I wrote a column about this word before. But I thought about it again when I wrote my new book “Roots and Rituals,” and there

The term “Chashmonai” is widely used in the rabbinic literature about Chanukah. But nowhere in I Maccabees and II Maccabees is the term used, and

Hallel comprises Tehillim chapters 113-118. I will discuss these words in the order they appear. עקרת: Here the meaning is “barren, without children.” Most of

Since Kislev is the month of a Jewish military “nitzachon,” I thought I would discuss the root “netzach.” I always knew that N-Tz-Ch was an

In Toldot, at the end of Chapter 26, we are told that Eisav took two Hittite wives and these became “morat ruach” to Yitzchak and

Michael Oren was Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. during President Obama’s first term. The first part of the book tells us about Oren’s early years.

I came across an interesting article recently. The article is by a scholar named Elaine Goodfriend, and it discusses the division of the Torah into

The phrase “mi natan la-sechvi vinah?” (=who gave the “sechvi” understanding?) is found at Job 38:36. The verse has two parts: who put wisdom in

Dr. Moshe Sokolow, a professor of Bible at Yeshiva University for many years, and associate dean of Azrieli, came out with this book in 2015.

“Erev” (evening) and “boker” (morning) are words that are well-known to us. How did these words develop these meanings? The root ayin-resh-bet has several meanings,

The root Sh-N-H has two meanings in Tanach. On the one hand, it means “to repeat.” (Of course, the word sheni, second, comes from this

Right after the shofar is blown we recite a set of verses. The first of these is “Ashrei ha-am yodei teruah…” from Psalms 89:16. Based