3. Why Did Yona Run Away?
וַיֵּ֨רֶד יָפ֜וֹ וַיִּמְצָ֥א אָנִיָּ֣ה ׀ בָּאָ֣ה תַרְשִׁ֗ישׁ וַיִּתֵּ֨ן שְׂכָרָ֜הּ וַיֵּ֤רֶד בָּהּ֙ לָב֤וֹא עִמָּהֶם֙ תַּרְשִׁ֔ישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵ֖י ה‘
And Yona went down Jaffa; and found ...
4. Hitting Rock Bottom
וה‘ הֵטִ֤יל רֽוּחַ־גְּדוֹלָה֙ אֶל־הַיָּ֔ם וַיְהִ֥י סַֽעַר־גָּד֖וֹל בַּיָּ֑ם וְהָ֣אֳנִיָּ֔ה חִשְּׁבָ֖ה לְהִשָּׁבֵֽר׃
Verse 4: And God sent a mighty wind into the sea, and it became a...
5. Who loaded the dice?
Yonah's ship is caught in a terrible storm and about to collapse. The whole crew is trying to get the water out and praying....
6. ¿Jew or Hebrew?
עברי אנוכי ואת ה' אלקי השמים אני ירא
Jewish law rejects the notion of invoking divine intervention in chance, with the purpose of divination. This...
7. Yona and My Mission Statement
י וַיִּֽירְא֤וּ הָֽאֲנָשִׁים֙ יִרְאָ֣ה גְדוֹלָ֔ה וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ אֵלָ֖יו מַה-זֹּ֣את עָשִׂ֑יתָ כִּֽי-יָדְע֣וּ הָאֲנָשִׁ֗ים כִּֽי-מִלִּפְנֵ֤י יְדוָד֙ ה֣וּא בֹרֵ֔חַ כִּ֥י הִגִּ֖יד לָהֶֽם:
The storm threatens to sink the ship...
8. The Day After the Storm
ויאמר אליהם שאוני והטילני אל הים וישתק הים מעליכם כי יודע אני כי בשלי הסער הגדול הזה עליכם
VERSES 11-15
" the sailors asked : -...
9. The lesson we learned from the first chapter
We are finishing the first of the four chapters of the book of Yona
THE TORA AND THE SEA
One of the most fascinating elements of...
ADAM and DAVID: A 70 Years Gift
By Shemuel Bitton (edited by Tehila B.)
We know that Adam, the first person created, lived a long life of 930 years. But our Rabbis...
Hilkhot Teshuba 3:1-8 Teshuba and the tipping point
In the third chapter of his Hilkhot Teshuba Maimonides explains that in terms of religious behavior, there are three categories of people: rasha’, tsadiq...
THIRD TRIAL: Now you see Me, now you don’t
“אַל תִּירָא אַבְרָם אָנֹכִי מָגֵן לָך”
Do not fear Abraham, I (HaShem) am protecting you.
Bereshit, 15:1-
Abraham arrives in the land of Canaan, identifying and obeying...
Tehiyat haMetim and the new evolution theory
Yesterday we explained that the last one of the 13 principles of the Jewish faith is the belief in Tehiyat haMetim, or resurrection. We...
What should I think while listening to the Shofar?
“When the doors of compassion are opening, on the day that I will lift my hands in prayer to God, please, Almighty, keep in...
ACHOT QETANA: The First Prayer Of The Year
HARD TIMESIn just over a month we will celebrate Rosh HaShana, the new year 5782. To officially inaugurate the Rosh HaShana prayer, on the...
The 9th of Ab and Religious Hypocrisy
This Shabbat morning (July 17th) we will begin reading the book of Debarim and at the end we will read a special Haftara from...
From the 17th of Tamuz to the 9th of Ab
From the 17 of Tamuz (last July 6th) until the 9 of Ab (July 26/27 ) we observe some mourning customs and restrictions in...
2. The Lion, the Stork, and the Third Bet haMiqdash (ca....
After the destruction of the Bet haMiqdash, Jews were permanently humiliated by the Romans, who were in power. First, in the times of Emperor...
4. The 9th of Ab of 130 CE: The Least Known...
כֹּה אָמַר ה' צִיּוֹן שָׂדֶה תֵחָרֵשׁ, וִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִיִּים תִּהְיֶה
We are explaining now one of the five tragic events that we remember on the 9th...
Building, Planting and Shopping During The Nine Days
Once the month of Ab begins, "our happiness decreases", because we are preparing ourselves, gradually and emotionally, for the 9th of Ab, the day...
Music, before Tisha BeAb
MUSIC AND MOURNING
As we have already explained, during the three weeks between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Ab we observe...
