Author: Ben Zion
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Mt. Hermon – lecture 8
Refining the conclusions of the previous lecture: King David does not justify Isaac vs. Rebecca, but rather he justifies Jacob, whose sons were all part of the family and lived together, even the most distant ones. We will see additional sources in which Hermon represents the highest, the most distant, and the most different -…
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Mt. Hermon – lecture 7
The final answer to all the questions about Psalm 133: The brothers in the chapter are – Jacob and Esau. We will analyze the story of Jacob and Esau receiving the blessings, and see what Isaac thought – that the brothers should sit together, blessed with oil and dew.. King David in Psalm 133 suggests…
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Mt. Hermon – lecture 6
In this lecture, we will analyze the metaphor of “dew” in the verse “Like dew from Mount Hermon descending upon the mountains of Zion.” We will study two biblical stories related to dew: the prophet Elijah who decreed that there would be no dew or rain, and Gideon who asked for a sign of his…
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Negev – lecture 14
The land of the Negev you have given me, Achsa said to her father. We see 2 interesting interpretations: one – she means her husband – Othniel! called “Negev” – because he has only Torah! And does not worry about earning a living. And the second: she means herself! She has become like the Negev,…
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Negev – lecture 13
In this lecture, we will analyze another story related to the Negev – the story of the wedding of Achsa, the daughter of Caleb, to Othniel, who would become the first judge of Israel. Caleb promises his daughter to whoever conquers “Kiryat Sefer”. Why? The daughter – Achsa – theatrically falls off the donkey and…
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Negev – lecture 12
In this lecture, we will answer all the questions we asked about the story of the King of Arad. The connection between the death of Aaron, the war against the King of Arad, and the surprising and tragic journey of the Israelites south. Tragic, because the Israelites adopt “the way of the spies” – they…
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Mt. Hermon – lecture 5
We will examine in depth the various suggestions for the identity of the brothers in Psalm 133. The suggestion that it refers to Moses and Aaron, and the suggestion that it refers to the relationship between the king and the high priest. We will argue that both interpretations are problematic. To find an answer, we…
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Mt. Hermon – lecture 4
Psalms 133 is known for the first verse: “How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together.” The rest of the Psalm compares the dwelling of brothers together to…Mt. Hermon! We will ask – which brothers is the Psalm talking about? What is the meaning of the metaphor – the oil that…
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Negev – lecture 11
We will delve deeper into the question from the previous lecture – why did the Israelites move south from “Kadesh” towards Eilat and not north – into the land of Canaan? According to the maps, this doesn’t make sense, and according to the Torah, it doesn’t make sense: They had already defeated the king of…