181 related texts · Page 1 of 21
Have you ever heard of a ritual so strange, so seemingly out of place, that it makes you stop and wonder, "Where did that come from?" Let's talk about the scapegoat. Specifically, ...
We all know 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 drama unfolding alo...
See, Leviticus 16:23 tells us that Aaron, the High Priest, would enter the Tent of Meeting – the Ohel Mo'ed – and remove the linen vestments he wore when he entered the Sanctum – t...
That’s the scene we’re stepping into today, a scene that plays out once a year, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Our focus? The High Priest, his heart pounding, preparing to en...
Jewish tradition has some pretty fascinating, and sometimes terrifying, answers. Let's dive into the story of Azazel, a fallen angel whose lair is the source of some seriously dark...
Jewish tradition offers some truly fascinating, and sometimes unsettling, answers. Let's dive into a few… We've heard tales of fallen angels, haven't we? The ones who dared to defy...
Sometimes, the stories behind them are even more incredible than the rituals themselves. Let's talk about brit milah, circumcision, and a story that links it to the holiest day of ...
That’s the sense I get reading Bereshit Rabbah 98, a beautiful passage from the ancient midrashic collection, which interprets a verse from Psalm 57:3: “I cry out to God on High, t...
The passage opens with an intriguing idea: prayer itself as judgment. David, contemplating his own mortality and the possibility of divine judgment, seems to be saying, "If my judg...
