438 passages in Rabbinic Midrash
Individual passages from Bamidbar Rabbah, shown in source order. Page 7 of 10.
Does a name shape destiny? Does it reflect character? Or is it just… a label? The book of Numbers, Bamidbar in Hebrew, gives us a lot to chew on in that regard. Specifically, Bamid...
The story of the spies sent to scout the Land of Canaan in the Book of Numbers is a powerful example of how fear and negative speech can derail even the most promising journeys. Th...
Even in the Bible, the order in which things are presented can tell a whole story. Take the story of the spies sent by Moses to scout out the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, bef...
The verse sets the scene: “They ascended and scouted the land from the wilderness of Tzin to Rehov, at the approach to Hamat” (Numbers 13:21). But, Bamidbar Rabbah asks, how exactl...
Sometimes, a seemingly simple verse can open up a whole world of interpretation and insight. Let’s take a look at a moment in the Book of Numbers, Bamidbar, specifically chapter 13...
Forty days! Now, think about that journey, from the south all the way to the north. That's a long walk. Could they really have covered all that ground, the entire breadth of the la...
They return with tales of giants and fortified cities, sowing fear among the Israelites. But before all that drama, there's this seemingly simple statement: "That place he called t...
The rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) ask a pointed question: why did the spies, when reporting back about the land of Israel, single out Amalek first? What ...
It’s a story found within Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Numbers. The scene is set: Moses has sent out spies to scout the Land of Israel. ...
The scene is set in (Numbers 14:1): “The entire congregation raised and sounded their voice and the people wept that night.” It sounds dramatic, doesn't it? But what was behind all...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Joshua in Joseph's Time. Remember that? Moses sends out twelve spies to scout the Promised Land. Ten of them come back terrified, painting a picture of ins...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Until When Will This People Provoke Me in the Desert. The verse in question is (Numbers 14:11): "The Lord said to Moses: Until when will this people provok...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Hell and Its Gates of However. ” It's a promise, a defiant assertion of God's ultimate plan despite the current circumstances. But who is included in that ...
That feeling resonates deeply in a powerful passage from Bamidbar Rabbah 16. It explores the fraught relationship between God and the Israelites, focusing on their repeated rejecti...
In the book of Numbers, we find Moses doing just that, wrestling with God over the fate of the Israelites. It’s a moment of incredible intensity, revealing a deep and complex relat...
Bamidbar Rabbah, if you're not familiar, is a Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) collection, meaning it's a compilation of rabbinic interpretations and expansions on the ...
When Gentile Nations Showed More Respect Than Israel is the question behind this passage from Bamidbar Rabbah. Ouch. The text goes on to illustrate this point with a fascinating st...
That’s kind of the situation the Israelites found themselves in after the sin of the spies. They'd just heard a terrifying report about the Land of Israel and, gripped by fear, the...
The ancient rabbis pondered this very question, drawing a profound parallel between a human father and God, our ultimate Father. to Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically section 17, to unp...
It wasn't just about following the rules, but about heart and intention. to a fascinating passage from Bamidbar Rabbah 17 and see what we can uncover. Rabbi Tanhuma bar Abba, quoti...
Rabbi Zakai of She'av offers a beautiful insight. He imagines the Israelites asking God: "Master of the universe, everywhere else You call it the land of Canaan, but here, ‘the lan...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Footsteps of Messiah. What's so special about this offering? The Rabbis in Bamidbar Rabbah see something truly profound. God, blessed be He, is essentially...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to The Sky-Blue Thread and the Weight of Mitzvot. As it says in (Psalms 97:11), “Light is sown for the righteous…” Bamidbar Rabbah understands this to mean th...
It zeroes in on the verse, "You shall not rove after your heart" (Numbers 15:39), explaining that our hearts and eyes often act as mediators of temptation, leading us down paths we...
It all starts in (Numbers 16:1): “Koraḥ, son of Yitzhar son of Kehat son of Levi, and Datan and Aviram, sons of Eliav, and On, son of Pelet, sons of Reuben, took…” Took what, you a...
It is often remembered as pure power-grabbing, but the ancient texts suggest a more nuanced, almost heartbreaking, story of ambition, family, and perceived injustice. The Book of N...
It all begins with the tzitzit (fringes) on a garment. The Torah tells us, "They shall make for themselves a fringe [tzitzit]" (Numbers 15:38). Now, Korah, ever the instigator, see...
His story, recounted in Bamidbar Rabbah (Numbers Rabbah) 18, is a wild ride of ambition, rebellion, and some seriously bad consequences. So, "Korah took…" That's how the story begi...
Our stories are woven into our lineage, and sometimes, those threads get tangled. to a fascinating passage from Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of N...
In this week's portion, we encounter the rebellion of Koraḥ, a story that's not just about one disgruntled guy, but about the very foundations of leadership and faith. "Koraḥ assem...
The ancient Rabbis certainly thought so, and they found wisdom in the story of KORAH's rebellion against Moses. The text in Bamidbar Rabbah (Numbers Rabbah), a classical Rabbinic i...
It’s a tale of ambition, delusion, and a very dangerous offering. The scene is set: Moses, leading the Israelites. And then comes Koraḥ, a Levite, challenging Moses’s leadership, s...
The story of Koraḥ's challenge to Moses' leadership is a powerful one, filled with jealousy, ambition, and a profound questioning of divine authority. We find a particularly insigh...
This week, It centers on Moses, and a particularly frustrating episode with Datan and Aviram. Get ready, because this is a masterclass in ingratitude! So, the scene: Moses, ever th...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to The Earth Opened and Swallowed Korah's Entire Assembly. The people, understandably, were terrified. They feared that God's wrath would extend to the entire...
The story of Moses and the rebellion of Korah, Datan, and Aviram in the Book of Numbers gives us a powerful example. The Torah tells us, “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Speak to...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Korah's Transgression of Rabbis. How did this actually happen? The Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), in Bamidbar Rabbah, explore th...
Remember him? He was the guy who led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) connects the "treacherous brother" – nifs...
Who was Korah? We find him in the Book of Numbers, leading a rebellion against Moses and Aaron. He challenged their authority, questioning why they held such power. A dangerous mov...
That feeling, that potent brew of envy and ambition, is at the heart of the story of Korah. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Bamidbar Rabbah, doesn't ju...
The pain of that kind of betrayal, the kind that cuts deepest, echoes through the words of King David in the Psalms. And, according to Bamidbar Rabbah 18, it wasn't just a general ...
In Jewish tradition, we find striking examples of this idea, particularly in the story of Korah and his rebellion against Moses and Aaron. Our story comes from Bamidbar Rabbah, a M...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Moses's Transgression of Kora. The story starts with the rebellion of Koraḥ against Moses, a challenge to Moses’s leadership and Aaron’s priesthood. Rememb...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to The Prophetic Letters That Change Form at a Word's End. What about mem mem? It's linked to Isaac, and the verse "For you have grown much mightier than we [...
The Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers, dives into this very question, and what it reveals is both awe-inspiring and, well, a little unsettl...
Sometimes, the solutions to those disagreements come in the most unexpected forms… like, say, a blossoming staff. We find this story in Bamidbar Rabbah 18, which elaborates on the ...
It all starts in the Book of Numbers, Bamidbar (Numbers 19:2), with the words: “This is the statute of the Torah that the Lord commanded, saying: Speak to the children of Israel, a...
The Bamidbar Rabbah (Numbers Rabbah), a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers, dives into this very idea. It's almost like the Torah is trying to protect us, to e...
