The Book of Samuel 31 records King Saul’s dying breath. Against all odds, he had battled the Philistines. His would be the last stand of a soldier’s soldier. Looming large is a question of morality, a burning ethical quandary: Saul’s suicide. Abravanel unpacks this ageless problem. ”Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in...
 

”And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the South, and upon Ziklag, and had smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire” Recall that in the last chapter we read that David and his men were relieved of active duty because of King Achish’s commanders’ distrust and dread of David...
 

The Book of Samuel 29 writes about the upcoming battle between the Hebrews and the Philistines, but with a twist. Readers follow this narrative from the perspective of the Philistine army camp, with whom David and company were embedded. Recall from an earlier chapter (Samuel 27), David escaped King Saul’s repeated attempts on his life by relocating to Gat, territory controlled by Philistines. There, David befriended Gat’s King...
 

King Saul’s reign appears to have been erratic, as the last several chapters convey. On the one hand he contributed much in securing his brethren’s national safety. After all, that is a king’s main job. On the other hand, on occasion, the king displayed dereliction of duty, something about which the seer Samuel berated Saul. ”And Samuel said to Saul: Why have you disquieted me, to bring...
 

In the Book of Samuel 28, readers encounter a séance. By way of backdrop, our lead verse tells of the prophet Samuel’s death. While alive, King Saul systematically sought Samuel’s steadfast support. With Samuel gone, the king sorely lamented, as did all the Hebrews. ”Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him and buried him in Ramah…And Saul had put away those that divined by...
 

The Book of Samuel 28 presents bizarre twists and turns in David’s career. For now, we’ll focus on this chapter’s two lead verses: David in Achish’s army. As for the backdrop, it is typical enough. In northern Israel, Jews and Philistines prepare to battle. But then, however, the plot thickens. Achish enlists David to join the military campaign on the Philistine side against King Saul and...
 

The Book of Samuel 26 speaks, among other things, of King Saul’s pledge to spare David’s life. Notwithstanding Saul’s sentiments, David’s experience with Saul found the king to be unpredictable. Caution dictated taking the king’s words with, if you will, a grain of salt. As an expedient, David skipped town. Together with his six hundred soldiers and two wives, he crossed Israel’s border into...
 

Abravanel shares a novel insight concerning David and Abishai’s brief exchange in Samuel 26, as the two men stealthily snuck into King Saul’s camp. Standing next to the king, David weighed his options as to what would be his best course of action against Saul, who had doggedly pursued him. Should David slew Saul in pre-emptive self-defense? Or, should David adopt a peaceful strategy? ”And David...
 

The Book of Samuel 26 speaks of yet another golden opportunity heaven sent to David to scalp Saul. Not only did David, a man on the run, refrain from removing a constant existential threat, but he did more: he rebuffed Abishai, his aide-de-camp from delivering the coup de grâce. Abishai pleaded: “Now therefore let me smite him, I pray you, with the spear to the earth at one...
 

The Book of Samuel 25 closes out with a close-up portrait of David’s homelife. In addition to his first wife, Michal, daughter of King Saul (Samuel 18), he also married Abigail and Ahinoam. But, then, things turn weird, as the very last verse records: “Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.” ”David also took Ahinoam...
 

In the Bible, precious little is written explicitly about a truly far-reaching matter: man’s immortal soul. How puzzling! Fortunately, here in Samuel 25, Abravanel steps into the breach. Using words spoken by Abigail to David as the backdrop, he injects a hefty dose of clarity into this intriguing topic. For our purposes here, we briefly encapsulate Abravanel’s seven findings or as he calls them: cores. We will...
 

In the previous essay, we discussed David’s encounter with Nabal. See here When David’s men returned empty handed, and when they debriefed him, David resolved to right the wrong. Nabal would pay dearly for his foul mouth and tightfistedness. “And David said unto his men: Gird you on every man his sword…” At the eleventh hour, however, Nabal got a reprieve, thanks to Abigail, his attractive and resourceful...
 

”And Samuel died; and all Israel gathered themselves together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.” “And Samuel died…” Earlier, Abravanel shared his opinion that the prophet Samuel died an old man. Recall, that had been a bone of contention with classic commentators who put forth that the prophet died young. Here, we won...
 

Over these past few chapters in the Book of Samuel, one thread runs throughout. We’re talking about King Saul’s dogged pursuit of David, a man whom the king believed undermined his rule.The Book of Samuel 24 needs to be seen as a short hiatus to Saul’s angst and chase. That is because at the close of our chapter, readers are led to believe that Saul and...
 

Samuel 23 features one of the most enigmatic of all Biblical artifacts: The Urim and Thummim. The holy vessel rested on a high priest’s breastplate that fit on the ephod. The Urim enabled a high priest to answer questions of national importance posed by a king or other Hebrew leader of note. “And they told David, saying: Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they rob the threshing...
 

“Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and said: I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.” As we read in Samuel 21, David skirted King Saul’s ire and came to Nob, the city that the Tabernacle called home. Nob was staffed by Ahimelech the Tabernacle’s high priest, along with associate priests. Immediately after...
 

Following King Saul’s announcement for David’s arrest and execution, David and Saul’s son Jonathan renewed their pact. They then parted ways. (Samuel 20) Jonathan walked home; David ran for his life to Nob. “And he arose and departed; and Jonathan went into the city. Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech came to meet David trembling, and said unto him: Why are you...
 

A marked man, David knew that his life lied in the balance. Sworn enemy King Saul made that patently clear time after time. Indeed, there had been harrowingly, close calls. Here in Samuel 20, we read more about Saul’s animus toward David. Royal vitriol is recorded in the middle of our chapter, bookended on both sides by two prescient conversations between David and Jonathan. “And David fled from Naioth...
 

“Now David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.” Samuel 19 is a continuation of an ongoing theme. We’re speaking about King Saul’s obsession with David – and his repeated attempts on his life. David’s survival bears testimony to God’s providence. Otherwise, any one of...
 

“And Saul sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning; and Michal, David's wife told him, saying: If you save not your life tonight, tomorrow you shall be slain.” King Saul wanted his (perceived) nemesis and son-in-law, David, dead. Here we will look at Michal’s (Saul’s daughter and David’s wife) defiance. In open opposition to her father...
 

“And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” While King Saul increasingly feared and abhorred David, Saul’s son couldn’t have felt more differently toward David. Jonathan held David in deep esteem, a connection that led to an indelible bond/covenant...
 

“And the Philistine said: I do taunt the armies of Israel this day….” Goliath had a foul mouth. David heard more than enough of the Philistine chief’s loud irreverence for the Chosen People and their army. Day in and day out, Goliath railed and ranted. “And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.” Arriving at King Saul’s camp, David spoke to his...
 

“And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side; and there was a valley between them.” Samuel 17 features one of the Bible’s most famous passages: David vs. Goliath. Precisely what was this contest that led some writers, erroneously, to push duels as a way of ascertaining justice? In this essay, we shall see how Abravanel...
 

“Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren. And the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David….” After Abravanel explained that King Saul, and only King Saul, ruled the Hebrews (no one knew about David), let’s understand how Abravanel interprets Saul’s foul mood. “Now the spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from...
 

“Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren. And the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David….” After the Maker approved David to replace King Saul, the prophet made it official; he daubed “him in the midst of his brethren.” As our lead verse shows, anointment fortified Jesse’s youngest son – “And the spirit of LORD came mightily upon David...
 

The focus in Samuel 16 turns to the selection, or better selection process, of King David. Apparently, Samuel wasn’t prepared for what would transpire, namely God’s choice of David out of all of Jesse’s sons. Bear in mind that David was Jesse’s youngest son. Abravanel sheds light on God’s pick. Put differently, this essay teaches us how the Maker schooled His prophet concerning “the right...
 

Samuel 16 introduces a new era in Jewish history. We speak about the Davidic dynasty, beginning obviously enough with David, the youngest of Jesse’s sons. Seeing that prophets were entrusted to do God’s bidding and anoint kings, that job devolved upon Samuel. “And the LORD said unto Samuel: How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? fill your horn...
 

“For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king.” After King Saul committed his second sin, God pronounced His verdict to the prophet: “He has also rejected you from being king.” For the king, there would be no other chance to regain God’s good graces...
 

“And Samuel said unto Saul: The LORD sent me to anoint you to be king over his people, over Israel. Now therefore hearken you unto the voice of the words of the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts. I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt.” Our chapter revisits the longstanding enmity...
 

Samuel 14 is quite lengthy, featuring the Hebrew’s battling – and dispersing – the Philistines. Though technically a military victory, it was no knock-out. Let us summarize the chapter before turning to Abravanel, where we will focus on one aspect of the military campaign. “And the men of Israel were distressed that day; but Saul adjured the people, saying: Cursed be the man that eats any food until it be...
 

"And Samuel said to Saul: You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now would the LORD have established your kingdom upon Israel forever.“ King Saul had hardly ascended to the throne when he lost it. His blunder features front and center in Samuel 13, a failure that stripped him of the moral right to continue occupying...
 

“Saul was ---- years old when he began to reign; and two years he reigned over Israel.” How old was Saul when his reign began? Samuel 13 enigmatically answers with, well, a “blank” or dash- dash-dash. Of course, an evasive response or a non-answer beggars the imagination. Why isn’t the verse forthcoming, especially since it brought up the subject in the first place? Indeed, beguiled Bible commentators...
 

“Now therefore stand still and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes. .” Samuel 12 winds up a punishing tirade against the Hebrews for demanding a king. Abravanel explains Samuel’s diatribe, essentially the prophet’s philippic against that fraught form of government as a singularly misguided, harebrained idea. A prophet ablaze. Tucked into Abravanel’s unabashed treatment of monarchies is a hidden gem. We...
 

“And Samuel said unto all Israel: Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that you said unto me, and have made a king over you.” Seemingly, Samuel 12 states the obvious when Samuel tells his brethren: “I have hearkened unto your voice…and have made a king over you.” For the last several chapters, we have been reading about King Saul and monarchy. It’s hardly newsworthy...
 

“Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh-gilead. And all the men of Yabesh said unto Nahash: Make a covenant with us, and we shall serve you.” We wrote in the previous essay that the people of Israel were satisfied with God’s choice of King Saul. That was not a misstatement – in the main. Owing to King Saul’s physique and noble bearing, he had...
 

“And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpah.” The conclusion of Samuel 10 reads anti-climactically, sort of. Those verses pertain to the coronation of King Saul in Mizpah, attended by the entire nation. Abravanel explains that the venue, Mizpah, held centuries-long, religious importance as a holy haunt. Some five hundred years earlier, Joshua had erected an altar there. From that time forward, Jews regularly...
 

“When you are departed from me today, then you shall find two men…and they shall say unto you: The asses which you seek are found… Then you shall go on forward…and there you shall meet three men going to God to Beth-el, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine.” Earlier, we discussed the prophet Samuel...
 

“Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish…the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor…and he had a son, whose name was Saul…” Although classic Bible commentators have argued that Saul was tapped to serve as a transitional king, he wasn’t. Recall, we concluded the last essay with a teaser that we would explore Samuel’s appointment of Saul (tribe of...
 

“Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish…the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor…and he had a son, whose name was Saul…” The prophet Samuel, in response to the people’s decidedly dumb demand for a king, had harsh words. In no uncertain terms, the seer gave his co-religionists an earful (Samuel 8). On the perils of a monarchy, Abravanel...
 

“Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah. And they said unto him: Behold, you are old, and your sons walk not in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” As we have demonstrated in the previous essays, Samuel 8 is chock-full of salient topics. Before moving on to Samuel 9, let us share...
 

“Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah. And they said unto him: Behold, you are old, and your sons walk not in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” In the previous essay, we covered part of Abravanel’s discourse on monarchies in a general sense, and as it pertains to Jews in particular...
 

“Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah. And they said unto him: Behold, you are old, and your sons walk not in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” In Samuel 8, Abravanel tackles the age-old question of civil governance. But, there’s a lot more to it than poli-sci 101. As...
 

“And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.” Samuel 8, arguably, rates as one of the meatiest chapters in the Bible. “And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.” Samuel’s old age sets the scene for succession. Who will take the mantle of judgeship? That question gets answered in the...
 

“And the men of Kiriath-jearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.” The previous chapter ended on a sour note, this even after the Philistines parted with God’s ark, escorting it out from their midst. Eventually a cow-driven wagon, ark in...
 

“And the ark of the LORD was in the cities of the Philistines seven months.” Samuel 6 concludes a lengthy episode that revolves around the capture of the holy ark by the Philistines. It features the human toll paid for having misappropriated and displaced the Hebrew’s holiest vessel. Now in this chapter comes the denouement, a strange one at that. After getting clobbered by the Maker, Philistines returned...
 

“Now the Philistines had taken the ark of God, and they brought it from Eben- ezer unto Ashdod. And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.” The God of Israel was not about to allow Philistines to keep the holy ark, wrested away from the Hebrews in Samuel 4. He intervened, making sure that His ark...
 

“And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Eben-ezer; and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.” Abravanel covers many subject matters in Samuel 4. While this chapter does mention Samuel in passing, the main thrust shifts to the Hebrew’s disastrous military loss to the Philistines. Casualties counted tens of thousands of warriors, among them high...
 

“And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no frequent vision. And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place--now his eyes had begun to wax dim, that he could not see--and the lamp of God was not yet gone out…” This chapter continues to...
 

“And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest.” Verses in our chapter track young Samuel’s path to excellence, as Abravanel explains. Challenges, however, had not been lacking. In a milieu plagued by corruption and depravity, the lad not only emerged unscathed; he thrived. Wholeheartedly, he focused on holy service in Shiloh’s Tabernacle, managing to grow...
 

“And Hannah prayed, and said…The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength…” Hannah’s prayer dives deeper into the main theme that she develops: the interface of divine providence working within man’s world. Here, we highlight three key fields or areas in society in general, and our lives in particular: military might, wealth, and family. Abravanel examines the upcoming...
 

“And Hannah prayed, and said…There is none holy as the LORD, for there is none beside You, neither is there any rock like our God.” Hannah’s powerful prayer captures and memorializes an axiom in Jewish creed, as Abravanel will now develop. Naturally, she acknowledged that her son’s conception and birth was miraculous, a first-rate wonder. Hannah also acknowledged the source of her joyousness. “My heart...
 

“And Hannah prayed, and said: my heart exults in the LORD, my horn is exalted in the LORD; my mouth is enlarged over my enemies; because I rejoice in Your salvation…” Hannah’s prayer has moved and motivated people from time immemorial. How could it not? Here was a woman who experienced intense pain, stigma. Here was a woman who cried out in agony to the Maker: “And she...
 

“And this man went up out of his city from year to year to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there priests unto the LORD.” Much can be learned about Elkanah’s character, suggests Abravanel, by paying close attention to our chapter’s narrative. Annually, Elkanah left home, wives and children in tow, and...
 

“Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim… and his name was Elkanah… And he had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.” Hannah rates as a pivotal figure in the Book of Samuel, leaving a lasting mark on Jewish liturgy and history. Abravanel gives us a close reading of...
 

“And now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of the hill-country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. And he had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.” The Book...
 

“Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of the hill-country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. And he had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah…” Here, we present a second point Abravanel makes in his prefatory comments to the Book of Samuel. The subject...
 

“Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of the hill-country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkana, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. And he had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah…” Abravanel’s introduction to the Book of Samuel is thought-provoking, covering...
 

“And the Children of Israel said: Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up in the assembly unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up unto the LORD to Mizpah, saying: He shall surely be put to death.” Judges 20 covered the Civil War, one that pitted the tribe of Benjamin against all of the other...
 

“Then all the Children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD at Mizpah." War drums droned. Civil war loomed. Judges 20 records the bloody battles that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Hebrews. Seeds of disaccord, however, had been steadily sowed and nursed over the past several chapters...
 

“And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the farther side of the hill-country of Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth-lehem in Judah.” If Judges 19 sounds like déjà vu, it’s no accident. After all, the last few chapters have been hammering away at the underlying problem...
 

“In those days there was no king in Israel; and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day there had nothing been allotted unto them among the tribes of Israel for an inheritance.” Judges 18 depicts the holy nation’s continued sharp moral decline, a skid that began in Judges 17 with the manufacture of and homage to...
 

In a departure from the first sixteen chapters in the Book of Judges, the subject matter of the final five chapters does not speak about Hebrew leaders. In fact, it is the lack of leadership that underlies the religio-social catastrophes that get recorded in Judges. Societal collapse and a free-for-all are explicit: “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was...
 

“And Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in unto her. [And it was told] the Gazites, saying: Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and lay in wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying: Let be till morning light, then we will kill him.” Judges 16 concludes the story – and life...
 

“But it came to pass after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid[goat]; and he said: I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in. And her father said: I verily thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Is not her...
 

On an enigma scale, if such a scale existed, Samson must rate as the most mercurial of all the Hebrew judges. In Judges 13 we read about the highly-anticipated – and angelic – foreshadowing of Samson’s conception and birth. Together with the announcement came instruction: Samson was to live all his days as a nazir. “And Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah, of the daughters...
 

“And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bore not. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her: Behold now, you are barren, and have not borne; but you shall conceive, and bear a son.” Bible commentators differ as to the nature of the Manoah’s wife...
 

Judges 12, a short chapter, writes fleetingly of three outstanding individuals who rose through the ranks to judge the Hebrews after Yiftach. We refer to Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon. Regarding them, Abravanel infuses his comments here with unusual observations or curios, especially for those interested in phonetics and sociology. However, the beginning of Judges 12 concludes a lengthy treatment of Yiftach. Recall, in Judges 11, we read about his military...
 

“Now Yiftach the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Yiftach.” Abravanel’s questions on this chapter center on two subjects: Yiftach’s preliminary diplomatic talks with Ammon and Yiftach’s vow. In this essay, we’ll focus on the judge’s vow, one that he uttered on the eve of the Hebrews war with Ammon. It resulted...
 

“And after Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in the hill-country of Ephraim. And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.” As we read in the previous chapter, Abimelech died. Who was Tola, judge number 7 and his successor? Abravanel provides two possibilities...
 

In the last chapter, we read about Gideon (aka Jerubbaal) siring seventy offspring, owing to his many wives. That figure doesn’t include Abimelech, born of Gideon’s concubine in Shechem – also explicit in Judges 8. “And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother's brethren, and spoke with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying: Speak, I pray you...
 

As we saw in the previous chapter, God pulled a resounding victory over Midian, the Hebrew troops under Gideon acting in cameo roles. Taking the field were the judge’s three hundred men. Yet, they were not the only participants. The earlier chapter also gives a shout-out to the tribes of Naphtali, Asher, and Menasseh for their part in pursuing the routed Midianites. “And the men of Ephraim said...
 

Abravanel uses the previous chapter (Judges 6) to get a better grip on our chapter. Recall, Judges 6 concluded with the outward miracle by way of fleece of wool, as per Gideon’s request of God. A divine message to Gideon conveyed that he would emerge victorious over the Midianites. “Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside En...
 

After Deborah the prophetess passed away, the Hebrews returned to their evil ways. This, predictably, provoked the Maker’s ire. And so, He emboldened the Jews’ adversaries: “And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel; and because of Midian the Children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.” For Abravanel, Judges 6 offers a close glimpse into just how wretched...
 

“Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying…” Truly exalted poetry aptly describes Deborah’s divinely-inspired song. By no means is the Bible (or post-Biblical times) a stranger to divine poetry or song, as Abravanel writes extensively in Exodus 15 (See Abravanel’s World.). But even a quick glimpse shows depth and insight. At heart, the poem reads as a paean to...
 

“And the Children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead. And the LORD gave them over into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth-goiim.” The main thrust of Judges 4 features Deborah the prophetess. Our chapter begins by chronicling Deborah’s predecessors...
 

According to Abravanel, the first two chapters in Judges act as an introduction: they set the tone for the balance of the book, where noticeable patterns emerge. Hebrews blunder (read: worship Canaanite gods); God exacts punishment; chastened Jews cry out to Him, begging for respite; the Maker sends relief, in the form of judges. “Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as...
 

“And the angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said: I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I swore unto your fathers. And I said: I will never break My covenant with you.” Abravanel follows ancient Jewish predecessors to explain the identity of our verse’s “angel of God.” Either the angel was a...
 

To preface, Abravanel makes an assumption, regarding the first verse in Judges 1 – “that the Children of Israel asked the LORD.” That is, he took it for granted that the nation consulted with the Urim and Thummim. This is the breastplate which the priests wore when consulting God. In Biblical parlance, then, posing a question of national importance to God and getting an answer from Him came down to seeking...
 

Abravanel introduces the Book of Judges with an important analysis. He probes the authority or mandate of judges versus kings. Are judges and kings synonymous, having the same roles within the Jewish body politic? Or, alternatively, are the two high offices different, one from the other? In typical Abravanel fashion, there isn’t a yes/no answer to the questions he poses. Instead, he shows how in some ways, judges...
 

Joshua’s speech here, notes Abravanel, is basically identical to the one conveyed in the previous chapter. Why the back-to-back reiteration, he asks? Hadn’t Joshua just convened his brethren, and the community heads for purposes of buoying their spirits in the face of their leader’s imminent demise, and with the goal of pressing them to remain faithful the One Above? “And Joshua gathered all the tribes...
 

“And it came to pass after many days, when the LORD had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, and Joshua was old and well stricken in years; that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and for their heads, and for their judges and for their officers, and said unto them: I am old and well stricken in years.” Joshua’s illustrious life was...
 

Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and said unto them: You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have hearkened unto my voice in all that I commanded you…” In Joshua 22, we read how the Hebrew commander commended the two-and-one-half tribes for dedicated service in liberating the Holy Land. Indeed, according to...
 

“Then came near the heads of fathers' houses of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of fathers' houses of the tribes of the Children of Israel. And they spoke unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying: The LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the open land...
 

In Joshua 20, no sooner had Joshua completed dividing up the Holy Land to the twelve tribes (Joshua 19) than God bid the Hebrew leader to designate and activate the country’s six cities of refuge – three on the west bank of the Jordan River and three on the east bank. These six cities of refuge, plus forty-two Levitical cities dotting the map, played a crucial role in the...
 

To borrow a term from musicology, Joshua 19 can best be described as allegro. In rapid succession, readers learn how the last seven tribes of Israel, via divine lottery, took possession in the Holy Land. We speak of Benjamin (end of Joshua 18), Simeon, Zebulun, Yissachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan (Joshua 19). “And the second lot came out for Simeon, even for the tribe of the children of Simeon according...
 

During the fourteen years of fighting and apportioning Canaan to the twelve tribes, the Tent of Meeting had rested in Gilgal. Now, with most of the Holy Land in Hebrew hands, Joshua transported the Tabernacle to Shiloh. There it would remain for three hundred and sixty-nine years, as recorded in an ancient Jewish source. “And the whole congregation of the Children of Israel assembled themselves together at Shiloh, and...
 

Joshua 17 covers the tribe of Manasseh’s lottery. Recall, in Egypt Joseph was the father of two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Manasseh, though the firstborn, did not receive his lottery for territory in Israel before Ephraim, his younger brother. Why did Joshua cast a lot for Ephraim (Joshua 16) before Manasseh? Abravanel asks the question and offers an answer. “And this was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh...
 

