2,911 related texts · Page 278 of 324
We often picture a triumphant march towards the Promised Land, but the reality, according to our sages, was far more complex, fraught with fear and even internal conflict. The Lege...
There you are, wandering in the desert, sustained by food that literally falls from the sky. And yet…you grumble. You whine. You say, "Ugh, not manna again!" It sounds almost unbel...
In Jewish tradition, the concept of final instructions, of ethical wills, is incredibly powerful. It’s about more than just passing on possessions; it’s about passing on values, a ...
The Israelites, fresh from the Exodus, knew that feeling all too well. And in Deuteronomy, Moses doesn’t pull any punches reminding them of it. He lays it all out, a litany of miss...
Imagine: forty years wandering the desert. Forty years! And according to tradition, it was all their own fault. Moses, their leader, didn’t hold back as they stood on the cusp of f...
Talk about pressure! The Israelites weren’t exactly waging war on Moab, but their very presence – a kind of “hostile, though not warlike, attitude” as Ginzberg phrases it in Legend...
And the answer, as often happens in Jewish tradition, is layered and complex, and more than a little surprising. According to the Legends of the Jews, compiled by Rabbi Louis Ginzb...
He knew his army wasn't strong enough, his strategies weren't clever enough. He needed an edge, something… supernatural. So, he turned to Balaam. Now, Balaam was no ordinary sorcer...
He's hired by Balak, a Moabite king, to curse the Israelites. Balak is terrified of them, seeing them as a threat. Balaam, knowing he can't really curse them if God doesn't allow i...
