1. The Tetragrammaton as a Grammatical Problem, Not a Pronunciation Puzzle The Divine Name appears in the Hebrew Bible as: יהוה (YHWH) From a linguistic standpoint, this form is anomalous : It does not follow standard Hebrew noun patterns It does not function syntactically like a personal name It behaves more like a verbal construct Most academic scholars—Jewish and non-Jewish—connect YHWH to the Hebrew root היה / הוה (HYH/HWH) , “to be” or “to become.” This connection is mad

This Week’s Torah Portion — Va’eira (וָאֵרָא) Torah Reading: Exodus 6:2–9:35 Meaning: “And I appeared” Parashat Va’eira opens in a moment of tension, disappointment, and divine clarification. Moses has already spoken to Pharaoh. He has already delivered God’s words. And instead of freedom, the people received harsher labor, broken morale, and crushed hope. The leaders of Israel turn on Moses. Pharaoh mocks him. Moses turns to God with a raw question: Why did You send me?

A Torah-faithful, First-Century Jewish Study Introduction: When God Defines Himself When Moses encounters God at the burning bush, he asks a question that every oppressed people eventually asks: “When they ask me, ‘What is His Name?’—what shall I say to them?” (Exod. 3:13) This is not idle curiosity. In the ancient world, a name defined character, authority, and reliability . Moses is asking: Who are You, and how can Israel trust You? God’s answer is not a noun, a title, or

Torah Reading: Shemot (Exodus) 1:1–6:1 Haftarah: Isaiah 27:6–28:13; 29:22–23 Introduction The book of Shemot opens not with miracles, plagues, or revelation—but with names . This is not accidental. The Torah begins Israel’s redemption by reminding us that before there was a nation, there were individuals known and remembered by God. Redemption in the Torah never begins with power—it begins with identity. From Family to Slavery Israel enters Egypt as a family of seventy sou