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In Deuteronomy Moses recounts the events that have already happened. He gives a summary of events that have transpired during many years in the wilderness. At the very beginning of his speech, he admonishes the Israelites to take possession of the land promised to them. And the way he spoke
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In Numbers, we encounter a story of a report brought back to the Israelite community. Ten investigators of the Land of Promise were pessimistic about conquering Canaan. The land was prosperous and fertile, but the enemy was too mighty to defeat. Of ten investigators, only two believed that God would
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Some commandments in Torah are more elaborate and detailed, and others are somewhat straightforward and simple. Yet all of them teach how to apply wisdom in life in all situations. This week, I pondered over a commandment concerning the bird’s nest. Torah says if one comes upon a nest
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If you have siblings, the odds are some of them, specific ones, would constantly take charge in any setting. Maybe you are the one who gave orders to everyone on what to do on the playground. Maybe you are the one who told all your schoolmates what the plan always
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This conversation is a segment from the IBC course titled "Jews and Greeks on Life and the Afterlife." Yeshaya Gruber, Nicholas Schaser, Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg, and Pinchas Shir discuss the ways Greeks thought in a completely different manner than the Jews. Learn more about Jewish and Greek concepts of
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Have you ever encountered a superhero story where a villain puts the hero in a very tough situation, an impossible choice even? The hero has to choose to do what is right at a great personal cost to save people in mortal danger. Creating scenarios like that is the trademark
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Whether you get lost in the pages of Tolstoy or Torah, some things in life are certain and clear. Some paths are righteous, and others are not. One can get very turned around in the complexity of life's choices. Yet, if you tune in your years to God’
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Torah describes the laws of shemitah, the laws of the sabbatical year, and also yovel, a Jubilee year. This was a time when Israel was challenged to let the land have its Shabbat, a complete rest from agriculture. And yet this rest was not going to bring economic suffering upon
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Has anyone ever complained to you that you are a difficult person? Have you been described as “rough around the edges”? Don’t despair. It just means you are human, and you do not hide it very well. I will tell you, though, that life may throw you around a
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In Vayikra, in Leviticus 21, verses 10-11 speak to a priest, who is the greatest among his brothers because he was anointed, should not tear his garments or bare his head. He should not defile himself even if his parents died because he was anointed to serve in the holy
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Are the Essenes the same people as the Jewish Qumran Sect? Who are the Zealots, and why does Josephus dislike them so much? Pinchas Shir helps us better understand the diverse beliefs among the Jews during the Second Temple Period by pointing out the similarities and differences. Stay tuned till
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We start with the Hasidim and discuss how the Pharisees emerged from this group. While the Sadducees were Temple-focused, the Pharisees were focused on purity in everyday life. They were an of-the-people-for-the-people kind of group scattered throughout Israel and the diaspora. Pinchas Shir helps us understand how the Pharisees used