Twebrew School

Listen to Ya'ah'kov pronounced The root letters of the name Jacob (Ya'akov) are ayin , kuf and vet . According to Genesis 25:26, Jacob was given his name, because he was born immediately after his brother Esau, and “his hand had hold on Esau’s heel.” (Heel in Hebrew is ah'kev .) The ayin-kuf-vet root of the name Ya'akov is also the root of the word akov , crooked or insidious, and aikev , struggling. From Esau’s point of view, Jacob was “crooked.” After discovering that Jacob had been blessed by Isaac in his stead, Esau called out: “Is not he rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he has taken away my blessing” (Genesis 27:36). Esau assumed no personal responsibility for the transfer of the birthright due to his decision to sell the birthright for a bowl of lentils and for stating that birthright has no purpose for him. Upon reading the Biblical narrative, one may conclude that Esau sold his birth...

Listen to Elisheva pronounced Isabella is actually the Italian version of Elizabeth, another name on the most popular names list. Elizabeth and Isabella are both derivatives of the Hebrew, Elisheva (pronounced Eh’lee’sheh’va ). Elisheva, Aaron’s wife, is described (Exodus 6:23) as the daughter of Aminadav and the sister of Nachshon, the prince of the tribe of Judah. Aaron and Elisheva had four sons. The sages note that at the inauguration of the Tabernacle, Elisheva had five reasons to rejoice: “her brother-in-law [Moses] was ‘king,’ her husband was high priest, her son [Eleazer] was assistant [to the High Priest], her grandson [Pinchas] was the priest anointed for war, and her brother [Nachshon] was prince of a tribe [Judah],” ( Zevachim 102a). However, instead of rejoicing, she mourned her two sons, Nadav and Avihu, who, on that very day, died when they brought an unauthorized sacrifice (Leviticus 10). Although Aaron was able to temporarily set aside his grieving at the time in orde...

Listen to Michael Pronounced Michael is the name of one of the four heavenly archangels . Although Judaism recognizes the significant role of angels in the metaphysical maintenance of our world, their presence is hidden in the Torah. Angels are first mentioned outright in the books of the Prophets. Ma'lachim, as angels are called in Hebrew, are completely spiritual beings who serve as God’s messengers. The archangels are a special breed of ma'lachim who have specific roles to fulfill in the world. The roles of the most famous of these archangels are reflected in their names: Raphael - “God heals” Gabriel - “The strength of God” Uriel - “God is my light” Michael - “Who is like God?” Michael’s name does not shed much light on his role in the universe, but he is actually the primary advocate of the Nation of Israel. Thus in the Book of Daniel it is written: “At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of your people” (Daniel 12:1). Various...

Abigail was not only one of “four exceptionally beautiful women in the world” ( Megillah 15a), but was also one of seven women considered by tradition to be a prophetess ( Megillah 14a). It is strange then that most people would not even recognize the name’s biblical origin. Abigail is introduced in the the First Book of Samuel , immediately after King Saul had been buried. David had already been privately anointed as Saul’s successor but had yet to claim the throne. While remaining in the wilderness, David and his men helped to protect the flocks of the Israelite shepherds. One day, David heard that one particularly wealthy man was arranging a sheep shearing (which was, in those days, a great feast). This man was “...Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail; and the woman was of good understanding, and of a beautiful form; but the man was churlish and evil in his doings” (I Samuel 25:3). David sent a representative to ask Nabal for remuneration for guarding his flocks in the wildern...

Click here to hear Eitan pronounced Ethan is the anglicized form of the Hebrew name Eitan. It means strong and steadfast and also refers to a stream whose water flows throughout the year. Although Ethan is a biblical name, it is not the name of any major character. There appear to be three different Ethans in the Bible. The first is mentioned in I Kings : “Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east...For he was wiser than all men: than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol” (I Kings 5:10-11). Although I Kings does not identify these men further, one can assume that Mahol was an alternate name for Judah’s son Zerah, as I Chronicles 2:6 lists Zerah’s sons as “Zimri and Ethan and Heman and Calcol and Dara.” The second Ethan is listed in I Chronicles 6:25, 27, as an ancestor of Asaph the son of Berechiah. This Ethan was the great, great grandson of Gershom the son of Levi. The third Ethan is also connected to Asaph the son of Be...

Click here to hear Channah pronounced Hannah’s story opens the First Book of Samuel. The beloved wife of Elkanah, Hannah longed to have a child. After ten years of childlessness, she told her husband to marry another woman so that he might have children. Over the next eight years, according to the Midrash Pesikta Rabbati, Penina, Elkanah’s second wife, bore him ten sons. Watching her husband’s family grow was a painful challenge for Hannah, especially since Elkanah believed that the extreme love he had for Hannah should have been sufficient to make her happy. Finally, after 18 years of barrenness, when the family made one of its regular pilgrimages to Shilo (where the Tabernacle stood, before the Temple was built in Jerusalem), Hannah made her way to the sanctuary and poured out her soul to God. The prayer, as described by the Midrash, was a heart-wrenching plea questioning the purpose of her own existence (ex: "Master of the Universe...nothing which You created in woman is super...

Click here to hear Ye'ho'shoo'ah pronounced Joshua is the anglicized form of the Hebrew name Ye’ho’shua. The only real biographical information given about Joshua in the Torah is that he was from the tribe of Ephraim and was originally named Hoshea. According to the Midrash, a yud was added to the beginning of his name by Moses before he went to scout out the land of Israel in order to give him Divine protection from the nefarious plans of the 10 rebellious spies (Numbers 13:16). One can deduce from the text, that Joshua was around 42 years old when the Israelites left Egypt. (The Israelites were in the wilderness for 40 years, then Joshua them for 28 years. He was 110 when he died.) Joshua was a proven military leader who had led the Israelites in their successful defense when they were attacked by Amalek (Exodus 17:8-14), and could thus be relied upon to successfully lead the conquest of Canaan. He was also Moses’ most devoted disciple. He learned the entire Torah from...