Question
The phrase “inhabitants of Jerusalem” is used numerous times in the prophets, especially in Jeremiah. In Isaiah 8:14 it seems to indicate they are not Israel or Judah. “And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” Does anyone know who exactly they were? Thank you

Question
Dear Rabbi, I am greatly perplexed by Isa. 43:10b. My English translations tend to render this part as ‘Before Me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after Me’. Needless to say, to an English reader this sounds a lot like HaShem is saying that He was Himself at some point formed (Isa. 43:13a seems to me to be saying the same thing too!). Can you help me understand these words? I cannot follow HaShem if He is not the Most High God!

Question
Hello! I was pushing myself outside my comfort zone recently and decided to start memorizing the Tanak. To start out I went small and one of the books I now have memorized is Obadiah. It's really incredible the things you pick up on as you're committing these things to memory. It allows the brain to chew on a lot of different aspects of Scripture. So here are my questions. Why does Benjamin possess Gilead at the end of Obadiah? Why would it not be one of the 2 1/2 tribes that Moshe assigned the land to, *or* why would it not be Judah? And why is Benjamin the only tribe mentioned by name in this account of the People returning to the Promised Land? I've been mulling this over and I can't figure it out. Thanks for the help on this!

Question
I would like a direct translation of this verse from the Hos 6:2 from the WLC יחינו מימים ביום השלישי יקמנו ונחיה לפניו׃ how does mî-yō-mā-yim get translated to after two days? instead can it be translated "from the days (gone by) "?

Question
"If there arises a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the Lord thy God shall choose; And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment." (Devarim 17:8-9) My question here is about the "the place which the Lord thy God shall choose." How do we known the place which God shall choose? And does the difficult judgment that judges cannot solve be easily solved by the Levites?

Question
In Devarim it is commanded to gather — Hakhel — at the end of the Sabbatical year. But is there a command to gather together on (every) Shabbat or the Moadim? Of course Vayikra 23 calls such moments Mikra Kodesh or Holy Convocations, but do these really imply that we should gather and keep these days together? Or are these just general statements in order that we should just proclaim these days as different as the other days and keep the holiness of these specific moments? The words "mikra kodesh" could be taken to mean "a declaration of sanctity," referring to the holiness of a day or appointed time. While translated as "a holy convocation" it refers to a group of people assembled for a special purpose; they are called together for a holy meeting, "a set-apart-gathering." So the question is: If we are really commanded to gather on these days and appointed times, or that these days and appointed times are only to be declared as holy days; i.e. are to be set apart from all other days?

Question
Was the full Torah that is written in the scroll today (The Five Books of Moses) given at Mt. Sinai? Or were just the Ten Commandments and previous events given to Moses and all the Jewish people there with the rest to come later? As we know, most of the Torah tells about events that occurred after Mt. Sinai. If the full Torah was given at Mt. Sinai, that means that everyone, including Moses, Aaron, and the entire nation would know in advance of their own actions and how they would behave, which could affect their own behavior.