to-last reading from the book of Leviticus is called Behar (בהר), which means “On the Mountain.” The name comes from the first words of the first verse of the reading, which could be literally translated to [...]
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Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before HaShem alien fire, which He had not enjoined upon them. 2 And fire came forth from HaShem and consumed them; thus they died at the instance of HaShem. [Vayikra 10:1-3] This weeks Torah reading deals in part with the death o ...
Italy is located centrally in the Mediterranean sea and served as an important crossroad and an intersection between North and South, East and West, Sephardic and Ashkenazi culture. That’s why Italy has a very important role in Jewish history and genealogy. Italy contains some of the oldest Jewish Communities in Europe. Jews arrived in South ...
"Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he who observes Torah, happy is he." – Proverbs 29:18 A pastor was visiting a rabbi friend, when the pastor asked, "What do you believe the world to come is like?" The rabbi responded, "Where the righteous dwell for eternity, one may study Torah all day long, without e ...
Yom Kippur,יום כיפור means "Day of expiation". It occurs on the tenth day of the month of Tishrei and puts an end to the "Ten Days of Awe" which are the days of repentance that start on the first day of the month of Tishrei, for Rosh Hashana. Each one is called on this special day ...
…In the seventh month, on the first of the month, there shall be a sabbath for you, a remembrance with shofar blasts, a holy convocation. -Leviticus 23:24 (Note: when any Bible holiday falls any day, that day becomes Shabbat / Sabbath, even if it is Tuesday). Rosh Hashanah occurs on the first and second days of Tishri. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashana ...
הבשורה טובה הגאולה What language was the Besora Tova HaGeula (Good News of Redemption) written in? Most people will tell you it was written in Greek. They go on to tell you that it was the "language of the day". They say everything during that ...
As a bible believer I believe that the Palestinian (Arabs from the Arabian peninsula) should have their own state. They should have their own democratic government running their own issue (Hamas not Fatah, who was not democratic elected). They should have their own territory, which they would be able to rule as they wish, and they should be able to ...
We are entering the Hebrew month of Sivan – ראש חדש סיון. Since the last month had 29 days it is celebrated only one day this month which has 30 days. Sivan is the third month of the year as Torah describes it. The first day of Sivan the people encamped at Mt. Sinai preparing to rece ...
In the Talmud it is written, "When will the Messiah come?" And "By what sign may I recognize him?" Elijah tells the rabbi to go to the gate of the city where he will find the Messiah sitting among the poor lepers (Sanhedrin 98a). "The Messiah — what is his name?… The sages say, the Leper Scholar, as it is s ...
This year, This April 7th 2013 / 27th of Nisan, 5773 is Yom Hashoa v’Hag’vurah- Holocaust Memorial Day. Really it is the Day of the Martyrs and Heroes . begins on Sunday, April 11th starting at sundown and continues through Monday, April 12th at sundown. The commemoration of Yom Hashoah is held on the 27th day of Nissan, one week after ...
The beginnings of Jewish history in Iran date back to late Biblical times. The biblical books of Isaiah, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles, and Esther contain references to the life and experiences of Jews in Persia. In the book of Ezra, the Persian kings are credited with permitting and enabling the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their T ...
Chol HaMoed Pesach or Chol Ha-Moed Pesach (also transliterated from Hebrew as: Hol HaMoed Pesach or Hol Ha-Moed Pesach) refers to the intermediate or middle days of the Passover or Pesach festival as well as another Jewish festival, the autumn harvest festival of Sukkot. Literally-speaking, Chol HaMoed means "The Non-Holy Appointed Time" ...
A kippah (plural: kippot) or yarmulke pronunciation (also called a skullcap) is a thin, slightly-rounded skullcap traditionally worn at all times by observant Jewish men! There are different proposed etymologies for the word yarmulke. According to most mainstream etymologists, it is a Yiddish word (ירמולקא) ...
Anti-Jewish riots occurred in Spain during the summer of 1391. Large communities were completely destroyed, many Jews died and many others converted to the Catholic faith. Efforts to force the Jews to convert to Christianity continued until 1414 (the year of the Disputation of Tortosa). During this period about one third of the Jews died, and anoth ...
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