Torah Study Date Saturday, February 13, 2021 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 19:10-18 Next Session Saturday, February 20, 2021 We are in the middle of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and moving into the story of Lot’s daughters. Last week we continued discussing Lot’s family and the two who are variously described as anashim (people […]
About Deborah Achtenberg
Posts by Deborah Achtenberg:
Lot Faces the People of Sodom
Torah Study Date Saturday, February 6, 2021 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 19:1-9 Next Session Saturday, February 13, 2021 Last week we discussed whether the two malachim who came to Sodom were messengers or angels, that the gate at which Lot sat was large and had rooms, and that some commentators make a sharp contrast between […]
Judging Justly: Abraham Argues with God
Torah Study Date Saturday, January 30, 2021 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 18:25-33 Next Session Saturday, February 6, 2021 We’re beginning Genesis, chapter 19, this week–the story of another group of anashim, this time the ones who come to the house of Abraham’s nephew, Lot, in Sodom. Last week, we discussed Abraham continuing, by specifying numbers, […]
Sarah Laughs and God Makes Plans
Torah Study Date Saturday, January 23, 2021 Verses Covered Genesis (Bereishit) 18:14-23 Next Session Saturday, January 30, 2021 Last week we discussed that YHVH told Abraham that Sarah would have a child, that Sarah lied (if ‘lied’ is really the best translation) and told YHVH that she did not laugh, that it in fact might […]
Abraham, Sarah and the Visitors II
Torah Study Date Saturday, January 16, 2021 Verses Covered Genesis (Bereishit) 18:14-22 Next Session Saturday, January 23, 2021 Recently, we discussed the fact that Abraham lifted up his eyes (and then saw the visitors), the difference between looking and seeing, that what is indicated might be that Abraham had a vision as well as the […]
Abraham, Sarah and the Visitors I
Torah Study Date Saturday, January 9, 2021 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 18:6-13 Next Session Saturday, January 16, 2021 A topic we have discussed recently, in conjunction with Abraham laughing, was whether God laughs (infrequently, we think). Last week we discussed the three people who visited Abraham and a number of ways of interpreting the passages […]
YHVH Announces Isaac’s Birth, Abraham Laughs, the Men are Circumcised
Torah Study Date Saturday, January 2, 2021 Verses Covered Genesis (Bereishit) 18:1-5 Next Session Saturday, January 9, 2021 Last week, we reviewed some topics from the previous week and discussed that the Shadai in El Shadai also means breasts, that Abraham went through a complete transformation–of his name, to Abraham, of his body, with […]
Leaving the Ark
Torah Study Date Saturday, August 29, 2020 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 8:9-8:22 Next Session Saturday, September 5, 2020 Starting at Genesis 9:1 Last week, we discussed the dove’s foot and Noah’s hand, that it was an olive leaf in the dove’s mouth, why the leaf indicated the waters had receded, that the dove did not […]
The Waters Recede
Torah Study Date Saturday, August 21, 2020 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 7:16-8:8 Next Session Saturday, August 29, 2020 Starting at Genesis 8:9 Last week we discussed what it means that God remembered Noah, God as relatable, the emphasis on the waters receding, that the ark came to a stop on Mt. Ararat before the waters […]
The Flood
Torah Study Date Saturday, August 7, 2020 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 6:12 -7:15 Next Session Saturday, August 14, 2020 Starting at Genesis 7:16 Last week we discussed Jacob’s sons speaking with guile when they answer Shechem and Hamor, and noted the term for guile, mirmah, was applied previously to Jacob when he took Esau’s birthright […]