Joshua 16 covers the subject matter of the second tribe to receive an inheritance in Israel. That would be Joseph. Abravanel, in a lengthy question, asks about Joshua’s conduct concerning Joseph, deeming it highly problematic. Our chapter implies that Ephraim had not received his own lottery. Either did Manasseh. Instead, Joshua combined them, both subsumed under Joseph, their father. “And the lot for the Children of Joseph went out...
 

Abravanel writes that after Caleb petitioned Joshua for Hebron, and after Caleb took possession of it, Joshua saw fit to begin the lottery system for divvying up Israel among the tribes. First to receive their real estate in Canaan was the tribe of Judah. Joshua, who of course did not know where Judah’s borders would fall, was more than curious to see what Heaven had in mind. Specifically, Abravanel...
 

Nearly equal in coverage, in terms of a verse count, Joshua 14 discusses two topics. The first one pertains to the methodology by which the Hebrews took possession of the Holy Land. Caleb takes up the latter part of the chapter. Owing to the sheer length and intricacy of Abravanel’s discussion of the section dealing with tribal allocation, we will leave that for another essay. Here we share Abravanel...
 

“Now Joshua was old and well stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him: You are old and well stricken in years, and there remains yet very much land to be possessed… Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance; the offerings of the LORD, the God of Israel, made by fire are his inheritance, as He spoke unto him.” According to Abravanel, Joshua 13, again...
 

“Now these are the kings of the land, whom the Children of Israel smote, and possessed their land beyond the Jordan toward the sunrising, from the valley of Arnon unto mount Hermon, and all the Arabah eastward: Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of Arnon, and the middle of the valley, and half Gilead...
 

As we read in Joshua 11, Jabin king of Hazor was the ringleader; he charged Canaanite chieftains to clasp hands and fight the Jews. Naturally, the sheer masses of the unified army concerned Joshua. Dispelling the Jewish leader’s fears, encouragement to came from Above. “And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor heard thereof, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of...
 

“Now it came to pass, when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it, as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them; that they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the...
 

“And it came to pass, when all the kings that were beyond the Jordan, in the hill- country, and in the Lowland, and on all the shore of the Great Sea in front of Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof, that they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.” Joshua 9 concentrates...
 

“And the LORD said unto Joshua: Fear not, neither be dismayed. Take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land.” Joshua 8 records the rematch between the Jews and Ai, a battle that resulted in the Hebrew’s sounding victory over them. As this...
 

“But the Children of Israel committed a trespass concerning the devoted thing; for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the devoted thing; and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the Children of Israel.” Joshua 7 records one of the most disturbing chapters in the Bible, one that describes the disastrous defeat of Joshua...
 

“Now Jericho was completely shut up because of the Children of Israel. None went out, and none came in.” Militarily speaking, Jericho was impregnable. That is because it had been hermetically sealed – “none went out, and none went in.” Notwithstanding Jericho’s impenetrable defense and preparedness, God promised: “And the LORD said unto Joshua: See, I have given into your hand Jericho, and the king thereof, even the mighty...
 

The Hebrews arrived in Canaan, edging closer to all-out war. The date is pegged to the tenth day of Nisan, four days before Passover. As for the war objective, it was to liberate the land promised by God to the patriarchs and their descendants. Momentum was palpably on the side of the Jews. Consternation, on the other hand, consumed the Canaanites. For good cause Canaan reeled and fretted. “And...
 

Our chapter continues to record the Hebrews passing into Canaan via the Jordan River which had wondrously split. Abravanel makes things clearer, so we better understand the two memorials – one in the Jordan River and one in Gilgal. “And it came to pass, when all the nation were clean passed over the Jordan, that the LORD spoke unto Joshua, saying: Take you twelve men out of the people, out of...
 

“And Joshua rose up early in the morning…And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the midst of the camp. And they commanded the people saying: When you see the ark of the Covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then you shall leave your place, and go after it. And Joshua said unto the people: Sanctify...
 

“And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two spies secretly, saying: Go view the land, and Jericho. And they went, and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lay there.” Considering the first miserably botched first spy affair under the direction of Moses (Numbers 13), Abravanel questions Joshua’s thinking here: “And Joshua…sent out of Shittim two spies…” Hadn’t...
 

“Now it came to pass after the death of Moses the servant of God, that God spoke unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying: Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan…” With the passing of Moses, the mantle of leadership devolved upon Joshua, the prophet’s staunch disciple. Abravanel notes that within the duration of Joshua 1, there is one phrase that...
 

Abravanel’s introduction to the Book of Joshua comprises two parts. Here, we focus on one aspect of the first part – a breakdown of the Bible’s three sections: Torah, Prophets, and Writings. What, he asks, lies behind the names that the Jewish sages ascribed? What wisdom can be gleaned from those very names – “Torah”, “Prophets”, and “Writings?” For example, what can Bible students learn from the Five Books of...
 

Moses’ death and burial are the subjects of Deuteronomy 34. For Abravanel, this final chapter of the Torah presents a golden opportunity to launch a discourse on death and dying in general, and the prophet’s death in particular. Our chapter invites, really begs, this full-blown analysis. For our purposes here, we focus on Moses’ burial. Admittedly, we hardly touch the tip of the iceberg. “So Moses the servant...
 

Deuteronomy 33 delves into the blessing Moses bestowed upon his brethren shortly before his passing. Abravanel gives us an outline of the chapter, as well as giving readers two approaches to the prophet’s benedictions. Here we bring the first one. “And this is the blessing wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the Children of Israel before his death.” This final section of the Torah branches into four sub...
 

Songful and poetic are the verses in Deuteronomy 32, full of imagery and pathos. Moses now staring at the little time he had left to live, waxed rhapsodic. “Give you, you heavens, and I will speak…” Abravanel analyzes the epic poem, proclaimed by the prophet. As all high poetry that can be interpreted in more than one way, so too here. “Give ear, you heavens, and I will speak and...
 

Moses, the hoary prophet, was about to reach his one hundred twentieth year. For him, it was the end of the road; the day he would pass away. Deuteronomy 31 records some of his last words to his fellow Hebrews. “And Moses went and spoke these words unto all Israel.” Abravanel asks: Yet, only two chapters earlier, we find Moses convening all the people. Subsequent to that, the prophet had...
 

In Deuteronomy 30, readers encounter one of Heaven’s greatest, if not the greatest, gift: repentance. Abravanel discusses repentance, the opportunity to make positive changes in personal conduct. “And it shall come to pass, when you experienced all these things” looks forward to future times, owing to the observation that no such occurrence has yet transpired in Jewish history. Redemption, a divine promise, represents the sum total of every Jew...
 

The first part of Deuteronomy 29 again repeats what Moses has been talking about for the past several chapters: the second covenant. Abravanel probes Moses’ thinking: What was the need for a second covenant. After all, God already entered into a covenant at Sinai. “And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them. You have seen all that God did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto...
 

For Abravanel, the two main thrusts of this lengthy chapter 28 have to do with: 1) keeping this second covenant and 2) the blessing for compliance or curse for non-compliance. From the outset, Abravanel stresses that we are only speaking about material or physical consequence for man’s actions – not otherworldly payment. “And it shall come to pass, if you shall heed diligently unto the voice of God your...
 

Verses detailing the future ceremony at Mount Ebal, west of the Jordan River, begin in Deuteronomy 27. As put forth, Deuteronomy fleshed out commandments relayed earlier in the Torah’s first four book. No sooner had Moses finished his explication of the commands needful of clarification than he saw fit to have the people enter a covenant, securing compliance with the divine obligations. “And Moses and the elders of Israel...
 

Deuteronomy 26 starts with an agricultural commandment: to bring first fruits to the Temple. Bear in mind that the first fruit command has been broached three times earlier in the Torah. Presently, the prophet saw fit to further elaborate. Specifically, the Hebrews heard the element of timing, about when the directive devolves upon them – after they liberate the land, and divvy it among the twelve tribes. “And it shall be...
 

Many subjects are covered in Deuteronomy 25. Safely however, none rate as arcane as Levirate marriage. “If brothers dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child…” Abravanel’s essay on Levirate marriage is both lengthy and fascinating, albeit more than a little esoteric, mystical. Of course, much is dedicated to explaining the nuts and bolts of this commandment. For our purposes, we will directly proceed to what...
 

Deuteronomy 24 conveys many commandments. Among them are those that regulate labor law. It goes without saying that mistreatment of workers is egregious. “You shall not oppress a hired servant…” Though some Biblical commentators believe that that oppression or exploitation does not refer to a boss pocketing payment, but rather paying late. But this in incorrect. Such an erroneous reading would not draw a distinction between late pay for either...
 

Among other topics in Deuteronomy 23, Moses instructs his brethren to insulate the Hebrew nation from undesirable outside elements. To the point, the prophet spells out which peoples may join the Jewish ranks, and which may not. “An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of God…” Abravanel comments on the Israelite’s distant cousins who may or may not enter the tribe, per se. “An Ammonite...
 

A raft of commandments, better clarification of commandments, are conveyed in Deuteronomy 22. We focus on the legal obligation to return lost property, suggesting a rationale for this divine command. “And you shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep driven away, and hide yourself from them. You shall surely bring them back unto your brother.” First, Abravanel offers context. The last chapter talked about the wayward son...
 

In Deuteronomy 21, Bible commentators weigh in on the ceremony connected with breaking a red heifer’s neck. For Abravanel, interpretation must adequately answer questions that jump out of the text: “If one be found slain in the land which God your Almighty gives you to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who has smitten him. Then your elders and your judges shall come forth...
 

Jewish ethics, as it pertains to war, features front and center in Deuteronomy 20. How should Jewish wars be waged, asks Abravanel? Further, he wants to know about the roles of kings, judges, and officers. Our chapter's lead commandment orders soldiers to reign in fear when battle drums grow louder. "When you go forth to battle against your enemies…you shall not be afraid…for God your Almighty is with...
 

Deuteronomy 19 opens with the commandment to establish cities of refuge in the Holy Land and on the east bank of the Jordan. Abravanel methodically discusses this subject. “When God your Almighty shall cut off the nations, whose land God your Almighty gives you, and you succeed them and dwell in their cities, and in their houses.” To begin with, we will be reading about criminal proceedings in cases concerning...
 

Understood: Compliance with Heaven’s directives guides Jews to lead meaningful, wholesome lives. This tenet is enshrined here in Deuteronomy 18: “You shall be wholehearted with God your Almighty.” The Torah’s ways are achieved through clinging to the divine commandments. They are also attained by steering clear of the immoral ways that beset the pagans. This will be the focus of this chapter’s blog. “When you come unto...
 

Deuteronomy 17 closes with verses concerning establishing a monarchy. Abravanel deliberates, asking: Is a king a good thing? Is it a religious imperative? His enlightening essay follows, really an introduction to our verse regarding monarchies. “When you come unto the land which God your Almighty gives you, and you shall possess it, and shall dwell therein and you shall say: I will set a king over me, like all the...
 

Deuteronomy 16 straddles two Torah portions. The last few verses in the chapter begin the Torah portion of Shoftim, meaning judges: “Judges and officers shall you make in your gates…” Abravanel states unequivocally that they play a vital role in a community's well-being, a bellwether. If courts are professional and efficient, towns will run peacefully and orderly. Conversely, if they are incompetent or corrupt, towns will go to pot...
 

Here in Deuteronomy 16, Moses recounts the three festivals. He does not place emphasis on the command that describes holidays themselves (as the Torah earlier lists them), but rather shows how central a role the Temple played in them. Consider, Moses does not refer to the obligation to take a palm branch on the Feast of Tabernacles. Similarly, he omits mention of the Eighth Day of Assembly besides ignoring the...
 

Sabbaticals, coming every seven years, have two aspects. One is agricultural, the other financial. Deuteronomy 15 conveys information regarding the financial feature of the sabbatical year. “At the end of every seven years, you shall have a sabbatical year.” Abravanel lends important context. After the Torah taught in the previous chapter that growers need to transport and eat their second tithes in Jerusalem, it now presents Jews with a new...
 

