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Torah Pearls, Tanakh Tours, Hebrew Bible, The Moses Scroll

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Korah – The Showdown of Competing Priesthoods – Jono,...

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2025/06/27

Korah— it’s not just one insurrection but two, woven together by a careful redactor. Is this a Levitical civil war masked as divine judgment? What begins as a challenge to Moses and Aaron’s leadership ultimately reveals itself to be a priestly power struggle with profound textual implications. We ask whether Korah’s famous line—“all the congregation […]

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The Competing Narratives of the 12 Spies – Jono,...

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2025/06/22

SHELACH – the layered narratives of the twelve spies sent to scout the land of Canaan. By comparing the accounts in Numbers and Deuteronomy, we explore how these versions differ and what those differences reveal about the composition of the Pentateuch. Are we looking at one unified story—or a stitched-together tradition from multiple sources? And […]

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Just How Pure is the Water of Purification? – Jono,...

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2025/06/13

Beha’alotecha—from the menorah of Numbers 8 to the one displayed in Jerusalem, with a stop in Zechariah 4 to briefly explore the idea of two messiahs. We trace Israel’s departure from Sinai, noting contradictions in the sources and a curious pair of inverted Hebrew nuns in Numbers 10. We examine Passovers past and forgotten, the […]

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A Problem With The Numbers – Jono, Ross, & Ezra

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2025/06/06

In this double portion, we unpack the census-supported structure of Numbers, tracing tribal arrangements, competing lists, and curious inconsistencies. Why are the Levites sometimes excluded? Is the census in Numbers 1 the same as the one in Exodus? And what’s with the suspicious potion in chapter 5? From Nazarite vows and priestly blessings to tabernacle […]

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Does the Bible Permit Slavery? – Jono, Ross, & Ezra

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2025/05/23

In this week’s episode, Ross, Jono, and Ezra unpack the intricate laws of land, liberty, and value in the final double portion of Leviticus. We explore the radical social vision behind the Sabbatical and Jubilee years—when land rests, debts are released, and slaves go free—but ask: were these ever truly kept? We compare slavery laws […]

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The Sacred Calendar & Honour Killing of the Priestly...

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2025/05/16

Emor steps into the priestly playbook of Leviticus. We explore the rigid hierarchy of holiness, where physical defects disqualify, certain foods belong to God, and even a priest’s daughter can be burned for dishonoring her father. We examine the sacred calendar and ask: do Yom Kippur and Yom Teruah have ancient roots—or were they added […]

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The Ten Words in Leviticus – Jono, Ross, & Ezra

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2025/05/09

Acharei Mot & Kedoshim – where goat demons haunt the wilderness, “uncovering nakedness” becomes a legal category, and the Day of Atonement seems conspicuously absent from the stories it should inhabit. We explore the infamous Holiness Code (Leviticus 17–20), examine the tension between priestly and prophetic voices, trace odd laws around blood, sacrifice, and sex, […]

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Fluxes & Flows, The Sin of Natural Biological...

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2025/05/02

Tazria & Metzora are some of the most unusual—and uncomfortably specific—sections of the Torah. Covering childbirth, skin eruptions, bodily discharges, and plague-like conditions in homes and garments, we ask whether these priestly purity laws are ancient dermatology, spiritual symbolism, or something else entirely? Why is childbirth treated as a source of impurity? Why is a […]

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The Conjuring – The Revelation Narrative of the...

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2025/04/28

In this week’s Torah Pearls, we explore the strange fire that is the dramatic theophany at the altar and ask, did Jehovah eat the fat on the altar, and if so, did He also eat Nadab and Abihu?! We compare multiple texts describing the same event from different angles, examine whether holiness (or uncleanness) is […]

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Priestly Perquisites – Jono, Ross, & Ezra

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2025/04/11

TZAV – We examine the curious repetition of the priestly ordination in Exodus 28–29, 40, and Leviticus 8. Are these accounts out of order, or does the rabbinic claim that “there’s no early or late in the Torah” explain it? We explore priestly privileges, payments, and perquisites. We point out that the sacrificial system exists […]

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The Theology Of Expiatory Sacrifice and Anachronistic...

