Tag Archives: Sha’ar HaGilgulim

How Abraham Was Rectified in Solomon

1896 Illustration of King Solomon Drafting the First Temple

In this week’s parasha, Chayei Sarah, we read about the final years of Abraham’s incredible life. Following this, we read the Haftarah which explores the arrangements made for the ascendance of King Solomon to the throne. We know that the Sages carefully selected the Haftarot due to their intrinsic connection to the parasha. A superficial look might suggest that the Haftarah for Chayei Sarah was chosen because it begins with King David being described as “old, advanced in days” (I Kings 1:1) exactly as Abraham is described in Chayei Sarah (Genesis 24:1). However, the Haftarah is not really about David, it is about Solomon and his status as the rightful heir to the throne.

What does Solomon’s kingship have to do with Abraham’s life? At first glance, they seem to be completely unrelated. Yet when we look carefully, we find some stunning connections between Abraham and Solomon. In fact, it quickly becomes clear that Solomon was the reincarnation of Abraham, and fulfilled the life of the first patriarch. Continue reading

Greatest Women in Tanakh

In this week’s parasha, Pinchas, we read about the righteous daughters of Tzelofchad. Recall that the five daughters (Machlah, Noa, Haglah, Milkah, and Tirzah) had no male siblings, and their father had passed away, so they inquired about their inheritance. Are daughters allowed to inherit? It might sound like a straight-forward “yes”, but it was much more complicated in ancient Israel. Continue reading

How Many Israelites Actually Left Egypt?

This week we start reading the fourth book of the Torah, Bamidbar, more commonly known as “Numbers” since it begins with a detailed census of the Israelites. The Torah concludes that there was a total of 603,550 men at this point in the Wilderness, implying a general population of about 3 million people. Or does it? While these are the numbers one generally hears when it comes to the question of how many Jews were present at the Exodus (about 600,000 men, and something like 3 million people when accounting for their families), there is an alternate way to read the Torah which might actually make far more sense.

(Please read the following with an open mind, and do not jump to any conclusions until you’ve read through to the end!)

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