The Land of Israel
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Uncleanness in Jewish Law
What is the significance of “uncleanness” in Jewish law? Many things make a person “unclean” according to Jewish law — contact with a corpse, for example. An unclean person was not allowed to enter the Temple; but since the destruction…
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The Exile of the Shechina
What is meant by the “exile” of the Shechina? The idea that the Shechina (the Divine Presence) goes into exile with the Jewish people is found in the Talmud (Megillah 29a, in the name of R.Shimon b. Yochai). The “exile”…
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The Age of Jerusalem
How old is Jerusalem? Jerusalem (probably) is mentioned in the Egyptian “execration texts” and the Tel-el-Amarna letters; the latter date from 3500 years ago and the former from even earlier. Malki-Tzedek, king of Shalem (Jerusalem) in Abraham’s time (3700+ years…
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The Golan in the Bible
Is the Golan mentioned in the Bible? Golan (a city) is mentioned in the Torah (Deut. 4:43) as being in the region called Bashan. This region was formerly ruled by the Canaanite king Og; it was conquered by the Israelites…
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The Distance from Egypt to the Promised Land
What is the distance from Egypt to the Promised Land? It depends on where the boundaries of the Promised Land are; according to some views, its southern border is actually adjacent to Egypt, and in any case it’s very close…
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The Names of Egypt
By what names was Egypt known? The Hebrew name of the country is Mitzrayim (meaning something like “two domains”); the “dual” form of the word reflects the ancient division of the country into “upper” and “lower” parts. “Egypt” (Aigyptos) is…
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War and Conquest in the Torah
Why does the Torah condone war and conquest? Though the Torah is timeless, it particularly addresses the people who lived at the time it was given (“the Torah spoke in human language”). In this context, war was a fact of…
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Wars of Extermination in Biblical Times
Did the Jews fight wars of extermination in Biblical times? The Jews were commanded to fight specific wars of annihilation against the Canaanites and the Amalekites; but even in those wars, terms of surrender were offered first, and no one…
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Jews Ruling Other Nations
Do the Jews want to rule over other nations? The Jews’ conquest of Eretz Yisroel in the times of Joshua and David was not driven by territorial expansionism; it was a fulfillment of G-d’s promise to Abraham. The Messiah will…