‘Shefoch Chamatecha’
After Birkat Hamazon, and before “Lo Lanu,” the widespread custom today is to recite a selection of verses beginning with “Shefoch Chamatecha.” The present Ashkenazic
April 12, 2025
After Birkat Hamazon, and before “Lo Lanu,” the widespread custom today is to recite a selection of verses beginning with “Shefoch Chamatecha.” The present Ashkenazic
I always wondered about the word נגיד in Tanach. It means “leader,” sometimes referring to a king. (A famous Jewish leader in 11th century Spain
Eighteen times in Tanach we have the phrase “mikra kodesh” (in the singular or plural) used as a description of the holidays. Only one of
In 2020, I wrote a column summarizing some of the material in Stuart Eizenstat’s 2018 book: “President Carter: The White House Years.” I thought it
This is an interesting and unresolved issue in the story. Here are the surrounding verses and the full context: Verse 17: “The king loved Esther
I am here going to summarize a review essay in Tradition, volume 57, winter 2025. The essay is by Marc Herman, an assistant professor at
I have always wondered about this topic. Periodically, I would google something like, “Hebrew Final Letters,” but I never found anything helpful. I have a
At Exodus 23:5, we are told that if one sees the donkey of one’s enemy lying (on the ground) under his burden, “Ve-chadalta mei-azov lo,
Part II As I wrote in the first part of this series, I would like to explain what I do and educate you a bit
The noun חיל (chayil) appears over 200 times in Tanach. It has a few different meanings: Army: See, e.g., Exodus 14:28, “chail Pharaoh” (army of
The verb פרנס (to distribute, supply) has four root letters. This makes us think it did not originate in Hebrew as Hebrew roots normally have
This is a phrase that appears in the context of the plague on the first born. Here are verses 11:6-7: “There shall be a loud
