eTeacher's Biblical Hebrew Blog

How to remember the past in the present?

5 years ago, when I married my wife, I read two verses from Psalms 137. This chapter is a mixture of past, present and future in the history of the Israelites. Today we are going to speak about the past and the present. The past is the destruction of the First Temple and the people [...]

What’s the best song in the Bible?

The book of Psalms ends with a beautiful psalm that is music to our ears. When I read these last words of this book, my heart is full of excitement, I can feel the Levites who were standing on the Temple’s stairs, when G-d was praised. Let’s enjoy the words, as written: “ הַלְלוּ-יָהּ: הַלְלוּ-אֵל בְּקָדְשׁוֹ; [...]

Can we return to Egypt?

There are three places in the Pentateuch that forbid the Israelites to come back to Egypt, after they left it. The first is in Exodus 14:13- ” וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל-הָעָם, אַל-תִּירָאוּ–הִתְיַצְּבוּ וּרְאוּ אֶת-יְשׁוּעַת יְהוָה, אֲשֶׁר-יַעֲשֶׂה לָכֶם הַיּוֹם: כִּי, אֲשֶׁר רְאִיתֶם אֶת-מִצְרַיִם הַיּוֹם–לֹא תֹסִפוּ לִרְאֹתָם עוֹד, עַד-עוֹלָם” ” But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear [...]

Are we ready to listen?

The destruction of the First Temple was a shocking event in the history of the Israelites. However, not everyone remembers that in the Promised Land stayed people who were very confused about the future to come. Jeremiah, who was the prophet in this period, was asked to help those people to reach an important decision, [...]