One of the most common verses on FB is the following from Psalms 122:6:
שאלו שלום ירושלם, ישליו אהביך“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, those who love you shall be at peace”
A word which keeps on coming up in conversation with friends and students is the רחמים- Rachamim -mercy/compassion from the root רחם. What is interesting about this word is, that the root is used in other Semitic languages such as Aramaic and can mean “to love”. As always we have to be very carful in comparing words, but I still find it interesting that compassion and love have a close relationship. Even if the ח is historically different in these two words, we can still find a connection between them.
I was going over the book of Yechezkel (Ezekiel) today and I have always wanted to share the following thing. In chapter 14 there are three people mentioned: Noach, Iyov (Job), and Daniel. When we think about it, all three are righteous men who lived in the past but one of them is not who we think he is. Daniel is not the famous Daniel from the book with the same title but another person with the same name.
An interesting thing about Biblical Hebrew is the specific use of words. We are mostly exposed to the limited vernacular of Hebrew and the multiple meanings words may have. However, in some cases we actually have specific words which are distinguishable in meaning from others.
Much debate exists about the shape and nature of the Cherubs mentioned in the Bible. They were featured on the ark, the tabernacle and the temple. However, commentators and scholars have debated what they were, and with the findings made in time, we have a better picture of what they might have looked like. The Talmud Sukkah 5b describes the cherubs as children, stating “What is the derivation of cherub?- R. Abbahu said, ‘Like a child’, for in Babylon they call a child Rabia.” This interpretation has led to many artistic depictions of childlike cherubs. However, this depiction is misleading and does not belong to the artistic world of the Bible and the ancient near east. To find the correct meaning of the word we must look at the linguistic possibilities which exist.
איזהו גיבור? הכובש את יצרוEyzhe Hu Gibor? Hakovesh Et YtsroWho is a hero? He who overcomes his will.
לשים לבLasim Lev“To place the heart”
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