2,921 texts · Page 290 of 325
The very first verse of the Book of Leviticus – Vayikra in Hebrew – begins with God calling out to Moses. It seems straightforward enough. But the Rabbis of the Midrash, those anci...
Vayikra Rabbah, a fascinating Midrashic text on the Book of Leviticus, dives into this very idea, using a beautiful analogy to explain how the Torah’s commandments truly took root ...
And it turns out, according to some ancient Jewish texts, the answer might be closer – and more dangerous – than we think. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, a sage from the Talmudic period,...
Rabbi Yitzchak, a sage of old, had an interesting take on this. He taught that before the Mishkan – the Tabernacle – was built, prophecy wasn't confined to the Israelites. It was, ...
Our sages grappled with this very question, particularly when considering the difference between how God communicates with the prophets of Israel and the prophets of other nations....
The text presents a debate between Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Ilai and other, unnamed Rabbis, focusing on the clarity of prophetic vision. Rabbi Yehuda uses the prophet Ezekiel as his ...
Vayikra Rabbah, the great Midrash on the Book of Leviticus, dives right into this question with a startling statement. It says that a Torah scholar without sense – meaning, without...
Our exploration begins with a seemingly simple verse from Leviticus (1:2): "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When a man among you sacrifices an offering to the Lor...
Li (לי). It simply means "to Me" or "for Me." But according to the ancient sages, as we learn in Vayikra Rabbah, that little word packs a cosmic punch. It signifies an unbreakable ...
