"How" a destroyed Temple might have appeared -- should it have been spared  . . .  This Shabbat (Sabbath) is 'Shabbat Nachamu' -- which, considering the historical and commemorative stories of this immediate last month, has come pretty much in the nick of time, however perhaps too late for this … [Read more...]

How is it that Jerusalem is both reunited and rebuilt and yet this book and its chant are still around . . . what is its purpose any longer? Lamentations ... "Our dancing is turned into mourning. נָֽפְלָה֙ עֲטֶ֣רֶת רֹאשֵׁ֔נוּ אֽוֹי־נָ֥א לָ֖נוּ כִּ֥י חָטָֽאנוּ׃ The crown has fallen from our … [Read more...]

The period of the 'Three Weeks' in which we find ourselves . . . and it is often associated with blame and even messianism . . . There are serious issues associated with these 'three weeks' -- and they become even more serious from the beginning of the month of Av (this Thursday evening) for the … [Read more...]

A Jerusalem Visit in a Never Ending Time of Change Where are these women from and how did they get in there . . . In the Wilderness 27:6 (Book of Numbers) Tribal Allotments . . . And יהוה said to Moses, כֵּ֗ן בְּנ֣וֹת צְלׇפְחָד֮ דֹּבְרֹת֒ נָתֹ֨ן תִּתֵּ֤ן לָהֶם֙ אֲחֻזַּ֣ת נַחֲלָ֔ה … [Read more...]

Reading the future? There is a people that dwells apart, Not reckoned among the nations . . . What the Hell -- you hired a hitman to curse me? The Book of Numbers 22–25 (also known as "In the Wilderness") presents an intricate and carefully crafted story about Balak, the king of Moab, who … [Read more...]