In my Support Team Study, Netanyahu Schools the Pope, I talk about whether Yeshua’s mother-tongue was Hebrew or Aramaic, the importance of the Hebrew word “et” (aleph tav), and how Yeshua of Nazareth became a Jewish “settler” in the Galilee. Linda wrote: “Thank you, Nehemia, for once again broadening my thinking and understanding.” Continue reading
One of my earliest childhood memories was Sukkot of 1976, when I was 3.5 years old. I remember sitting in the family Sukkah, looking up through the branches that formed the roof, at the clouds as they whisked across the sky. We lived in a 17-story condominium and there was no obvious place to build a Sukkah. My father (of blessed memory), an Orthodox rabbi, asked permission to build a Sukkah in his designated parking space. When his request was turned down by the condominium board, my mother came up with the idea of building our Sukkah on the back of a U-Haul trailer. Continue reading
On the 10th day of the Seventh Month (Tishrei) is the holiday known as Yom Ha-Kipurim (or Yom Kippur), "The Day of Atonement". This is a day dedicated to fasting and prayer on which we ask Yehovah to atone for our sins. Continue reading
On the 1st day of the Seventh Month (Tishrei) the Torah commands us to observe the holy day of Yom Teruah which means “Day of Shouting” (Leviticus 23:23-25; Numbers 29:1-6). Yom Teruah is a day of rest on which work is forbidden. Continue reading
Popular legend has it that the Karaites, and the Sadducees before them, interpreted the words "and they shall be for Totafot between your eyes" literally, and as a result wore Tefillin (Phylacteries) right above their noses. One version of the story claims that the Sadducees were wiped out because of this practice. The legend goes that they kept bumping into walls and since their Tefillin were between their eyes (instead of on their foreheads), their noses were sent shattering into their brains, killing them instantly. The Karaites and other deniers of the "Oral Law" are portrayed as bumbling idiots who through their foolish practices wiped themselves out. The message of this story is that it is impossible to live (literally) as a Karaite, and therefore we need the "Oral Law" to save us from this savage extinction. Continue reading
In Leviticus 19:27-28 we are commanded:
"(27) You shall not round the edge of your head, nor shall you destroy the edge of your beard. (28) And you shall not make a cutting for the dead in your flesh, nor shall you make a written tattoo upon you; I am Yehovah." Continue reading
"and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz." Ezekiel 8:14
Most modern Jews refer to the Fourth Hebrew Month as "Tammuz", the name of a pagan fertility deity mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel. Continue reading
In Hebrew Voices, A Disastrous Understanding of the Name Yehovah, Nehemia Gordon explains the meaning of Yehovah, the mistake people make thinking it has to do with “destruction”, and how Yahweh in Gnostic sources is the god of chaos. Listen to the short podcast, and then check out the detailed grammatical explanation below, of how we know Yehovah has nothing to do with the Hebrew word for “destruction”. Suzette wrote: "Forgive me, I was one of those people who knew just enough Hebrew to be dangerous… Thanks for the article!" Continue reading
On Chag Ha-Sukkot, Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) we are commanded to build a Sukkah (Booth) using as building materials the "4 species" listed in Lev 23:40. Rabbinical tradition teaches that a bundle of these building materials must be ritually waved in the air during the festival. Continue reading
One Yom Kippur I watched a great movie, the original 1927 film The Jazz Singer. This was the first "talkie," containing several scenes with sound, although most of it was still silent. The second “talking” scene in the movie - actually, the second non-silent scene in movie history - features a Jewish cantor singing Kol Nidre, a famous Yom Kippur prayer in Aramaic. This alone makes the movie worth watching. Just imagine an American audience in 1927. The first time they see a "talking" movie. And it’s a Rabbi singing a Jewish prayer in Aramaic! Continue reading