There are three places in the Pentateuch that forbid the Israelites to come back to Egypt, after they left it. The first is in Exodus 14:13-

” וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל-הָעָם, אַל-תִּירָאוּ–הִתְיַצְּבוּ וּרְאוּ אֶת-יְשׁוּעַת יְהוָה, אֲשֶׁר-יַעֲשֶׂה לָכֶם הַיּוֹם: כִּי, אֲשֶׁר רְאִיתֶם אֶת-מִצְרַיִם הַיּוֹם–לֹא תֹסִפוּ לִרְאֹתָם עוֹד, עַד-עוֹלָם”

” But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.”

The second is in Deuteronomy 17:16-

” רַק, לֹא-יַרְבֶּה-לּוֹ סוּסִים, וְלֹא-יָשִׁיב אֶת-הָעָם מִצְרַיְמָה, לְמַעַן הַרְבּוֹת סוּס; וַיהוָה, אָמַר לָכֶם, לֹא תֹסִפוּן לָשׁוּב בַּדֶּרֶךְ הַזֶּה, עוֹד”

” Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.”

We can find the third one also in Deuteronomy as written:

” וֶהֱשִׁיבְךָ יְהוָה מִצְרַיִם, בָּאֳנִיּוֹת, בַּדֶּרֶךְ אֲשֶׁר אָמַרְתִּי לְךָ, לֹא-תֹסִיף עוֹד לִרְאֹתָהּ…”

” The LORD will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way about which I spoke to you, ‘You will never see it again!’…”(Deuteronomy 28:68)

From the last verse, we can learn that The Lord Didn’t want that the Israelites will come back to Egypt. However,the reality was different as we can see in Jeremiah 43:5-7

” וַיִּקַּח יוֹחָנָן בֶּן-קָרֵחַ, וְכָל-שָׂרֵי הַחֲיָלִים, אֵת, כָּל-שְׁאֵרִית יְהוּדָה–אֲשֶׁר-שָׁבוּ, מִכָּל-הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר נִדְּחוּ-שָׁם, לָגוּר, בְּאֶרֶץ יְהוּדָה. אֶת-הַגְּבָרִים וְאֶת-הַנָּשִׁים וְאֶת-הַטַּף, וְאֶת-בְּנוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ, וְאֵת כָּל-הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר הִנִּיחַ נְבוּזַרְאֲדָן רַב-טַבָּחִים, אֶת-גְּדַלְיָהוּ בֶּן-אֲחִיקָם בֶּן-שָׁפָן; וְאֵת יִרְמְיָהוּ הַנָּבִיא, וְאֶת-בָּרוּךְ בֶּן-נֵרִיָּהוּ. וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, כִּי לֹא שָׁמְעוּ בְּקוֹל יְהוָה; וַיָּבֹאוּ, עַד-תַּחְפַּנְחֵס.”

” But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the entire remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations to which they had been driven away, in order to reside in the land of Judah—the men, the women, the children, the king’s daughters and every person that Nebauzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, together with Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah—and they entered the land of Egypt ,for they did not obey the voice of the LORD, and went in as far as Tahpanhes.”

G-d shares with us an important idea here- if you won’t listen to my voice, you will go back to the beginning of the Journey, to the time when you were slaves in order to understand that the ears were given to us in order to listen!

What do you think about this idea? Share your thoughts with us here or on our Facebook fan page! Have a great week, Eli

Hebrew-Transcription-Translation

מִצְרַיִם-mitsrayim-Egypt

אֳנִיּוֹת-’ŏnîyôt-Ships

שָׁמְעוּ- šām’û-They heard

הָעָם-hā’ām-The people

סוּס-sûs-Horse

Biblicalsocial@eteachergroup.com

In the Jewish tradition the ninth day of month ‘AV’, the fifth month according to the Old Testament, considered to be the day when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and burned the first Temple, in 586 B.C.E.