Few commandments promote such a salubrious effect on a man’s fear of the Maker as the Torah’s agricultural laws. Deuteronomy 14 deals with one type of tithing – the second tithe. Abravanel notes that the topic of tithing has been broached earlier in the Torah. Here, the treatment is different, he writes. How? Elsewhere the Torah discusses the different types of tithes together. Yet here, this chapter leaves out...
 

Deuteronomy 13 opens with a warning: don’t be taken in by prophets or dreamers. Charlatans of all stripes spell trouble for a faithful nation. But, let us call this scam artist, Abravanel says, by his real identity; he’s a false prophet, though our verse merely describes him as “a prophet.” However, since the verse categorizes him no differently than “a dreamer of dreams”, we understand that he is...
 

Again, in this Torah portion, we find verses that instruct Hebrews how to handle paganism, upon encountering it in the Holy Land. In fact, Abravanel notes, divine commandments requiring the Jews to obliterate any trace of idolatry have been mentioned in the last two Torah portions. If so, why repeat it here in Deuteronomy 12 for a third time? Will reiteration better assure its observance, he queries? “You shall surely...
 

Deuteronomy 11 closes one Torah portion (Ekev) and opens another (Re’eh). Abravanel asks about the timing and venue of this Torah portion, as an upcoming verse may confuse readers. “And it shall come to pass, when God your Almighty shall bring you into the land whither you go to possess it, that you shall set the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal.” “Consider. I place...
 

As stated earlier, Moses’ main objective in Deuteronomy had been to review those commandments that had been broached earlier in the Torah, but were needful of clarification. Nonetheless, the prophet had other goals as well. One was inculcating belief in divine reward and punishment. “Therefore you shall love God your Almighty, and keep His charge, and His statutes, and His ordinances, and His commandments – always.” Abravanel shows how Deuteronomy 11...
 

The phenomenon of Moses’ prolonged deprivations and stay on Mount Sinai requires clarification. Here in Deuteronomy 10, mention is again made about the prophet’s time there, sans food or drink. Abravanel fills in the gap, to help us better understand the sequence of events. “Now I stayed on the mount, as at the first time, forty days and forty nights. And God hearkened unto me at that time also...
 

In Deuteronomy 9, Moses sharply rebuked his brethren. A swollen national ego had gotten out of hand. But before delivering the brusque message, Moses provided a military briefing. “Hear, O Israel. You are to pass over the Jordan [River] this day, to go disgorge nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified to heaven.” The people heard that Canaanites were “greater and mightier” than the Jewish army. More...
 

By all accounts, forty years was an awfully long time to wander in the desert. In Deuteronomy 8, Abravanel provides three reasons for the testing trek. “And you shall remember all the way which God your Almighty has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might afflict you, to test you, to know what was in your heart – whether you would keep His commandments, or not.” Here...
 

The second half of chapter 7 starts a new Torah portion, and lays out three categories of God’s blessings to the Hebrews: 1) population growth and wealth, 2) health and rehabilitation, and 3) respect among the Gentiles. Here, we will examine the third blessing and see how Abravanel clarifies the relevant verse: “And you shall consume all the peoples that God your Almighty shall deliver unto you. Your eyes...
 

These verses bring us to the conclusion of our Torah section, with God’s open profession of affection for His nation. “God did not set His desire upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people – for you were the fewest of all peoples…” Abravanel probes: What does population size have to do with anything? Clearly, not only populous nations can properly serve the Maker...
 

“Hear, O Israel. The LORD our God. The LORD is one.” Tucked inconspicuously within Deuteronomy 6 is, arguably, the Torah’s most famous paragraph, as it is recited twice daily in Jewish liturgy: “Hear, O Israel. The LORD our God. The LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might…” The importance of...
 

Deuteronomy 5 is both vast in scope and chock-full of bedrock concepts for those interested in delving into the wellspring of the Judeo-Christian value system in general, and Judaism in particular. For all its profundity and significance, however, Abravanel keeps things as down-to-earth as possible. Here we shall see how he tackles the first of the Ten Commandments, a chapter that relays the Decalogue. “I am...
 

In Abravanel’s introduction to Deuteronomy, he states Moses’ intention of this fifth and final book of the Torah. “And now, O Israel, listen unto the statutes and unto the ordinances” succinctly encapsulates the prophet’s aim: Moses wanted to more fully elaborate the Torah and its commandments. That said, and before Moses’ Torah seminars commence, Deuteronomy 4 addresses a fundamental tenet of Judaism: reward and punishment for compliance to...
 

Words cannot adequately express Moses’ burning desire to cross over into Israel. His repeated requests, however, were met with God’s repeated refusals. This pattern resurfaces in the final verses in chapter 3. Abravanel asks: What was the prophet thinking? What gave Moses a glimmer of hope? Abravanel gets into Moses’ head. “And I pleaded to God at that time saying…” Moses sensed wiggle room in the Maker’s decree...
 

The Torah’s descriptions of Og, king of Bashan nearly defy reason. Yet, there can be no escaping it: the king and his warriors were true to life. Deuteronomy 3 chronicles their last stand at the hand of the Jews. Abravanel helps us better understand the events and aftermath, providing salient takeaways. “Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out...
 

Among other things, Deuteronomy 2 gives a shout out to the territorial integrity of nations in general, and the lands belonging to the peoples of Esau, Moab, and Ammon in particular. Regarding these three nations, the Hebrews received clearcut instruction. Three distinct commands don’t leave room for ambiguity: Esau – “Contend not with them…” Moab – “Be not at enmity with Moab…” Ammon – “Harass them not, nor contend with them…” “And...
 

“These are the words which Moses spoke unto all Israel beyond the Jordan; in the wilderness, in the Arabah, over against Suph, between Paran and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Di-zahab.” Thus, Deuteronomy opens – with a convention. Moses gathered the people. For what purpose? In his own words, here in Deuteronomy 1, we read: “…beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, took Moses upon himself to...
 

In Deuteronomy 1, Abravanel launches a study of governance or polity for the Hebrew nation. Moses acknowledges his inability to care for a nation, that “God Almighty has multiplied….as the stars of heaven for multitude.” He states the obvious when he laments: “How can I myself bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife. Get you from each one of your tribes, wise men, and understanding, and full...
 

Numbers 36 concludes the fourth Book of Moses. Abravanel links this chapter to the preceding ones, chapters that capture Moses’ energetically wrapping up the affairs of his nation. Here, the focus is on the third commandment (of five) that God asked the prophet to perform before he passed away: apportionment of territory in Canaan to the twelve tribes. In that vein, our verse introduces an exchange between Moses and Joseph...
 

Words can hardly describe the burning desire Moses felt when he thought about allotting land in Israel to his fellow Levites. They were, after all, his closest kin. To be sure, Moses had already apprised them that they were not entitled to landed rights within Canaan. But now the subject is broached anew, this time with a zest—as the first part of Numbers 35 teaches. “And God spoke to...
 

Dutifully, Moses chronicled the desert years—highs and lows. When complete, he charted the circuitous trek which had begun in Egypt and continued until the plains of Moab. Standing close to the Jordan River, the prophet understood that he had reached the end of his road, his journey. God told him explicitly that he would not be crossing the Jordan into Israel with his brethren. Perhaps with not a little...
 

Essentially a travelogue, Numbers Chapter 33 lists the pit stops along the desert ways. Abravanel probes: Why is it necessary here to delineate the places where the Hebrews had frequented for the past forty years? Hadn’t the stops been identified “in real time” as the Jews arrived there? What is gained, he continues, by grouping all the destinations into a single chapter? Finally, Abravanel wonders whose idea it was...
 

The Biblical narrative in Samuel records one of the most controversial encounters in the entire Bible—the story of King David and Bat Sheva. This is precisely the question I put to my Bible study group, which has taken several sessions to work out, or rather, to work through. A prefatory remark is in order. This discussion is based on the Abravanel’s lengthy and thorough treatment of the subject...
 

Numbers Chapter 32 records an excited exchange between Moses and the Hebrew leadership on the one side, with Gad and Reuben on the other. Money was at the root of it, as Abravanel learns. “The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying. Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer…. the land which God...
 

Moses heard from God in chapter 31 to mercilessly avenge the Midianites, an event that would precede his death. Leaving aside the question regarding the seeming link between both events, Abravanel asks about the Midianites. What precipitated the bitter animosity? And hadn’t disaster been caused by the Moabites, as written in the previous Torah portion (Phinehas)? “And God said to Moses saying. The Children of Israel shall rigorously avenge...
 

Chapter 30 pertains to Biblical oaths and vows. Abravanel questions the order or sequence: How does the subject of festival sacrifices (chapters 28 and 29) lead to our chapter dealing with oaths and vows? “And Moses spoke unto the heads of the tribes of the Children of Israel saying. This is the thing which God has commanded. When a man vows a vow to God or swears an oath to...
 

The subject matter of chapter 29 turns to the major Jewish festivals. Abravanel takes a deep dive into them. For our purposes here, we will focus on his treatment of the Feast of Booths, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles. To qualify, this blog only comprises one aspect of Abravanel’s study of this feast, which is called Sukkot in Hebrew. “And on the fifteenth day of the seventh...
 

Chapter 28 conveys laws concerning the daily sacrifices brought in the Temple; we speak of daily burnt offerings. Abravanel questions the placement of these verses here. Better, he writes, had they been taught elsewhere in the Torah, where the subject is broached (Exodus 28). Further, Abravanel wonders, if our chapter delves into burnt offerings, why not make it inclusive of sin offerings and guilt offerings? “And God spoke to Moses...
 

In chapter 26, the national census had concluded. The purpose of the headcount had a practical purpose: “To these the land shall be divided.” It also inspired potential claimants to Canaan to speak up. “Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph. And these are the names...
 

Toward the end of a lengthy chapter 26, we find verses pertaining to the allotment of Canaan to the twelve tribes. Biblical commentators struggled with the subject of how the land was apportioned to the twelve tribes. Was the “pie” cut into twelve equal slices, regardless of the individual tribe’s population? Such a proposition, so fundamentally off, would fly in the face of divine justice and fairness. Moreover, it...
 

Before taking leave of King Balak of Moab, the prophet Balaam shared an open secret – really an axiom: The Maker does not suffer sexual promiscuity. At all. Privy to this truism, and openly seeking the demise of the Holy Nation, Balaam advised Balak to have Moabite women enter the Jewish camp. There, they should seduce the Hebrews. “And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit harlotry with...
 

King Balak of Moab, if anything, was determined (obsessed) to decimate the Jews. To do the hit job, he hired Balaam, a man whose prophetic powers were quite proficient. In the blog in chapter 23, we cited Abravanel’s opinion that God graced Balaam with four prophecies. In Numbers 24 we address Balaam’s third prophecy concerning the Hebrews. “And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling...
 

As stated in the prior chapter, King Balak of Moab turned to Balaam to help defeat and destroy the Hebrews. Here in chapter 23, we will take a closer look at Balaam’s prophecies. To be specific, God granted Balaam four prophecies regarding the Jewish people, as Abravanel develops in his commentary. Here we will examine the first of the four divine messages. “And God met Balaam and he said...
 

Until now, the Torah related adventures that befell the Hebrews as they trekked along desert highways, dramatic thrillers that occupied the encampment before they reached civilization. If we were to chart a geographic reference line, we would have the start point as the great wilderness and the end point corresponding to where Moses passes away. But now in chapter 22, the Torah’s emphasis changes, focusing on those sensational events...
 

