Was the fruit of Tree of Life from which Adam and Eve ate really an apple? While Genesis 2:7 never identifies the actual fruit, Jewish tradition has several opinions on the matter: fig, grapes, wheat, quince, pomegranate, nuts...

Malachi in Hebrew means “My Messenger.” However, not everyone agress that was the prophet’s true name. In unmasking the identity of the prophet Malachi, some Jewish commentaries suggest that he was Mordechai from the Book of Esther (10:3)....

In the section dealing with returning lost objects (Deuteronomy 22:13), the Bible uses a peculiar word in verse 2, ואספתו, you shall gather. This Hebrew word appears only one other time in the Bible; II Kings 5:6; the...

When the bible first mentions the splitting of the Red Sea, it states: the waters were a wall to them on their right and on their left (Exodus 14:22 & 29). The “walls of water” are confirmed in...

Six words found in Deuteronomy (6:4) ¬ shema yisrael, adonai elohaynu adonai ehad (Hear O Israel! The LORD our God, the LORD is one!) have become the central credo of Judaism. The Shema is the first prayer a...

Jacob was left alone, and a man (ish) wrestled with him until the rise of dawn (Genesis 32:25). Who was this unknown assailant Jacob was struggling with? Many commentators identify him as angel. An alternative approach to the...

Common translation of the name God gave to the first person is Adam. In Biblical Hebrew, the name of man is Adom (אדם) meaning earth. The term is also an acronym of the words dust (אפר), blood (דם)...

In the Hebraic calendar, we began the month of Elul – אלול, a time for personal and communal introspection to prepare for the upcoming holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. The four Hebrew letters of Elul are...