The Spirit Gives Life The Hebrew word שָׁבֻעֹת֙ – Shavuot (sha-voo-ot) literally means ‘weeks’. Exodus 34:22 says, “And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest.” The phrase ‘feast of weeks’ is translated from the Hebrew – חַ֤ג שָׁבֻעֹת֙ – chag shavuot. In Modern Hebrew, the word חג – means[…]
Remember the Six Million A few years ago at the Yom HaShoah ceremony here in Charleston, one of the Rabbi’s present reminded everyone that Jewish people always take their past with them forward into the present. He gave the example of the children of Israel taking the bones of Joseph with them as they[…]
Birth of the Miracle Nation Mah Nishtanah HaLila HaZeh MiKol HaLayLot …And so begins the Passover Seder as the youngest person present traditionally gets to ask what is know as “the Four Questions”. In Hebrew, we actually “sing” them and it turns out that the “Four Questions” are really four answers to one big question: “Why[…]
For Such a Time as This The holiday of Purim (Hebrew: פּוּרִים – Pûrîm “lots”) commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire where a plot had been formed to destroy them by the second-in-command of the Persian empire – Haman. takes place in the Persian (Hebrew: פרס) royal city of[…]
A Dark Time in History The year was 167 BC and it was a very dark time in the land of Israel. Since Israel was the linchpin of three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa, the main trade corridor to all destinations had always passed through Israel making it prime real estate for surrounding kings. (It[…]