Sparks from the Fire - Blogs http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/13 en INN http://www.israelnationalnews.com/static/Blogs/13.jpg http://www.israelnationalnews.com/ The Human Being: A Potent Pile of Dirthttp://www.israelnationalnews.com/Blogs/Message.aspx/3914The Torah’s depiction of the creation of the human is unique in relation to all other aspects of creation: “And Hashem Elokim created man from the dirt of the ground…” (Genesis 2:7).
When reading the passage in Hebrew, one can’t miss the similarity between the word for man, adam, and the word for...Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:24:38 GMTForget God, Just Hold on to the Torahhttp://www.israelnationalnews.com/Blogs/Message.aspx/3906The Midrashic literature can provide a surprising and sometimes shocking new perspective through which to look at God and the Torah. The following is a great example:
“(God says) let it be that they leave me, but my Torah they should observe, since the light that is in it will return them to good”...Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:57:06 GMTSay it Out Loud: The Library and the Beit Midrashhttp://www.israelnationalnews.com/Blogs/Message.aspx/3896You can learn a lot about books not just from what’s inside them, but in how they are studied. Libraries across the world all share a common picture: massive stacks of books of all topics interspersed with desks where each person sits and reads quietly.
From where did the rule originate that inside...Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:37:14 GMTWaters of Sustenance, Waters of Destructionhttp://www.israelnationalnews.com/Blogs/Message.aspx/3878The world is complex rarely, if at all, are matters strictly black and white. So when we read the stories from the Torah, if they seem black and white, the Torah is inviting us to dig a little deeper.
A simple reading of the flood story could lead to a simple conclusion: Noach was good, and the rest...Sat, 24 Oct 2009 21:19:40 GMTWhen Righteousness Just isn’t Enoughhttp://www.israelnationalnews.com/Blogs/Message.aspx/3859As we again start reading from the beginning of the Torah, the first question that greets us is one that Rashi quotes from the midrash in the name of Rebbi Yitzhak: Why didn’t the Torah begin with the sanctification of the new moon, which is the giving of the first mitzvah?
In other words, Rebbi...Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:18:32 GMT