453 related texts · Page 35 of 51
According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, all sorts of momentous events piled up on a single day. This was the very day the Israelites crossed the Jordan River. Can...
The Israelite army, led by Joshua, is locked in a fierce struggle. It’s Friday, and the weight of the approaching Shabbat, the Sabbath, hangs heavy in the air. Joshua knows that fo...
He was an outcast, remember? Driven from his home by his brothers, he rose to become a mighty warrior. When the elders of Gilead needed a leader to fight the Ammonites, they turned...
The ancient Israelites knew that feeling all too well. They were facing defeat after defeat, calamity after calamity. But in the midst of it all, a figure emerged: Samuel. It wasn’...
That's what happened to Abishai, David's cousin, in this fascinating little story from Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg. The scene is set on a Friday, just as the Shabbat, the...
Sometimes, the most extraordinary lives begin with the most ordinary acts of kindness. Take the story of Rabbi Eliezer, father of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov – a name that echoes th...
According to the Legends of the Jews, his zeal and effectiveness in spreading the teachings of the Torah were legendary. It was said that if Moses hadn't come first, Ezra would hav...
A lot of that goes back further than you might imagine, all the way to Ezra the Scribe. Ezra, who lived during the Second Temple period, wasn’t just a scribe; he was a builder, a r...
It turns out, some pretty incredible stories lie behind even the most familiar phrases. Let's talk about the Shmoneh Esrei (שמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵי), the Eighteen Benedictions, also known ...
