Rabbi David Bashevkin, director of education for NCSY and an instructor at Yeshiva University (and Teaneck resident), has just authored a fascinating book. The creative
Seder: A word with this root appears only one time in Tanach, at Job 10:22 (sedarim). As we would expect, it means “order.” Karpas: This
The Mishnah in the 10th chapter of Pesacḥim includes a set of Ma Nishtana. If one opens a standard Babylonian Talmud (Pesacḥim 116a), one sees
In our Kiddush every Shabbat morning we recite the following phrase from Ex. 31:17: “For six days God created the heaven and the earth and
“Sanverim” (samech-nun-vav-resh-yod-mem) appears only three times in Tanach: at Genesis 19:11 and II Kings 6:18 (twice). The first is when the men who pressed Lot
Part III Haglah (2:6): exiled, caused to go away, from the root G-L-H. This root has two different meanings: “uncover/reveal” and “go away/emigrate.” An interesting
Nun-Shin-Kof is an interesting root because it has two different meanings: “kiss” and “military equipment.” Could these meanings be related? After all, the purpose of
Part II Medinah (1:1 and elsewhere): province, region. This word does not appear in the Torah but it appears in Nach, starting with I Kings
Part II Medinah (1:1 and elsewhere): province, region. This word does not appear in the Torah but it appears in Nach, starting with I Kings
This is a fascinating book that was written in 1981, shortly after Ezer Weizman served as defense minister. Why the strange title? Battles are usually
I had always wondered what view of dreams was reflected in biblical Hebrew. My initial thought was that Ḥ-L-M might have derived from Ḥ-L-H (sick).
We have all been bothered for decades by the following fundamental question. If the root K-D-Sh means “holy,” how could “kedeshah” mean “prostitute”? Note that
