Torah Study Date Saturday, April 10, 2021 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 22:1-6 Last week we discussed God testing Abraham. We noted that God calling Abraham by name indicates something important is about to happen and that in the Samaritan and Greek texts Abraham’s name is called twice (“And God said to him, ‘Abraham, Abraham’”) making […]
Hagar and Ishmael’s Departure, Abraham’s Pact with Abimelech
Deborah Achtenberg 2021 Torah Study Abimelech, Abraham, Hagar, Isaac, Ishmael, Menashe Kadishman, Phicol, YHVH
Torah Study Date Saturday, April 3, 2021 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 21:14-34 Recently, we discussed the fact that the word for playing in the discussion of Ishmael playing at Genesis 21:9 is related to Isaac’s name–as if the text said not that Sarah saw the son of Hagar playing but said she saw him ‘Isaacing’ […]
Ishmael Plays
Deborah Achtenberg 2021 Torah Study Abraham, Hagar, Ishmael, Sarah, Siona Benjamin, YHVH
Torah Study Date Saturday, March 20, 2021 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 21:7-13 Last week we discussed Isaac growing and being weaned and Abraham making a big feast for him on the day of his weaning, that it might have been traditional in the region to do so, and that weaning might be the sign that […]
Isaac’s Birth
Deborah Achtenberg 2021 Torah Study Abimelech, Abimelech's slave girls, Abimelech's wife, Abraham, Dikla Laor, Isaac, Sarah, YHVH
Torah Study Date Saturday, March 13, 2021 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 20:14-21:6 Last week we finished the story of the encounter between Abraham and Abimelech and began the account of the birth of Isaac. We discussed the gifts that Abimelech gave to Abraham and why he gave them, presumably because it was clear to Abimelech […]
Abraham, Sarah and Abimelek
Deborah Achtenberg 2021 Torah Study Aaron Freeman, Abimelek, Abraham, Ben-Ami, Gerar, Kadesh, Lot, Lot's daughters, Mamre, Moab, Moses, Negev, Pharaoh, Sarah, Sharon Rosenzweig, Shur, YHVH
Torah Study Date Saturday, March 6, 2021 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 19:35 – 20:13 Last week, we finished discussing the intercourse between Lot’s daughters and Lot and began discussing Abraham and Sarah’s encounter with Abimelek, king of Gerar. We discussed the daughters getting Lot drunk on wine for a second night, the younger one having […]
Fleeing Sodom: Looking Back and Looking Forward
Deborah Achtenberg 2021 Torah Study Abraham, Alan Falk, Ben-Ami, Gomorrah, Janet Shafner, King David, Lot, Lot's daughters, Lot's wife, Moab, Sodom, YHVH
Torah Study Date Saturday, February 27, 2021 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 19:18-33 Recently we discussed the rare shalshelet trope mark found at Genesis 19:16 over the word translated as “and he delayed.” The trope indicates psychological or moral hesitancy to act. Last week we finished discussing the flight out of Sodom and began discussing Lot’s […]
Leaving Sodom: The Difficulty of Facing Up to Evil
Deborah Achtenberg 2021 Torah Study Akeida, anashim, David Wander, Lot, Lot's daughters, Lot's sons-in-law, Lot's wife, malachim, Sodom, YHVH
Torah Study Date Saturday, February 20, 2021 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 19:10-18 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 or men) or malachim (messengers or […]
Lot Faces the People of Sodom
Deborah Achtenberg 2021 Torah Study Abraham, Dikla Laor, Isaac, Lot, Lot's daughters, Lot's wife, malachim, Sarah, Sodom, YHVH
Torah Study Date Saturday, February 13, 2021 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 19:1-9 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 Abraham and Lot–that Abraham sees YHVH […]
Judging Justly: Abraham Argues with God
Deborah Achtenberg 2021 Torah Study Abraham, Janet Shafner, Lot, Lot's daughters, Lot's wife, Sodom, YHVH
Torah Study Date Saturday, February 6, 2021 Verses Covered Bereishit (Genesis) 18:25-33 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, to question YHVH whether YHVH would […]
Sarah Laughs and God Makes Plans
Deborah Achtenberg 2021 Torah Study Abraham, anashim, Ein Sof, Lot, Nahum Halevi, Sarah, Sodom, YHVH
Torah Study Date Saturday, January 30, 2021 Verses Covered Genesis (Bereishit) 18:14-23 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 not have been a lie given […]
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