769 related texts · 24 related myths · Page 13 of 17
It points out that throughout history, moments of perceived progress, of tikkun (repair) have often been limited in scope. They primarily benefited Israel, while the rest of the wo...
It tells us that what we perceive isn't always the full story of God's presence in the world. In the Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah, a mystical text whose title translates roughly to "The...
Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah, a Kabbalistic text, offers a fascinating perspective. It suggests that evil isn't always what it seems. In fact, it distinguishes between two states of evi...
Jewish mystical tradition, specifically Kabbalah, sees everything as a reflection of the divine, a map of the cosmos imprinted on our very being. And In the text Kalach Pitchei Cho...
It all revolves around this idea of restoring the world to a state of perfect unity and holiness. The Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah, a key text in Kabbalistic thought, touches on this ve...
The Sefer HaBahir asks a simple yet profound question: What is the origin of the word b’rakhah (בְּרָכָה), meaning "blessing"? Our initial thought might be that it stems from baruk...
The Sefer HaBahir, one of the earliest and most enigmatic texts of Kabbalah, offers a startlingly beautiful answer. Rabbi Rahumai, a sage whose teachings are preserved within the B...
It holds the key to understanding exile, blessing, and ultimately, redemption. When the prophet saw Israel in exile, what gave him hope? According to the Tikkunei Zohar, he saw no ...
The Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar, a central text of Kabbalah, doesn't shy away from the darker corners of existence. And it links that very human experience of bitterness to n...
One place where that code is explored with incredible depth is in the Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar, a companion volume to the foundational Zohar. to a passage from Tikkunei Zo...
"I have remained a stranger at Laban's" (Genesis 32:5). Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev reports his father's brilliant reading of Jacob's message to Esau. The Hebrew word garti (...
Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai was riding his donkey along a road when his student Rabbi Eleazar ben Arach asked for permission to expound the secrets of the Ma'aseh Merkavah, the myste...
David says he will not lack because the stream from Eden does not fail. In Zohar, Terumah 85, Psalm 23 becomes a map of heavenly nourishment. The green pastures are not only fields...
One of the most remarkable claims in rabbinic tradition is that the Israelites preserved their identity throughout centuries of Egyptian bondage by refusing to change their names. ...
The night of the tenth plague was unlike anything Egypt had ever witnessed. Every firstborn in the land, from the heir of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the capt...
The prophet Ezekiel delivered an oracle of terrifying certainty: "Behold, it has come; it has arrived, says the Lord God. This is the day of which I spoke" (Ezekiel 39:8). But when...
"and the children of Israel went out with a high hand": Scripture hereby apprises us that when the Egyptians were pursuing Israel, they vilified and execrated and cursed, while Isr...
Rabbi Meir takes the tradition further than either Rabbi Yossi or Rebbi. Even fetuses in their mothers' wombs, he declares, opened their mouths and chanted song before God at the R...
Variantly: "You inclined Your right hand": We are hereby apprised that He cast them to the dry land, and the dry land cast them to the sea, saying: If for only accepting the blood ...
R. Yossi says: It is written (Isaiah 45:19) "Not in secrecy did I speak, in a place of darkness, etc." In the very beginning, when I gave it, I did not give it in secret or in a da...
"And the voice of the shofar" (Exodus 19:19), the Mekhilta declares that this is a propitious sign in all of Scripture. Wherever the shofar is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, it sig...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael draws an illuminating comparison between the fear of parents and the observance of Shabbat (the Sabbath). The verse in (Leviticus 19:3) places them si...
R. Akiva says: "You shall not do (i.e. deport yourselves) with Me" as others do with their gods. When good befalls them, they honor their gods, viz. (Habakkuk 1:16) "Therefore, he ...
Jewish tradition, particularly Kabbalah, offers some fascinating and intricate possibilities. It's not just about heaven or hell, but a whole cycle of transformation and, sometimes...
One intriguing answer involves a rather obscure, but incredibly important angel: Gallizur. Gallizur isn't exactly a household name like Michael or Gabriel. But according to some my...
Jewish tradition holds a beautiful, almost whimsical idea about friendship: that it actually creates an angel. It’s said that each of us has a unique light burning for us in the wo...
Take the tale of Jacob and Esau, for instance. The familiar version gives us the basic outline: Jacob, aided by his mother Rebecca, deceives his blind father Isaac to steal the ble...
Joshua as a great leader, a warrior, a successor to Moses is familiar. But what if his origins were shrouded in a myth mirroring some of the most famous stories in history? In Hibb...
Midrash Mishlei turns to The Rabbis Warn Against the Dangers of Wine. It starts with a verse from (Proverbs 23:29): "Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complainin...
The opening of Psalm 1, "Blessed is the man," but according to Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Psalms, it's packed with layers of meaning....
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers a fascinating perspective. It points to the tribe of Levi, specifically those who resisted ...
The Book of Psalms certainly does. And the Midrash, the ancient rabbinic commentaries, dives deep into these very questions. Midrash Tehillim 5, a fascinating exploration of wicked...
Midrash Tehillim, a beautiful collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers a powerful contrast to this feeling. It tells us that while worldly gifts can be lost, the...
Rabbi Levi suggests a difference in timing. When the Holy One, blessed be He, judges the nations of the world, it happens at night, a time when they are asleep, supposedly free fro...
What holds a nation together? Is it military might? Economic prowess? Or something more… intangible? Midrash Tehillim 12, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Psalms, ...
Maybe the answer lies in a place readers often overlook: Zion. Midrash Tehillim, a fascinating exploration of the Book of Psalms, asks a powerful question: “Who will give from Zion...
They’re woven into the very fabric of Jewish thought, and they surface in unexpected places, like in the Midrash Tehillim. The Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletical interpr...
Rabbi Samuel bar Nachmani kicks things off, wondering why we sweat during times of transition. He suggests it's connected to the fall of one kingdom and the rise of another. He poi...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic commentaries on the Book of Psalms, grapples with this very idea. It explores the tension between God's utter transcendence and the possi...
King David certainly knew that feeling. And the ancient rabbis, through the lens of Midrash Tehillim (a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms), explored this very hum...
David, our King, isn't shy about expressing that vulnerability. "Turn to me and be gracious to me," he cries out. It's a raw, human plea. He's not just asking for a blessing; he's ...
A prayer attributed to Moshe, the man of God. It’s a powerful opening, immediately grounding us in the foundational narrative of the Jewish people: "Before the mountains were born,...
Midrash Tehillim imagines pursuit as an angelic assignment, with every person shadowed by forces earned through their deeds. As (Deuteronomy 28:8) says, "The Lord will command the ...
It’s a universal feeling, but it’s one that’s poignantly echoed in the ancient words of Midrash Tehillim 109. Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletic interpretations on the Boo...
That’s kind of the feeling behind Psalm 114, and the Midrash Tehillim, an ancient collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Psalms, dives deep into the joy and gratitude expr...
The ancient sages certainly did. And they saw this power reflected even in the way we remember the righteous and the wicked. It all starts with the verse, "Praise the Lord, for He ...
"Turn to me and be gracious to me," says the Psalmist (Psalm 119:132). What's that about? Well, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) connects this plea directly to (Levit...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, uses Psalm 146 to explore this very idea. It begins with the powerful statement: "The Lord opens t...
