For the week of October 24, 2026 / 13 Heshvan 5787

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Lech Lecha
Torah: Bereshit/Genesis 12:1–17:27
Haftarah: Isaiah 40:27–41:16

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (B’reshit/Genesis 12:1-3)

This week’s reading marks the beginning of my 30th year producing TorahBytes. I featured the events of Avram’s call to “get up and go” to a land he did not know in the very first parsha I commented on, which that year, 1997, was the week of November 8.

Over the years, I have returned repeatedly to the opening verses of this portion—not out of sentimentality, but because God’s unconditional promises to Avram are foundational to all of Scripture. Last year, I grappled with an aspect of these promises that I had never fully highlighted before: God’s warning to those who abuse Avram (later called Avraham) and his descendants isn’t limited to extreme hatred; it applies to anyone who simply dishonors or belittles them.

This year, I feel compelled to address another aspect of God’s warning that has been weighing heavily on my heart. Following the horrendous terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the global explosion of antisemitism—a fancy word for Jew-hatred—since then, keeping quiet is no longer an option. To stay silent would be a severe disservice to believers who may be in great danger without realizing it.

Paul likely had B’reshit/Genesis 12:3 in mind when he warned Gentile believers in Rome:

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you (Romans 11:17-18).

Paul’s olive tree illustration confronts an attitude emerging at that time: the idea that God was finished with Israel and that non-Jewish believers had taken their place in His plan.

The Greek word translated as “arrogant” here is katakauchaomai. The prefix kata indicates an arrogance directed intentionally at others—looking down upon, gloating over, or exalting oneself over someone else. This attitude is not always overt or aggressive, however. It is often cold, quiet, and subtle. Yet Paul forcefully dismantles it:

Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you (Romans 11:19–21).

He then delivers a sobering warning:

Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off (Romans 11:22).

Non-Jewish Christians who regard their acceptance by God as something over and against the Jewish people place themselves in a most precarious position.

Whether through overt animosity or subtle theological frameworks that replace, supersede, or deem the Jewish people irrelevant, any mindset that exalts itself over the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob incurs God’s severity. To look down upon the Jewish people, the natural branches of Paul’s Romans 11 olive tree, is to court the danger of being cut off yourself.

Now you know.

All scriptures taken from the English Standard Version (ESV)

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For the week of October 17, 2026 / 6 Heshvan 5787

No’ach
Torah: B’reshit/Genesis 6:9 – 11:32
Haftarah: Isaiah 54:1 – 55:5
Originally posted the week of October 13, 2018 / 4 Heshvan 5779 (updated)

So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth. (B’reshit/Genesis 11:8-9; ESV)

According to this story, which takes place early within the Torah’s timeline, the people of the earth originally lived in the same geographical vicinity. The motive behind the Babel project was not what I was told as a child back when Bible stories were still read in public school. I was led to believe the people wanted a high tower to keep them safe in case another flood like Noah’s occurred. The biblical text records nothing like that. The text clearly states their reason: “lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth” (B’reshit/Genesis 11:4). This directly opposed God’s earlier directive to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it” (see B’reshit/Genesis 1:28).

The people also sought identity and corporate security through their building project. What they thought would be to their benefit, God regarded as destructive. And so, he deemed it necessary to intervene for their good and that of future generations. He, therefore, disrupted their ability to communicate. Until then, all people of the earth spoke the same language. The resulting confusion led the people to gather in separate communities that eventually migrated to various geographical regions. This is how the world’s people groups came to be.

The circumstances behind the development of ethnicities may lead some to conclude that differences in language and culture between peoples is a negative thing. Clearly, the steps people took toward this disparity began with overt disobedience to God. Moreover, since that time, language and cultural differences have certainly contributed to conflict between peoples. But is that peoplehood diversity is bad in and of itself? Consider what would have happened if people had “filled the earth” without the God-imposed confusion. Is it reasonable to assume that people would have retained the one original language forever? As communities formed in various regions of Earth, accents and dialects would have developed naturally. Moreover, diverse geographical regions demand unique vocabularies. For example, seafaring peoples create tools unknown to mountainfolk and vice versa. Clothing common to one climate is often unheard of in another. Language differences emerging from such contrasting needs and challenges are foundational to the formalization of culture and peoplehood. Therefore, diversity would have developed without the Babel project.

The complex mosaic of cultures was destined to occur under God’s providence with or without our ancestors’ cooperation. That the development of people groups over time is part of God’s design does not mean that every aspect of every culture is altogether good. God’s cursing the ground due to Adam’s disobedience (see B’reshit/Genesis 17–19) has tainted the creation, including culture. Yet, despite this corruption, national diversity remains part of God’s design.

