Jewish History
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Mearas ha-Machpelah
What is the Mearas ha-Machpelah? It is the "double cave" in Hebron that was bought by Abraham from the Hittites at the time of Sarah’s death (Gen. Ch.23); the patriarchs and their wives are buried there.
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Carchemish
Where is Carchemish? It is a city on the Euphrates river, about 50 miles north of Aleppo. It was the site of one of Nebuchadnezzar’s battles (Jeremiah 46:2, 2 Chronicles 35:20)
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The Yeshiva of Shem and Ever
Where was the Yeshiva of Shem and Ever? Shem (the son of Noah) is traditionally identified with Melchi-zedek, who was king of Shalem (Jerusalem) in Abraham’s time (Gen. 14:18). Assuming he was still there in Jacob’s time, his Yeshiva was…
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Enosh
Was Enosh the first person to worship G-d? Adam and Eve had personal contacts with G-d and certainly worshipped Him. What happened in the time of Adam’s grandson Enosh is that people began to treat created things (angels, heavenly bodies,…
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The Prophecy of Lemech
What did Lamech, Noah’s father, prophesy at Noah’s birth? According to tradition, Noah made major contributions to agriculture (see Gen. 9:20), so that raising food was no longer such a tedious task (compare Gen. 3:17-19 and Gen. 5:29); at his…
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Marrying from Canaan
Why was it important for Isaac and Jacob not to marry women from Canaan, but not important for Jacob’s sons? Did the Canaanites change? Isaac and Jacob both had brothers who didn’t follow in their fathers’ footsteps, so it was…
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Sefardic and Ashkenazic Customs
When and where do Sefardic and Ashkenazic customs come from? The differences are a natural result of the dispersion of the Jewish community. Sefarad is actually Hebrew for Spain — after the Spanish expulsion in the late 15th century, many…
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The Torah Starting with a Beis
Why does the Torah begin with the Hebrew letter "B" instead of with "A"? The Talmud Yerushalmi (Chagigah 2:1) says that the Torah begins with a "B" instead of an "A" because the word "baruch" ("blessed") begins with "B", whereas…
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Ten Lost Tribes of Israel
What happened to the 10 tribes of Israelites from Northern Israel after the Assyirian empire disposed of them in other countries? Answer: Although they call it 10 lost Tribes of the North, they were never all lost. For example, big…