One of the topics covered in Chapter 21 deals with Moses and the bronze serpent. The narrative raises more than a few eyebrows. What are readers to make of this bizarre passage? “And the people spoke against God and against Moses. Wherefore have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness, for there is no bread and there is no water…” Some background: “And the people spoke...
 

Chapter 20, among other things, pertains to the fateful event that dashed Moses’ and Aaron’s yearning to enter Canaan – “And God said unto Moses and Aaron. Because you believed not in Me, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the Children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” “And God spoke to Moses saying. Take the rod, and assemble...
 

Arguably, Numbers 19 opens a discussion of the most elusive of all divine commandments: the red heifer. “And God spoke to Moses and Aaron saying. This is the governing law which God has commanded saying. Speak unto the Children of Israel that they should take for you a red heifer, faultless, where there is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke.” Questions regarding it abound, as Abravanel and other...
 

Numbers 18 offers poetic closure to the previous chapters that featured Korah’s noxious rebellion against Aaron, the high priest. With the rebel’s attempted coup quelled, Aaron emerged from the trying ordeal with God’s confirmation, and favors. We shall elaborate. “All holy portions that the Children of Israel apportion to God, I give to you and your sons with you for an eternal statute.” Our chapter’s verses...
 

Numbers 17 is a continuation of the previous chapters pertaining to Korah’s attempt to wrest the priesthood away from Aaron, the high priest. Consequently, God seeks to instill within the Jew’s collective memory an object lesson: Never again should anyone usurp Aaron’s and his descendants’ divine, exclusive right to work the Holy Temple. “And God spoke to Moses saying. Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the...
 

The infamous and insidious insurgence led by Korah & Co. against Moses is the subject matter of Numbers 16. But who were the ringleaders, Abravanel asks? What brought these noisome plaintiffs to collude against the prophet? What rankled them? “Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took...
 

Numbers 15 concludes the Torah section of Shelach. At the end of this chapter, God commands Moses to instruct his brethren to wear tzitzit. What is the point of this four-cornered and distinctive, fringed garment? “And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that you may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of God…” “And God spoke to Moses saying. Speak unto the Children of Israel...
 

“And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried. And the people wept that night.” The spy affair is broached in Numbers 13. The Hebrew’s reaction to the slanderous report gets recorded here in Numbers 14: “And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried.” Abravanel zeroes in on God’s fateful response to the faithless people’s histrionics, one that both deeply frustrated and disappointed...
 

Numbers 13 introduces the scandal that would rock the Hebrews for forty years in the desert, and well beyond. We speak of the spy affair. “And God spoke to Moses saying. Send you men, that they spy out the land…” Here, we bring Abravanel’s opening remarks to the perfidious event that stoked the Maker’s wrath. In the course of time, He would snuff out the lives of the...
 

Numbers 12 again shows the Hebrews in a bad light. This time it’s a family affair. Moses’ siblings, Aaron and Miriam miserably misspoke, hurling reckless charges against the prophet. “And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses” introduces a nasty tirade that threatened to rock the family, had the Creator not come to Moses’ defense – to set the record straight. In his inimitable style, Abravanel rattles off a raft of...
 

Numbers 11 Torah portion Behaalotcha may well be summed up by paraphrasing a popular adage: You can take the nation out of Egypt, but you can’t take Egypt out of the nation. “And the people were as murmurers, speaking evil in the ears of God. And when God heard it, His anger was kindled. And the fire of God burnt among them, and devoured in the uttermost part of...
 

Numbers 10 comprises meaty topics for discussion. Here we bring Abravanel’s explanation of the verses quoting a conversation between Moses and Jethro, his father-in-law. “And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law. We are journeying unto the place of which God said: I will give it you. Come with us and we will do you good, for God has spoken...
 

A most mind-blowing aspect of the Hebrew’s desert trek gets duly recorded in Numbers 9: the cloud of glory. For the entire essay and in-depth explanation of the heavenly escort, see Abravanel’s World. For our purposes here, we shift to a stylistic query. “And on the day that the Tabernacle was built up, the cloud covered the Tabernacle, even the Tent of the Testimony. And at...
 

There are two topics discussed in Numbers 8. The first one talks about the menorah in the Tabernacle. The rest of the chapter’s verses delve into the subject of the tribe of Levi. “And God spoke to Moses saying. Speak to Aaron and say to him: When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front candlestick.” In the menorah verses, Abravanel finds an opportunity to...
 

“And it came to pass on the day that Moses had made an end of setting up the Tabernacle…that the princes of Israel…brought their offering before God.” Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. In Numbers 7, Abravanel provides a helpful timeline and adds context, regarding the sequence of events in the...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. He takes on the fascinating phenomenon of the Nazir in Numbers 6. In particular, Abravanel explores the juxtaposition of our chapter dealing with the laws of Nazirites with the previous one pertaining to the sotah. What’s the connection, Abravanel asks, between a woman suspected of infidelity and...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. In Numbers 5, Abravanel tackles the eyebrow-raising subject of a sotah, literally a married woman who goes aside from her husband. Untoward behavior triggers a husband’s suspicions, jealousy. Is she disloyal, he obsesses? If the husband or witnesses actually barge in and see foul play, Torah...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. Numbers 4 straddles two Torah portions: Bamidbar and Naso. A single thread crisscrosses both sections. That is, the respective roles of Levi’s three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari feature front and center. “And God spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron saying. Do not cut off the tribe...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. In the first half of Numbers 4, he explains the prestigious role given to Kohath, son of Levi. “This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting – the holiest of matters.” Levi, son of Jacob had three sons: Gershon, Merari, and Kohath. In...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. The role of the Levites is covered extensively in Numbers 3. Among other things, Abravanel delineates their official functions. He also discusses the tribe’s population size, in relation to the other tribes. “And God spoke unto Moses saying. Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, also spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. Numbers 2 paints a portrait of an orderly Hebrew encampment, a masterful one at that. A splendid arrangement with flags all around, it established crisp tribal associations and parameters. Just as importantly, Jews kept their distance from the Tabernacle, lest blurred lines breed contempt for the mystical Shechinah...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, also spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. Not surprisingly, Numbers 1 deals with, well, numbers or tallying or counting. Abravanel also zeroes in on the counters. Who had been entrusted to take the census of the Hebrew fighters, a head count that reached hundreds of thousands? What lie behind the counting? “And God spoke...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. Following is Abravanel’s shortened introduction to the Book of Numbers, the fourth book in...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. Leviticus 27 concludes this third book of the five books of Moses. The subject matter covers donations to the Tabernacle. “And God spoke to Moses saying. Speak unto the Children of Israel and say unto them. When a man shall clearly utter a vow of persons unto God...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. Leviticus 26 offers Bible students a study into Abravanel’s inimitable style. The topic of reward and punishment is, of course, a juicy one and of profound, general interest. For Abravanel, the discussion begins with a critical analysis of the classic Biblical commentators, before drawing his own conclusions...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. Sabbaticals and jubilees are the main topics of discussion in Leviticus 25. Sabbaticals are observed in Israel at the end of seven-year cycles; jubilees every fifty years. Across the board, classical commentators contend that, essentially, both commandments are variations on the same theme. “And God spoke unto...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel ,sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. A quarrel between two men in the desert quickly escalated. It is duly recorded in the middle of Leviticus 24. And a horrid interjection it is, one that features blasphemy, cursing using God’s name. “And the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. Leviticus 23 pertains to the major Jewish festivals. In addition to Passover, Shavuot, and Succot, this includes Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Why observe them, Abravanel asks? “And God spoke unto Moses, saying. Speak unto all the Children of Israel, and say unto them: The appointed seasons of...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. Leviticus 22 provides more painstaking detail, as to what constituted kosher animal sacrifices in the Tabernacle. Priests remained ever vigilant, and accepted those animals for sacrifices that met the Torah’s rigorous demands. In this way, they vetted for altar activity only those bulls, sheep, or goats that...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. In Leviticus 21, as in every other chapter in the Torah and prophets, Abravanel’s commentary goes through each verse methodically. However, his writings also comprise dozens and dozens of invaluable mini-essays (and some full-length discourses as well). And then sporadically, Abravanel provides Bible students with...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. Arguably, Leviticus 20, parasha Kedoshim, speaks about one of the Torah’s most vicious and hateful crimes imaginable – the slaying of babies in the name of religion. Indeed, this insidious and reprehensible practice to Molech unmasks the grotesque face of idolatry. “And God spoke unto Moses saying: Moreover...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. In Leviticus 19, readers learn about Biblical values. For Abravanel, the topic boils down to three words – imitation of God (imitatio Dei). Let us elaborate on this heady topic of man striving to emulate the Maker, as a vehicle to acquire Biblical values. “And God spoke unto Moses...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. Biblical ethics takes front and center stage in Leviticus Chapter 18. Neatly, Abravanel categorizes the two ancient cultures of Egypt and Canaan. Neither social structure, to be polite, were enviable from the perspective of upright conduct. “And God spoke unto Moses saying, speak unto the Children of Israel...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. Leviticus Chapter 17 focuses on the laws concerning slaughtering animals during the desert years. Notwithstanding the importance of this particular commandment, Bible students will find an answer to an intriguing, albeit unrelated, question: How did Moses transmit the Torah to the Children of Israel? “And God spoke unto...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. The holy day of Yom Kippur is discussed in Leviticus 16. The day’s services in the Tabernacle had been conducted exclusively by Aaron, the high priest. Centuries later, when King Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem, Yom Kippur services were officiated by Aaron’s descendants. “And God...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. Leviticus 15, parasha Metzora, discusses certain oozing conditions that afflict man, resulting in his spiritual defilement. (When the Temple stood, these conditions had even more practical ramifications.) Abravanel understood that this topic would tend to confuse Bible students, and so he prefaces his verse- by-verse commentary with...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. The topic of Biblical leprosy began in Leviticus 13 and continues into Chapter 14. Here the emphasis is on the cleansing of a Biblical leper, essentially a two-step cathartic process. Abravanel delves into the sacrifices (step two) a Biblical leper brings to the Tabernacle. From a leper...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. Leviticus 13 covers the mysterious and elusive subject of Biblical leprosy. “And God spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying: When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, or a scab, or a bright spot, and it become in the skin of his...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. In Leviticus 12, we read about the laws of women who give birth, and their ensuing obligation to bring sacrifices to the Tabernacle. “And God spoke unto Moses, saying: Speak unto the Children of Israel saying, If a woman gives birth to a boy…gives birth to a...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel, (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. Leviticus 11 discusses Jewish dietary laws. In typical Abravanel fashion, he dives into the subject of kashrut with fundamental questions. Here are two: Why did the Creator ban certain foods, as outlined in our chapter? Do dietary laws promote good health? “And God spoke unto Moses and Aaron...
 

Don Isaac Abravane, sometimes spelled Abarbanell (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. In Leviticus 10, he tackles one of the Torah’s most controversial topics: the untimely deaths of Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron the high priest. “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put fire therein, and laid incense thereon...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. He sets forth a religious axiom in Leviticus 9: Divine Providence. Support comes from a later verse in our chapter. “And there came forth fire from before God, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat. And when all the people saw it, they shouted...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. In Leviticus 8, he takes pains to prove Moses’ integrity, an honest broker. Specifically, Abravanel learns from our verses a basic tenet of Judaism: Moses simply acted as God’s conduit, and had not acted on his own. Abravanel illustrates. “And God spoke to Moses saying. Take Aaron...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. In Leviticus 7, he explains God’s attitude toward penitents. “And this is the law of the guilt offering; it is most holy.” Abravanel observes that both guilt and sin offerings are described in the Torah as “most holy.” On the surface, this runs counterintuitively to our logic...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator.Parasha Tzav, Leviticus 6 discusses one aspect of a priest’s daily tasks in the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle’s priestly sanitation department, let us call it, swept up the altar’s ashes, charred remains from the previous day’s sacrifices. “And the priest shall put on his linen...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. The subject of sin offerings began in Leviticus 4, and continues in chapter 5. Our verse discusses the sin offering of a poor man. Given his dearth of cash (he can’t rub two nickels together), what are his options for atoning for wrongdoing? “But if his means...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific Biblical commentator. Leviticus 4 covers the subject of sin offerings in the Tabernacle. Here, Abravanel transports Bible students beyond textual explanation, pivoting into theology. We shall explain. “And God spoke to Moses saying, speak unto the Children of Israel saying. If any one shall sin through error, in any of...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a seminal Jewish thinker, penetrating scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Leviticus (Vayikra) 3 is devoted to peace offerings brought to the Tabernacle. Abravanel explains the sequence, and importance, of peace offerings coming after the Bible speaks about burnt offerings (Leviticus 1) and meal offerings (Leviticus 2). “And if his offering be a sacrifice of peace offerings, if he offer of the...
 

