Bible

This week in Jewish history: Moses ascends Mount Sinai, a massacre shakes Hebron

A highly abridged monthly version of Dust & Stars.

ADELHEID AND Edmond James de Rothschild visit British Mandate Palestine, 1914.
SORCERERS, MAGICIANS, diviners: The Torah rejects them all.

Parashat Shoftim: Wholehearted – and well

People attend a Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the New Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City, on December 14, 2025.

Christian Zionists believe the West Bank is Bible land - opinion

Members of the clergy take part in the yearly Christmas procession led by Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem outside the Church of the Nativityon December 24, 2025 in Bethlehem, West Bank.

Christian Zionists ignore reality of West Bank living, Palestinian Christian leaders say


Parashat Chayei Sara: ‘Ger v’toshav’ – unfinished belonging 

Until our people are gathered and the land is restored, we remain wanderers yearning for wholeness.

PATIENCE REQUIRED...

Parashat Chayei Sarah: All are equally good

Sarah’s greatest achievement was her ability to live calmly and serenely

A LAMP burned continuously – symbolizing unceasing light and joy.

Jewish concepts of 'afterlife' may be recent adaptations, study finds

In the Hebrew Bible, the term Sheol is the shadowy abode of the dead. It is often depicted as “down below,” silent, and without active praise of God.

The authors describe a shift “from the almost ‘materialistic’ idea of the early Israeli society to the belief in life beyond the grave and the resurrection of the dead…"

Parashat Vayera: Faith is stronger than reality

Can faith prevail over reason and reality? Scripture’s answer is clear. What seems impossible to man is never beyond the power of God.

Elisha Raising the Son of the Shunamite, by Frederic Leighton, 1881, oil on canvas - Leighton House Museum - London, England.

Parashat Lech Lecha: The call of aliyah

From Yemenite Jews in Operation Magic Carpet to Soviet refuseniks, Ethiopian families, and Bnei Menashe from India, Isaiah’s vision has been realized in our own time.

An illustrative image of Jews making aliyah to Israel.

Parashat Lech Lecha: From Everyman to hero

The Torah presents Abraham not as a spiritual giant chosen by default but as Everyman. He is not depicted as a polished hero with prior accomplishments but as an ordinary person.

An illustrative image of God calling on Abraham to leave his country to the Promised Land.

Parashat Lech Lecha: Hagar and the God who sees

The story of Hagar reminds us that sovereignty brings with it responsibility – to see, to hear, and to act with compassion toward those who remain vulnerable in our midst.

Artistic impression of Abraham sending Hagar and her son off.

Parashat Lech Lecha: Abraham and Lot's remarkable journey

Even the loftiest goal on Earth must never be achieved through harming or insulting another person.

An illustrative image of Abraham and Lot separating.

All eyes on Zionism: When something inseparable from Judaism becomes a slur - opinion

The centrality of the Land of Israel is enshrined in the Bible.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators carry a banner during a protest against the arrival of an Israeli cruise ship in the port of Piraeus near Athens, Greece, June 12, 2025.

Taiwan president: Israel’s defense strategy a 'valuable model' for Taiwan

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said in remarks released on Tuesday, citing the Biblical story of David versus Goliath on the need to stand up to authoritarianism.

Taiwanese soldiers leave Qingtian Hall, an underground military tunnel built inside Taiwu Mountain in the 1960s, after attending a performance commemorating the Battle of Guningtou, in Kinmen, Taiwan, October 18, 2025