683 related texts · Page 13 of 15
It's in those moments, when things feel darkest, that Jewish tradition offers a powerful, almost defiant, message of hope. Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal midrash (rabbinic i...
The Jewish tradition grapples with these questions in powerful, sometimes terrifying, imagery. to one such image: the cup of retribution. It all starts with a verse from Psalms (75...
The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early rabbinic legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, points out this fascinating characteristic of the prophets. "And this is the bl...
The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal midrash on the book of Deuteronomy, poses a fascinating question about a seemingly simple phrase: "before his death." It appears in the co...
The text begins with a blessing: "Blessed is He that broadens Gad." What does it mean? Simply put, the passage teaches us that the territory allotted to the tribe of Gad expanded e...
And while definitive answers might elude us, Jewish tradition offers tantalizing hints and comforting assurances. Our exploration begins in Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal an...
The Blessing of Moses in (Deuteronomy 33) gets the full Targum treatment—every tribe's destiny expanded, every blessing loaded with specifics the Torah never mentions. It opens wit...
The death of Moses in (Deuteronomy 34) is eight verses in the Torah. Targum Jonathan turns it into one of the most elaborate death scenes in all of ancient Jewish literature. From ...
"This month shall be for you." It shall be turned over to you. R. Yehoshua b. Levi said, "It's like a king who had a horologue. When he looked at it, he would know what time of day...
Who wrote the Hebrew Bible? The Talmud in Bava Batra 14b provides a complete accounting, attributing every book to a specific author. Moses wrote his own book—the Torah—and also th...
Rabbi Elazar ben Shimon and the prophet Elijah once met on the road, and the Talmud preserves a strange and vivid account of what happened next. Elijah was traveling in disguise — ...
Bride & Angel of Death. Tobit. Tanh. Deut. Haazinu. Midr. Decalogue, No. VII, 3 b. Ben Atar, No. I, Eliah Cohen. Meil Se- daka 434, reprinted B. H. V, p. 152—154. Farhi, O. P. I, f...
The prophet Elijah gave three gifts to a poor man — and the story of those gifts became a parable about the nature of divine assistance. The details of the gifts vary across differ...
Adam is the Hebrew and Biblical designation for humanity generally, and specifically for the progenitor of the human race. According to Genesis i, mankind was created on the sixth ...
"Blessed is the man who fears the Lord" (Psalm 112:1). The rabbis asked: what ultimately happens to him? And they landed on Ecclesiastes: "In the end, everything will be heard — fe...
Leah was hated — or unloved, depending on the translation, but the Hebrew is harsh — and God saw it (Genesis 29:31). This is where Aggadat Bereshit begins: with the divine attentio...
We all know the story: Abraham and Sarah, finally blessed with a child in their old age. But what if there was more to the story than meets the eye? What if, as some ancient texts ...
Today, let’s dive into one tiny, but fascinating corner of that history, exploring the origins of prayer times and blessings. Our story begins in the Book of Numbers, in Hebrew, Ba...
The book of Bamidbar Rabbah, a treasure trove of rabbinic commentary on the Book of Numbers, delves into this very idea. It all starts with the command to count the firstborn males...
It involves a woman suspected of adultery, a priest, and a rather dramatic test involving "the water of bitterness that causes curse" (Numbers 5:18). Now, before we get too far, it...
It wasn't just whispers and rumors. The Torah outlines a dramatic, almost unbelievable, ritual involving a priest, an oath, and... bitter water. We find the details of this in Bami...
Our journey begins with a rather dramatic scene from (Numbers 5:21), describing the ritual of the sotah, the woman suspected of adultery. The priest says, "May the Lord render you ...
to a really intense, and frankly, kind of disturbing ritual described in the Book of Numbers, Chapter 5. It involves a woman suspected of adultery, and... well, let's just say it i...
Here, we're unpacking the story of the sotah, the woman suspected of adultery, and the unique ritual designed to determine her guilt or innocence. It's a wild ride, so buckle up. O...
