Jewish Matters

Exodus Unveiled # 3 Part II. How Do We Know the Exodus Happened? In-depth Insights on the Parshat Bo

Exodus Unveiled # 3 Part II.  How Do We Know the Exodus Happened?   In-depth Insights on the Parshat Bo with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman on Jewish Matters Podcast

The Exodus story is one of the most recognized stories of human history.  How do we know the Exodus happened?  Is there historical evidence beyond the Biblical account?  What does the Egyptian historical record tell us of that event?

Exodus Unveiled # 3. The Breaking of Egypt. Overview & Insights on the Parshat Bo

Exodus Unveiled # 3.  The Breaking of Egypt.  Overview & Insights on the Parshat Bo with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman on Jewish Matters Podcast. 

The last three plagues finally break Pharoh and Egypt and the Jewish people are sent free.  Before they go they are told to have a feast of lamb and matza, and to put the blood on the door lintel.  Three times they are told that in the future they are to re-enact this night and have a seder, and tell their children the story.   

Exodus Unveiled # 2. Taking on Pharoh. Overview & Insights on the Parshat Va’era

Exodus Unveiled # 2.  Taking on Pharoh.  Overview & Insights on the Parshat Va’era with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman on Jewish Matters Podcast

Moshe’s first attempt to free the Jewish people in Egypt just made things worse.  In this week’s Parsha G-d begins by promising Moshe and the Jewish people that He will free them.  This will not happen immediately, because Pharoh’s heart will be hardened.  The first seven plagues are brought on Pharoh and we see him and his court beginning to falter. 

Sunset Series # 14 Beyond the Conflict: Getting to Know Palestinians with Noor A'wad in Sons of Abraham

Beyond the Conflict: Getting to Know Palestinians with Noor A'wad in Sons of Abraham on Jewish Matters Podcast 

There is much discussion and debate on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, but very little about who the Palestinians are, and how they live.  What is the nature of Palestinian society beyond the conflict with Israel? How do they live, what is the nature of their family life, their customs, their religious beliefs and their society?  What is the evolution of Palestinian society, and how much is it formed and influenced by the political conflict?

Noor A'wad is involved with Roots, (Sharashim), a unique grassroots network of local Palestinians and Israelis who have come to see each other as partners.  Its work is aimed at challenging the assumptions the two communities hold about each other, building trust and creating a new discourse around the conflict in their respective societies. He organizes joint Palestinian-Israeli activities and speaks to visiting groups about his personal experiences living through the conflict as a Palestinian.  Noor’s family moved from Amman, Jordan to Beit Sahour following the signing of the Oslo Accords.  In 2014, Noor was licensed by the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism. He resides in Bethlehem today, where he guides English-speakers on geopolitical tours of the region.

Exodus Unveiled # 1. Beginnings of a Peoplehood. Overview & Insights on the Parshat Shemot

Exodus Unveiled # 1.  Beginnings of a Peoplehood.  Overview & Insights on the Parshat Shemot with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman on Jewish Matters Podcast

The Jewish people’s stay in Egypt brings growth and prosperity but then turns sour.  The new king of Egypt turns on the Jewish people and enslaves them.  Moshe is born, is brought up by Pharoh’s daughter but then re-identifies with his people.  He flees Egypt eventually to be called upon by G-d to go back to free the people. The parsha ends with the first effort making things worse for the Jewish people, but with G-d’s promise of redemption.

Genesis Unveiled # 12. Yaakov’s Final Blessings. Overview & Insights on the Parshat Vayechi

 Yaakov’s Final Blessings.  Overview & Insights on the Parshat Vayechi with Rabbi Jonthan Feldman on Jewish Matters Podcast

The parsha presents us with several family scenarios of Yaakov finishing his life by clarifying the legacy for the future generation.  We will discuss the implications of him promoting Yosef’s sons to full tribes and the blessing of Yosef’s son, the blessings to Yaakov’s own sons, and his insistence on being buried in Israel.  The parsha ends with unfinished business between Yosef and his brothers. 

