Author Archives: neaseno

Beware of Royal Apparel!  The story of Joseph and his brothers forms the last part of the book of Genesis. This story begins in our new Torah Portion, Vayeshev. It opens with the word Vayeshev (hence the name of the Portion), usually translated as “settled”, or “dwelt”: “Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father wasContinue reading “Joseph’s coat of many colors”

Lost In Translation: Face Of God By Julia Blum November 24, 2021No comments Our portion today, VeYishlah, covers two very important meetings in Jacob’s life. Traditionally, the encounter at Peniel is considered the most important event in Jacob’s life—and rightly so, it defined not only Jacob’s own name and destiny,  but the name and destinyContinue reading “The Face of God.”

Three Prayers You would remember that at the end of the last Portion, Toledot, Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-Aram to take a wife from there. This happened after the story of the “stolen blessing” – the blessing that Jacob received from Isaac while pretending to be Esau. In fact, Jacob was fleeing from the wrathContinue reading “Three Prayers”

“And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begot Isaac” (VaEile toledot Izhak) – this is the beginning of the new Torah Portion, Toledot. These very words, VaEile toledot, occur eleven times in the book of Genesis, serving as a heading for its major divisions and “making descent a keystone of biblical history”[1].Continue reading “Is something missing?”

https://hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/Vayetzei/Ladder/ladder.html

Lost In Translation: Death In Life By Julia BlumNovember 3, 2021No comments My dear readers, we continue our “lost in translation” journey through the Torah Portions. At some point, we will definitely go back to the Book of Acts and continue the discussion that we started before the High Holidays, but for now, we willContinue reading “Faith in the LORD”

Lost In Translation: Gospel In Genesis By Julia BlumOctober 27, 2021No comments I wrote already on these pages that Torah Portion VaYerah presented a special interest to Christians: its structure is similar to the structure of the gospels, especially the Gospel of Luke. This portion begins with the Divine Annunciation of the miraculous birth ofContinue reading “God will provide his son!”

According to John’s Gospel, Jesus performs the first miracle of his ministry when he turns water to wine. After the wine runs out at a wedding in Cana, Yeshua has stone jars filled with water, which he transforms into the best wine at the banquet. But of all the wonders that the Messiah could haveContinue reading “So why turn water into wine?”

Joseph’s Egyptian wife Asenath bore him two sons in Egypt. He called the firstborn son Manasseh מְנַשֶּׁה (menasheh). Joseph said: “God has made me forget (כִּי־נַשַּׁנִי אֱלֹהִים) completely my hardship and my parental home” (Genesis 41:51). The name Manasseh is connected to the verbal root נשך (nashach), which refers to forgetting and letting go. A veryContinue reading “The importance of names and their meanings.”