Summary of Haftarat Vayera 2 Kings 4:1-37 The haftarah portion for Vayera contains two stories about Elisha the prophet. The first relates of a story of a widowed woman who is about to lose her sons to her creditors. She appealed to Elisha for help. He instructed her to collect…
There are many lessons to be learned from the celebration of Sukkot, but from an overall perspective the grand lesson is that God intends His people to realize a life a joy, a joy that flows out of relationship with Him first of all, and then out of the relationships…
Summary of Haftarat Ki Tavo The haftarah for Shabbat Ki Tavo (“when you come”), is the sixth is a series of seven successive haftarah readings that follow the Fast of Av, and the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem. The Seven Consolations, each drawn from Isaiah’s Book of Consolations (Isaiah…
Summary of Haftarat Ekev Isaiah 49:14-51:3 The haftarah for Shabbat Ekev is the second in a series of seven successive haftarah readings that follow the Fast of Av, and anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem. The Seven Consolations, each drawn from Isaiah’s Book of Consolations (Isaiah 40-66), offer words of…
Va’etchanan “ And I besought” Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11 Isaiah 40:1-26 At chapter 40, the scroll of Isaiah begins with what Rabbi Ibn Ezra called, “the second part of the book.” Isaiah 40-66 contains a series of consolations in which the prophet offers a messianic vision of hope and renewal to the…
Summary of Haftarat Beha’alotcha Zechariah 2:10-4:7 The restoration of the Temple is a central concern throughout the haftarah potion. The haftarah begins with a charge to the daughter of Zion to sing and rejoice because God’s presence is returning to the Temple. The haftarah portion spans two of Zechariah’s visions:…
Summary of Haftarat Shabbat HaChodesh Shabbat HaChodesh is the last of the four special Sabbaths that come before the month of Nisan: Sheklim, Zachor, Parah, and HaChodesh. On the fourth of the four special Sabbaths, they read the passage of Exodus 12:1-20 that begins, “This month shall be for you,…
The Word of God as CovenantIt is clear from a study of the structure of the Torah (and specifically certainsections as well as the whole book of Deuteronomy) that the word of God wasgiven to Israel in the form of a covenant. It is specifically called a “covenant”in its initial…
The Torah as Foundation (סוֹדְיּ ַה, HaYesod) By Tim Hegg used with Permission Torahresource.comThe first notice of writing the word of God is found in ExodusEx. 31:18 When He (God) had finished speaking with him(Moses) upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of thetestimony, tablets of stone, written…
Summary of Haftarat Shabbat Parah Shabbat Parah is a special Shabbat that comes before the month of Nisan. The Mishnah explains that on the Shabbat after Purim, we replace the regular maftir, the last section of the Parashah, with the section from Numbers 19, the section of the Torah that…