Blog

PSALM11918.ORGOur blog provides the Psalm11918.org contributors with a channel for less formal communications with our readers.  Some of our blog entries are about personal events while others are just plain silly and fun. 

In any case, we hope you enjoy and are blessed everything you find here! :)

- The Psalm11918.org team

For the longest time I've avoided any expression that includes the word "fate" because I thought the concept of fate was tied to the pagan idea of “the fates”: the three robed women called "moirai" (apportioners) who wove the destiny of everyone.

Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for March 8th was a related word, fatidic:

: of or relating to prophecy

 

Last month, we pondered life and death from a Biblical perspective… but there were some lingering questions about the "neshamah" G-d breathed into Adam.

The Hebrew language has two words (neshamah and nephesh) that are translated as "soul" in English and both of these are distinct from "spirit" (ruach).

 

A few weeks ago our Sabbath dinner conversation turned to deep questions: What is life? What is death?

I didn’t have a solid answer readily at hand. As a believer, I know we should have a Biblically-based understanding of such things, so I started at the beginning of Scripture… with Adam.

Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

 

Consider those unique moments of Creation when Adam was made. In the time between the formation of Adam’s flesh and when G-d breathed into his nostrils, his body was 100% human and 100% flawless, undefiled, and uncorrupted… and yet not fully alive. It was only after G-d breathed the breath of life ( נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים, nishemat chayyom in Hebrew) into Adam’s body that he became a living being ( לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה, l’nephesh chayah).

I think of it like a basic algebra equation: the body + the breath of life = a living being.

A+B=C… simple, right?

As in years past, we've put together a list of moedim and remembrance dates so you can have them all in one place.  You can also look these up on our Hebrew Calendar.

There are three common cycles for reading the Torah:

  • The annual
  • The triennial
  • The linear triennial

In the annual cycle, the entire Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy) is read weekly over the course of one year.  This is most widely used Torah reading cycle and is used in synagogues throughout the world.

In the triennial cycle, the entire Torah is read weekly over the course of three years.  The readings are aligned to the annual cycle (both the annual and triennial readings are on the same Parashah each week) but smaller portions are read in the triennial cycle.  Thanks go to the Jewish Theological Seminary for the chart!

In the linear triennial cycle, the entire Torah is read weekly over the course of three years but in a sequential order that does not align to the annual readings (the annual and linear triennial readings are only the same one week every three years).

Torah Portion

unknown

 

 

or view this week's triennial cycle reading.

Today is

Yom Chamishi, 18 Adar II, 5784

Thursday, March 28, 2024

 

Learn more about this date in history.