4,331 texts · Page 87 of 91
Butcher Companion in Paradise. Ben Atar, No. 13, f. 31a. Midr. Decalogue, V, 2. Nissim, f. 20a. Zabara, Shaashuin ed. Davidson, p. 1. Eliah Cohen, Meil Se- daka § 441. Heilperin, S...
Money Recovered by Trick. Yoma, f. 83 b. Pesikta R. ch. 22. Ben Atar, No. 6, f. 25 a. Midr. Decalogue III, 3; VIII, 2. Nissim, f. 25 a. Yalk. Sip. II, p. 149. Maase Buch No. 215. H...
The sages taught that a single good deed — performed at the right moment, with the right intention — can tip the scales of a person's entire life. The story of "Reward for a Single...
The Midrash on the Ten Commandments tells the story of a faithful woman whose devotion was tested beyond what most people could endure — and who emerged triumphant. A certain man w...
The medieval Jewish collection known as the Parables of Solomon preserves a story about a man whose faithfulness was tested in the most extreme circumstances — a test that proved, ...
King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, was once brought a legal case so subtle that its resolution required the full depth of his legendary understanding. The dispute centere...
Miraculous Herbs. Eisenstein, Oser, p. 348. Maase Buch No. 224. Helvicus, Historien I, ch. 39, p. 159. Levi, R. E. J. XXXIII, p. 67 ff. Ben Gorion I, 306, 380. Bolte & Polivka, II,...
Pinetyas b. Yair’s Wonderful Deeds. Shekalim, V. § 1. J. Demai, I, 3. cf. Deut. R. 3 § 3. Nissim, f. 27 b. Lonzano, Maarikh, ed. Jellinek, f. 112 b f. Eliah Cohen, Meil Se- * • dak...
Burial of Scholar & Taxgather. Shimeonh. Shetah&W itches m of Ascalon. J. Hagigah, II, 2. Sifre, Deut. § 221, f. 114 b. Midr. Decalogue, IX, ib. Nissim, f. 3 b. Rashi to Sanhedrin ...
Mar Ukba's generosity was legendary, but it was a woman named Hannah who embodied the even higher virtue of righteous silence. The Talmud (Shabbat 56b, Sanhedrin 31b) preserves her...
Grateful Dead. Pesikta, f. 164 a. Tanh. Deut. Haazinu §8. Adhan, Bineot Deshe, f. 25 b. Shaare Jerushalayim, p. 88—90, No. 4. Sef. Hamaasiyot ed. Araki Cohen ch. 90. Archiv f. Slav...
The story of Solomon's daughter and the bastard — the mamzer — is one of the most poignant tales in rabbinic literature. The Midrash (Tanhuma, Introduction) tells how Solomon, desp...
Wars of Jacob against Sichem. Midr. Hagadol Gen. Vayyehi, f. 153 a. Midr. Vayisau. cf. Gen. R. ch. 80, 97. Jerahmeel, ed. Gaster XXXVI, 6, p. 80 and Introd. p. XXXI f. Bahya Com. G...
Woman in Hell. Eisenstein, Oser, p. 350. cf. Maase Buch No. 179. Helvicus, Historien I, ch. 19, p. 83. Levi, R. E. J. XXXV, p. 77 ff. Basile, Pentam. 19, 44. Benfey, Pantschat, I, ...
Moses stood apart from every other prophet who ever lived. The rabbis taught that while other prophets saw God through clouded glass, Moses alone saw through a clear lens — an unob...
The story of Solomon and the boiled egg appears in multiple collections, each version adding new details to the king's legendary wisdom. In this telling, drawn from German and Jewi...
Solomon and the ant — a story that combines the king's legendary wisdom with a creature so small that most people would crush it without a thought. The Midrash (rabbinic interpreti...
Maimonides & Lime Kiln. cf. Eisenstein, Oser, P- 35i- 247 Behrnauer, 40 Veziere 26th Night, p. 250. Benfey, Pantschat. I, p. 320. Boccaccio, Decameron, II, 2. Brockhaus, Somadeva, ...
There was once a man so wicked that the entire town avoided him. He cheated in business, spoke cruelty to strangers, and mocked the sages when they tried to rebuke him. Everyone ag...
Solomon and the worthless woman — a tale from the collection of Solomon's legendary encounters with the full range of human character. The sages preserved these stories as illustra...
A young boy discovered that he could understand the language of birds. When sparrows chattered on the rooftops, he heard gossip. When ravens called from the treetops, he heard warn...
Maimonides — the great philosopher, physician, and legal authority — once interpreted a king's dream with such precision that the story entered the canon of Jewish wisdom tales alo...
The prophet Elijah gave three gifts to a poor man — and the story of those gifts became a parable about the nature of divine assistance. The details of the gifts vary across differ...
