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A blessing, a curse, a promise kept, a promise broken... it all hangs on the power of speech. Kohelet, or Ecclesiastes, understood this deeply. In Kohelet Rabbah, a midrash (interp...
We find one such sentence in Ecclesiastes 10:13: "The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his mouth is evil debauchery." Ouch. But who is this verse ...
to one of those moments, found within the pages of Shemot Rabbah, a classical collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. "She took for him a wicker basket…" Why ...
It’s a story filled with palace intrigue, near-fatal tests, and a touch of divine intervention. We all know the basics: baby Moses in a basket, found by Pharaoh's daughter. But She...
The story goes that Moses, having slain an Egyptian taskmaster, intervenes in a quarrel between two Hebrews. And what does he get for his trouble? A stinging rebuke: "Who appointed...
Shemot Rabbah, a classic midrashic compilation – a collection of interpretations and expansions on the Book of Exodus (Shemot in Hebrew) – gives us a glimpse behind the curtain. It...
It begins with the verse, "This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2), spoken to Moses and Aaron. Why them? The Midrash asks, why did God speak these words to Moses and Aaron speci...
Jewish tradition offers a powerful and comforting perspective on this very human feeling. It suggests that God isn't just listening, but already knows what's in our hearts, even be...
It all centers around the Hebrew word ve’eleh, meaning "these are." The Midrash opens with a question: What's so special about ve’eleh? The Rabbis of old saw in it a profound testa...
