When the holiday of Shavuot comes around in the late spring, families gather together to celebrate the fruitfulness of the land, read the book of Ruth, and ponder the giving of the Law. But why should this festival, a purely agricultural feast in the Bible, have come to be so closely associated with the revelation at Sinai?
PHARAOH, FIRSTBORNS, AND FRAGRANCE
UNIVERSE REVERSED
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE TREES
HANUKKAH // FINITE FLAMES AND THE ALL-CONSUMING FIRE
BOOTHS AND LIVING WATER
JONAH, JUSTICE, AND MERCY THAT COVERS
Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, commanded to be observed annually in Leviticus 16. That chapter opens, however, with Aaron’s two sons, who “drew near to the LORD and died,” tragically highlighting humanity's fundamental problem: how can we draw near to God when our sin means approaching Him is death?
TRUMPETS, REMEMBRANCE, AND THE SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN
At first glance, the celebration of Rosh Hashanah doesn’t seem very important. The Israelites are commanded to rest, to eat, to drink, and to make an offering to the Lord. But they are also commanded to gather together and remember the blast of the trumpet. What trumpet blast are they supposed to remember, and why is it crucial in recognizing the Messiah?
REPENTANCE AND BELOVEDNESS
The month of Elul in the Hebrew calendar is considered to be an appropriate time to repent and seek forgiveness because it is a time where God's lovingkindness and mercy are remembered. But interwoven in this month's theme of repentance, is another theme: being beloved. How do these two concepts relate?