Fire from Heaven

Found 9 Search results

1. Eliyahu on Mount Carmel (Part 5)

   Eliyahu's Prayer (Part 2)

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   The challenge at Mount Carmel has both a universal significance in determining the true God, a national significance in redefining the national character in the face of foreign influences and Eliyahu’s role in this struggle. Both significances are manifested in Eliyahu’s dual prayer and both are interconnected. The fire falling from the heavens is reminiscent of the fire in the dedication of the Mishkan in the desert and the dedication of Shlomo’s Beit HaMikdash.

2. Eliyahu on Mount Carmel (Part 5)

   Eliyahu's Prayer (Part 3)

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   "And you have turned their heart backward" is interpreted to mean that God is responsible for the nation turning away from Him. This interpretation is difficult to accept within the context of the story. An alternative interpretation states the opposite – by the act of the fire from heaven their hearts will turn back to God and away from Ba’al. The latter interpretation of the final phrase in the second half of Eliyahu’s prayer compliments the final phrase in the first half of his prayer.

3. Eliyahu on Mount Carmel (Part 5)

   Eliyahu's Prayer (Part 4)

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   Content, style and structure come together to emphasize that the verse describing the descent of the fire of God to Eliyahu’s Altar is the climax of the gathering at Mount Carmel.

4. Eliyahu on Mount Carmel (Part 7)

   The Nation's Response

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   “The Lord is God” is the nation’s response to the universal element of the challenge. The capturing of the prophets of Ba’al is their response to the national one. The prophets were not killed on Mount Carmel which is a place of an altar. The killing of the prophets appears to be a prophetic command which is attributed to Eliyahu and not the nation.

5. Ahazya (Part 4)

   Why are the Two Captains of Fifty, and their Fifty Men, Consumed by Fire?

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   Neither the Sages nor the commentators criticize Eliyahu for the consumption by fire of the captains and their men because Eliyahu's actions throughout this chapter are guided by the Angel of God and not of his own initiative. Ahazya wants to harm Eliyahu not merely as a punishment, but as an attempt to battle God's decree that he will die. God prevails on three occasions: by consuming the first two captains by fire, by the surrender of the third captain, and by Eliyahu's fearless appearance in person to Ahazya. The captains and their men were deserving of their punishment as they chose Ahazya over Eliyahu - God's representative as opposed to the messengers earlier in the story and to the third captain.

6. Ahazya (Part 5)

   The First Captain of Fifty vs. The Second

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   Despite the obvious similarities, several subtle difference exist between the first two confrontations between Eliyahu and the captains with their men. While the second captain is more cautious in the aftermath of the outcome of the first, ultimately the confrontation between the second captain and Eliyahu is more acute than the first, both in terms of the behavior and speech of the captain and in terms of the punishment that emerges from heaven at Eliyahu's decree.

7. “All the King's Men” - Ahazya's Messengers

   Rabbi Alex Israel

   By sending messengers to Ba'al Zevuv, the god Ekron, Ahazya has outdown his father. Turning to the surrounding nations is a desecration of God's name. Eliyahu turns Ahazya first messengers to Ekron into his messengers with God's message of Ahazya's death. Ahazya sends a captain with a company of fifty men with the intention of killing Eliyahu and nullifying his message. The first and second companies of soldiers are consumed by a fire from heaven. The actions of the third captain signify an absolute surrender of royal power to God's power. 

8. Parshat Shemini

   Rabbi Chanoch Waxman | 36 minutes

   Why is the Torah unclear about the cause of the deaths of Nadav and Avihu? What is the reason for God's harsh reaction? How are we to understand the tragic event? Examining the story within its larger context provides answers to these questions, and teaches us about the function of the Kohanim as facilitators of God's presence in the world.

9. Parshat Korach Part 3: The Plague in the Aftermath of the Rebellion

   Rabbi Jonathan Snowbell | 25 minutes

   This podcast discusses the Divine fire that consumed the 250 men who offered the Ketoret, and compares this story with the episode of Nadav and Avihu.

   Courtesy of www.tanachstudy.com