Preparing ourselves for Yom Kippur
We are just a few days away from Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and probably the most important day of the year for...
1. The Prophet and His Mission
יהי דבר ה 'אל יונה בן אמיתי לאמר
The book of Yona is read on the day of Kippur, in the afternoon, at Mincha prayer....
2. Escaping from God
God ordered Yona to go to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, and the largest city in the world at that time (eighth century BCE)....
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?
Yona'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 TORAH AND THE SEA
One of the most fascinating elements of...
