My Stamp Bible

 In 1996, a friend introduced me to a book that researched and attempted to prove that the etymological root of many words in English is from Hebrew. I don't recall most of them, but my absolute favourite was  –  Abracadabra! Which, according to the author, meant "I will create" EVRA "with my words" K'DA'BER. Occasionally, I come up with my own ideas (or maybe these words were in the book - not at all sure...) like my thought/theory that: "don't eat the meat NA (raw/fresh)" (Exodus 12:9)  –  is the source for the word 'now' in English; also the word 'nose' is from the Hebrew NEZEM (Proverbs 11:22 "nose-ring"). I believe that the Ten times the word "sack" is mentioned in the last few chapters of Genesis (42:25-44:12) is from the Hebrew language, and spelled the same way: SAK. Sackcloth is mentioned many times in the Bible, in the context of blemishes (like on cloth, wool or leather Leviticus 13:47-59), bu...

As kids, we were introduced by my maternal grandfather, who we called Sabba Sugar, to very faraway places that we will never visit. In our young mind, we thought he was making up places like Honolulu and Timbuktu! We actually named the Synagogue (little Shteebel, really; that he took us to, on those few visits to Jerusalem, before moving to Be'er Sheba) of the Sokhatchov Hassidim: "Timbuktu", as we couldn't follow or understand the prayers because of their funny accent and speed! I am not sure what the official language of Mali is, but we really weren't aware of its actual existence! And, Rabbi Google wasn't around 40+ years ago! There are quite a few times that the Bible mentions a faraway place; however, as we are in the days leading up to Tish'ah B'Av  –  the day our Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed  –  I chose two verses from Deuteronomy & Joshua. In Chapter 29 of Deuteronomy, Moses describes what will happen if the Jewish People break the ...

Today is a Snow Day in Fredericton, and a good friend from the Board of Education wished me a happy & safe one. This gave me the idea to write about a snow day in the Bible. The very first Postage Stamp that depicts snow was issued in 1931 by Newfoundland, which was not yet part of Canada, so they had their very own stamps. As far as I know, there is only One incident/instance that the Bible mentions the phrase Snow Day. To clarify, the reason I didn't say "time", is because the same exact wording appears in Two verses: II Samuel 23:20 and I Chronicles 11:22: "On this snow(y) day – Benaiah son of Jehoiada (AKA Yehoyada, as there is no letter J in Biblical Hebrew) killed a lion"! Our Sages have different explanations for: why it is significant that it was snowing that day? The simplest explanation is that it has nothing to do with the lion, but it was such a storm that it was remembered by many people for many years and maybe even decades. Any senior citizen ...

Over the past (more than) 550 years, since the printing type-set (AKA Movable Type) method was used to produce and print books, most notably the Guttenberg Bible – printing books in Hebrew was a great desire of Jewish Authors! Until 447 years ago – there was no such ability in the Holy Land. However, on the 25th of Cheshvan 1577 (Yesterday's Hebrew Date)  – a book named Koheleth Ya'akov (commentary & exposition) on the Book of Ecclesiastics, was printed in Safed (AKA TZFAT). The State of Israel decided to commemorate the 400th Anniversary of this event on a stamp in 1977. There are Two reasons I am mentioning this special event in connection to my Stamp Bible (besides the fact that it happened yesterday, 447 years ago). First: it is a commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastics, written by Rabbi Moshe ben Mordechai Galanti, who is not commemorated on any other stamp in my "Rabbi" themed collection! And, Second, the press (or the Author, we will never know) continued a...

This coming Sabbath, we will read in the Torah (Deuteronomy 29:23) a very harsh description of what will happen in the Promised Land, if the Jewish People do not keep the Covenant they made/signed with G-d in the Plains of Moab (AKA the Trans-Jordan, or, the East Bank of the Jordan River). Moses tells them that the "whole land will be (or, " is " in this translation which I don't understand) brimstone, salt and burning... like the overthrow of Sodom & Gomorrah..." Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld mentioned in our Yeshivah's Rashi class that a modern-day example of such an event is what took place 38 years ago (April 26 th , 1986) in Chernobyl (then USSR, now in the Ukraine), when there was a leak/explosion in nuclear reactor #4. Until now, according to experts, nothing that grows in the Exclusion Zone (10-20 Miles Radius) is safe for human consumption! You all know that my first love (in collecting) was for stamps from Israel, and I have about 75% of the approxim...

This coming Sabbath, we will read what most people refer to as "the curses" (Deuteronomy 28:15-69). As far as I understand, these were not as much for the individual, as they were for the Jewish Nation as a whole! As we were exiled and consequently spread all across the world, it was difficult for our people to understand if this could happen in any of the countries they ended up in, and many of our Rabbis & Sages have interpreted the Torah to conclude that the curses of Leviticus (26:14-43) became the reality during the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem (circa 550 BCE); and the curses in Deuteronomy came true during the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE). As a person who served in the IDF, I was always fascinated by the different symbols army units use for their Insignia, even as a teenager, and I discovered that the Roman forces in Jerusalem had an eagle on their banners, flags and other forms of the insignia. Nazi Germany issued these stamps in January...