Abraham ibn Ezra and Yehuda Halevi were two of the greatest Jewish minds of medieval Spain — but their partnership was as unlikely as it was legendary. Ibn Ezra was a wandering poe...
The tale of "Half a Friend" is among the most widely circulated stories in medieval Jewish ethical literature. It poses a question that cuts to the heart of human relationships: wh...
Two friends loved the same woman. This is the setup for one of the most painful dilemmas in human experience — and the Jewish version of the story resolves it with an act of sacrif...
A man was accused of a crime he did not commit. He faced execution, disgrace, and the destruction of his family's name. His friend, knowing the truth — knowing the accused man was ...
The meeting — whether real or legendary — between Rabbi Eleazar of Worms and Maimonides represents one of the great contrasts in Jewish intellectual history. Eleazar, the Ashkenazi...
A man once made a vow that he would never lose his temper, no matter what his wife did to provoke him. According to a tale preserved in the Exempla of the Rabbis (compiled by Moses...
A king fell gravely ill, and none of his physicians could cure him. They tried every medicine, every herb, every treatment known to the medical science of the age. Nothing worked. ...
A Jewish sage was challenged to a public contest against a pagan wizard-priest — a battle of spiritual power that would determine, in the eyes of the watching crowd, whose god was ...
Rabbi Akiba and the pearl — a story about how the greatest treasures are sometimes hidden in the most unlikely places. The tale is preserved in medieval collections including the M...
A king once raised a boy in total isolation, keeping him locked away from birth so that he would never see a woman. According to a tale preserved in the Exempla of the Rabbis (comp...
Three brothers set out on a journey — and encountered a witch who tested them with riddles, tricks, and dark magic. The tale, preserved in Jewish and comparative folklore collectio...
A miraculous apple from Paradise — a single fruit carrying the fragrance and power of the Garden of Eden — is the subject of this tale, preserved in medieval Jewish and comparative...
The folk traditions of Israel contain many tales of encounters between ordinary Jews and the demons that inhabit the hidden corners of the world. The story known as "The Demon and ...
Man Who Would Not Swear. Ben Atar, No. 5, f. 23 a. Midr. Decalogue, III, 2. Nissim, Reprinted Sef. Hayashar, Livorno 1862, f. I39bf. Yalk. Exod. II, p. 138. Farhi, O. P. I, f. 26 a...
Joseph Mokir Shabbat (the Sabbath) — "Joseph Who Honors the Sabbath" — was a man whose devotion to the Sabbath was so complete that it became the engine of his fortune. The Talmud ...
Bread upon the Waters. Yebamot, f. 121b. cf. Baba Batra, f. 74 a to b. Tanh. Numb. Hukkat 1. • • Abot de R. Nathan, ch. 3. Gen. R. ch. 22. cf. Numb. R. 18 § 22. Eccles. R. II, i;V,...
Two robbers had been terrorizing the roads between towns, ambushing travelers, stealing their goods, and leaving them bruised and empty-handed in the dust. The local authorities se...
Rabbi Meir used to stop at the house of Judah the butcher whenever he made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Judah's wife was a righteous woman who looked after the traveling sage with ...
Two Sisters & Waters of Ordeal. Tanh. Numb. Naso, § 6, f. *81 b. Numb, R. ch. 9 § 9. Tanh. Eccles. § 10. Yalk. II, § 978. Simhat Hanefesh (the vital soul), f. 30. Yalk. Sip. IV, p....
The Midrash (Tanhuma, Teruma) teaches that the merchandise of a Torah scholar is unlike any other merchandise in the world. When a merchant sells a bolt of cloth, the cloth leaves ...
The Angel of Death came to an inn — and found the innkeeper so stingy, so devoid of charity, that even the angel was disgusted. The story, preserved in medieval Jewish ethical coll...
The birth of Ben Batira — or more precisely, the circumstances that led to his birth — is preserved in the Jerusalem Talmud (Sanhedrin 7:13) as one of the stranger stories in rabbi...
Korah's riches were legendary — and his fall was proportional to his wealth. The Talmud (Pesahim 119a, Jerusalem Talmud Sanhedrin 10:1) and Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer describe a fortun...
Bird’s Three Advices. Tendlau, Fellmeier, No. 21. Grunbaum, Jud. Dtsch. Chrest. p. 249. Ginzburg, Hagoren, 1923, p. 42. Benfey,Pantschat.I,38o. Barlaam u. Josaphat, v. Wiener, Jahr...
Blood Test. Baba Batra, f. 58 a. Parables of Solomon, I. Zabara, Shaashuim, LXII. ed. Davidson. Simhat Hanefesh (the vital soul), p. 12. Sef. Hasidim, ed. Hil- desheimer § 291. Far...
