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5 Facts About the Torah They Didn't Teach You in Hebrew School

JL;DR SUMMARY The article uncovers five lesser-known insights about the Torah, emphasizing its role as a living guide rather than merely a historical document. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Mount SinaiHebrew LanguageKabbalahTorah ScrollRabbinic JudaismTannaimPardesInterpretationAmoraim

Places mentioned

Paris, Île-de-France, France
"This is the level explained by commentators like Rashi, who wrote in 12th-century France but saw his work as clarifying what the Torah meant all along."
Israel
"If the sage is referred to as Rabbi so-and-so, he likely lived in the Land of Israel and received semichah (rabbinic ordination), an unbroken chain of rabbinic ordination that traces all the way back to Moses."
Iraq
"If hes called Rav so-and-so, he likely lived in Babylonia (modern-day Iraq), where semichah was no longer conferred, so he wasnt given the formal title Rabbi."
Jerusalem, Israel
"Why was the most sacred moment in Jewish history the giving of the Torah not held in Jerusalem, Hebron, or some other spiritually significant location?"
Hebron, Central District, Israel
"Why was the most sacred moment in Jewish history the giving of the Torah not held in Jerusalem, Hebron, or some other spiritually significant location?"
Egypt
"The Torah, astonishingly, says nothing not a word about heaven, hell, or reward after death."

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Cairo Item ID 53038
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Retrieved 2025-06-03 05:31:14 UTC
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