“I am YHWH your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, out of the house of slavery, you have no other mighty ones against My face.” Exodus 20:2-3 ISR You have no other – Why is this a commandment? Why is it the first commandment? Why is it that nowhere in the…
And YHWH Elohim formed Man out of dry, loose earth dirt, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living person. Genesis 2:7 (my translation) Breath / living – If you read this verse in Hebrew, you will be impressed at its internal elegance. There is alliteration (adam – afar…
In a place where there are no people, strive to be a man. Rabbi Hillel Pirke Avot 2:6B No People – Hillel’s saying is not an endorsement of the monastic life. He is not suggesting that we strive to become truly human in the wilderness. What Hillel means is this: there are plenty of communities…
And YHWH called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:9 Where – God is looking for you. That fact is fundamental to human being. God considers you an object of His concern. He is seeking you out. If this were not the case, you would be nothing more than the…
But I in Your kindness do trust, my heart exults in Your rescue. Psalm 13:6 (Hebrew text translation by Robert Alter) Kindness – What does your résumé say about you? My guess is that it contains a lot of the things that you have done. It’s a summary of your accomplishments, but it doesn’t say…
For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says “Do not fear, I will help you”. Isaiah 41: 13 Help – It takes a long time to get to the place where we ask for help. In a culture where self-sufficiency is the measure of personal worth, we often know…
“The heart is deceitful above all things and it is incurable. Who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9 Deceitful – We don’t think of the heart as an inside scheming deceiver. After all, we know ourselves pretty well, don’t we? We know when we lie and when we tell the truth, so why does God (He…
“its desire is for you, but you must master it.” Genesis 4:7 Desire – Once again I am indebted to the splendid work of Rabbi David Fohrman for this insight. We have looked at this word before, noting its unusual connection to ‘ezer, the Hebrew term that identifies “woman” at her creation. But Rabbi Fohrman…
These are the ones setting themselves apart, animal-like ones, not having the Spirit. Jude 19 Animal-like Ones – What happens when men and women continue to resist God? Most would say that they will perish in their sin. That’s true, but that puts the focus on the end of their lives. Jude offers an additional…
