The title of today’s Sidra is Lech Lecha which means go for yourself. This interesting expression occurs only once more in the entire Bible, in the story of the Binding of Isaac. This means that it symbolises Abram’s unique mission to go and spread the knowledge of God everywhere. There are two explanations for the word […]
This week we are reading the Sidra of No’ach. It is interesting to note that if we change the order of the two letters that make up this name, we form the Hebrew word CHEN, which means favour or beauty. The last verse of the Sidra BERESHIT reads: “No’ach found favour in the eyes of […]
This morning we begin yet again a new cycle of Torah reading. The name of the first book of the Torah, as well as the first Sidra is Bereshit, which means at the beginning. The word comes from Hebrew word ROSH, which means head. The Shabbat has a special title: Shabbat Bereshit. The book should […]
The Hebrew name of today’s Sidra means he went. In its number of verses, it is the shortest Sidra of the year, but it is read on its own only rarely, when Yom Kippur falls on either Wednesday or Thursday. The Sidra sets out Moses speech on the last day of his life. It is interesting […]
This week’s Sidra begins with Moses’ declaration that the Israelites were standing ready in front of the Lord in order to make another covenant with him. This covenant was made in the Land of Moab and it was a renewal of the covenant that had originally been made in Mount Chorev, another name for Mount […]
The meaning of the name of today’s Sidra is “when you come”. Moses continues his final speech by referring to the mitzvah of BIKKURIM, the First Fruit, which the Israelites were commanded to observe as soon as they entered the land. This passage is, therefore, linked to the previous commandment, mentioned in the last paragraph of the […]
The meaning of the name of this morning’s Sidra is when you go out. It continues with the subject of war, with the previous Sidra concluded. This is the reason why the Sidra begins in the middle of a chapter. The Christians, who divided the Bible into chapters, did not regard this law as the beginning […]
The meaning of the name of today’s Sidra is JUDGES. The Torah commands us to appoint judges and officers to keep social order. The first verse reads: “You shall appoint judges and officers throughout your gates, i.e. cities, which the Lord your God is giving you, in the territory of every one of your tribes, […]
The meaning of the Hebrew name of today’s Sidra is: See. In the first sentence Moses tells the Israelites that he is giving to them the possibility to choose between the blessing and the curse. The syntax of this verse is striking. It begins by addressing one single person and continues by addressing the entire […]
The literal meaning of the Hebrew name of today’s Sidra is FOOTSTEPS. Here it is used in a borrowed sense to mean result, consequence or reward. Therefore, the first sentence means: “It will be, as a reward, for listening to all these commandments… that, the Lord will fulfil the terms of the covenant to love […]