Monthly Archives: December 2025

Daily Thoughts

“The Hidden Blueprint: How the Names of Jacob’s Sons Reveal the Entire Torah Narrative –

Leave a comment

Answering Biblical Criticism with Chazal and Rabbi Fohrman”


In 2015, Rabbi David Fohrman released a now-famous lecture titled “Answering Biblical Criticism.” In it, he quietly introduced a compelling literary argument. This argument references Torah single authorship. It connects to Jacob’s sons and the Exodus. This argument supports the divine authorship of the Torah. The argument is elegant. It is mathematically improbable. It is also rooted in classic Jewish sources. This combination turns centuries of academic Bible criticism on its head.

Here is the argument in one sentence:

The birth order and meanings of Jacob’s first three sons demonstrate a prophetic sequence. Reuben means “see, a son.” Shimon means “He has heard.” Levi means “he will join.” These names perfectly and sequentially predict the three-stage redemption narrative of the Book of Exodus. This is explicitly declared by God Himself in Exodus chapters 3–6.

Torah single authorship Jacob’s sons Exodus

This is not mystical wordplay. It is a verifiable, text-based phenomenon. Chazal noticed it two thousand years ago. Modern scholarship has never been able to explain it away.

The Sons Of Jacob

The Hidden Blueprint: How Jacob’s Sons Prove the Torah Could Only Have One Author

The Names and Their Prophetic Echoes

When Leah names her first three sons in Genesis 29, she is not merely expressing personal emotion. Midrash after Midrash tells us she is speaking with ruach ha-kodesh – divine inspiration.

Torah single authorship Jacob’s sons Exodus

  1. Reuben – “See, a son!” (Gen 29:32) “Because the Lord has seen (ra’ah) my affliction…” → Exodus 3:7. “I have surely seen (ra’oh ra’iti) the affliction of My people…”. In Exodus 4:22, it states: “Thus says the Lord: Israel is My son, My firstborn (bni bechori).” Baal HaTurim points out that ראובן = בכורי in gematria. The connection is exact.
  2. Shimon – “He has heard” (Gen 29:33) “Because the Lord has heard (shama) that I am hated…” → Exodus 2:24 – “God heard (va-yishma) their groaning…” → Exodus 3:7 – “I have heard (shamoa shama’ti) their cry…”
  3. Levi – “Now my husband will be joined to me” (Gen 29:34). The root ל-ו-ה appears only here in all of Genesis. It is used in the context of marital attachment. → At Sinai, Israel becomes “joined” to God in covenant: “They shall be Mine… a kingdom of priests” (Ex 19:5–6). → The tribe of Levi is literally “joined” (nilveh) to God forever (Numbers 18:2–4).

The sequence is not random. The Torah itself later records God testifying against Pharaoh using the exact same order:

“ראה ראיתי… שמוע שמעתי… בני בכורי ישראל” “I have surely seen. I have surely heard. Israel is My firstborn son.” (Exodus 3–4).

The Chiastic Masterpiece of Exodus

Rabbi Fohrman takes the discovery far deeper. The entire Book of Exodus is structured as a perfect chiasm whose central axis is the tribe of Levi and whose “bookends” are the tribe of Reuben:

  • A – Reuben motif: Pharaoh “sees” the multiplying Israelites and fears them (Ex 1:9 – “ראו”, same root as Reuben)
  • B – Shimon motif: Israel cries out, God “hears” (Ex 2:24, 3:7)
  • C – Levi motif: Covenant at Sinai – Israel is “joined” to God
  • B’ – Shimon reversed: Golden Calf – “They have turned aside quickly… they did not listen”
  • A’ – Reuben reversed: Plague of darkness – “A man could not see his brother” (Ex 10:23)

The literary architecture is breathtaking. The same three tribes begin Israel’s national story in Genesis. They form the symmetrical skeleton of the entire redemption narrative in Exodus.

Chazal Saw It First

The Sages never needed modern literary theory to notice this. Consider these sources:

  • Shemot Rabbah 1:27: “When Reuben was born, God spoke. He said, ‘In the future I will say My son, My firstborn.’ Therefore, she called his name Reuben.”
  • Tanchuma Yashan, Shemot 4: God testifies using the precise order of the three sons.
  • Zohar Chadash (Bereishit 28b): The three sons correspond to the three stages of redemption. The first stage is seeing the pain. The second stage is hearing the cry. The final stage is the joining at Sinai.

