3,588 related texts · Page 353 of 399
The scene opens with Balak, the king of Moab, terrified by the Israelites. He’s hired Bilam, a non-Jewish prophet known for the power of his blessings and curses, to, well, curse I...
Our story begins in Shittim, a place whose name, as we'll see, carries a weight of meaning. "Israel was dwelling in Shittim, and the people began to engage in harlotry with the dau...
We offer things up, whether it's time, effort, or, as in the ancient Israelite tradition, animal offerings. But to whom are we offering? And why? The book of Numbers, in chapter 28...
The Torah, in the book of Numbers (30:2), grapples with this very idea: "Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying: This is the matter that the Lord ...
And as we'll see, it's a feeling that resonates profoundly within Jewish tradition. Our journey begins with the Book of Numbers, Bamidbar (במדבר), specifically Numbers 33:1: "These...
Take, for example, the verse in Numbers: "This will be the land that will fall [tipol] to you as an inheritance." (Numbers 34:2). "Fall?" the Rabbis asked. Does land just fall? Isn...
The Torah is full of promises, both of blessings and of curses. And sometimes, it seems like things don't quite line up. In Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on t...
We often think of creation as a solo act by the Almighty, but the ancient rabbis, wrestling with the very first verse of Genesis, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the...
And the rabbis of old, grappling with the very same question, offered some pretty fascinating answers. Take this story from Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interp...