It’s a question that’s plagued humanity for millennia. And believe it or not, our ancient texts wrestle with it too. We find a fascinating perspective in Bamidbar Rabbah, specifica...
Today, we’re diving deep into the Priestly Blessing, also known as Nesi’at Kapayim, the Lifting of the Hands, found in the Book of Numbers (6:22-27) and explored in Bamidbar Rabbah...
(Numbers 6:24). It’s more than just a nice sentiment. It’s a layered blessing, packed with meaning and implications. Let's unpack it, shall we? Bamidbar Rabbah, a classic collectio...
You know, the one that starts "Yevarechecha Adonai v'yishmerecha – May the Lord bless you and keep you..." It’s a beautiful, powerful blessing, and it's packed with layers of meani...
It’s a question that our Sages grappled with, and Bamidbar Rabbah 14 dives deep into the reasons behind this seemingly small detail. The verse we’re focusing on is from (Numbers 7:...
The Book of Numbers, in the Bamidbar Rabbah, grapples with this very question when describing the plague of fiery serpents. "The Lord sent the fiery serpents against the people, an...
It's all about perception, stubbornness, and maybe even a little bit of divine humor. So, the scene is set: Bilam, a non-Jewish prophet hired to curse the Israelites, is on his way...
The Torah gives us a fascinating glimpse of such a moment in the story of Bilam, the non-Jewish prophet hired to curse the Israelites. In Numbers, chapter 22, verse 31, we read: “T...
The Torah tells us, "When you besiege a city…you shall not destroy its trees" (Deuteronomy 20:19). Seems pretty straightforward. Protect the environment, even in wartime. But then ...
We often take it for granted, but the bracha, the blessing after the meal, has a rich history, deeply intertwined with our relationship to the Land of Israel. Our source for this j...
We often take it for granted, but Jewish tradition actually elevates it to something incredibly profound. The ancient rabbis pondered this a lot, and in Bereshit Rabbah, a collecti...
It seems simple enough on the surface: "From every tree of the garden you may eat." But, like with so much in Torah, the rabbis saw layers upon layers of meaning hidden beneath the...
Bereshit Rabbah, a classic Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic text, dives deep into the book of Genesis, and in section 19, it explores moments where certain figures real...
We often picture a simple act of disobedience, but the rabbis of old saw something far more nuanced, a tangled web of persuasion, responsibility, and even a bit of culinary curiosi...
In the Torah, names often carry a powerful weight, hinting at a person's destiny or reflecting a significant moment. Take Noah, for example. (Genesis 5:29) tells us, "He called his...
In Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, we find this idea explored through a rather unsettling lens: famine. Specifically, the ...
Jewish tradition is full of stories about individuals who stood out, who were exceptional even when surrounded by… well, less exceptional company. Rabbi Simon starts us off with a ...
It all starts with a verse in Genesis. "And you, be fruitful, and multiply; [teem on the earth, and multiply upon it]" (Genesis 9:7). Sounds pretty straightforward. But Reish Lakis...
That's where our story begins, drawn from the ancient wisdom of Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. "The angel of the Lord found her i...
Specifically, we're looking at section 47, which tackles the tricky subject of God's promises to both Ishmael and Isaac. The passage centers around (Genesis 17:20), where God says,...
to a beautiful passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, to explore just such a moment: the birth of Isaac. The verse we’re loo...
The Bible tells us the bare bones of the story, but the Rabbis, in their endless quest to understand God's word, delve deeper, seeking hidden meanings and profound truths. In Beres...
We pick up with Rebecca, about to leave her family to marry Isaac. (Genesis 24:59) tells us, “They sent Rebecca their sister, and her nursemaid, and Abraham’s servant, and his men....
Jewish tradition certainly sees patterns in the past, especially when it comes to times of hardship. We find a fascinating example of this in Bereshit Rabbah 64, a collection of ra...
