329 passages in Rabbinic Midrash
Individual passages from Vayikra Rabbah, shown in source order. Page 6 of 7.
The ancient rabbis pondered such a moment, centered on our patriarch, Jacob, and a vision of a ladder reaching to the heavens. The scene is set in Genesis, where Jacob dreams of a ...
It's the idea that God, while ultimately one, expresses different attributes. And one of the most profound shifts happens when we, humanity, turn towards Him in sincere prayer. Rab...
Vayikra Rabbah turns to Rosh Hashanah and the Heavenly Realms. Rabbi Yoshiya starts us off with a verse from (Psalms 89:16): “Happy are the people who know the blast; they walk, Lo...
Rabbi Berekhya, quoting Rabbi Yirmeya, opens a window onto this very idea. He starts with a verse from Proverbs (15:24): "The path of life goes upward for the intelligent." But wha...
Rabbi Berekhya starts us off with a quote from Psalms (81:4): "Sound the shofar at the New Moon [at the covering of our festive day]." Now, The first reading, this seems straightfo...
When the rabbis wanted to describe how God teaches Israel, they reached for the most unglamorous image imaginable, a cattle prod. Yes, you read that right. A cattle prod. In Vayikr...
Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba, quoting Rabbi Levi, starts us off with a rather blunt assessment of humanity, citing (Psalm 62:10): “People are nothingness; men are but deceit; they rise tog...
Our ancestors felt it too. to a fascinating little piece from Vayikra Rabbah, a Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) collection that unpacks the book of Leviticus. This par...
Our tradition sees it as a symbol, a prophecy even, about the future of the Jewish people. The Torah tells us, "Abraham lifted his eyes and saw that behold, there was a ram, after ...
In Jewish tradition, the number seven is definitely one of those numbers. It’s not just a random figure; it's woven into the very fabric of our understanding of the world and our r...
The story begins with two prominent scholars, Rabbi Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish, deep in discussion. They were confronting a seemingly simple question: Should the shofar (ram's horn) ...
The verse in Leviticus (23:40) instructs us: "You shall take for you on the first day the fruit of a pleasant tree, branches of date palms, and a bough of a leafy tree, and willows...
King David certainly did. In Vayikra Rabbah 30, we find a fascinating exploration of just that – David's quest for the "way of life" and "abundant joy," as he puts it in (Psalm 16:...
It all starts with the verse: "You shall take for you on the first day…" referring to the mitzvah (commandment) of taking the lulav (palm branch) and other species on Sukkot (the F...
The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), that treasure trove of Jewish stories and interpretations, finds echoes of this universal joy in the verses about the holiday of Suk...
It all starts with the verse, "You shall take for you on the first day.." (Leviticus 23:40) – referring to the lulav, the palm branch, used during the festival of Sukkot (the Festi...
The lulav, the palm branch we wave during Sukkot, the Festival of Booths, carries a darker warning than it first appears to. Vayikra Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic in...
It offers us not just one, but three opportunities for a fresh start each year during the High Holy Days season. How does it all work? Vayikra Rabbah, a Midrash on the book of Levi...
Take Sukkot (the Festival of Tabernacles), for example, the Feast of Tabernacles, a joyous holiday where we dwell in temporary shelters, remembering our ancestors' journey through ...
The arba minim, the "four species" used during the Jewish festival of Sukkot (the Festival of Tabernacles), carry a meaning far deeper than ritual. These four species – the etrog, ...
Take, for instance, the four species we use on Sukkot – the etrog (citron), the lulav (date palm frond), the hadass (myrtle), and the aravah (willow). They aren't just random plant...
Vayikra Rabbah turns to Great Sanhedrin Receives the Torah. Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Leviticus, offers a fascinating interpretation. It’s no...
It uses the four species taken on Sukkot, the Festival of Tabernacles, as a metaphor for the Jewish people. It comes from Vayikra Rabbah, a Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive comment...
That feeling, that little twist of perspective, is at the heart of a beautiful teaching from Vayikra Rabbah, the rabbinic commentary on the Book of Leviticus. Rabbi Yehuda, quoting...
