By Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein In this essay, we discuss six different words that mean “wet” in Hebrew: lach, ratuv, ra’anan, rutfash, tofeach, and mefulam. While on the surface, all these words seem to mean the same thing which would make them synonyms we will delve into how these words were used and consider how each of […]
By Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein One of the most important components of the Tabernacle and the Holy Temple was the golden shulchan, upon which the twelve loaves of the weekly shewbread (also spelled showbread) were placed. The word “shulchan” is commonly translated as “table,” and refers to a flat surface upon which food is put […]
In an essay titled “Double Adar,” Rabbi Berel Wein writes that “there is an underlying value that the month of Adar possesses that no other month in the Jewish calendar can lay …
By Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein In one of the first commandments listed after the Ten Commandments, Hashem stipulates, “you shall not ascend through stairs [ma’alot] upon My altar, so that you will not reveal your nakedness upon it” (Ex. 20:23). This verse is the source for the prohibition of building stairs instead of a ramp to lead […]
By Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein When Pharaoh finally let the Jews leave Egypt, the Bible reports that the Jews were “chamushim” (Ex. 13:18). Most of my readers are likely familiar with the exegetical interpretations of this word cited by Mechilta and Rashi (there), which interpret the word “chamushim” as a cognate of the Hebrew word […]