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Apr 17, 2024, 10:42 PM

What Is the Problem? Is There a Problem?

This shall be the law of the person afflicted with tzara'ath, on the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the kohen. Our weekly portion Metzora might be a bit late to tell us of the affliction...

Apr 10, 2024, 11:04 PM

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the children of Israel, saying: If a woman conceives and gives birth to a male, she shall be unclean for seven days; as The word Tazria, understood by the commentators...

Apr 3, 2024, 9:11 PM

A lack of clarity

And it was on the eighth day, that Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. Aaron's two eldest sons were commanded to preside over the inauguration of the Mishkan. And in this weekly Torah portion...

Mar 27, 2024, 10:06 PM

Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire

William Strunk was a professor at Cornell University befuddled by the prose of his students -- wordy, sloppy, repetitive and pointless. In 1919, Strunk privately published a tiny volume that contained little more than eight elementary rules of usage,...

Mar 20, 2024, 8:48 PM

The cheese sandwich vs. the salad

And He called to Moses, and the Lord spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When a man from In 1899, six-year-old Merian Cooper was given a...

Mar 13, 2024, 8:47 PM

My Son, the Accountant

These are the numbers of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of the Testimony, which were counted at Moses' command; He's hardly mentioned by himself in the Torah. When he's seen, it's almost always with his older brother Elazar. But G-d gave...

Mar 6, 2024, 11:03 PM

It comes down to the children

Moses called the whole community of the children of Israel to assemble, and he said to them: "These are the things that the Lord commanded to make. Six days work will be done, but on the seventh day you...

Feb 21, 2024, 10:19 PM

Moses is waiting

And you shall command the children of Israel, and they shall take to you pure olive oil, crushed for lighting, to kindle the lamps continually. There's no opening in the Five Books of Moses such as that in the...

Feb 14, 2024, 11:58 PM

How to build a house of G-d in 100 easy steps

And you shall make the planks for the Mishkan of acacia wood, upright. If there's one substance crucial to any building it is wood. Even stone structures require wood for frames, ceilings, floors, doors -- you name it. The Mishkan,...

Feb 7, 2024, 7:14 PM

An eye for an eye?

But if there is a fatality, you shall give a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, a burn for a burn,...

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About Me

Steve Rodan has been a journalist for some 40 years and worked for major media outlets in Israel, Europe and the United States. For 18 years, he directed Middle East Newsline, an online daily news service that focused on defense, security and energy. Along with Elly Sinclair, he has just released his first book: In Jewish Blood: The Zionist Alliance With Germany, 1933-1963 and available on Amazon.

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