False notions about what the Bible calls the “age to come” (see Mark 10:30, Hebrews 6:5) have also undermined our appreciation of the global mosaic. Imagining the human story as moving toward the re-establishment of a unified nation of one language and culture creates an ideal that is contrary to God’s expressed purpose for people. In the Bible’s version of the age to come, following the Messiah’s return, the resurrection, and the final judgment, when sin and death are no more and global peace is permanently established, nationalities continue. The description of the New Jerusalem includes: “By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it” (Revelation 21:24; ESV). These are not individuals from former people groups or kings who once belonged to distinct nations. God’s development of nationalities throughout history is retained.

This is not to say that there is no room for the mingling of nations. From economic trade and cooperation to intermarriage, Scripture gives no indication that national distinctions should be closed and outsiders kept out. At the same time, cooperative ventures should show respect for cultural differences of all parties.

Beware therefore, of noble-sounding global unity movements, faith-based or not. Any attempt by church or state to homogenize people groups undermines God’s will and robs the complex, diverse human family of our distinctives and the unique contributions we are called to share with the rest of the world.

Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version

For the week of October 10, 2026 / 29 Tishri 5787

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B’reshit
Torah: B’reshit/Genesis 1:1 – 6:8
Haftarah: 1 Shmuel/1 Samuel 20:18–42

And the man named his wife, “Chavah,” for she was the mother of all living (B’reshit/Genesis 3:20; translation: mine)

The Hebrew title, B’reshit, is the very first word of all Scripture, meaning “in the beginning,” before which was nothing; then God speaks, and it isn’t long before we have everything. But this is not just about God creating the universe. That he did is foundational, but we are told much more than that. As I am entering my 29th year of providing TorahBytes, let’s look at something I have never explored before.

The story of creation is crowned by the introduction of creatures unique among the rest, as human beings were alone made in God’s image. As God’s image, we were created as his representatives on Planet Earth, called to bring the creation under his authority. First, we learn that man and woman together reflect God’s image. Later we learn in more detail the process of our creation and our distinctive roles.

That’s before things went wrong, when the woman gave in to the serpent’s deception, followed by her husband’s acquiescence, resulting in the painful, frustrating, death-filled world that you and I have inherited. And yet, despite the man’s irresponsible, short-sighted, destructive action, he could look at his God-given intimate companion and speak hope. It’s too bad, however, that many, if not most, non-Hebrew readers have been oblivious to this remarkable pronouncement. Oblivious, that is, until now. Welcome to “The Adventures of Mudman and LifeGiver”!

A problem with translation is that, while it can bridge gaps between languages, cultures, and time periods, it struggles to fully draw listeners (or readers) into the original language’s complex layers and nuances. One example is wordplay, which Hebrew Scripture regularly uses. A challenge in representing Hebrew wordplay in English is that English wordplay often sounds humorous or cute. Perhaps the most common wordplay in English is puns or the “dad joke,” which I love, but not everybody does. Hebrew Scripture, however, often uses wordplay to make a serious point. Such is the case in the verse I quoted at the beginning.

To truly explore the impact of Adam’s naming of Eve (as we call them in English), we need to remember what just happened. Their rebellion undermined God’s intention for humanity. Yet when Adam (whose name we’ll get to in a second) named his wife, he pronounced what we might call a prophetic statement. He spoke a powerful truth from God’s perspective. Despite the inevitability of pain, frustration, and death, he called out a core blessing of not only his wife, but of all women forever. The same person who went down in history as the first to succumb to the serpent’s deceit would be henceforth known as “Chavah,” derived from the word “chai” (life), setting her apart as “LifeGiver.” This idea may have come from Adam’s hearing God’s earlier words of judgment upon the serpent.

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel (B’reshit/Genesis 3:15).

God declared that the woman, despite her seriously misguided decision, would be the source of the Evil One’s eventual destruction. Despite precipitating innumerable struggles ahead, women would still have a redemptive role to play as the channel through which human beings come into the world. Designed by God to nurture us from birth, she who brought death would nevertheless be known as LifeGiver!

LifeGiver’s husband’s name was also a wordplay. Adam (pronounced a-DAHM) comes from the Hebrew word adamah (pronounced a-dahm-ah’), meaning earth, soil, dust, or ground. Trying to find the counterpart to LifeGiver, I settled on “Mudman,” partly because it sounded better than the others. Earthman is too close to earthling, which is too sci-fi for our purposes. Soilman and Dustman both sound like cleaning products. Groundman is like a gardener or a landscaper, which actually fits pretty well. But it’s not as good as Mudman! That’s because Mudman powerfully conveys humanity’s basic lifelessness and futility. God didn’t just form man from the ground (or the mud!). He then “…breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (B’reshit/Genesis 2:7).

Both the man and the woman have a royal calling as stewards of Earth. Yet, our sense of royalty must be informed by our humble origins as mudmen and mudwomen, companions in bringing the life of God to the world, but who are nothing without his breath in us.

All Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version unless otherwise indicated.