YOSSI KWADRAT: One may wonder, who is the Widow of Tzarfas? The name of Yonah’s mother is recorded as Yoam (The Farhi Bible, by Elisha Crescas of Provence; see Ohel Dawid, London 1932, vol. 1.) bas Azor (An ancestor of Jesus Christ: Matthew 1:13), and we find her story in sefer Melachim:
TAMAR KADARI: Elijah’s stay in the house of the widow was meant to bring him closer to the suffering prevalent in the world, and to acquaint him with the hunger and want from which the women and children suffered.
An orphaned Holocaust survivor whose family was murdered by the Nazis was united for the first time in his life with a blood relative, his first cousin whom he never knew existed.
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) November 4, 2021
📽️ Watch their first meeting: ⤵️
Reporting by: @jeremysharon
VC: Yad L'Olim pic.twitter.com/uQxtonEDwH
YOSSI KWADRAT: Let’s summarize: Rabbi Levi tells us that in his youth Yonah dwelled in Tzarfas, a town that is within the borders of Asher, as is the port town of Acre. This is where Yonah’s mother, the widow, lived. After her husband Amittai died, she returned to her hometown.
amazon.com/Widows-Son-Story-Jewish-Life/dp/1342130308
ED REESE: It has been helpful for me to read about the early church as described by Luke in the book of Acts. So what did they do? They did gather on Sunday for worship, but it would have been in somebody’s home, with just a handful of believers in one place at one time. They did take up a collection, but these funds were used almost exclusively to support the widows in the congregation, and to provide food and assistance for the poor.
NISSAN MENDEL: Thus Esther became the new queen. Esther did not tell the King that she was Jewish. All he knew was that she was an orphan.
TAMAR MEIR: The Bible depicts Esther as an orphan who was raised in the house of her uncle Mordecai (Esth. 2:7).
The Book of Esther relates that Esther told no one of her Jewish origins, as Mordecai had ordered her.
Illustration by Michelle Chang
LAURIE KAY OLSON: These amazing white ravens really do exist and one photographer (and retired teacher), Mike Yip, has discovered white ravens living in the area of Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.
YHWH ECHAD: The word translated as "the ravens" is the Hebrew word הָעֹרְבִים (HaOr’vim). The unaccented Hebrew word ערב can mean several things. It can mean "evening" in the sense of becoming dark (see Genesis chapter 1) and it can also mean "ravens" due to the fact that they are as black as night. Also, it can mean a "mixture" or "swarm" (Exd. 8:24; Neh. 13:3, etc) and it can also describe the nomadic Arabians (Neh. 4:7; 2 Chr. 21:16).
Suppers (Hot): Poached Salmon, as well as Sotanghon (Wheat Noodles) with Israeli~Moroccan Sardines, String Beans, Onions, and Mushrooms with Blended Asaragus and Blended Mixed Vegetables (refrigerate Green Pesto in Jars); alternate with Olive Oil, Pasta, and Peas; alternate with Sauteed Papaya
Breakfasts (Hot): 2 Small Kamote (Suite Patatas) and 2 Organic Eggs
Lunches (Cold): 1 Organic Avocado produced in Mexico (when ripe), 1 Organic Banana produced in Ecuador, Organic Nonfat Vanilla Yogurt, and 2 Organic Kiwis produced in Italy
3 Drinks Manufactured in the Philippines, 1 Organic Purple Acai Drink produced in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforrest, and 1 Protein Drink served with Meals (Organic Apples and Carrots with Alkaline Water and Florida Powder Smoothie or Nuts and Almond Milk with Florida Powder Smoothie or Green Papaya and Carrots with Alkaline Water and Florida Powder Smoothie optional)
MENDY SCHAPIRO: The orphan, as far as the Torah is concerned, has a direct telephone line to G-d.
MENDY SCHAPIRO: The Torah enjoins us to be very careful and sensitive when dealing with orphans and warns us that should an orphan cry out to G-d (to complain about us), he or she will be answered immediately.
מצמרר וכואב לצפיה: קדיש של יתומים זכים על קברו הטרי של אביהם הרב מרדכי זאב הלברשטאם ז"ל קורבן הקורונה.— בעריש פילמר B.Filmer (@berifilmer) March 29, 2020
אלו שליגלגו על ההוראות ואלו הבודדים השאננים. אנא תפסיקו לשחק בחיי אדם! pic.twitter.com/4eNBAMexnJ
Reynaldo Correa and his Wife Grace Correa delivered Fellowship Food from International Christian Fellowship and prayed for us on Sunday.
Pancit delivered on Sunday by Priscilla Zambrano Wife of John Zambrano
DAVE SHAW: More directly, however, the name Phanuel means “Face of God.” Anna has seen the Face of God named Phanuel, her earthly father, so she can recognize Phanuel when she sees him.
The text, by giving us the name of Anna’s father, leads our minds to consider that Jesus is the Face of God. Jesus is Phanuel in flesh. Jesus is Phanuel, the face of God.
Clifford Fabro Rivera: It's Happy Valentine's Day.
Virginia Fabro Rivera: I like her Lips,,,
Clifford Fabro Rivera: Joyce Meyer Ministries (born Pauline Joyce Hutchison) probably had Plastic Surgery;
DEBORAH SPUNGEN: And sense of humor helps. People don’t have to feel badly if something strikes you funny just because you’re grieving. It helps you heal, I think.
SAINT AUGUSTINE: 10. Let not the virgin say, "I shall alone be there." For Mary shall not be there alone but the widow Anna shall be there also.
