Torah Study Date Saturday, January 27, 2023 Verses Covered Exodus (Sh’mot) 1:15-1:22 Next Session Saturday, February 4, 2023 Starting at Exodus 2:1 Last week we discussed whether “Hebrew midwives” means “midwives who are Hebrews” or “midwives to the Hebrews” with some, in accord with Abravanel, thinking they are midwives to the Hebrews and, hence, to […]
About Deborah Achtenberg
Posts by Deborah Achtenberg:
A New King Who Did Not Know Joseph
Torah Study Date Saturday, January 21, 2023 Verses Covered Exodus (Sh’mot) 1:1-1:10 Next Session Saturday, January 28, 2023 Starting at Exodus 1:11 Last week we discussed “b’nei Yisrael” (children of Israel) and noted that the phrase no longer denotes Jacob’s children but now denotes his descendants and that, in Exodus, we are moving from an […]
Joseph’s Brothers Fear Him
Torah Study Date Saturday, January 14, 2023 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 50:15-26 Next Session Saturday, January 21, 2023 Starting at Exodus 1:1 Last week we started with additional comments about the previous week’s readings, namely, that three possible reasons for Joseph asking permission to go up and bury his father are that he needed protection […]
The Death of Jacob
Torah Study Date Saturday, January 7, 2023 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 49:29-50:14 Next Session Saturday, January 14, 2023 Starting at Genesis 50:15 Last week we discussed the death of Jacob. We noted the emphasis on being gathered: Jacob says he is being gathered to his people; the text says that when he finished speaking, he […]
Gender in Ancient Hebrew
Torah Study Date Saturday, December 24, 2022 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 49:27-49:28 Next Session Saturday, January 7, 2023 Starting at Genesis 49:29 We had an excellent visiting speaker last session, Dr. Ignacio Montoya, Sinai member and linguist in UNR’s Department of English. His main topic was gender in ancient Hebrew. We learned many things including […]
Raiders, Bread, a Hind and a Bough or Wild Ass: Jacob Describes Gad, Asher, Naphtali and Joseph
Torah Study Date Saturday, December 10, 2022 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 49:19-26 Next Session Saturday, December 17, 2022 Starting at Genesis 49:27 Last week we discussed Jacob’s descriptions of Gad, Asher, Naphtali, and Joseph. We noted the stylistic element of alliteration (repetition of a sound) in the description of Gad (gad yegud yegudenu v’hu yagud […]
Dan Judges and Issachar Creates a Land of Rest and Peace
Torah Study Date Saturday, December 3, 2022 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 49:14-18 Next Session Saturday, February 10, 2022 Starting at Genesis 49:19 Last week we discussed Jacob’s poetic predictions about Issachar and Dan. We were impressed by the description of Issachar as a strong ass who, laying down among the hearths, saw that peace was […]
Jacob Discusses Judah and Zebulon
Torah Study Date Saturday, November 26, 2022 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 49:8-13 Next Session Saturday, December 3, 2022 Starting at Genesis 49:14 Last week we discussed the a b a chiasmus of the parallels a-your brothers/a’-your father’s sons, a-will praise/a’-will bow down to with b-your hand/will be on the nape of your foes in the […]
Jacob Foretells the Future: Reuben, Simeon, Levi
Torah Study Date Saturday, November 19, 2022 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) Genesis 49:2-7 Next Session Saturday, November 26, 2022 Starting at Genesis 49:8 Last week we discussed R. Sara’s question about whether Genesis 49:2 is part of the poem or not and concluded that it is since it displays parallelism of meaning (assemble and listen/listen, […]
Poetry Lesson
Torah Study Date Saturday, November 12, 2022 Verses Covered NONE Next Session Saturday, November 19, 2022 Starting at Genesis 49:3 Last week, we learned from Rabbi Sara that there are three basic elements of Hebrew poetry, colon (the most basic unit—also called a monocolon), line (a grouping of cola, for example, a bicolon) and strophe […]