Monthly Archives: mayo 2025

Breishit (Genesis), the first book of the Torah, recounts the lives of the first members of the Jewish people, the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo questions how the patriarchs can be considered Jews if the rules … Seguir leyendo →

The menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum, is undoubtedly the oldest Jewish symbol, even older than the shield of David, which is more recent. Not only is it older, but its design is also specified in the Torah, unlike the shield of … Seguir leyendo →

In 1954, when he was Prime Minister of the State of Israel, David Ben-Gurion wrote to the rabbi of the Sephardic Jewish community of Amsterdam, Salamon Rodrigues Pereira, asking him to revoke the decree of excommunication (in Hebrew, «jerem») issued … Seguir leyendo →

During World War II, Columbia University anthropologist Ruth Benedict, in a study commissioned by President Roosevelt, popularized the idea that Japan was a «shame culture» unlike the West, which was a «guilt culture.» Paul G. Hiebert characterizes the «shame culture» … Seguir leyendo →

It is written in the Talmud (Yoma 9b): «Why was the Second Temple destroyed? Because of sinat chinam, the senseless hatred of one Jew toward another.» The Midrash Eichah tells us that when the Romans besieged Jerusalem (1st century CE), … Seguir leyendo →

There is a widespread belief that the Jewish diaspora began during the Roman rule, when they destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 CE and defeated Bar Kokhba and his men in 135 CE. This is incorrect. The Jewish diaspora … Seguir leyendo →

The Encyclopaedia Judaica defines “minhag” as: “a custom which, through accepted practice over a period of time, has become binding and assumes the force of halacha in areas of Jewish law and practice.” The Jewish Encyclopedia defines it as: “an … Seguir leyendo →

In the Bible, in no verse do we find an explicit commandment that obliges us to «believe» in something, for example, in the existence of God. There isn’t one, and there is no punishment for not believing. Some would say … Seguir leyendo →

Haim Nahman Bialik (1873-1934), one of the leading poets of modern Hebrew, was born in the village of Radi, Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire. At the age of six, his family moved to Zhitomir. A year later, his … Seguir leyendo →

It is written: “And Abel tended sheep, while Cain worked the land. Afterward, Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel brought to the Lord the best of his flock, the firstborn with their … Seguir leyendo →