Parshat Chukat

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The red heifer purification ritual, the deaths of Miriam and Aaron, Moses strikes the rock, and the bronze serpent. Numbers 19:1-22:1.

Ancient Slanders Against Moses and the Laws He Gave Israel

Josephus Against Apion 14:1

That's the situation the Jewish people faced in antiquity, and it's what prompted Flavius Josephus to write his powerful work, Against Apion. You see, back in the day, not everyone...

MosesJudgment

Josephus Defends Judaism Against the Charge of No Innovation

Josephus Against Apion 20:1

It’s a charge that’s been leveled against the Jewish people for centuries. Even Josephus, way back in the first century C.E., tackled this very criticism in his work, Against Apion...

TorahMiraclesWisdom

Socrates Faces Judgment

Josephus Against Apion 37:1

Our guide is Josephus, the first-century Romano-Jewish historian. In his work Against Apion, he defends Judaism against its detractors. And in doing so, he offers a fascinating, an...

Hell/GehennaDemonsAdam & EveNoah & Flood

Where Was Paradise if No Garden Grows in Armenia

Philo The Midrash of Philo 10:2

And one intriguing perspective comes to us from the writings attributed to Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher who lived in Egypt during the time of the Second Temple. In "Th...

CreationHeavenMiraclesWisdom

Moses and Creation and the Serpent

Philo The Midrash of Philo 1:1

It’s a question that’s nagged at theologians and storytellers for centuries. Why does Moses, in the book of Genesis, specifically call out the serpent as being the craftiest of the...

CreationAdam & EveMoses

Philo Argues Adam Was Created with the Gift of Sight

Philo The Midrash of Philo 7:2

Philo, the 1st-century Jewish philosopher from Alexandria, grappled with this very question in his own way. In what we call "The Midrash of Philo," he argues that Adam must have be...

Adam & EveMosesProphecySoul

The Deeper Meaning of Covering Up After Eden

Philo The Midrash of Philo 7:9

Turns out, there's more to it than just a quick wardrobe fix. Our sages saw layers of meaning woven into that very first act of covering up. In The Midrash of Philo, we find a fasc...

CreationMoses

Philo on the Soul's Journey Into the Body

Philo The Midrash of Philo 1:1

It’s a question that’s plagued philosophers and theologians for millennia. And sometimes, the most profound answers are hidden in plain sight, tucked away in ancient texts. Let's d...

CreationMosesSoul

What Truly Sets Humanity Apart From the Animals

Philo The Midrash of Philo 3:1

According to the Midrash of Philo, that very feeling, that inherent sense of hope, is woven into the very fabric of our being. What truly sets us apart? Philo argues it’s that “cop...

CreationAdam & EveMoses