As Jews, we are used to fighting for both our physical and spiritual survival. Classic sources saw this duality in the two festivals of Purim and Chanukah, with Purim celebrating our escape from a physical threat and Chanukah our triumph over the Hellenistic religious attraction and persecution (see Turei Zahav – Ta’z – to OC […]
The law forbidding eating the sciatic nerve was in place also in Jacob’s family many years before the Revelation at Mount Sinai, but at Mount Sinai it was validated by God.
These promises – of descendants and land – stand at the center of Abraham’s life. Most of his stories focus on these two subjects – continuity and the land.