Dr. Tzvi Novick

After Miriam is stricken with a skin affliction for speaking badly of Moses, Aaron begs Moses to forgive her, and Moses prays to God for her healing with five words: אֵל נָא רְפָא נָא לָהּ “O God, pray, heal her.” But the original prayer was likely different.

Gedaliah ben Ahikam, the governor of Judah after the destruction of the Temple, was assassinated by Ishmael ben Nethaniah, a scion of the Davidic family. This event has been commemorated for millennia with a yearly fast—the only fast over the death of an individual. The Talmud points to his righteousness, while Saadia Gaon emphasizes the tragic consequences to the Judahite people he governed.

This fundamental question lies at the heart of two stories: God suspending Mount Sinai over the Israelites to compel them to accept the Torah, and Joshua, with the Jordan River suspended over the Israelites, compelling them to accept mutual responsibility for each other's private sins.

Set against the Pharaonic Solomon, Jeroboam frees Israel from servitude and founds the Northern Kingdom. Hadad plays a similar role on behalf of the Edomites. Why are these two “rebels” depicted as heroes?

“Great as the sea is your breaking,” Lamentations 2:13. Before we try to understand pain or tragedy, we must first perceive its magnitude.

Using the martial idiom “taking a mother on her young,” Deuteronomy forbids taking eggs and chicks without first shooing the mother bird. Is the concern cruelty to animals?

Tracing the tannaitic and biblical sources for the famous claim that God held Mount Sinai over the Israelites and threatened to bury them if they did not accept the Torah.