Two thousand years ago, our Sages already understood that the Torah was speaking across centuries with a single, prophetic voice.

How Jacob’s Sons Prove the Torah Only Have One Author

Reuben : Behold, a son – Sees affliction but unstable (like Israel’s early wanderings and loss of birthright).

– Simeon : God hears – Heard in suffering, but violent (echoes pogroms and exiles).

– Levi : Joined – Attachment to God amid trials (Levites as priests, but scattered).

– Judah : Praise – Royal line, kingship through David to Messiah (and modern Israel’s resilience).

– Dan : Judge – Justice in the end times (tribal reversals).

– Naphtali : My struggle – Wrestling for freedom (like the Haganah fights).

– Gad : Troop comes – Invasion and victory (biblical wars to 1948 defenses).

– Asher : Happy – Blessing in prosperity (post-exile rebuilds).

– Issachar : Hire/reward – Labor for the land (aliyah waves).

– Zebulun : Dwelling/honor – Maritime trade and global diaspora success. –

Joseph : He adds/increase – Fruitfulness in Egypt/exile (spies, statesmen like Disraeli). –

Benjamin : Son of the right hand – Strength in youth (modern Israel’s tech/military edge).

The Fatal Problem for the Documentary Hypothesis

The academic Documentary Hypothesis claims that Genesis and Exodus were stitched together centuries apart by different authors or schools:

  • “J” likes anthropomorphic “seeing” language
  • “E” prefers “hearing” language
  • “P” focuses on priestly covenant and “joining”

The irony is devastating. The critics use stylistic differences to divide the text into sources. Ironically, these same differences unify the text across centuries in prophetic order.

Ask any honest scholar: What is the statistical probability of three separate documents coordinating their favorite verbs? These documents were written hundreds of years apart by competing schools. They could accidentally match the birth order of twelve brothers named four centuries earlier?

The answer is effectively zero.

From Defense to Offense

For too long, believing Jews have been on the defensive against higher criticism. This discovery flips the script. We now possess an argument that is:

  • Text-based and verifiable by anyone
  • Rooted in classic Jewish sources
  • Statistically and literarily overwhelming
  • Impossible to explain under any naturalistic, multi-author theory

No ancient Near Eastern text – Egyptian, Akkadian, Ugaritic, or Greek – shows anything like this level of long-range design. Its symmetrical, prophetic nature is unparalleled. The Torah stands alone.

Conclusion: One Author Who Knows the End from the Beginning

The Ramban opens his commentary on Exodus by calling it Sefer HaGeulah. This means the Book of Redemption. Every detail of it is woven together with chochmat ha-Elohim, divine wisdom.

We see Reuben’s name echoing in “Israel is My firstborn.” We hear Shimon’s name in the cries God answers. We watch the tribe of Levi become the eternal symbol of Israel’s attachment to God. We are not looking at the work of human editors.

We are looking at the fingerprint of the One who declared, long before the story unfolded:

“See, a son! I have heard! And now – he will be joined to Me.”

That is the voice of a single Author – the Author of history itself.

Sources & Further Study

  • Rabbi David Fohrman, “Answering Biblical Criticism” (YouTube)
  • Bereishit Rabbah 84, Shemot Rabbah 1, Tanchuma Yashan Shemot
  • Baal HaTurim, Sforno, and Ramban on Genesis 29
  • Zohar Chadash, Bereishit 28b

Chazzan Gavriel ben David

Daily Thoughts

What the World Missed: The Star of Yaakov and the Quiet Dawn of Redemption

Leave a comment

USA and Israel and the covenant.

A Letter from Gavriel ben David.

It was dedicated on December 7th, 2025.

This date marks the 84th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. The attack ended one world war. It unknowingly set the stage for World War III. This was referred to as the Star of Yaakov and the Quiet Dawn of Redemption.

On this day, we remember the end of World War II and the beginning of World War III. The beginning has already happened. But if we are diligent and ignore the noise, we will see the signal.

