Parshat Shelach

533 related texts · Page 18 of 60

The twelve spies sent to Canaan, the people's rebellion, God's decree of forty years of wandering, and the laws of tzitzit. Numbers 13:1-15:41.

Abraham and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Bamidbar Rabbah 14:2

The Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers, explores this very idea through a verse from Job: "Who preceded Me, that I should repay? Everything ...

CreationHeavenAngelsPatriarchs

Wisdom of Solomon of Moses

Midrash Rabbah Bamidbar Rabbah 16:5

The verse from Proverbs (26:6) sets the stage: “One who sends things by the hand of a fool cuts off his feet and drinks rancor.” Ouch. Strong words. But here's the puzzle: were the...

MosesSolomonProphecyHoly Land

Mission of Moses and Canaan

Midrash Rabbah Bamidbar Rabbah 16:11

The story of the spies sent to scout the Land of Canaan in the Book of Numbers is a powerful example of how fear and negative speech can derail even the most promising journeys. Th...

MosesTempleMessiahProphecy

Kush and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Bamidbar Rabbah 16:13

The verse sets the scene: “They ascended and scouted the land from the wilderness of Tzin to Rehov, at the approach to Hamat” (Numbers 13:21). But, Bamidbar Rabbah asks, how exactl...

CreationNoah & FloodJosephPrayer

Hell and Its Gates of However

Midrash Rabbah Bamidbar Rabbah 16:23

We find ourselves in a similar place in Bamidbar Rabbah 16, grappling with the aftermath of the Israelites' lack of faith and their subsequent punishment of wandering the desert fo...

Hell/GehennaJosephKing DavidMessiah

Maker of Heaven and Earth

Midrash Rabbah Bamidbar Rabbah 17:5

The passage begins with the famous verse from Numbers 15:38, commanding us to wear tzitzit, fringes, on the corners of our garments, including a thread of techelet, sky blue. The v...

CreationHeavenMosesKing David

Korah Before the Flood

Midrash Rabbah Bamidbar Rabbah 18:3

It all begins with the tzitzit (fringes) on a garment. The Torah tells us, "They shall make for themselves a fringe [tzitzit]" (Numbers 15:38). Now, Korah, ever the instigator, see...

Noah & FloodMosesJobTorah

Jacob's Transgression and Kora

Midrash Rabbah Bamidbar Rabbah 18:5

Our stories are woven into our lineage, and sometimes, those threads get tangled. to a fascinating passage from Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of N...

CreationPatriarchsMosesKing David

Cosmic Origins and Israelites

Midrash Rabbah Bamidbar Rabbah 19:25

The Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers, sheds light on this very question. It tells us that the well, a miraculous source of water that acco...

CreationMosesHoly Land