Tag Archives: Tanakh

The Coming Solar Eclipse

What might the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024 mean for the world? What is the spiritual significance of solar and lunar eclipses? And how do we reconcile the notion that eclipses are signs from Heaven with the scientific understanding that eclipses are natural and easily predictable long in advance?

Find out in this class, where we also explore the symbolism of sun and moon in Judaism, the mysterious Antikythera Mechanism, the numerological meaning of the number 30, and conclude with the little-known prophecies of Yoel – and what they might have to do with what’s going in in Israel and the world today.

For more on ‘The Kabbalah of Solar’, see here.
For more on reciting blessings on natural phenomena, see here.
And download a free handy PDF ‘blessings companion’ here.

Things You Didn’t Know About Samaritans

In this week’s parasha, Ki Tavo, we read how God commanded that when the Israelites cross into the Holy Land, they should first make a stop upon two special mountains: Mount Gerizim and Mount Eval (Deuteronomy 27:12-13). The Tribes of Israel should split between the two mountains; six of them would set up on Mount Gerizim and six on Mount Eval. Then, a series of blessings would be proclaimed from atop Mount Gerizim, and a series of curses from atop Mount Eval. The people would answer “amen!” to signify their agreement. This would serve as one final reminder of their covenant with God before they settle down in their apportioned lands and get on with their new lives.

Har Gerizim in 1912

Today, that mountain of blessing, Mount Gerizim, is still venerated by the world’s last community of Samaritans, numbering less than 1000 people. About half of them live in the Israeli city of Holon, and the other half live around Mount Gerizim itself, in the village of Kiryat Luza, once part of the Biblical site of Shechem and currently the Palestinian town of Nablus (an Arabic corruption of the Roman title Neapolis). For the Samaritans, Mount Gerizim is the holiest place on Earth. They believe this is supposed to be the true location of the Holy Temple. They believe this is where Abraham bound Isaac during the Akedah. They believe this is the mountain upon which the Mishkan first rested, and where sacrifices to Hashem were originally brought. In other words, Gerizim is the Samaritan “Jerusalem”. Who, exactly, are the Samaritans? Continue reading →

Apocrypha, Part 1: Understanding Tanakh

Join us as we embark on a journey exploring the Sifrei Hitzonim (“Apocrypha”), the ancient texts that were deliberately suppressed and excluded from the Tanakh. In this first part of the series, we explore who wrote the Tanakh, how it was compiled, and what criteria were used in its canonization. We also take a look at why some Biblical books almost didn’t make the cut.

Along the way, we discuss whether the Book of Daniel is truly prophetic or not, why some sought to “cancel” the Book of Ezekiel, the surprising apocryphal Book of Esther, and why Shir haShirim is so graphic and explicit.

For the class on the four Sages who ascended to Heaven and saw Metatron, see here.

For a class on the secret of chashmal, the “electricity” of the Divine Chariot, see here.

For more on the translation of the Tanakh into Greek and why it was tragic, see here. 

For more on the Dome of the Rock and the Foundation Stone, see here.