We will see that God is moving in the world. Through President Donald Trump, the modern-day Cyrus, He is bringing the nations toward the valley of decision. Ultimately, this will lead toward peace.

Today, I invite every reader. If the Bible is true, then we are all defenders of the covenant God first made with Adam. It was later renewed with Abraham. We must remember we are family. Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are the three children of Abraham. They have spent centuries fighting. According to the Torah itself, they are destined to become one in the last days. Unity does not demand agreement; it requires a greater purpose: to leave this world better than we found it. That purpose is the beating heart of all three faiths.

On September 27, 2023 (Elul 12, 5783), a rare triple conjunction of Saturn, Mercury, and Venus occurred. Just days before Rosh Hashanah 5784, they formed a blazing star in the western sky. NASA called it a “planetary alignment.” The Zohar (3:212b) described it differently. The prophecy of Bilam in Numbers 24:17 also mentioned this event. It said, “A star shall shoot forth from Yaakov, and a scepter shall rise from Israel.”

The world scrolled past the picture. The Jewish people looked up and remembered.

That star was the opening trumpet. What followed was no coincidence.

The Star Of Yaacov.
  • October 7, 2023: the Simchat Torah massacre was the spark. Rabbi Matityahu Glazerson’s Torah codes had already marked it as the beginning of the War of Gog u’Magog.
  • The nations began gathering, exactly as Yoel (Joel) chapter 3 described, into the Valley of Jehoshaphat the valley of decision.
  • Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia are already contracted to rebuild Gaza. This sets the perfect trap. The moment Israel defends its own soil, the entire world is drawn in.
  • Satellite images analyzed by Israeli intelligence experts show deliberate protection of Hamas leadership. This includes the tunnel infrastructure throughout the war. The officer interviewed by Yishai Fleisher confirms this.
  • Iran, the “king of the north” in Yechezkel 38, orchestrated the October 7 attack. They used a strategy lifted almost verbatim from an American general’s counterinsurgency playbook.

All of this feels planned because, from the human side, it is.

Albert Pike’s 1871 letter and Rabbi Alon Anava’s missing lecture are part of this. The quiet dismantling of Israeli sovereignty since 2005 also fits the pattern. Every piece reflects the pattern the nations have always followed when they conspire against the God of Israel (Psalm 2).

Yet the Torah told us the end from the beginning.

Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 16:14–15 promises: “Therefore, behold, days are coming, says the Lord. This saying will not be repeated. ‘As the Lord lives’ was a common saying. It stated, ‘He brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.’ In the future, people will declare, ‘As the Lord lives. He brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north.’ ‘And from all the lands where He had banished them’ will also be declared.”

The coming exodus will be so great that the exodus from Egypt will become a footnote.

Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 37 shows us how: two sticks, Yehudah and Ephraim, become one in the hand of God. Ephraim, the lost ten tribes, is scattered among the nations. Yet, it still carries the blessing of fruitfulness and multitude. It has always held the banner of the United States of America. This nation is founded on the language. It was financed in its darkest hour by a Polish-Jewish Chazzan named Haym Salomon. It was protected by Jewish blood from Lexington to Normandy. Still today, it is the only superpower that offers help without demanding that Jews convert to Christianity. Jews do not need to change their faith to receive assistance.

That is the mark of Ephraim: they stand with Israel without trying to replace Israel.


In the middle of this storm stands a disruptor. He is a pagan king who does not know the God of Israel by name. Yet, he is being used exactly like Koresh (Cyrus) to clear the path home.

Rabbi Mendel Kessin has taught for almost a decade. He believes that Donald Trump is the rehabilitated soul of Esau. Trump wields raw power to break the chains that the evil forces have placed around the world.

The dry bones are rattling. The sticks are moving toward each other. The star has already risen.

We are not waiting for a superhero. We are waiting for a movement. A movement that begins when the children of Abraham remember they are brothers, when the swords are finally beaten into plowshares, when the witnesses Israel and her unexpected allies stand in the courtroom of history and declare with one voice:

“The God of Abraham is real. He told us the end from the beginning. And He is faithful to perform it.” May we live to see the day when Passover is no longer the greatest story we tell our children. This is because an even greater redemption will have overtaken it.

Ken yehi ratzon.

Chazzan Gavriel ben David December 7, 2025