Most contemporary readers assume that "Christian" is the original and definitive name for the followers of Jesus. However, this is a truth filtered through Greek. When we dig beneath the layer of Koine Greek in which the Apostolic writings have reached us, we discover...
The Torah (Law of Moses) contains 613 commandments (mitzvot), and referring to them as a simple set of "rules" is to underestimate their profound complexity and purpose. Classical Jewish tradition classifies these commandments into categories so that we can understand...
The Fast of Gedaliah, known in Hebrew as Tzom Gedaliah, is one of the minor fasts of the Jewish calendar. While its origin lies in a historical tragedy, its significance goes beyond simple mourning, offering profound lessons on betrayal, decision-making, and the...
Yom Teruah, also known as Rosh Hashanah, is a Moed (appointed time) of great significance. Its central element is the sounding of the Shofar, specifically the note called Teruah, which serves as a profound call to the soul to awaken from spiritual lethargy and return...
In the contemporary imagination, the word "Apocalypse" immediately evokes images of global catastrophe, spectral horsemen, and the collapse of time. However, this semantic burden is a sediment of nearly two thousand years of cultural interpretation. To understand the...
Throughout the evolution of human thought and its constant quest to understand the world, we have gone through periods of change in how we think and perceive reality. From the Renaissance to modern challenges, we have witnessed influences in philosophy, theology, and...
In ancient times, there were numerous individuals who, in one way or another, made significant contributions to the development of science and the modernization of society up to the present day. Although not all of them were Christians, they all lived within the...
THE FATE OF THE ANUSIM As we have seen, the Arab period of Al-Andalus was very prosperous for Muslims, Christians, and Jews. However, several factors worked against Christianity at that time, including Catholic celibacy. Both imams and rabbis led normal lives and...
JUDAISM IN SEPHARAD After the death of Muhammad, there were military conflicts among those who, as brothers, listened to the teachings of the "prophet," as some considered themselves more "his followers" than others, a characteristic that has defined this sect to this...
THE BEGINNING OF THE SEPHARDIM We are now going to discuss the Sephardim not because they are less important than the Ashkenazim, but because they are less complicated yet more significant. This latter point, largely unknown today due to the majority extermination by...
THE ASHKENAZIM AND CHRISTIANITY TODAY As noted in the previous article within this diaspora, there are several movements, and one of them, the Orthodox, is fragmented into various groups. An interesting question to ask is: Orthodox regarding what? Well, they are...
THE ASHKENAZIM Although I want to focus more on contemporary history, it's good to start by saying that between the 11th and 15th centuries, major rabbinic schools (yeshivot) developed in the area of Spain (known today as Sepharad) and the Eastern European region...
A General Overview A few days ago, someone wrote to me asking to explain the differences between the various Jewish groups, although we have several articles on this Blog that discuss this (here), the topic is so complex that questions always remain. So, I take this...
The word inspired by God, the Bible, not only empowers us to strengthen our spirit but also nourishes us with teachings and phrases capable of filling us with encouragement and hope. Its 613 commandments offer human beings guidance towards God (before the messianic...
Fragmentation is a phenomenon that spread across various spheres of social life at the beginning of the 20th century through art. This phenomenon gave rise to the possibility of representing truth, life, and even objective reality from an individual perspective. This...