 This coming Sabbath, the Jewish People read the Torah Portion of Sh'lach (Numbers 13:1–15:41). The opening topic, which continues well into the  14 th  chapter of Numbers, deals with the story of the 12 men, who Moses sent to tour the Land of Canaan. He asked them to see the land which was promised to our Forefathers: Abraham, Isaac & Jacob, and report back to him. When they came back, they were carrying a cluster of grapes that was so big, that they needed Two (at least) strong, grown men, to hold it on a staff. The State of Israel chose this image to represent the Ministry of Tourism on a stamp from 1954, and it hasn't changed since! The description in the SHOVAL (tab below the stamp) is one of two ways that the men praised the land. First, they said that it is "a land which flows with milk & honey" (Numbers 14:8; first mentioned in Exodus 3:8; and, there are 13! other times this phrase is found in the Torah). The group of 10 (of 12) men actually said this ...

The traditional custom of most Jewish communities around the world is to read the Book of Ruth on the Festival of Weeks (AKA Sha'vu'ot, Pentecost & Holiday of the First Fruit). There are several reasons for this, but one of the main reasons, which I grew up with, is that Ruth was the Great-Grandmother of David, and, since he was born (and died) on this Holy Day – we honour him by reading about his ancestry – as Ruth was the first woman to convert to Judaism (as far as we know) and accept the Torah Law. In addition, this is the day that our ancestors received the Law at Mount Sinai, and this is the reading (Exodus 20:1-14) from the Chumash (Five Books of Moses) that is the traditional reading by all Jewish Congregations (as far as I know)! When I was growing up, I had very limited sources to get stamps from collectors in countries other than Israel (where I lived) & Canada (where I was born). The reason I am mentioning this, is that even though I now have access to st...

 In Numbers Chapter 15 (verses 37-41) G-d spoke to Moses telling him to instruct the Children of Israel (AKA the Jewish People) to tie strings at the corners of a Four-corner Garment (like the Roman Toga or the Prayer Shawl known as a Tallit).  Normally, the Law (Word of G-d or Torah) does not tell us what the reason is for a Commandment, however, in this law of the fringes – the Torah says that the purpose of the commandment is "that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord..." (Numbers 15:39). How does looking at these strings supposed to remind us of the other statutes & laws of the Law?! Many years ago, I was told about South American Native Tribes who used to send (secret) messages through strings that were knotted in a certain way, and could only be decoded by an elder where the message was received. You can read more about this here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quipu As a teenager, I was fascinated by secret languages & codes, ...

 I know it's been Two weeks since we celebrated Purim, but I was searching through my Iranian stamps for some stamps my new friend in Florida wanted, and came across this beautiful stamp of a Sassanian Courier (that's what the Catalogue says). I suspect that this is somewhat related to the Capital of King Xeroxes' which was called Shushan in the Hebrew Scripture of the Book of Esther. It was issued in 1970 to celebrate the 2,500 Anniversary of the Persian Empire, which is actually pretty accurate, corresponding to what we now know as the miracle of Purim. According to the Book of Esther, there were Three times that the official scribes were called to write letters in all 127 languages of the people who lived in the different countries & provinces of the Persian Empire. The first was concerning the decree that every man should be the "man of the house", which sounds absolutely ridiculous to me, and many of our Sages have made different comments & suggestion...

 It is very important, in my humble opinion, to recognize and appreciate the people & organizations who "have our back"! Acknowledging these people is something the Jewish People have been doing, ever since the times of our Forefather Abraham. When he was commanded to circumcise himself and the men in his household, the Midrash (Genesis Rabbah 42:8) teaches us, based on the words "the members of the Covenant (or "allies") of Abraham" (Genesis 14:13) – that they advised him to follow through with it and to circumcise. Even though they, themselves, were uncircumcised – they supported him in this extremely difficult decision! So, the stamp and the verse that I am showing here – was issued by the State of Israel in 2022 to acknowledge "Christians who stand for Israel". At the bottom of the stamp, called a SHOVAL in Hebrew, and a "collectible tab" in English, the quote is from G-d's very first (scriptural) conversation with Abraham: ...

 In a few verses in Exodus, Moses tells us what the husband's requirements & obligations are, when taking a second wife. Of  course, this is bigamy, and, therefore, forbidden by civil and Jewish Law; however, the Talmud takes these instructions very seriously - as it teaches us what the woman's rights are! The Scripture (Exodus 21:10) reads as follows: "if he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marriage rights". The Oral Law adds the following detailed list, based on the husband's occupation: "Men of leisure, who do not work, (or have an easy 9-5 office job), must engage in marital relations every day; labourers must do so twice a week; donkey drivers - once a week; camel drivers - once every thirty days; and sailors once every six months" (Babylonian Talmud Tractate Ketuboth 61b). My conclusion, and you should really advise with your local Rabbi, since this was written nearly 1,800 years ago, is that the wife h...