“And when any one brings a meal offering unto God, his offering shall be of fine flour. And he shall pour oil upon it, and frankincense thereon.” Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a seminal Jewish thinker, penetrating scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Leviticus (Vayikra) 1 deals with animal sacrifices, specifically burnt offerings. The wording, Abravanel notes, “When any man of you brings an offering unto God”, appears clumsy. The words “of you” seem superfluous. If we omit them, the verse would read succinctly: “When any man brings an offering…” “And God called unto...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a seminal Jewish thinker, penetrating scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. His lengthy introduction to Leviticus provides Bible students an excellent and thorough overview of one of the Bible’s least understood and appreciated subjects: animal sacrifice. See Abravanel’s World for the discourse in its entirety. “And God called unto Moses, and spoke unto him out of the Tent of the...
 

“And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the Tabernacle was erected…Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting and the glory of God filled the Tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of God filled the Tabernacle.” Bible studies with Don...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a profound Jewish thinker, seminal scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. His preface to the Book of Exodus affords Bible students a compact overview of Genesis as well as the second book of the five books of Moses. Here we bring a synopsis of it. “Now these are the names of the Sons of Israel, who came into Egypt with Jacob; every...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a seminal Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. We read about the priestly garments in Exodus 39. Specifically, we refer to the manufacturing of the ephod, onyx stones, breastplate, robe etc. “And of the blue and purple and scarlet, they made plaited garments. And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple. They made shoulder pieces for it. And...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abravanel (1437-1508) was a seminal Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Exodus 38 examines another aspect of the Tabernacle – through the lens of an accountant or auditor, sort of. “These are the accounts of the Tabernacle…” “These are the accounts of the Tabernacle, even the Tabernacle of Testimony, as they were rendered according to the commandment of Moses, through the service of the...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a seminal Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Exodus 37 continues to discuss the Tabernacle. We add a parenthetical note on Biblical measurements: one cubit roughly equals eighteen inches “And Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits in length, one and a half cubits in width, and one and a half cubits in height.”. Constructing the Tabernacle had...
 

The Tabernacle appeal Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a seminal Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Exodus 36, we learn additional details regarding the Hebrew’s generous financing of the Tabernacle. As discussed in an earlier blog, Abravanel breaks down the benefactors into two categories – those who donated valuables (gold, silver etc.) and those who labored to build God’s sacred house. “And all...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a seminal Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Exodus 35 enshrines the greatness of the Jewish nation, recording their can-do spirit and generosity. Bible students will learn of the outpouring of volunteerism that inspired them in a most holy task: building the Tabernacle. “And Moses assembled all the congregation of the Children of Israel…And Moses spoke…take you...
 

“And God descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of God. And God passed by before him and proclaimed: God, the Lord, God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth; keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. And will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. “And I will send an angel before you. And I will drive out the Canaanite….” Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Exodus chapter 33 dives...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Exodus chapter 32 presents readers with one of the most sordid and reprehensible scandals in the Pentateuch: The Golden Calf “And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him: Make us a god who shall go before us. For...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel, (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Exodus chapter 31 introduces Bible students to the chief and assistant superintendents, two men of renown to whom the Tabernacle’s construction was entrusted. Bezalel assumed the top honors, Oholiab his most able assistant: “And I, behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Midway through Exodus chapter 30, we read about another consecrated fixture of the Tabernacle: the copper wash basin. “And God spoke unto Moses saying, you shall also make a wash basin of brass…to wash, and you shall place it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and you shall put...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Toward the end of Exodus chapter 29, the Bible describes the inauguration of the Tabernacle altar. Two acts readied the altar: anointing oil and the offering of two daily sacrifices. “Now this is that which you shall offer upon the altar: two one-year-old lambs each and every day. The one...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Exodus chapter 28 begins with God’s appointment of Aaron, Moses’ brother, to the priesthood, together with Aaron’s four sons. Abravanel questions the timing of this divine promotion: Why now? “And you shall bring near unto you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the Children of Israel, that they minister...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. At the conclusion of Exodus chapter 27, we read about sanctuary’s lampstand. Abravanel finds something unusual about the chapter’s closing two verses. Consequently, he rejects the notion that they convey a divine commandment – “And you shall command the Children of Israel, that they bring you pure olive oil…” Similarly, Abravanel dismisses the idea...
 

Jewish Action Magazine Vol. 84 No.3 page 38 Jewish Action: If you could pick one figure in Jewish history who respresents hope and optimism and the ability to reinvent and start anew, who would that person be? Dr. Abramson: I could think of many individuals but my favorite is Don Yitzchak Abarbanel, who went trhough tremndous tribulations. In his golden years he elects to remain with the Jews rather...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel, also spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Exodus chapter 26 continues to discuss the Tabernacle, a topic introduced in the previous chapter. Abravanel draws our attention to a grammatical inconsistency in our lead verse (“Moreover, you shall make…”) when compared to the verb’s conjugation in chapter 25 (“Make an ark…and you shall overlay it with pure...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Exodus chapter 25, parshat Terumah, we read about the divine commandment to build for God a sanctuary in the tabernacle. We also learn how this sacred structure was to be financed. “And God spoke unto Moses saying: Speak to the Children of Israel, that they take for Me an offering. Of every man whose...
 

“And Moses wrote all the words of God, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the mountain, and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.” Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Don Isaac...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. The subject of the three major Jewish festivals is broached in Exodus chapter 23. Attendance in Jerusalem’s Holy Temple during those holidays is compulsory: “Three times in the year all your males shall appear before God Almighty.” “Three times you shall keep a feast unto Me in the year.” Abravanel writes, as we have...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In the latter part of Exodus Chapter 22, we read about sexual mores. For Abravanel, the seventh commandment prohibiting adultery, like each of the Ten Commandments, is not meant to be construed narrowly. Rather, it along with each of the other commandments in the Decalogue, contains subcategories. “And if a man seduces a virgin who...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In the book of Exodus, parashat Mishpatim, it delves into divine, judicial statutes that comprise large swathes of Jewish law or jurisprudence. This subject matter continues into the upcoming chapters, as well. “And these are the statutes which you shall set before them.” For the full discussion of Jewish jurisprudence, see Abravanel’s World. However...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. We read in Exodus chapter 20 that the Ten Commandments were transmitted to the Hebrews on Mount Sinai. “And God spoke all these words saying: I am God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me…” Abravanel discusses exactly what...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Exodus chapter 19 sets the backdrop for mankind’s defining moment: The transmission of the Torah on Mount Sinai...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. We read in Exodus chapter 20, parshat Yitro, that the Ten Commandments were transmitted to the Hebrews on Mount Sinai. “And God spoke all these words saying: I am God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me…” Abravanel discusses...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Exodus chapter 19 sets the backdrop for mankind’s defining moment: The transmission of the Torah on Mount Sinai. “In the third month after the Children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came into the wilderness of Sinai.” Abravanel asks about the timing of the watershed event...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. “And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people. And the people stood about Moses from the morning unto evening.” Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Chapter 17 finds the Hebrews trudging along desert dunes, increasingly becoming road weary. Unbearable thirst made them more than cantankerous; they totally lost it. “And God said unto Moses: Pass on before the people, and take with you the elders of Israel, and your staff wherewith you smote the river, and take in your hand...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Exodus Chapter 16 we read about the Hebrews one month into their desert sojourns. By that time, the nation began to experience extreme hardships due to dwindling food and water supplies. “And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the Children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Chapter 15 pertains to the Jew’s jubilation after experiencing the miracle at the Red Sea. Abravanel takes the opportunity to digress from his verse-to-verse commentary and discuss song or poetry, from a Jewish retrospective. The Hebrew essay is lengthy. Please see Abravanel’s World. “Then sang Moses and the Children of Israel...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Exodus, Chapter 14 captures the dramatic story of the utter demise of Pharaoh and his army. Down to the last man, they all drowned in the Red Sea. “And God said to Moses saying: Speak unto the Children of Israel, that they turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth…And Pharaoh will say of...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Chapter 13 tracks the escape route of the departing Hebrews from Egypt. “And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not by the way of the...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Exodus Chapter 12 pertains to the Pascal lamb sacrifice, providing a plethora of details about it. When was it sacrificed? What type of animal could be used? How was it eaten? These are a sampling of some salient aspects of the divine commandment given to the Jewish nation. “And God said unto Moses and Aaron...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Chapter 11 delves into the tenth and final plague: the slaying of Egypt’s first born. It also touches on Pharaoh’s obstinacy, before relating Moses’ and Aaron’s pivotal roles in the Exodus. “And God said unto Moses: Pharaoh will not hearken unto you, that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Exodus Chapter 10, Bible students read about plagues number eight and nine to hit Egypt: locusts and darkness. (The tenth and final plague is a subject for the next chapter.) “And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh and said unto him: Thus says God, the God of the Hebrews. How long will you...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Exodus Chapter 9, the Bible details additional plagues to hit Egypt, including boils. On this particular plague, Abravanel notes an anomaly, giving way to a question: Of all ten plagues, why does God speak to both Moses and Aaron in the case of boils? In all other instances, the Creator solely addressed Moses. “And...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Exodus Chapter 8, Bible students read about the third plague to attack Egypt with a vengeance: lice. “And...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Exodus chapter 7, Bible students encounter the most fundamental theological assumption of all: free choice. Indeed, no topic is more central to Judaism. Predictably, every major commentator has weighed in on free choice, featured front and center in the verse: “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart unto you, and multiply My signs and...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. “And God spoke unto Moses, and said unto him: I am God…And moreover I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel: I am God...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Exodus Chapter 5, Moses and Aaron petition Pharaoh in the name of God: Let My People Go. The king was unmoved, let alone impressed. “And Pharaoh said: Who is God that I should harken unto His voice to let Israel go? I know not God…” “And afterward Moses and Aaron came, and said unto...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Exodus Chapter 4, God bids Moses to return to Egypt. There, he was to address his fellow countrymen, who had been enslaved by Pharaoh. God assured His prophet success, courtesy of divine miracle after miracle. Though initially reticent about being up to the task ahead, the Maker chided the prophet. Ultimately, Moses acquiesced. A...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Exodus Chapter 3, we learn of Moses’ pilot prophecy. The Bible relates that the divine communiqué took place in a wilderness – from the midst of a fiery, burning bush. “Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the farthest end...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Exodus Chapter 2, we learn of Moses’ birth. He was born to Amram and Jochebed, both from the tribe of Levi. “And there went a man of the house of Levi and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw him that he...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Exodus Chapter 1 the Bible painstakingly details the Hebrew population explosion in Egypt, one that spooked the king and terrified his subjects. “And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceedingly mighty. And the land was filled with them.” Expressing fears of the Hebrews forming a fifth column...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Chapter 50 closes out the book of Genesis, chronicling the state funeral procession accorded to Jacob, the third Hebrew...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. The bulk of chapter 49 pertains to Jacob’s final words to his twelve sons, the twelve tribes of Israel. The patriarch addresses each son by name. Concluding the section of benedictions, the Bible sums up: “All these are the twelve tribes of Israel…” “All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Chapter 48 brings Bible students closer to Jacob’s final days. The patriarch summoned Joseph, as our chapter recounts...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. The end of chapter 47 focuses on Jacob’s final days. Earlier in the chapter, we read that Joseph...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Roughly half of chapter 47 pertains to Egypt’s economic collapse, as the famine impoverished an entire population. “And there was no bread in the land…And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt. And Joseph said: Give me your cattle, and I will give you [bread] for...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. In Genesis Chapter 46, we read that Jacob packed up his family to leave famine-plagued Canaan for Egypt, where Joseph ruled. A stopover in Beer Sheba, and a night vision there, nearly put...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Chapter 45 brings the revelation that Pharaoh’s viceroy is Joseph. Abravanel shares profound insights that Joseph had gained along his painful journey in reaching the pinnacle of success. That journey would pave the way for the family’s deep wounds to heal. At the end of the chapter, focus shifts to Jacob. How will...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In chapter 44, an epic legal battle takes place between Joseph and Judah. Abravanel sets the courtroom scene for...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In chapter 43, a heart-wrenching reunion takes place in Egypt. A disguised Joseph sets his eyes upon his...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In chapter 42, we read how Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams was correct. Seven go-go years in Egypt came and went. A bitter famine began to rear its ugly head. This chapter focuses on Jacob’s reaction to the harsh reality and existential threat. “Now Jacob saw that there were provisions in...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In chapter 41, we read how Joseph’s life takes a radical turn – for the better. His meteoric journey...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblicalcommentator. Chapter 40 pertains to Joseph’s interactions with Pharaoh’s staff members, while in prison. But who were Joseph’s...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Chapter 39 chronicles Joseph’s ordeal, a slave sold to Egypt: “And Joseph was brought down to Egypt…” “And Joseph was brought down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hand of the Ishmaelites, that had brought him down thither. And God...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Abravanel observes that chapter 38 digresses from the Bible’s main storyline of Joseph, training a spotlight on Judah. Why the interlude, Abravanel asks? “And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Chapter 37 starts one of the Bible’s most disturbing – and protracted – scandals: the sale of Joseph by his...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. The Bible devotes an entire chapter in Genesis to Esau, meticulously charting out his family tree. Furthermore, our chapter traces Esau’s move from the Holy Land to Seir. “And Esau dwelt in the mountain land of Seir, Esau is Edom. Abravanel discusses both subjects, Esau’s descendants as well as his relocation to Seir...
 