Sunset Series #13 Sons of Abraham: Arab & Israeli: How Does It Work? with Ms. Ghaida Rinawie-Zoabi

Sons of Abraham: Arab & Israeli: How Does It Work? with Ms. Ghaida Rinawie-Zoabi

1/5 of the population of Israel is Arab, yet most Israelis do not really know about their communities, their culture and their role in Israeli society which we will uncover.  We will also discuss the question of the integration of Israeli Arabs into larger Israeli society, from the workplace to education to governance, and the allocation of resources for that sector.  We will hear first-hand about the range of outlooks and feelings and experiences of Israeli Arabs being part of Israel and its society.    

Ms. Ghaida Rinawie-Zoabi is the new Head of the Friends Association for the Baruch Padeh Medical Center Poriya. Previously she was the founding Executive Director of Injaz Center for Professional Arab Local Governance, the leading Non -profit organization today on issues of municipal economic development and equal governmental budget allocation for Arab minority in Israel. She is also a member of the General Assembly for the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, a board member at Ropin college in Natanya,and  Biet Izi Shapira for disabled children.

She has an MBA in Impact investment from the OXFORD Said Buisness School Impact measurement program. She also holds an MA in literature from Haifa University and a Bachelor of Psychology from Hebrew University.  Ms. Rinawie-Zoabi is married and a mother of two.  In 2015 she was the first Arab woman to be awarded the “Israeli Good Governance” prize. In 2018 she was included at the Forbes- Israel list of "50 most influential women in Israel".

Genesis Unveiled # 11. Was the Reunion of Joseph and HIs Brothers a Reuniting? Overview & Insights on the Parshat Vayigash

Was the Reunion of Joseph and HIs Brothers a Reuniting?  Overview & Insights on the Parshat Vayigash with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman on Jewish Matters Podcast.

After Benjamin is framed by the Egyptian viceroy who is Joseph, Yehuda steps forward and offers himself in place of his brother.  This leads to Joseph revealing his true identity and the family being reunited.  Jacob and the entire family will come down to Egypt during the famine.  Joseph will forgive his brothers, but have they completed their process of reconciliation?  Joseph consolidates Pharoh’s power over Egypt, but how do we view the sons of Israel settling in exile?

Sunset Series # 12 From Africa to Israel: The Hebrew Israelite Community -Sons of Abraham with Sar Ahmadiel Ben Yehuda

From Africa to Israel: The Hebrew Israelite Community -Sons of Abraham with Sar Ahmadiel Ben Yehuda

About the topic:  Currently numbering nearly 3,000 men, women and children based in Israel, and with satellite communities of thousands across the US, the Caribbean and Africa, the African Hebrew Israelites easily comprise the largest organized repatriation movement of African Americans in history. Ben Yehuda has documented the migration patterns and cultural parallels to the ancient Israelites found among the Ashanti, Fante, Ewe, Ga and other West African ethnic groups.  As a member of the International Society for the Study of African Judaism (ISSAJ), he has argued the case for Israel’s authentic African roots

 About our speaker:   Ahmadiel Ben Yehuda is the Minister of Information and National Spokesman of the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem.  Minister Ben Yehuda did his undergraduate work at Virginia Wesleyan College and American University.  He interned and later worked as a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill on both sides of the partisan aisle before answering to his spiritual calling and relocating to Israel in 1978.  He has since dedicated his life to the spiritual, but practical, uplifting of all who desire to live according to Truth.  He received his Masters and Doctorate degrees in history and diplomacy at the School of the Prophets Institute at Jerusalem.  Minister Ben Yehuda is a devoted husband and the very proud father of 22 children, most of whom reside in Israel.  He enjoys basketball and bicycling is also an accomplished drummer, organic gardener and carpenter.

Genesis Unveiled # 10 Part II. Why Didn’t Joseph Tell His Father He Was Alive? In-Depth Insights on the Parshat Miketz

Why Didn’t Joseph Tell His Father He Was Alive?  In-Depth Insights on the Parshat Miketz with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman

The glaring question asked by Nahmanides is why didn’t Joseph let Jacob know he was alive when he was viceroy over Egypt for seven years of plenty. We will explore the four possible answers which will lead us to a deeper understanding of the meaning of the story.