 In Genesis (27:1-4), Isaac asks his son to go out to the field and hunt "game" and bring to him so he may bless him, before he dies. We do not know if Isaac intended to give Esau the "Abrahamic blessing", basically he appreciated his son's qualities as a hunter, and asked him to prepare a delicious meal "as he likes it". In this Souvenir Sheet from Tajikistan, we see a hunter pursuing Two Goats, which is very unlikely, as goats are domesticated animals! In fact, this is what Rebekah prepares for her beloved husband, sending the younger son, Jacob, with the delicacies she made from goats to serve him, and receive the blessings, instead of Esau, her older son! 

One of the more difficult commandments in the Torah for me to fully understand, is the Law of an Israelite soldier who falls in love? with a girl he finds among those taken captive in war. As a former soldier in the IDF, it was made very clear to us that we are to have no interaction whatsoever with the civilian population in Lebanon & Syria when I was there on guard, protecting the Northern border of Israel. In fact, one of the more well-known protest movies at the time: SHTAY ETZBA'OT MITZIDON (literally, 2 fingers on the map from Sidon)  – showed one of the soldiers falling in love with a Lebanese girl, and how detrimental it was to his unit from an ethical & security points of view!  So, G-d commands us in Deuteronomy 21:11-14 that if we fall in love with a girl after we (most likely) killed her father & brothers   –  she must become unpretty for a month, in which she will mourn for her family. Of the following stamps, all of mourning women, it is har...

 One of my many friends sent me a box full of stamps, most still on paper, so I am enjoying removing the paper by soaking them, drying them and adding them to my different collections.  The Hawk is mentioned many times in the Bible, but the one that touches me the most is Job 39:26, as it is an important part of G-d's response to Job. Basically, G-d tells Job that he doesn't know anything about how the Creator runs the world, and is given many proofs of this sad fact. One of these is the flight of the Hawk: "does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread its wings toward the South?" In this passage, G-d is speaking to Job and challenging his understanding of the natural world. By using the hawk as an example, G-d emphasizes the significance of Creation, and reminds Job that it is beyond human comprehension. The hawk taking flight is a metaphor for Divine wisdom & guidance, illustrating that it is G-d ho directs & empowers His creatures! On a totally ...

 So, it's been a while since I posted last. I discovered, through my specific interest of Maps on Stamps, that Syria has more maps of Israel depicted on their stamps, than any other country in the world, including Israel !!! So, a friend from the UAE sent me stamps from Syria from 2019 & 2023, showing the Map of Israel, and in addition, what a surprise!, was a stamp that celebrates UNESCO International Year of Indigenous Languages. Syria decided that their language will be Aramaic, since there are small groups/communities who still speak Aramaic as their daily language. Even I, and thousands of others who study the Daf Yomi (a blot of Talmud a day)  – can't speak Aramaic as a colloquial language!!! As far as I know, Syria is the only country that has a stamp showing the Aramaic language. In a very tense time for the people in Judea, Ravshake (or Rabshakeh), acting as a messenger (or emissary) from the King of Aram, the original country where Aramaic was founded as a l...

 When I was Nine Months old, there was a plane crash en-route from Uruguay to Chile, later to be known as the  Andes flight disaster  ( Tragedia de los Andes ) and the  Miracle of the Andes  ( Milagro de los Andes ). Since I was so young at the time, how did I learn about it? Well, you might say: "from his stamp collection"; unfortunately, this is not the correct answer... When I was studying the Kosher Dietary Laws, as part of my training to become a Rabbi, one of our Rabbis asked the following (horrible & terrifying) question: "if you were on a plane that crashed, and in order to survive you had to choose between the non-Kosher food in the flight's kitchen, or the dead people - which do you choose"?! The reason for this question is that even though there is a "prime directive" (as I call it) to live in the Commandments; you must choose (if possible) the lesser prohibition. For example, if you have a choice between pork and a chicken that was kill...

My newest addition to the Stamp Bible is a FDC from Israel showing a scene from the Opera Nabucco by Verdi that was finally decoded for me by one of my best friends! Nabucco is, apparently, the Italian pronunciation of Nebuchadnezzar Israel issued this stamp commemorating Verdi’s 200 th birthday, and it depicts Abigail on a chariot pulled by a beautiful white horse! The other addition is a stamp issued by Iran showing a wall-mosaic of a Persian Archer from the era of Cyrus the Great.

 One of my friends sent me a stamp from UAR (United Arab Republic) - a unity of Syria and Egypt that was established in the late '50s. The stamp depicted an onion, and that reminded me of a verse in the Book of Numbers that says that the Hebrews "complained... we remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt... the onions and the garlic" (Numbers 11:1-5 ESV). So, I love collecting stamps, and I love studying the Bible - why can't I combine those Two loves into One?! So, I got my self an Interleaved Bible Journal Edition, and I am going to create my own Bible depicting stamps that are related (sometimes indirectly) to the verses on each page! I know that it will never be complete - there are over 17,000 stamps showing horses, and not that many mentions in the Scripture, but I want you, the readers, to suggest matches between stamps and verses.  What I have so far is a few stamps from Egypt with those verses in mind, a stamp from Barbados (1987) showing the Ten Command...