Online Bible teachings from the Rabbi

Whoever takes an interest in Israel and Judaism discovers something of the rich tradition of Bible explanation that the Jewish people know. He who wishes to tap into this tradition, often needs to search thoroughly. Jewish Bible education isn’t very accessible to non-Jews, as it is often given in the Hebrew language. Rabbi Chaim Eisen from Jerusalem believes he should share this wealth with whomever is interested. At yeshivathsharashim.org he gives weekly online Bible teachings.

Participate from your computer
Jewish Bible study thoroughly examines almost every letter of the Hebrew Scriptures. And even about those details, endless stories can be told. The depth of God’s word opens a world of new insights to many Christians who are interested in Judaism. Rabbi Eisen is not a missionary for Judaism. He simply wishes that his teachings will help Christians connect to the Bible and, through this, connect to God. At yeshivathsharashim.org, anyone can register for a free account. Then they can participate in the online teachings via webcam and headset from their own computer. The lessons are given in English. On Monday nights there is translation into the Dutch language, as there are many Dutch people interested in the teachings.

Back to the roots
Rabbi Eisen sees it as a task of the Jewish people to share universal truths of the Bible with non-Jewish people. I met him at his apartment in Jerusalem.
“It actually started with a request from a Dutch pastor who studies Torah with his congregation. He’d like to dig deeper into the Bible with the help of a Jewish Rabbi. I notice this in many ways. More and more Christians realize that, to be more connected to God, they need to go back to the Jewish roots of the Bible. One of the reasons that I chose the name Yeshivath Sharashim is that the name means ‘Academy of Roots’.”

The details speak
“After the first teaching,” Rabbi Eisen says, “one of the participants told me that he thought it was very much into the details. I told him – and I tell everyone who likes to participate – that it is especially in these details that the Bible speaks to us. If we only want to look at the bigger picture, we actually are telling the Bible to tell us what we want to hear. But by focusing on the details of the text, you let the text speak to you.”

Christianity
I ask Rabbi Eisen if he’s not hesitant to teach Christians, who do have a very dark history in their relation to Judaism.
“In Judaism, the idea exists that God uses Christianity as an instrument for spreading the knowledge about one God to the non-Jewish world. This idea was first expressed by Rabbi Judah HaLevi (ca. 1074 - 1141) in The Kuzari and Rabbi Moses Maimonides (ca. 1138 - 1204) in the Mishneh Torah (his Code of Jewish Law). As expressed in an ancient midrash, “Whether a person is a non-Jew or a Jew or a man or a woman ... to all, according to the deed that they do, thus the holy spirit comes upon them.” I hope that yeshivathsharashim.org may be used this way: that Christians who want to deepen their connection to God and do good as He teaches us, may be strengthened and that God may be glorified.”

Website: http://yeshivatsharashim.org