In Blble studies, Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 35, we read that Jacob and family edge closer to home, to Isaac in Hebron. Along the way from Paddan-Aram, God appears to the patriarch and confirms what an angelic messenger had told him earlier – a name change was in the offing: “Your name shall not be called...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Genesis chapter 34 covers the violent rape of Dinah, and subsequent revenge killings carried out by her brothers. “And...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis Chapter 33, we read about the long-anticipated reunion of Jacob and Esau. Twenty years had elapsed...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 32, Jacob begins his trek home. The first leg of his journey starts auspiciously; angels huddle...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 31, we read about Rachel swiping Laban’s idols. Her inexcusable deed raises a red flag, prompting Bible students to question: What could Rachel possibly have been thinking? “Now Laban was gone to shear his sheep. And Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father’s.” It certainly vexed Abravanel, leading him...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 30, God’s fulfilment of Jacob’s earlier dream continues to unfold. Abravanel supplies Bible students with proper context, as well as the right stance with which to approach divine blessing. “And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 29, Jacob arrives at a well, outside of Haran. There, in a setting teeming with rich imagery, he meets local shepherds and plies them with questions. Abravanel explains the significance of the dialogue at the well, both significant topics for Bible students. As to Jacob’s questions, what was he getting at...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 28, Jacob leaves home and makes his way to Haran. The patriarch rests along the road. A prescient encounter with God will change his life forever. Abravanel deciphers the prophecy – Jacob’s ladder. “And Jacob went out from Beer-Sheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon the place, and tarried...
 

“Now therefore, my son, hearken to my voice and arise. Flee to Laban my brother, to Haran.” Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. For Bible Studies, Genesis chapter 27,is one of the Bible’s most dramatic passages – Isaac’s blessing. Old and blind Isaac intends to bless Esau. His wife Rebeccah won’t hear of it. She plans on securing her husband’s blessing for her beloved Jacob, and not Esau. As for the stakes, they’re...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 26, we find out that Esau marries two women. Isaac and Rebeccah’s son’s choices in spouses were more than a source a friction; it haunted them. “And when Esau was forty years old, he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 25, we find a most vexing encounter between Jacob and Esau, twins born to Isaac and Rebeccah. The story requires context, if Bible students are going to begin to make sense of it. “And Jacob...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 25, Abraham marries again. For Abravanel, the patriarch’s decision to take a wife is more than baffling, it’s disturbing. That is because, at first glance, it seems so out of character. “And Abraham...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. “And I will make you swear by God, the God in heaven and the God of the earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell. But you shall go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 23, Sarah passes away. As we shall see, Abraham leaves no stone unturned in efforts to secure an honorable burial spot for his beloved Sarah. “And Sarah died in Kiriatharba, the same is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. And...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 22, we read of the binding of Isaac. This blog covers a small snippet of Abravanel’s preface. He asserts that, arguably, this is one of the most defining and dramatic chapters in the entire Bible. Abravanel’s discourse is precious, and lengthy. For the full discussion, please see Abravanel’s World...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 21, we learn about Sarah’s miracles associated with Isaac’s birth and first years. “And she said: Who would have said regarding Abraham, that Sarah should nurse children – for I have borne him a son in his old age. And the child grew, and was weaned. And Abraham made a great...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis Chapter 20, we read that Abraham left Hebron and relocated to Israel’s southern area, in or near Gaza. “And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the land of the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur. And he sojourned in Gerar.” The move piqued Abravanel’s curiosity. He asks: What motivated the patriarch...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis Chapter 19, we read about Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction. Only Lot and his unwed daughters survived. However, the Bible makes clear that their own merits had nothing to do with it. “And Lot went out unto them to the door, and shut the door after him. And he said: I pray you...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. In Genesis chapter 18, God once again appears to Abraham. “And God appeared unto him by the terebinths of Mamre, as he sat by the tent door in the heat of the day.” Abravanel...
 

“And when Abram was ninety-nine-years-old, God appeared to Abram and said unto him: I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be wholehearted. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly…This is My covenant, which you shall keep between Me and you and your seed after you. Every male among you shall be circumcised.” Bible studies with Don...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. “And the angel of God said unto her: Behold you are with child, and shall bear a son. And you shall call his name Ishmael, because God has heard your affliction. And he shall...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. Genesis chapter 15, Abravanel imparts, is rich in material. He arrives at this conclusion after considerable study, as he...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 14, the Bible chronicles Abram’s dashing military success, which freed Lot and the other captives who were snatched from their homes in Sodom, and led away. “And the king of Sodom said to Abram: Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself. And Abram said to the king of...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 13, the Bible reiterates divine promises previously made to Abram in an earlier chapter. Here again, God tells Abram that his progeny will wax prolific, and that they will inherit the Holy Land. “And God said unto Abram, after Lot separated from him: Lift up your eyes, and look from the place...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 12, the Bible introduces the first of three patriarchs, Abram. God directed him to leave home and family to destination unknown. Our chapter informs us that Abram traveled westward with his wife, Sarai, and Lot, his nephew. Shortly, as the sojourners reached Canaan, the Maker appeared to Abram, and revealed the mystery...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 11, Bible students encounter the inglorious debacle of the Tower of Babel. Abravanel digs deep into the puzzling storyline. He asks: Where did the generation go wrong? What underlaid the provocation of the Almighty? “And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. And it came to pass, as...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 10, the Bible chronicles Noah’s children’s progeny – but in fantastic shorthand. To be sure, history may be gleaned from the Bible, but it cannot narrowly be called a history or historical book. Let us explain, using the verses below as an illustration. “Now these are the generations of the sons...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 9, the Bible turns to diet for Noah, his family, and their progeny. Is Scripture biased toward veganism or, at least, vegetarianism? “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you, as the green...
 

“And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged.” Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 8, the Bible chronicles the conclusion of the great flood, replete with an exact timeline of events. When...
 

Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. In Genesis chapter 7, the Bible details and describes the flood that wiped clean an entire planet, after repeated Heavenly warnings fell on deaf ears. “And the flood was forty days upon the earth...
 

“These are the generations of Noah. Noah was in his generations a man righteous and whole-hearted. Noah walked with God.” Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has delighted – and enlightened – clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. In Genesis chapter 6, the Bible focuses on an exemplary personality: Noah...
 

“And it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth…that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that were fair. And they took them wives…The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men. And they bore children to them. The same were the...
 

“Enoch lived 65 years, and he had a son Methuselah. Enoch walked with God for 300 years after he had Methuselah, and he had sons and daughters. All of Enoch’s years were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and he was no more because God had taken him.” Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five...
 

“And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground…” Bible studies with Don Isaac Abravanel’s commentary (also spelled Abarbanel) has withstood the test of time. For over five centuries, Abravanel has enlightened clergy and layman alike, offering enduring interpretations of the Bible. Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 4, the...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508), also spelled Abarbanel was a penetrating Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis chapter 3, he explains one of the Bible’s more puzzling and curious narratives featuring a cunning and talking snake. Some English translations refer to it as a “subtle serpent.” Be that as it may, Bible readers need to understand this chapter. This blog provides a thoughtful approach to Genesis...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508), also spelled Abarbanel was a penetrating Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. In Genesis Chapter 2, he unearths the meaning of the two trees featured in the Garden of Eden: the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Regarding the tree of life, Abravanel questions: How is it that the tree bestows eternal life upon someone who eats of...
 

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508), also spelled Abarbanel was a penetrating Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical commentator. It is, of course, nary impossible to pare Abravanel’s encyclopedic and groundbreaking commentary on the Bible, and reduce it to a short blog. Indeed, where would one start? How could we sift through the thousands and thousands of pages of his magnus opus, in order to produce an Abravanel mission statement...
 

“In the beginning, God created the heaven and earth.” Introduction to Angelology and Abarbanel Throughout his groundbreaking Biblical commentaries, Don Isaac Abravanel (also spelled Abarbanel) (1437-1508) writes extensively on angels. This should not come as a surprise. After all, angels or heavenly facilitators played and continue to play significant roles in heaven and on earth. What is surprising, Abravanel asks, is this: Given that of all God’s...
 

“And God spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, saying: This is the governing law that God commands, saying: Speak to the Children of Israel that they should take for you a red cow, hardy [and] blemish free, which has never borne upon it a yoke.” Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) observes: One important question concerning the red cow commandment is its placement or position among the 613 Torah commandments...
 

Abarbanel’s first Aliyah to Parashat Tzav, an excerpt from Abravanel’s World of Torah by Zev Bar Eitan “And God spoke to Moses saying: Command Aaron and his sons saying. This is the law of the burnt offering…” ‘Recall that in the earlier section of Leviticus, Moses addressed the Hebrew general assembly. That was because the section dealt with and focused on categories of the populace needing to bring...
 

Parashat Tzav, First Aliyah, based on Abravanel’s World of Torah by Zev Bar Eitan Bible Studies with Don Isaac Abarbanel and the Ramban. Sacrifices in the Tabernacle: Sin offerings, guilt offerings, and peace offerings. Abarbanel asks: Does God even want sacrifices? What does the Torah’s sequence of the offerings teach about God? “And God spoke to Moses saying. Command Aaron and his sons saying, this is the law...
 

