30 Aviv — Our Daily Bread
Today is the final day of the month of Aviv and we are currently in the time of “counting the Omer.” The word, עמר omer, is a unit of dry measure for things like grains and other dry commodities that was used in the era of the Sanctuary. It is estimated to be...
Daily Bread — Wednesday, May 8, 2024
When you besiege a city for a long time, while making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; if you can eat of them, do not cut them down to use in the siege, for the tree of the field is man’s food. (Deuteronomy...
29 Aviv — Our Sins Will Find Us Out
It was on this day, in 1945, that U.S. forces under the command of General George S. Patton, Jr., liberated the concentration camp at Buchenwald and its 21,000 inmates. A few days later, the citizens of nearby Weimar were forced to march five miles to the camp and...
Daily Bread — Tuesday, May 7, 2024
When you besiege a city for a long time, while making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; if you can eat of them, do not cut them down to use in the siege, for the tree of the field is man’s food. (Deuteronomy...
28 Aviv — Spared From Disaster
It was on this day that the walls of Jericho fell down flat, as recorded in Joshua 6: “It came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched...
Daily Bread — Monday, May 6, 2024
When you besiege a city for a long time, while making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; if you can eat of them, do not cut them down to use in the siege, for the tree of the field is man’s food. (Deuteronomy...
27 Aviv — He Turns Our Mourning Into Joy
It was on this day in 1951 that the Israeli Knesset passed a resolution proclaiming this day as Holocaust Remembrance Day, or in Hebrew, Yom Hashoah. This day commemorates the execution of six million Jews and the attempted extermination of all European Jews by...
Daily Bread — Sunday, May 5, 2024
The officers shall speak further to the people, and say, “What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart.” (Deuteronomy 20:8) In this and the previous verses, certain...
26 Aviv — Leave Nothing Undone
According to tradition, it was on this day that Joshua, the son of Nun, passed away, as recorded in Joshua 24: “Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old. And they...
Daily Bread — Saturday, May 4, 2024
When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 20:1) Many years ago there was a popular...
25 Aviv — The Wells of Elim
On this day, Israel arrived at Elim where they discovered twelve springs and remained there for twenty days. This is recorded in Exodus 15. “Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees so they camped there by the waters.”...
Daily Bread — Friday, May 3, 2024
Life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. (Deuteronomy 19:21) What, exactly, did Moses mean by this statement? In times past, this has occasionally been interpreted quite literally, resulting in lost eyes, hands and feet for...