Jewish History
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Rabbenu Chananel
Who was Rabbenu Chananel? He lived in Kairowan (Tunisia) in the first half of the 1000’s. He is best known for his commentary on the Talmud, based on the commentaries of the last Babylonian Geonim, but also making extensive use…
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Rabbi Maimon ben Yosef
What is the history of Maimonides’ father, Rabbi Maimon ben Yosef? R. Maimon was a dayan (judge) in Cordova, Spain in the mid-1100’s. He composed commentaries on the Torah and Talmud and a book on the laws of prayer, only…
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Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz
In Isaiah 8:3, why was the prophet told to call his son Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz? The prophets were sometimes told to call attention to what was going to happen. Isaiah was told to call his newborn son by a name that means…
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The Date of the Exodus
When was the Exodus? The Exodus was in the year 2448 after the Creation, around 3315 years ago.
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Jewish Sects during the Second Temple
What were the Jewish sects in the time of the Second Temple? Josephus, writing about that period, speaks about three principal “philosophies” of the Jews, associated with groups called the Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes. The first group, to which many…
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The Rivers of Eden
Can the four rivers that flowed out of Eden be identified? Two of the rivers are the Tigris and the Euphrates (Gen. 2:14). The sources of the Euphrates are in northeast Turkey; it flows southward into northern Syria, then turns…
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The Gates of Jerusalem
Nehemiah Ch.3 mentions about a dozen gates of the city of Jerusalem. Are the names of these gates symbolic? When the first three gates are mentioned, Rashi says "That [was] the name of the gate" or "That [was] its name".…
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The Name HaShem
What does HaShem mean? The term HaShem literally means "The Name". This term is used by Jews to refer to God. Jews use a substitute for the actual Name of God because Jewish law forbids the pronunciation of God’s Name.…
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Rabbi Moshe Feinstein
Who was Rabbi Moshe Feinstein? Rabbi Moshe Feinstein was born in the year 1895 in Uzda, near Minsk, Belorussia where his father was rabbi. In 1921 he became rabbi of Luban, near Minsk, where he remained till he came to…