Adult Education at Chabad: The Torah commands us: “Do not afflict a widow or an orphan. If you do oppress him and cry he cries out to Me, hear I will hear his cry…”
why couldn’t the Torah just make a general statement which forbids afflicting anyone?
One possible answer is that the Torah may not be referring to outright affliction but to cases where the affliction is disguised as a gesture of concern and compassion. A devious individual might act as if he is looking out for their best interests and, because of their vulnerability, cause them harm. Thus the Torah follows this commandment with a threat of Divine retribution. This may be the Torah’s way of warning the potential abuser that G‑d could see through the subterfuge and would hold the abuser fully accountable.
LOUIS JACOBS: concern for the feelings of the widow and orphan applies even to wealthy widows and orphans, not only to the poor and disadvantaged.
MARY ORTWEIN: Prayer:
Lord, thank you for Anna! Thank you for all the Annas you have sent into my life: people who live holy lives and come to me just when I need a dose of warmth and caring, people who praise God and tell me about Jesus. Make me an Anna today. Indeed, as I move into my latter years, let me have Anna as a model. Let me fast, pray, live in Your House, come forward at just the right time, give comfort by reminding people to praise God, and tell all about Jesus.
Amen.
"There is no fixed limit of age; as long as the boy can not manage his own affairs he is treated as an orphan" (Maimonides, "Yad," De'ot, vi.; Isserles, in Shulḥan 'Aruk, Yoreh De'ah, 160, 18; comp. Isserlein, "Terumat ha-Deshen," No. 300).
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION: I assure you that there are many American Widows in the United States of America during Elijah's Occupation and there is a severe Biblical Famine throughout America, yet Elijah the Gadite is not sent to any Americans, but to an Asherite Widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.
ABARIM PUBLICATIONS:
Zarephath Meaning: Blast Furnace, Workshop For Melting And Refining Metals
Etymology: The verb צרף (sarap) describes the metallurgic process of smelting, refining and testing metals, and since metallurgy requires thorough technological sophistication, it often symbolizes knowledge, productivity and efficiency at large.
ALEXANDER ZEPHYR: The Ten Tribes, he said in 1260CE, were still in Tserefath or Zarephath
NOACHBENAVRAHAM: remnants of the House of Israel would find themselves in exile in “Tzarfat” (England and France) but remnants of the House of Judah would find themselves in exile in “Sepharad” (Spain)
JAY KELMAN: Rav Chaim Soloveitchik, zt”l (1853.-1918) was perhaps the greatest Talmudic genius of modern times. His brilliant, creative and original methodology of Talmudic analysis heralded a Talmudic renaissance felt around the world. When asked to define the function of a Rabbi, he did not respond that it was learning and teaching Torah, or answering questions of Jewish law. Rather, he felt that the primary function of a Jewish leader is to help the widow, the orphan and the stranger.
AVI KILLIP: While a widow can be vulnerable and eclipsed to the margins of society, that same marginal status affords her a unique form of power.
We see this unique power play out through the stories of two famous biblical widows, Tamar and Ruth.
In the book of Genesis, Tamar sits at a crossroads between towns. And we encounter Ruth gleaning wheat from the corner of a farmer’s field among the poor. The women’s physical locations drive home the point that they are indeed marginal to society. Yet, it is precisely these locations on the margins that offer each of them the ability to fly under the radar, break some rules and become an active player in our biblical stories. Where most women in the bible go unmentioned, these two are too important to ignore.
Blessed Pier Giorgio: When Blessed Pier Giorgio was around six years old. He had the horrible thought that Jesus was an orphan.
STU ALPERN: Through the tale of a foreign, marginalized widow, whose personal risk mirrors that of other biblical mothers, we are reminded of the sacrifices that sustain the continuity of the Jewish people. We are reminded of the ability of kindness to heal. Ruth’s story inspires us to meet the challenges of our own circumstances.
KAROLA RUTH SIEGEL~WESTHEIMER: I had a boyfriend then, whom I still visit every year. At the orphanage during World War II you could not have lights in your rooms, but the stairwell outside was lit, so I took his books and I studied from them at night.
KAROLA RUTH SIEGEL~WESTHEIMER: I don’t keep kosher, but I’m very Jewish.
ELAZAR TOUITOU: the inclusion of Lot, Abraham's orphaned nephew, could be viewed as an act of kindness that would turn Lot into an integral part of Abraham's family. At first glance, Abraham's decision to accept Lot's request has a poignant emotional-family aspect, as the text indicates: "Abram took . . . his brother's son, Lot, with him." The Biblical text apparently takes pains to stress the family links, because the phrasing of Lot's position, "his brother's son," altogether superfluous.
EPHRAIM Z. BUCHWALD: Lot was an orphan, whose father Haran had been killed when he was cast into a fiery furnace by King Amraphel in a test of faith.
JTS ALUMNI: When Abram and Sarai descend into Egypt Lot is entirely absent from the narrative.
CHAPLAIN TERESA: TRUE ORPHAN
Giving Church offerings in the merit of Sixto Enriquez Rivera and Virginia Millano Evangelista Fabro~Rivera is a segula (Hebrew: סגולה, pl. סגולות, segulot, benevolent charm or ritual) for Rain and Milk.
The desire to be buried in Jersey ~ whether New Jersey or the largest island of the Channel Islands ~ comes from the Segulaic advantages attributed to being ushered into Asher's territory of Zarephath.
