The water that goes to the sea…- Ecclesiastes 1:7

Posted by Eli Dahan on February 28, 2010 under Bible, Biblical Hebrew, Personal stories | Read the First Comment

Well, my friends, after a weekend with a lot of rain in Jerusalem, I decided to write on the water today.

The water in the bible has a lot of meanings, but today we are going to look at one verse in the book of Ecclesiastes, a verse that always bring into my mind a lot of questions:

"כָּל-הַנְּחָלִים הֹלְכִים אֶל-הַיָּם, וְהַיָּם אֵינֶנּוּ מָלֵא; אֶל-מְקוֹם, שֶׁהַנְּחָלִים הֹלְכִים–שָׁם הֵם שָׁבִים, לָלָכֶת"

"All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again.

This verse speak about the water, but it seems to be that the water here is not just the liquid , the H20, it’s also a symbol to our life, we are all going in different ways, but the end and the beginning are the same.

Furthermore, we are all going to a place that is not going to be perfect because only one is perfect and endless, this is God!

The sea will never be full because it can’t, like the stories of other people, fight against the Almighty.

There’s a program in the T.V. that my small kid likes to see, the circle of life, and this are the same situation with the water, where they go they will come back, what a beautiful metaphor…

The process is different with every one of us, but in the edges we are all one!

Main phrases of the post + transcription + translation

Eli@eteachergroup.com

Why Noah was drunk? part 2

Posted by Eli Dahan on February 27, 2010 under Bible, Biblical Hebrew, Jewish Folklore | Be the First to Comment

The story of the Midrash tells us that when Noah started to plant the vineyard the Satan came to him and said: what are you plant?

Noah said: I am planting a vineyard.

The Satan asked: what’s good in the vineyard?

Noah said: his fruits are sweet, whether it’s dry whether it’s humid. From the fruit you can make wine that does make the hearts happy.

The Satan asked him to plant the vineyard together and Noah agreed.

Then the Satan brought 4 animals which represent to Noah and us the situation of them man when he drinks. The four animals were the ewe, the lion, the monkey and the pig- all of them were slaughtered and from the blood of them the Satan watered the vineyard.

When a man drinks one glass he becomes like the ewe, humble and modest.

When a man drinks two glasses he becomes like the lion – he thinks he’s the hero!

When a man drinks three glasses he becomes like the monkey- dancing and cursing with his mouth.

When a man becomes a drunken one – he is like a pig- dirty and with a lot of mud!

This’s happen to Noah the righteous- he was like a pig!

Main phrases of the post + transcription + translation

Eli@eteachergroup.com

Why Noah was drunk? part 1

Posted by Eli Dahan on under Bible, Biblical Hebrew, Literature | Be the First to Comment

After the flood that made a restart to the world of The Lord, Noah and his sons had the opportunity to eat meat and the vegetarian world got lost. When we speak about meat a lot of time we are thinking of a restaurant, 2 glasses of wine, a romantic mood, which comes along with the lovely steak that we are eating.

The first carnivore was also the first drunk in our world as written in Genesis 9:20-21

" וַיָּחֶל נֹחַ, אִישׁ הָאֲדָמָה; וַיִּטַּע, כָּרֶם. וַיֵּשְׁתְּ מִן-הַיַּיִן, וַיִּשְׁכָּר; וַיִּתְגַּל, בְּתוֹךְ אָהֳלֹה.

"And Noah the husbandman began, and planted a vineyard. And he drank of the wine, and was drunk; and he was uncovered within his tent"

There is no explanation in the bible why Noah decided to be the first drunk. Psychologically maybe the curiosity was there, like it was in the Garden of Eden, the point that caused Noah to become the first. The other thing that is understandable is that the man of the ground, the farmer, needs to taste his produce in order to see if it’s alright. The first experience with the wine wasn’t so good for Noah and the continuation of the story is even more awful – his son or his grandson are doing a sexual thing in the tent- but this is for another time to be discuss.

Whenever there is a difficulty in The Scriptures, especially a moral one, the Satan will become involve in the Jewish interpretation. Next time we will see what the Satan did in Noah’s vineyard!

Main phrases of the post + transcription + translation

Eli@eteachergroup.com

Moses in the pit or why did Moses marry Zipporah?

Posted by Eli Dahan on February 26, 2010 under Bible, Biblical Hebrew, Jewish Folklore | Be the First to Comment

In the book of Exodus is written:

"וַתֹּאמַרְןָ–אִישׁ מִצְרִי, הִצִּילָנוּ מִיַּד הָרֹעִים; וְגַם-דָּלֹה דָלָה לָנוּ, וַיַּשְׁקְ אֶת-הַצֹּאן. וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל-בְּנֹתָיו, וְאַיּוֹ; לָמָּה זֶּה עֲזַבְתֶּן אֶת-הָאִישׁ, קִרְאֶן לוֹ וְיֹאכַל לָחֶם. וַיּוֹאֶל מֹשֶׁה, לָשֶׁבֶת אֶת-הָאִישׁ; וַיִּתֵּן אֶת-צִפֹּרָה בִתּוֹ, לְמֹשֶׁה"

"And they said: ‘An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and moreover he drew water for us, and watered the flock and he said unto his daughters: ‘And where is he? Why is it that ye have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.’And Moses was content to dwell with the man; and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter" (Ex 2:19-21)

We all know that Moses went out from Egypt after pharaoh discovered that he killed an Egyptian man. Moses went to a place called Midian and there he helped the daughters of Reuel. Zipporah was one of the daughters and Moses married her after he the helping with the shepherd near the well.

The legend on Moses tells us a different story. Reuel was afraid that the king of Egypt will find moses in his house so he decided to put him in a pit. Zipporah felt mercy over him; she came to see him every day and gave some bread.

After seven years she told to her father: you put a clean man, pure one, in the pit. He didn’t drink a lot of days, but he is praying to his God so he is alive.

Reuel went to see the man, Moses, that was singing a song to his Lord in that day, so he took him out from the pit and gave him to Zipporah, only because she spoke the good things about him…

Main phrases of the post + transcription + translation

Eli@eteachergroup.com