יום שבת, כ״ו תמוז תשפ״וSaturday, July 11, 2026
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Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein is a freelance researcher and scholar living in Beitar Illit. He has authored multiple books and essays, including “Lashon HaKodesh: History, Holiness, & Hebrew” and “God versus Gods: Judaism in the Age of Idolatry.” He studied for over a decade at the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem and BMG in Lakewood before he earned his MA in Jewish Education from Middlesex University/London School of Jewish Studies. Any questions, comments, or suggestions can be addressed to him at historyofhebrew@gmail.com. Questions asked may be addressed in a future column.
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In times of surplus (brought on by ample rain), people tend to treat each other more fairly and are at peace with one another versus times of austerity and famine when people compete with each other for limited resources.
When He revealed the Decalogue at Mount Sinai, however, the entire Jewish people were gathered at the mountain, so G-d “raised His voice” and we therefore speak of the “Aseret HaDibrot.”
The Torah refers to a punishment that seems identical, or similar to, karet with the word "ariri."
Rabbi Pappenheim maintains that “bat” (daughter) is also derived from the root bet-nun and should really be spelled “banat” (like it is in other Semitic languages).
What does “Pesach” mean? Rashi (to Exodus 12:11 and 12:13 and Isaiah 31:5) explains that it is an expression of dilug and kefitzah (types of jumping). These two words appear side by side in a Biblical passage that we read every year on the Shabbat of Pesach: “The voice of my beloved – behold it […]
Mr. First is not scared of offering creative, original explanations and rejecting what scholars before him understood to be fact.
July 10, 2026 
