The Hidden Orchard Podcast

The Hebrew word for faith is Emunah, but it is more than religious optimism. Emunah helps us understand trials and challenged, and even the paradox that trials may be the best way to develop this skill.

The Ana Bekoach (אָנָּא בְּכֹחַ) is a prayer of seven lines and forty-two words, typically sung on Friday evening as Shabbat arrives.

Tradition holds that its first letters conceal a forty-two-letter name of G_D. It is attributed to Rabbi Nechunya ben HaKanah (1st century); the text as we have it first appears in medieval sources.

Lyrics (Transliterated):

אָנָּא בְּכֹחַ גְּדֻלַּת יְמִינְךָ תַּתִּיר צְרוּרָה

Ana b'khoach g'dulat y'minkha tatir tz'rurah

Please, by the great power of Your right hand, untie what is bound.

קַבֵּל רִנַּת עַמְּךָ שַׂגְּבֵנוּ טַהֲרֵנוּ נוֹרָא

Kabel rinat amkha sagvenu tahareinu nora

Receive the song of Your people; raise us up, make us pure, Awesome One.

נָא גִבּוֹר דּוֹרְשֵׁי יִחוּדְךָ כְּבָבַת שָׁמְרֵם

Na gibor dorshei yichudkha k'vavat shomrem

Please, Mighty One, guard those who seek Your oneness like the pupil of the eye.

בָּרְכֵם טַהֲרֵם רַחֲמֵי צִדְקָתְךָ תָּמִיד גָּמְלֵם

Barkhem taharem rachamei tzidkatkha tamid gomlem

Bless them, purify them; grant them always the mercy of Your righteousness.

חֲסִין קָדוֹשׁ בְּרֹב טוּבְךָ נַהֵל עֲדָתֶךָ

Chasin kadosh b'rov tuvkha nahel adatekha

Strong and Holy One, in Your abundant goodness, lead Your congregation.

יָחִיד גֵּאֶה לְעַמְּךָ פְּנֵה זוֹכְרֵי קְדֻשָּׁתֶךָ

Yachid ge'eh l'amkha p'neh zokhrei k'dushatekha

Unique and Exalted One, turn to Your people, who remember Your holiness.

שַׁוְעָתֵנוּ קַבֵּל וּשְׁמַע צַעֲקָתֵנוּ יוֹדֵעַ תַּעֲלוּמוֹת

Shav'ateinu kabel u-sh'ma tza'akateinu yode'a ta'alumot

Receive our plea and hear our cry, Knower of hidden things.

בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד

Barukh shem k'vod malkhuto l'olam va'ed

Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever.

Was Jesus a Pacifist? Understanding Jewish law helps uncover missing context behind his famous teaching about 'turning the other cheek." We explore why this teaching assumes a Torah community, and what happens when it is applied outside of one.

David sits alone in a field at night. The sheep are resting, the stars are out, and he sings to G_D with nothing but his voice and a lyre. This is Psalm 8, מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד, a psalm of David, sung in Biblical Hebrew. 

In the Midrash, Isaac is called "the lamb"; he carries his own cross, and serves as an atonement for Israel. Explore the root of many themes that find their parallel in the Apostolic writings, and how these impact the Apostolic message.

Are the Noahide laws an arbitrary list of rules made up by Rabbis, or are they Biblical instructions for the world to follow? In this article, we explore them one by one from the text.

The tradition of "Original Sin" presumes that all of humanity is born into moral guilt through the sin of Adam. Thus, all humans are doomed to eternal damnation from birth, unless they are "saved" before they take their final breath. But is this an accurate reading of the Biblical texts?

Hidden in the Book of Genesis is a hint about the creation of humankind and our purpose on Earth. But you need to look at the Hebrew, as you won't find it in the English, Greek, or Latin.

Many modern Bible readers approach the opening text of Genesis with a bias towards a Young Earth or Old Earth. Which side is right? Leveraging the work of Dr. Gerald Schroeder, we find a novel, yet science-based, approach to understanding the age of the universe.

For more info:

https://www.thehiddenorchard.com/old-earth-young-earth-or-both

Jewish tradition recognizes three categories of people in the world, the Tzadik, the Rasha, and the Beinoni.

From various sources, we unpack what it means to be an inbetweener and how we get the wrong idea about spiritual growth.