508 passages in Rabbinic Midrash
Individual passages from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, shown in source order. Page 9 of 11.
The desperation, the cruelty… it’s almost too much to bear. But what if I told you that Jewish tradition offers a surprising, even comforting, twist on that horrific decree? In Pir...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer turns to What Israel Found on the Shore After Egypt Drowned. The Book of Exodus tells us, "And Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore" (Exodus 14:30...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval text, dives deep into this very idea, exploring the profound impact leaders have on their communities. Rabbi Reuben puts it qui...
The Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating and often poetic work of Midrash (Jewish Biblical exegesis), gives us a glimpse into the hearts and minds of the Israelites at that pivota...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of stories and elaborations on Biblical narratives, gives us a glimpse. In Chapter 42, we find a surprising dialogue between God an...
The Israelites are on the cusp of entering the Promised Land, a moment fraught with both hope and trepidation. Moses, ever the shepherd of his people, pleads with God. "Sovereign o...
Is it really that powerful? Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating text dating back to the early Middle Ages, tackles this very question head-on. In Chapter 43, it states plainly: "...
Rabbi Abbahu, a sage from the Amoraic period, tells us to look at the story of King David to understand this power. You probably know the story of David. Shepherd boy, slayer of Go...
This story comes to us from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating text filled with tales and legends. It tells of a moment when someone – and the text doesn't explicitly name names...
Jewish tradition, in its infinite wisdom, offers a resounding "No!" Let's This isn't your average "sinned a little" kind of guy. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, in chapter 43, recounts a t...
The Jewish tradition wrestles with this question all the time, especially through the concept of teshuvah (repentance) – repentance, return. And there's a powerful story in Pirkei ...
Two dead companions stand before the Holy One, blessed be He, and they have a complaint. A serious one. "Sovereign of the universe!" they exclaim, "There's favoritism here! This gu...
Pharaoh, the hard-hearted king of Exodus, receives one of the tradition's strangest endings: a moment of repentance before the sea closes. When we think of Pharaoh, images of the s...
The prophets of Israel knew that feeling all too well. They saw their people straying, falling, losing their way. And they weren't afraid to call it out. But more importantly, they...
Rabbi Jehudah, a voice of wisdom in this ancient text, puts it rather bluntly: If Israel doesn't repent, there will be no redemption. But then comes the kicker. Why does Israel rep...
The Israelites certainly did, wandering in the wilderness after the incredible Exodus from Egypt. And their doubts, as we'll see, had serious consequences. Rabbi Jochanan, son of N...
Yeah, the Israelites knew that feeling all too well. We find ourselves in the Book of Exodus, chapter 17. The Israelites have escaped Egypt, they’ve crossed the Red Sea, and they’r...
The Israelites are wandering in the desert, fresh from their miraculous escape from Egypt. They’re under divine protection. A pillar of cloud surrounds their camp, shielding them. ...
That feeling, that connection, it's at the heart of this story from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, Chapter 44. The Israelites are facing a fearsome foe: Amalek. Moses, wise and divinely c...
In Jewish tradition, there's one enemy that embodies that more than any other: Amalek. The familiar story centers on the Exodus. The Israelites, fresh out of slavery in Egypt, wand...
One that even Moses, the great lawgiver, wrestled with. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, in chapter 44, tells a story that illuminates this very struggle. Rabbi Phineas shares a fascinating...
The ancient Israelites certainly did. They came to Moses with a real head-scratcher. "Moses!" they asked, according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval midrash ...
The scene is set: Saul, the first king of Israel, is preparing for battle against the Amalekites. This wasn't just any battle. The Amalekites, as we read elsewhere in Torah, held a...
Sometimes, you tug on one thread and suddenly a whole forgotten drama unfolds. Take, for instance, the story of Sennacherib, the Assyrian king who shook the ancient world. In Pirke...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer turns to The Burning Bush of Israelites. The narrative begins, surprisingly, not with the Israelites' impatience, but with MOSES himself. When God first appe...
It wasn't exactly a quiet retreat for the Israelites down below, that's for sure! According to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of stories and interpretations, thin...
The familiar story is this: Moses is up on Mount Sinai, receiving the Torah, and the Israelites, feeling abandoned, demand a new god. But what was going on behind the scenes? What ...
The familiar story is this: from Exodus 32 – Moses is up on Mount Sinai, receiving the Ten Commandments, and the Israelites, feeling abandoned, demand that Aaron make them a god. B...
A story found woven into the ancient text of Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer. The scene: Mount Sinai. Moses is up there receiving the Torah, the ultimate gift, the very blueprint for a just...
The luchot, as they're known in Hebrew. The Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of stories and interpretations, paints a vivid picture of this moment. Initially, the t...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, chapter 45, explains why the tribe of Levi did not collapse with the rest of Israel at the Golden Calf. The Rabbi points out that "All the princes were not ...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer turns to Abraham — Moses and the Angels. The story opens with a terrifying decree: God, in his anger, sends not one, but five angels to destroy Israel. These...
The ancient texts are full of these brushes with oblivion, and the forces, both divine and human, that intervene. to a fascinating passage from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a collection...
They weren't just any ordinary slabs of rock. According to Jewish tradition, they were something truly extraordinary, imbued with a divine spark. The Zohar, that foundational text ...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer turns to The Ten Commandments of Sabbath. Rabbi Elazar, son of 'Azariah, gives us a very specific timeline. He says that it was on a Friday, the 6th of the m...
Rabbi Joshua, son of Ḳorchah, gives us a powerful image in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 46. He recounts the story of Moses on Mount Sinai. Forty days and nights, he was there, absorbing ...
Rabbi Tachanah, quoted in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (chapter 46), gives us a fascinating glimpse behind the curtain. He says the tablets weren't some earthly creation, dug up from the...
It’s a story filled with divine drama, a bit of celestial squabbling, and Moses, our ever-persistent leader, standing his ground. The scene: Moses is up in the heavenly realms, rec...
A fascinating collection of stories and interpretations, Moses spent forty days atop Mount Sinai. Imagine him there, not just receiving the Torah, but delving deep into its meaning...
The scene opens with Sammael, often understood as a figure representing the accuser or even the embodiment of evil, in conversation with the Holy One, blessed be He. Sammael is ess...
The familiar version gives us it's a time of intense reflection, fasting, and prayer. But according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval text, there's a cosmic d...
Our ancestors felt that too, especially when seeking connection with the Divine. The scene is set in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (chapter 46), a fascinating text that expands on biblica...
It's a story of intense longing, divine protection, and a glimpse into the unknowable. Moses, up on Mount Sinai. He's already had quite the encounter with the Almighty, receiving t...
The scene is intense. The Israelites have committed the grave sin of creating and worshipping the Golden Calf. Moses, their leader, intercedes on their behalf, pleading for forgive...
Like you're almost superhuman, and then…bam! Reality hits. That feeling, that tension between the ideal and the real, is at the heart of a fascinating passage from Pirkei DeRabbi E...
The Israelites, fresh from the Exodus, experienced just that, according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of stories and interpretations of Jewish tradition. Rabb...
The story of Israel in the wilderness offers a stark, and frankly, heartbreaking answer. Fresh from the miracle of the Exodus, having witnessed God's power firsthand, the Israelite...
It’s a powerful feeling. But what happens when that zeal, that kinah, turns inward, corrupting the very people who sought to uphold justice? The tradition turns to a fascinating pa...