Take the four species we use on Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles: the etrog (citron), the lulav (palm branch), the hadass (myrtle), and the aravah (willow). We wave them, we rejoic...
It all hinges on a seemingly simple phrase. It comes from Vayikra Rabbah 30, a fascinating section of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary). Midrash, by the way, is a meth...
It all begins with the verse, "Command the children of Israel, and they shall take to you pure virgin olive oil for the lighting, to kindle a lamp continually" (Leviticus 24:2). Th...
There's a profound reason why. Rabbi Yitzḥak opens Vayikra Rabbah 31 with a powerful image, quoting (Psalms 119:140): “Your saying is exceedingly pure, and Your servant loves it.” ...
It all starts with the phrase "Command the children of Israel" – which, The first reading, sounds like a divine order. But the Rabbis, masters of unpacking layers of meaning, saw s...
In fact, it goes even deeper. Vayikra Rabbah, a fascinating collection of Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) teachings on the Book of Leviticus, opens up this very idea. ...
Vayikra Rabbah imagines Moses ascending into a heavenly debate over Torah, wisdom, and power. The tradition turns to Vayikra Rabbah, specifically chapter 31. This Midrash, a collec...
" But immediately, the text veers into a discussion about the number of God's "troops." A seemingly simple question explodes into a profound meditation on divine presence and loss....
The ancient rabbis grappled with this very question. In Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Leviticus, we find a fascinating discussion. Rabbi Ḥanina p...
The ancient rabbis grappled with this question, and their answers, preserved in texts like Vayikra Rabbah, are pretty . Vayikra Rabbah, a midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentar...
Vayikra Rabbah turns to The Sun and Moon Must Ask God Permission Every Single Day. Well, according to the ancient rabbis, it's quite a tale. Rav tells us that before the sun and mo...
Rabbi Ḥiyya, in Vayikra Rabbah 31, makes a point of stressing that it's specifically olive oil that’s important. Not sesame, walnut, turnip, or almond, but "olive oil from your oli...
Take, for instance, the story in Vayikra Rabbah 31, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Leviticus. It focuses on Aaron, the High Priest, and his rol...
Vayikra Rabbah turns Shelomit's name into a clue for reading one of Leviticus's most charged episodes. The passage in (Leviticus 24:10-11) sets the stage: "The son of an Israelite ...
This isn't just about political correctness; it's about the power of our words, our thoughts, and their ripple effects in the cosmos. Rabbi Avin kicks things off with a powerful id...
In the book of Vayikra, Leviticus, we read a troubling story about the "son of an Israelite woman" who, as the verse says, "went out" (Leviticus 24:10). But..went out from where? T...
Vayikra Rabbah turns to Levi and the Lawgiver of Egyptian. The Rabbis suggest that even though technically, this man wasn't a mamzer – because his father wasn't Jewish – he was con...
Vayikra Rabbah turns to Israelite Women Guarded Their Virtue in Egypt. Rabbi Pinchas offers an interpretation: "A locked fountain – these are the virgins. A locked garden – these a...
Consider the difficult case of the mamzer. The mamzer, often translated as "illegitimate child," occupies a complicated space in Jewish law. And in Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of ...
The story begins with Rabbi Zeira. When he arrived in the Land of Israel, he was troubled. He kept hearing people call each other mamzer and mamzeret. Now, a mamzer (masculine) or ...
Today's story, drawn from Vayikra Rabbah 32, dives into just that: the plight of the mamzer. The mamzer. It's a loaded term. In Jewish law, it refers to a child born from certain f...
It’s a powerful thing to consider. The ancient sages certainly thought so. Our story today comes from Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Leviti...
Vayikra Rabbah turns to The Wall Between God and Israel That Sin Built. The text then jumps to the prophet Amos (7:7): "Behold, the Lord standing beside a level [anakh] wall." What...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. They saw the world as a delicate balance, and they understood that even seemingly small acts of injustice could have enormous consequences. In Vay...
