In the early days of biblical archaeology there was a lot of optimism that the new science could verify the existence of Moses by proving that there was indeed a great migration of people from Egypt...
By Jonathan Kaplan /The Conversation Many Americans have heard the expression “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine” – in fact, a quick Google search turns up myriad websites offering wedding...
The holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur, means “Day of Atonement”. Marked by confession, repentance, and forgiveness, it takes place ten days after the Jewish New Year. Its origins remain to...
As Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar approaches, this article delves into the religious traditions that are followed by millions at this time of year. But it goes further, noticing...
“Prophecy is an emanation sent forth by the Divine Being through the medium of the Active Intellect, in the first instance to man's rational faculty, and then to his imaginative faculty.” -...
New findings from an 800-year-old trash dump in Oxford, England, show that in the face of extreme adversity medieval Jews in England managed to adhere, strictly, to kosher food laws as laid out in...
The name of the Torah has a complicated history. It has been thought to mean a multitude of things including “instruction”, “law”, and “teaching”. The Torah is often misunderstood to represent the...
Buried beneath the themes of first fruits and wheat offerings lie deeper connections between Shavuot and Akhenaten. These are suggestive and persuasive and go far beyond delicious foods and...
The Jewish festival of Shavuot is taking place around the world. It is an ancient celebration of the spring harvest of grains and first fruits. It is the year’s first wheat harvest, and Jews around...
Human beings seem to have a natural tendency to look for order and symmetry even in chaos. They find animals pictured in passing clouds, faces in sunbeams striking window panes, and human figures in...
Considering the fact that the Bible is the bestselling book of all time with several copies in many homes, one would get diverse responses to the question: Who wrote the Bible? Many Jews, Christians...
Israeli archeologist Dr. Aaron Greener asks “what are clay female figurines doing in Judah during the biblical period?” My non-archeologist answer is; they represent kosher (suitable for religious...
The lone blast of the shofar trumpet stretches out across the hills, illuminated by the first rays of the morning sun. The distinct sonorous call marks the important day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish...
The first thing that catches an archaeologist's eye on the small piece of papyrus from Elephantine Island on the Nile is the apparently blank patch. Researchers from the Egyptian Museum, Berlin...
Researchers in Israel believe that they have found evidence that a biblical king was a historic figure. They believe that a damaged inscribed tablet known as the Mesha Stele offers proof that a...
Today, the term “Good Samaritan” is often used to refer to any person who does a selfless good deed for a stranger or someone who is not part of their normal ingroup. It is also referenced in the...
The Cave of the Patriarchs is a very famous site in the Middle East. Known as Ibrahim Mosque or the Sanctuary of Abraham today, it appears in the Bible, the Torah, and the Quran. Legends tell of a...
