Tanach Thoughts

In memory of מלכיה בן דב גרוס (Malkia ben Dov Gross) hy"d Last night I received the terrible announcement that Malkia Gross, a friend from my yeshiva, was killed in Gaza on Shabbat. Malkia is one of the few people I know who I would describe as being "sharp" and "bright". B"H I know many smart and intelligent people, but there are a certain few people whose brains fall into the category of "sharp", and he was one of them. This sharpness passed into his incredible sense of wit and humor. He recently started teaching math as part of his teacher's certification. Before I went to sleep last night, I asked myself - or Hashem, I'm not entirely sure - why Chizkiyahu merited to have a massive miracle that obliterated the Assyrian army during Sanchariv (Sennacherib)'s siege on Yerushalayim. For a moment I was angry. Here we were fighting for our lives thousands of years later, and while there may have been pocket-sized miracles, we don't g...

In memory of Gavriel ben David Blum z"l, killed in Gaza last week. Yesterday I paid a shiva call to the Blum family whose son Gavriel, whom I knew in high school, was sadly killed last week in Gaza. They recounted a story that I think his friends told them when they visited the night before. It's the sort of story that makes me uncomfortable (and his father did hesitate for a moment before telling it to the crowd, but his mother okayed it). Today I thought about it again and found a kernel of connection to Torah, with an emphasis on the story of the Exodus, now being read in shuls around the world, so I think it's worth getting over the uncomfortable bit. As our sages taught: תורה היא, וללמוד אני צריך! (This is Torah, and I must learn!) One day, a group of higher-ups visited the area in Gaza where Gavriel's unit was staying. The soldiers were tending to various military assignments, and the higher-ups, including several very high-ranking officers and a member of the so...

 Yes, I'm aware a few weeks have passed since Chanukah. Yes, I'm aware Chanukah is not (explicitly) mentioned anywhere in Tanach. Yes, I'm aware The Books of Maccabees aren't in Tanach. Nonetheless, an idea for a Chanukah-and-Tanach-related post came to mind over Shabbat, so here it is. Last Thursday, we toured several different sites in the Land of Menashe - well, what was the area of the Tribe of Menashe in Tanachic times. One of the places we visited is called Al-Makhruch. It's thought to have been a fortified site that was manned by soldiers of the Kingdom of Yisrael, after the split of the United Kingdom. Its original Hebrew name is unknown. Near Al-Makhruch there are two other fortified sites, thought to similarly having belonged to the Kingdom of Yisrael. I'm not really sure what the Arabic names of these two little tels are, just know that both are walking distance from the first site and one in particular is connected to Chanukah. Fortified wall ruins E...

 I always planned to make this post but never got around to it. What's the deal with the blog's banner? (image taken from my files. Copyright me) Well, first of all, what are we seeing here, and what does that have to do with Tanach? Okay, so this image as related to Tanach is a bit of a cheat because it's based on a midrash. The midrash, which exists in a few versions ( here 's one from Otzar Hamidrashim), describes Yoav ben Tz'ruyah, King David's general, going off with an army to battle the Amalekites in their state (or city-state?) of Kinsli. After six months of siege, the men get tired and want to leave. Yoav decides to launch himself over the city walls and figure out a way to unlock the gates and let his men in. He does this, and eventually manages to get his men in and they defeat the Amalekites. Fast-forward a few thousand years later, and it's Inktober of Elul-Tishrei 5779-5780 and I decided I would try the challenge (after not having done it sinc...