#1 "In the beginning..."

Two Christians and a Jew

In this episode we focus on Rosh Hashanah, one of the four Jewish new years, a day of judgment, and a fearful but festive holiday which Jews around the world celebrated just days before we recorded. We introduce Christians to the holiday from a Jewish perspective, discuss the idea of a new year, the nature of judgment, the trouble Christians have with Leviticus, and how Jews see Leviticus very, very differently. We also delve into the nature of creation, define the word mitzvah (“commandment”), describe the shofar (ram’s horn trumpet, and here’s how they’re made: https://youtu.be/yC_OlvUU7_A), and quickly define what is Shabbat (“the Sabbath”). Since this is our first episode, we start off by sharing our hopes and visions for the podcast.

In this episode, the main sources are Leviticus 23:23-26, Numbers 29:1-6, and The Mishnah, Tractate Rosh HaShanah 1:1-2. The source sheet on our website includes additional sources and notes, as well as Meir’s translations.

Please share the show generously. And check out our website 2c1j.com where we have a source sheet for each episode and a glossary of Torah terms. Meir-Simchah is available for three different workshops:

• Great Hebrew Men
• Great Hebrew Women
• Hebrew: The Language of the Torah.

Each will be tailored for your community. Get in touch to schedule and find a price good for your community. Private Hebrew lessons are also available, for people at any level of experience. [phone] | [e-mail] | @meirsimchah on Twitter.

You can connect with Jen on jenniferbrownjones.com or on Twitter @JenBrownJones and with Frank on blog.frankmtaylor.com or on Twitter @Paceaux.

Our theme music was arranged and performed by David Frankel https://classicalguitarisrael.com/.