“And God called unto Moses, and spoke unto him out of the Tent of the Meeting. Speak unto the Children of Israel, and say unto them: When any man of you brings an offering unto God, you shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd or the flock.” ‘Heaven acknowledged how priests deserved the Jews’ financial support. Through a system of tithes and gifts, their needs...
 

Abarbanel’s introduction to Leviticus based on Abravanel’s World of Torah by Zev Bar Eitan “And God called unto Moses, and spoke unto him out of the Tent of Meeting. Speak unto the Children of Israel, and say unto them: When any man of you brings an offering unto God, you shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd or of the flock.” In the Book...
 

“And Moshe assembled all the congregation of the Children of Israel and he said to them: These are the words that God has commanded to do them.” Abarbanel asks : When did Moshe make the appeal to fund the Tabernacle? ‘After Moshe descended the mountain, he addressed the entire nation. His call, naturally, reached out to men and women. A gathering took place in the prophet’s personal Tent of...
 

“And Moses assembled all the congregation of the Children of Israel, and said unto them: These are the words which God has commanded, that you should do them.” Abarbanel notes that the lead verse requires explanation. If Moshe gathered the Hebrews for the purpose of issuing a command to build the Tabernacle, as it says, “These are the words which God has commanded, that you should do them”, why...
 

Parashat Ki Tisa, First Aliyah, an excerpt from Abravanel’s World of Torah by Zev Bar Eitan “And God said to Moshe saying: For the sake of your taking a census of the Children of Israel according to their count, each man shall give atonement for his soul to the Almighty in reckoning them so that plague does not befall them by dint of having been numbered.” "Divine wisdom foresaw...
 

“And God spoke to Moshe saying. When you take the sum of the Children of Israel, according to their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto God, when you number them, that there be no plague among them, when you number them.” Our section speaks about a census for soldiers. The count is associated with a “ransom”, in efforts to ward off pestilence...
 

“And you shall command the Children of Israel, that they bring unto you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually. In the Tent of Meeting…Aharon and his sons shall set it in order, to burn from evening to morning before God…” ‘This section’s opening paragraphs seem disjointed because they switch theme tracks. Note that the lead verse talks about lighting...
 

“And you shall command the Children of Israel, that they bring unto you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually. In the Tent of Meeting…Aharon and his sons shall set it in order, to burn from evening to morning before God…” Isaac Abravanel contends that it is curious for our section to start with a divine command regarding the priests arranging...
 

“And God said to Moshe, saying: Speak to the Children of Israel and collect a separated portion. From those who are generous you shall take a separated portion for Me.” ‘In a general Torah sense and here in this section in particular, Heaven’s modus operandi comes out in full splendor. That is, Hashem desired to increase both the Hebrew people’s merit and Moshe’s prominence. In our...
 

“And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” Don Isaac Abarbanel (1437-1508) asks on this Torah section of Terumah: Why did God command the Hebrews to build a sanctuary? As it says: “That I may dwell among them?” One might deduce that the Maker has physical properties and that a sanctuary can fully contain Him. Preposterous. Hashem is non-corporeal. Thus, no chamber...
 

"In sum, tight linkage between the Utterances (10 Commandments) and accompanying laws convincingly persuades readers that Parashat Mishpatim conveys divine directives unlike any manmade moral code." Shemot: Sinai Rules, page 464
 

“Now these are the statutes which you shall set before them.” This section pertains to Jewish law, a cornerstone of Judaism. Let us provide a brief introduction to this all-important subject. The Torah has three distinct categories of commandments or mitzvot. At present, we are only interested in statutes or mishpatim, divine laws which comprise Jewish jurisprudence. At root is what is commonly referred to as civil law...
 

“Now Yitro, the priest of Midian, Moshe’s father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moshe, and for Yisrael His people, how God brought Yisrael out of Egypt.” ‘Before delving into our passage’s narrative, it is important to determine where it fits into the broader chronology scheme. When did Yitro arrive on the scene and advise Moshe to set up a multi-tiered court...
 

“Now Yitro, the priest of Midian, Moshe’s father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moshe, and for Yisrael His people, how God brought Yisrael out of Egypt.” The verse creates a curious conundrum: After we read that Yitro “heard of all that God had done for Moshe, and for Yisrael”, which really represents a catch-all, it then offers a slimmed down version of...
 

Splitting the Red Sea “And God went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, that they might go by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night departed not from before the people.” ‘The Almighty also provided these travelers with a pillar...
 

“So that I might place these signs of Mine in his midst.” ‘Pharoah was a lost cause but God aimed to instill lessons of eternal faith within His people. When they looked around them and saw God’s hand everywhere, it would be a boon. Belief would spring eternal. A better approach to these verses is that Moshe was taken in by Pharoah’s post-hail promise to liberate...
 

“And I appeared unto Avraham, unto Yitzchak, and unto Yaakov, as God Almighty, but by My name [Hashem] I made Me not known to them.” Classic commentators struggled to make sense of our verse. Some hold that it means that God had not revealed Himself to them via the Ineffable name. Others posit that Hashem made promises to them, but did not fulfil them. Both positions are weak, as...
 

"“And Moshe (Moses) spoke thusly to the Children of Israel but they did not heed Moshe on account of exasperation and overexertion.” Work rendered the Hebrews emotionally drained and physically overtaxed. They had neither patience nor time for Moshe’s assurances. His words fell on deaf ears. Yes, they believed in the shepherd from Midian’s clarion call for deliverance, but these wearied workers were essentially oblivious to Moshe...
 

Parshot Bo:“And Moshe and Aharon went in unto Pharoah, and said…let My people go, that they may serve Me….Else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow will I bring locusts unto your border…” We ask: Why did the Torah’s arranger of the parshiyot begin this parashah with the plague of locusts? After all, it is not the Torah’s launch into what would...
 

Parashat Va’era, First Aliyah “And Moshe spoke thusly to the Children of Israel but they did not heed Moshe on account of exasperation and overexertion.” Work rendered the Hebrews emotionally drained and physically overtaxed. They had neither patience nor time for Moshe’s assurances. His words fell on deaf ears. Yes, they believed in the shepherd from Midian’s clarion call for deliverance, but these wearied workers were essentially...
 

“And I appeared unto Avraham, unto Yitzchak, and unto Yaakov, as God Almighty, but by My name [Hashem] I made Me not known to them.” Parashat Va’era, First Aliyah Classic commentators struggled to make sense of our verse. Some hold that it means that God had not revealed Himself to them via the Ineffable name. Others posit that Hashem made promises to them, but did not fulfil them...
 

For Yaakov (Jacob), a bitter famine coupled with his sons’ insistence comprised formidable tailwinds propelling him to Egypt. Still, he might have braved hunger and stayed put in beloved Canaan. Perhaps he could have resisted their incessant appeals had it not been for one irresistible magnet. Its force tugged and jerked mercilessly. Uppermost in the mind and heart of the aged patriarch was an image that he hadn’t been...
 

Exodus (Shemot in Hebrew) segues from Genesis (Bereshit), for good reason. Here are four rationales that explain what takes us from the Torah’s first to second book. 1) Bereshit dealt with individuals of great personal stature. To name some of the moral giants, we list: Adam, Noach, Shem, Eiver, Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov and his sons. There were other outstanding personalities, as well. After the narratives of these men of...
 

With Zev Bar-Eitan discussing his English series, "Abravanel's World of Torah"  
 

One gets the distinct impression that Yaakov's final seventeen years - spent in Goshen, Egypt - were his golden years. Reunited with his beloved Yosef, surrounded by his children and grandchildren, it was for all intents and purposes the epitome of Sabbas and Savtas call Yiddishe nachas. Moreover, the third patriarch's ruchniut churned most prolifically. Specifically, divine communications that he earlier received in Canaan came into magnificent focus. Based on Yaakov's newly...
 

After Yaakov received the delightfully shocking news that his son Yosef was alive and well in Egypt (and gainfully employed!), the Torah records his gut reaction. 'And Yisrael said: How incomprehensible it is that Yosef is still alive. I will go down [to Egypt] and see him before I pass away." Sometime thereafter, the patriarch took a more thoughtful approach to his predicament, and a monstrous predicament it was. Could...
 

Arguably, Parashat Miketz is Bereshit's most dramatic chapter. And that is saying quite a lot, especially considering the riveting subject matter contained in each and every one of Genesis’ twelve parshiyot. Do they not comprise episodes and narratives chock-full of esoterica, intrigue, and bafflement that stretch man's imagination, reason, and intellect? Tucked into Miketz' seventh aliyah where the feverish high pitch blazes, a smaller but important question surfaces. In...
 

This parasha is the first of four parshiyot that deal with one of Tanach’s most protracted scandals: The Selling of Yosef by his brothers into Slavery. That single topic is at the very heart of these chapters. At root, perhaps one question towers above the rest. It is this. If Yosef’s brothers’ deed ranks as egregious as it appears, then why doesn’t the Torah record their just...
 

In this parasha, Yaakov’s long, anticipated reunion with his brother Esav unfolds. Building suspense makes it one of the most dramatic and tense narratives in Sefer Bereshit. Yaakov’s preparation for the event was two-fold. On one level, a physical one, the patriarch readied his family and property for potential hostilities should Esav’s forces attack. A second additional tack employed by Yaakov took into account mental and...
 

Bible students need not be put off by the fact that the Torah is written in fantastic shorthand. It does, however, mean that serious students are expected to do a fair amount of sleuthing and honest investigation if they are to properly apprehend its enduring wisdom. While this observation is true in a general sense, it is equally as relevant when we try to get a better feel or read...
 

The Torah devotes three parshiyot to Avraham (Lech Lecha, Vayera, and Chayei Sara) and the balance of Bereshit (from Vayetze to Vayachi) deals with Yaakov and the twelve tribes. Toldot is the sole parasha that teaches us about Yitzchak's life. Q: Is Yitzchak the patriarch we never quite got to know? Why such scant and skeletal treatment for him? After all, Yitzchak, uniquely, is referred to as a pure, burnt...
 

Q: What was Avraham thinking when he made his public plea to procure in perpetuity Hevron’s multi-tiered cave (Ma’ara Hamachpela). To clarify, the question here is not why Avraham desired the Cave in the first place. That can be answered very simply enough. Namely, he badly wanted it on account of its association with Adam and Eve having been buried there. Jewish tradition attests to that. Rather...
 

Vayera opens with “And the Almighty appeared to him [Avraham] in Elonei Mamre as he sat at the tent’s entrance in the heat of the day.” Q: If the Torah wanted to pinpoint the place or locale from where this prophetic vision emanated, then the verse only needed to state “in Elonei Mamrei” or “at the tent’s entrance.” Why was it important to add a prepositional phrase regarding...
 

Below are two ideas on this week’s parasha. The first one comes to answer a famous question. Given that Avraham was spared Nimrod/Ur Kasdim's wrath and death by fire, why doesn’t the Torah mention that miracle explicitly? Instead, only an innuendo suffices, as the major commentators have noted. To answer, let us provide a premise. Avram had been a well-known philosopher in his city. Moreover, his...
 

Commentators question the sequence of Noach’s sons’ birth order. Who were the eldest, the middle, and youngest children? Several classics commentators have weighed in on this subject, bringing proofs from Scripture. Another particularly curious and quirky question is this one: How many sons did Noach have? The quick answer is three but might there have been a fourth one as well? Fairly, students wonder: From where is this query...
 

There are, of course, many fundamental questions students must grapple with when they open a Chumash (Torah). One is: Are Tanach (Biblical) narratives literal, metaphorical, or figurative? Great commentators have weighed in on this subject when it comes to Gan Eden (Garden of Eden), in general, and the snake episode in particular. Fairly they ask: Is it for real? Did the snake – even generously allowing for a crafty one – strike...
 

There are no articles in this category. If subcategories display on this page, they may have articles.

Subcategories