Rosh Chodesh Elul-- Rosh Hashanah's Only a Month Later

Summer is almost over... it'll soon be Rosh Chodesh Elul, and then a month later, Rosh Hashanah. Tishrei is the only "new moon" which isn't celebrated in it's own right, because it's the beginning, "head" of the Jewish Year. There is no Rosh Chodesh Tishrei. Rosh Chodesh Elul will be the very last Rosh Chodesh in 5786. That's a good reason to join us at Tel Shiloh for Rosh Chodesh Prayers. 

Tel Shiloh is an Ancient Jewish Holy Site. It was in Shiloh where the Tabernacle rested for close to four hundred 400 years as a center for prayers to Gd. The Biblical Chana prayed for a son in Shiloh, promising Gd that if He have her a son, she would give the son back to Gd to serve the Jewish People. Her son Shmuel was later born, and when he was old enough, she brought him to Shiloh to study with Eli the High Priest. Later Shmuel led the Jewish People and anointed our first two kings, Saul and David.

Since Rosh Chodesh is traditionally a "women's holiday," and Shiloh is known for women's prayer I began inviting women to pray there together on Rosh Chodesh decades ago.

Ancient Tel Shiloh is a well developed archeological site with a large variety of activities and exhibits for all ages. For more information +972 2-578-9111 and visit@telshilo.org.il. Ancient Shiloh can also be reached by public transportation.

Rosh Chodesh Kislev, Women's Prayers at Tel Shiloh

Every Rosh Chodesh a group of women come to Ancient Tel Shiloh to pray where the biblical Chana prayed thousands of years ago. Chana's successful prayer for a child is one of the most famous stories in the Bible. She promised Gd that if He gave her a son, she would return the child to Shiloh to serve Gd and the Jewish People. There was nothing selfish in her prayer.

In response Gd gave her a son, Shmuel Hanavi, Samuel the Prophet, who led the Jewish People after the High Priest Eli died. His great accomplishments included anointing the first two Jewish Kings, Saul and David.

Join us on Rosh Chodesh.

There are many activities and exhibits in Ancient Shiloh which is an active archeological site. For more information contact 972 2-578-9111 and/or   visit@telshilo.org.il.

There's public transportation on bulletproof buses.

Torah Tanach Bible Commentary, Tale of Two Robes, Joseph and Samuel

Friends and others who have learned Torah Tanach Bible with me over the years, or has it already been decades, know that I tend to notice what others don't. Rarely a teacher much more scholarly than myself will say that one of the sages chazal wrote something similar, but usually my "inspirations" are met with various forms of incredulity. I guess my mind works very differently from most. And I wasn't raised on the usual "sipurei Torah," Torah stories a mishmash of drash commentaries frequently far removed from the pshat actual text of the Torah Tanach Bible. 

Recent Torah Portions of the Week, Parshat Shavua, have mentioned the special coat that Jacob gave his favorite son Josef, the first born of his favorite wife, Rachel. This coat caused terrible jealousy among Josef's ten older brothers, and Josef had no clue as how to lower the tension. Actually, neither did Jacob. That coat became a symbol of the hatred between the brothers, and it was brought all bloodied to Jacob after the older brothers sold Josef to Egyptian merchants.

Compare that robe, the one Jacob gave Josef and the one (actually many) Hannah gave Samuel. Jacob gave one that didn't "fit" causing problems, while Hannah gave Samuel, whom she had sent to "study" with Eli the High Priest in Shiloh, a new one each year to suit his "size."

I picture Hannah teaching her precious son each year when she visited him in Shiloh. Not only was each new robe the correct size for Samuel, but her instructions suited his age and development. That's how Samuel became the great leader, Samuel the Prophet, who was privileged to anoint the first two kings of the Jewish Nations, Saul and David. 

Food for thought. What do you think?