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2025/04/04

VAYIKRA – step into the profoundly ritual world of Leviticus—the realm of the Priestly source. From gift offerings to expiatory sacrifices, we explore what these rites meant, how they functioned, and what they reveal about the Priestly source’s worldview. Is blood always required for atonement? What does “a sweet savor” mean? And what is “the […]

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Pekudai – The Rolling Credits On Exodus – Jono, Ross,...

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2025/03/28

In this week’s episode of Torah Pearls, Ross, Jono, and Ezra (the ChatGPT-powered textpert engineered by Seth) wrap up the Book of Exodus—literally and literarily. As the final chapters unfold, it feels like the biblical version of rolling credits: repetition, recap, and a reverent nod to all that’s come before. But beneath the repetition lies […]

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Snow White And The Seventh Day – Jono, Ross, & Ezra

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2025/03/21

This week, Ross, Jono, and Ezra explore the Torah portion Vayakhel, noting its striking repetition. Jono draws a surprising parallel to the controversy surrounding the new Snow White film—are people objecting to changes from the “original” or just the version they know best? This leads to a thought-provoking discussion on how similar objections arise when […]

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Which Golden Calf Came First? Jono, Ross, & Ezra

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2025/03/14

KI TISSA – (Exodus 30:11–34:35): From the chaos of the Golden Calf—those unholy cows—to the enigma of Moses’ horns. Why did counting heads spark divine danger? What’s with God demanding atonement for a simple census? And how does the sanctuary shekel tease messianic threads? We sift through textual oddities, priestly turf wars, and whispers of […]

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Gatekeepers of the Divine – Jono, Ross, & Ezra

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2025/03/07

TETZAVEH (Exodus 27:20–30:10) is steeped in priestly tradition. We explore the sacred garments of Aaron and his sons—were they divinely mandated or a later justification for an existing institution? We examine the Urim and Thummim, ancient divination tools shrouded in mystery, and discuss the priestly concept of anointing—was this the origin of the Messiah idea? […]

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A Giant Multi-Coloured Kosher Unicorn In The Torah? –...

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2025/02/28

TERUMAH – The Tabernacle’s “tachashim” skins spark debate—was it a unicorn, a badger, a dolphin, a seal, or something mythic? We ask: Does God need our gifts, or does the Bible hint at two views? Was the Tabernacle pattern, complete with Cherubim, appropriated from Ramesses’ war camp formation? From menorah mysteries to ancient designs, uncover […]

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Moses Took The Blood And Threw It On The People –...

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2025/02/20

Mishpatim (Exodus 21-24) contains ancient laws and intriguing parallels between the Covenant Code and the Code of Hammurabi. We discuss “an eye for an eye,” slavery laws, shifting divine voices (first and third person), and the unsettling phrase “an act of God.” Discover anachronisms like the Sea of Philistia, the mysterious Covenant Scroll, and the […]

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Priests? What Priests?! – Yitro – Jono, Ross, & Ezra

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2025/02/14

Join us as we uncover hidden agendas and mysteries in the Yitro narrative. Was there an effort to erase Moses’ descendants from Israel’s priesthood? Where did the priests in our Torah Portion come from? Where is the true Mountain of God, and how many times did Moses ascend it? We also explore the three conflicting […]

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Chariots In The Water? – Beshallach – Jono, Ross, & Ezra

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2025/02/06

Did the Israelites cross the Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez, the Gulf of Aqaba, or did this narrative originate from the imagery of the Battle of Kadesh? In Beshallach (Exodus 13:17–17:16), we examine the scholarly perspectives on the Exodus route, the pillar of cloud, and the role of the Philistines in the narrative. We […]

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Who Is The Destroyer of Passover? – Jono, Ross, & Ezra

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2025/01/30

We explore the dramatic final plagues in Egypt, the first Passover, and the theological tension between Pharaoh’s hardened heart—was it his choice, or did God override his free will? What is the mysterious unnamed festival the Israelites seek to observe? Who—or what—is The Destroyer? We also tackle biblical contradictions: How many times can the same […]

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124 results