Adina Ellis is a graduate of the Matan Bellows Eshkolot Educators Institute. She has been teaching Tanakh and machshava over the last two decades, initially on college campuses and in Hebrew Schools in the New Jersey area. Since making aliyah in 2005, she has given weekly shiurim in Hebrew and English to women in her community. Adina has taught in the ALIT program and Rosh Chodesh seminars run by the OU Women's Initiative as well as in the mother-daughter "learn and art" program of OU Israel. She is known for her unique ability to facilitate in-depth textual learning along with engaging and relevant discussions. Adina lives with her husband and children in Yad Binyamin.
is a graduate of the Matan Bellows Eshkolot Educators Institute. She has been teaching Tanakh and machshava over the last two decades, initially on college campuses and in Hebrew Schools in the New Jersey area. Since making aliyah in 2005, she has given weekly shiurim in Hebrew and English to women in her community. Adina has taught in the ALIT program and Rosh Chodesh seminars run by the OU Women's Initiative as well as in the mother-daughter "learn and art" program of OU Israel. She is known for her unique ability to facilitate in-depth textual learning along with engaging and relevant discussions. Adina lives with her husband and children in Yad Binyamin.
The ancient translation of the Jewish Bible occurred in the month of Tevet. Seventy two elders, according to some traditions, representing six from each of the twelve Shevatim, were brought to King Ptolemy. He placed each one in a separate room and they were ordered to write the sacred words of the Torah in Greek (See Megillah 9a). The writing of the Septuagint was celebrated by many, yet our sages describe this moment as darkness descending on the world. Wasn’t making Torah accessible in the commonly spoken language a good thing? Don’t we celebrate the publication of the Artscroll Chumash or the Steinsaltz Gemara?
According to Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, the four kingdoms which subjugated and exiled Israel are alluded to in the second verse of the Torah (Bereishit 1:2):
And the world was emptiness (tohu) - Babylon
and disorder (vohu) - Median
and darkness (ve’choshech) - Greek
upon the face of the depths (al p’nei tehom) - Edom.
Why is darkness a reference to the Greeks?
וְחשֶׁךְ, זֶה גָּלוּת יָוָן, שֶׁהֶחֱשִׁיכָה עֵינֵיהֶם שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּגְזֵרוֹתֵיהֶן
שֶׁהָיְתָה אוֹמֶרֶת לָהֶם, כִּתְבוּ עַל קֶרֶן הַשּׁוֹר שֶׁאֵין לָכֶם חֵלֶק בֵּאלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
“And darkness"- this is the Greek exile, which darkened Israel’s eyes with their edicts, as they used to say to them: ‘Write on the horn of a bull that you have no portion in the God of Israel.’ (Bereishit Rabbah 2:4)
The darkness was not simply due to the Torah being shared, but rather to the fear that the true depth and spirituality inherent in the sacred text would be lost. The holy Torah was being treated as a fine book of literature and nothing more. Gone was the reverence of divine revelation.
Greek culture lauded aesthetics and intellect as an end in itself, while Jewish ideals value the internal depth alongside the external beauty. Therefore, the structural complexity of the Torah text is highly regarded, and crucially, it reflects a deep appreciation that it is a divine gift, a spiritual inheritance meant to inspire, shape and guide us in life’s journey.
The bull is a strong muscular animal used for labor and it’s horn grows atop the head. Perhaps the bull’s horn is a reminder of the Greek ideals of intellectual pursuit for its own sake and glorification of the human form. The Sefat Emet (Hanukkah 1870) explains how the Greeks wanted to instill in the Jewish people a new mindset, מעל חוקי רצונך, a sense of autonomy with no regard to God’s will, to express the mind and the body, however man desires.
In today’s world so much information is accessible, easily translated and literally at our fingertips. While we can celebrate this inherent blessing, we must also be cognizant of the inherent dangers that coincide with it. There is a possibility for great light or for great darkness. Scrolling images can devolve to scrutinizing others’ unrealistically portrayed vacations or restaurant specials or comparing natural beauty to others’ digitally enhanced images. This can easily create a sense of insecurity, perceived lack, or other negative self-talk, particularly in teens and young adults.
So much is captured, yet so much is lost in that perfectly curated photo. When teens are exposed to idealized images, their brains often mistake those highlights for reality, leading to unnecessary self-doubt and harsh inner criticism. So too, acquiring vast amounts of information through the digital age, AI, and endless podcasts can feel intellectually stimulating and rewarding. But it can also feel devoid of depth, accumulating more and more intellectual fodder without processing and connecting to one’s inner world.
When we only look at the external, it creates darkness, it dampens our spirits, dims our light. The Jewish approach tells us that we need both. We laud beauty, we laud intellect, yet we demand the spiritual core. There is no room to give up on the inner world, the spirit, the depth, the connection to Hashem.
This idea is seen in a verse in Berieshit. Yefet was the son of Noach who symbolized external beauty, the ancestor of Greek and subsequently Roman culture. May the beauty of Yefet extend itself and dwell within the parameters of the tents of Shem, וְיִשְׁכֹּן בְּאׇהֳלֵי שֵׁם, the progenitor of the Jewish nation (Bereishit 9:27). May the ideals of the arts, languages and philosophy of this aesthetic- focused- culture find a home within the walls of Jewish values of morality and spirituality.
Tevet is a time to embrace the external and internal, the physical and spiritual dimensions of Torah and all that we consume in our lives. We can continue to enjoy translations of our text while maintaining reverence for its sanctity, much like in the times when Jews returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile.
וַיִּקְרְאוּ בַסֵּפֶר בְּתוֹרַת הָאֱלֹהִים מְפֹרָשׁ וְשׂוֹם שֶׂכֶל וַיָּבִינוּ בַּמִּקְרָא -
They read from the scroll of the Teaching of God, translating it and giving sense; so they understood the reading (Nechemia 8:8)
The translation is meant to aid in understanding, but it is “in the tents of Shem," understood as the holy teaching of God. And it is meant to bring light and joy and the presence of the Shechinah. May we embrace the beauty around us and continue our intellectual pursuits and always remember the sanctity inherent in both