However, not many people know that this date is not found in the Bible. If we read the description of Jerusalem’s destruction in 2 Kings 25, we will find a different date:

“ וּבַחֹדֶשׁ הַחֲמִישִׁי, בְּשִׁבְעָה לַחֹדֶשׁ–הִיא שְׁנַת תְּשַׁע-עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה, לַמֶּלֶךְ נְבֻכַדְנֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ-בָּבֶל: בָּא נְבוּזַרְאֲדָן רַב-טַבָּחִים, עֶבֶד מֶלֶךְ-בָּבֶל–יְרוּשָׁלִָם. וַיִּשְׂרֹף אֶת-בֵּית-יְהוָה, וְאֶת-בֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ; וְאֵת כָּל-בָּתֵּי יְרוּשָׁלִַם וְאֶת-כָּל-בֵּית גָּדוֹל, שָׂרַף בָּאֵשׁ. וְאֶת-חוֹמֹת יְרוּשָׁלִַם, סָבִיב–נָתְצוּ כָּל-חֵיל כַּשְׂדִּים, אֲשֶׁר רַב-טַבָּחִים. וְאֵת יֶתֶר הָעָם הַנִּשְׁאָרִים בָּעִיר, וְאֶת-הַנֹּפְלִים אֲשֶׁר נָפְלוּ עַל-הַמֶּלֶךְ בָּבֶל, וְאֵת, יֶתֶר הֶהָמוֹן–הֶגְלָה, נְבוּזַרְאֲדָן רַב-טַבָּחִים. וּמִדַּלַּת הָאָרֶץ, הִשְׁאִיר רַב-טַבָּחִים, לְכֹרְמִים, וּלְיֹגְבִים”

“Now on the seventh day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the LORD, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; Even every great house he burned with fire. So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem. Then the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the people, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile. But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vine-dresser and plowmen.”(2 Kings 25:8-12)

If we read Jeremiah 52:12-13, the date of the Temple’s destruction is different also then the ninth of “AV”,as written:

” וּבַחֹדֶשׁ הַחֲמִישִׁי, בֶּעָשׂוֹר לַחֹדֶשׁ, הִיא שְׁנַת תְּשַׁע-עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה, לַמֶּלֶךְ נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ-בָּבֶל–בָּא, נְבוּזַרְאֲדָן רַב-טַבָּחִים, עָמַד לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ-בָּבֶל, בִּירוּשָׁלִָם. וַיִּשְׂרֹף אֶת-בֵּית-יְהוָה, וְאֶת-בֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ; וְאֵת כָּל-בָּתֵּי יְרוּשָׁלִַם וְאֶת-כָּל-בֵּית הַגָּדוֹל, שָׂרַף בָּאֵשׁ”

“Now on the tenth day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who was in the service of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the LORD, the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; Even every large house he burned with fire”

The Sages of Israel needed to find a solution for the contradiction between the dates written above. They said: on the seventh the Babylonians entered the temple, on the ninth they burned the temple and on the tenth the Temple was burned completely.

What do you think about this problem of periodization in the Bible and the solution of the sages? Share your thoughts with me! Have a great week, Eli

Hebrew-Transcription –Translation

חֹדֶשׁ-chōdeš- Month

שָׂרַף- śāraf-He burned

שִׁבְעָה- šiv’āh-Seven

בֶּעָשׂוֹר-be’āśôr- In the tenth

בָּא-bā’- He came

Biblicalsocial@eteachergroup.com

The book of Haggai has only two chapters that we have to read and only the book of Obadiah is shorter than him. However, the number of verses won’t decide what is more important and what is less. Every word that is written in the Holy Language is pure gold for us, his readers. Therefore, I wanted to share with you my thoughts about few verses from Haggai 2. When the people of Israel returned from Babylon to the Promised Land it wasn’t easy for them as people might think. They needed the encouragement of G-d and in chapter 2 we can see how G-d’s words try to help their leaders build the Second Temple, as written:

“וְעַתָּה חֲזַק זְרֻבָּבֶל נְאֻם-יְהוָה וַחֲזַק יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן-יְהוֹצָדָק הַכֹּהֵן הַגָּדוֹל וַחֲזַק כָּל-עַם הָאָרֶץ, נְאֻם-יְהוָה–וַעֲשׂוּ: כִּי-אֲנִי אִתְּכֶם, נְאֻם יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת. אֶת-הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר-כָּרַתִּי אִתְּכֶם, בְּצֵאתְכֶם מִמִּצְרַיִם, וְרוּחִי, עֹמֶדֶת בְּתוֹכְכֶם–אַל-תִּירָאוּ”

“But nowtake courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ declares the LORD of hosts. ‘As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; Do not fear!”(Haggai 2:4-5)

In a place where the spirit of G-d exists, there shouldn’t be fear of the future to come, and if we all follow G-d’s commandment there could be an establishment of peace on this planet , as we can see in Haggai 2:6-9-

“כִּי כֹה אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, עוֹד אַחַת מְעַט הִיא; וַאֲנִי, מַרְעִישׁ אֶת-הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת-הָאָרֶץ, וְאֶת-הַיָּם, וְאֶת-הֶחָרָבָה. וְהִרְעַשְׁתִּי, אֶת-כָּל-הַגּוֹיִם, וּבָאוּ, חֶמְדַּת כָּל-הַגּוֹיִם; וּמִלֵּאתִי אֶת-הַבַּיִת הַזֶּה, כָּבוֹד–אָמַר, יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת. לִי הַכֶּסֶף, וְלִי הַזָּהָב–נְאֻם, יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת. גָּדוֹל יִהְיֶה כְּבוֹד הַבַּיִת הַזֶּה הָאַחֲרוֹן, מִן-הָרִאשׁוֹן–אָמַר, יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת; וּבַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה אֶתֵּן שָׁלוֹם, נְאֻם יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת”

“For thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Once morein a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the LORD of hosts. ‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the LORD of hosts.”

The spiritual Gold and Silver that G-d has is the peace and glory!

This was the purpose of the Second Temple- a place of peace and glory!

Have a great week , don’t forget to share with me your thoughts, Eli

Hebrew –Transcription-Translation

נְאֻם-nə’um-Speeach

גָּדוֹל-gādôl-Great

הַיָּם-hayyām-The sea

כָּבוֹד- kāvôd-Glory

הַבַּיִת-habbayit-The house

Biblicalsocial@eteachergroup.com

In the book of Proverbs the good woman appears as a metaphor of wisdom.it was and still is customary for a woman to put necklaces or other jewelries around her neck. The passage that you are about to read is one of my favorites in the Hebrew Bible, as written:

” בְּנִי תּוֹרָתִי אַל-תִּשְׁכָּח; וּמִצְו‍ֹתַי, יִצֹּר לִבֶּךָ.
כִּי אֹרֶךְ יָמִים, וּשְׁנוֹת חַיִּים– וְשָׁלוֹם, יוֹסִיפוּ לָךְ.
חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת, אַל-יַעַזְבֻךָ:
קָשְׁרֵם עַל-גַּרְגְּרוֹתֶיךָ; כָּתְבֵם, עַל-לוּחַ לִבֶּךָ”

” My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments. For length of days and years of life .And peace they will add to you. Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.”(Proverbs 3:1-3)

If every man and woman on this planet will look into their hearts, they would probably meet the idea of grace and truth. All we need is not just love, we need grace, we must believe in peace and we always should remember, that we can have a lot of jewelry on our necks, but this is not the important thing to have in our mind and in our heart.

Hebrew-Transcription –Translation

חֶסֶד-chesed- Grace

אֱמֶת- ‘emet- Trute

בְּנִי-bənî-My son

יָמִים-yāmîm-Days

חַיִּים-chayîm-Life

Biblicalsocial@eteachergroup.com