769 related texts · 24 related myths · Page 15 of 17
Jacob's blessing of Dan is spare in Hebrew. "Dan shall judge his people." The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan hears a specific future in it. "From the house of Dan there is to arise a man w...
The Song of the Sea contains a strange prayer. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan renders it: Through the power of Thy mighty arm, let the terrors of death fall upon them, let them be silent a...
Moses pressed further. How will it be known, he asked, that Israel has truly found favor before God? Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, the Aramaic paraphrase of the Torah, gives his answer a...
There is a moment on Sinai when God tells Moses to write. Not to remember, not to transmit orally, not to carve into stone alone. But to write. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 34...
The Mishnah in Berakhot 9:2 prescribes a blessing for natural disasters. When someone witnesses a shooting star, an earthquake, lightning, or thunder, they recite: "Blessed be the ...
The familiar story is this: 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 t...
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, Bamidbar, specifically th...
The book of Bamidbar Rabbah, a treasure trove of rabbinic commentary on the Book of Numbers, explores 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). Before we get too far, it's im...
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 Bamidb...
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 ...
What Happened When the Suspected Wife Drank the Water is the question behind this passage from Bamidbar Rabbah. So, what’s going on here? The Torah outlines a procedure where a wom...
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...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Why the Wicked Prosper and How Aaron Blesses Israel. We find a fascinating perspective in Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically in its commentary on (Numbers 6:23)...
This section of Bamidbar Rabbah, a classical midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) text, explores the nuances of this ancient blessing, revealing layers of meaning and pract...
(Numbers 6:24). It’s more than just a nice sentiment. It’s a layered blessing, packed with meaning and implications. Bamidbar Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretatio...
" It’s a beautiful, powerful blessing, and it's packed with layers of meaning. just one verse: "May the Lord shine His countenance to you, and be gracious to you" (Numbers 6:25). W...
The verse Now, three tribes were left to offer: Dan, Asher, and Naphtali. So, why Dan first? The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) suggests it's all about Jacob's blessing...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to The Sky-Blue Thread and the Weight of Mitzvot. As it says in (Psalms 97:11), “Light is sown for the righteous…” Bamidbar Rabbah understands this to mean th...
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 sounds like something straight out of a fantastical tale, but it's at the heart of our story today, found in Bamidbar Rabbah 20. What makes this story so compelling, even after ...
The Torah tells us, "When you besiege a city…you shall not destroy its trees" (Deuteronomy 20:19). Seems Protect the environment, even in wartime. Then we read, "Assail the Midiani...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Moses and the Ark of Land. Our source for this journey is Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) teachings on the Bo...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Rain Equals the Revival of the Dead in Power. Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba makes a bold statement: rain is of equal importance to techiyat hameitim, the revival of...
At first, the verse reads: "From every tree of the garden you may eat." Bereshit Rabbah hears six commandments hidden inside it. Rabbi Levi, in Bereshit Rabbah 16, offers a fascina...
Bereshit Rabbah, a classic Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) text, dives deep into the book of Genesis, and in section 19, it explores moments where certain figures real...
The familiar picture has 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...
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 ...
Noah is pictured as the good wine still hidden in a ruined cluster, the one life worth saving when a generation collapses. Rabbi Simon starts us off with a powerful image from (Isa...
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 But Reish Lakish, a prominent scholar o...
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...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Covenant of Ishmael. So, who gets what blessing? That's where the rabbinic interpretations come in, offering multiple readings. Rabbi Yoḥanan, quoting Rabb...
The verse It But Rabbi Yitzchak sees something much deeper here. He draws a parallel to the ordeal of a suspected adulteress described in (Numbers 5:28). There, it says, "If the wo...
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...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Rebecca's Family Blesses Her Before the Journey. Sounds lovely. A heartfelt send-off? Well, The Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), e...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Righteousness of Isaac. The Rabbis identify ten distinct famines that have struck the world throughout history. Ten! That's a lot of empty plates.* One dur...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Isaac's Failing Eyes Served a Hidden Divine Purpose. Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa opens a fascinating door into this idea, stating, "Much, Lord my God, You have ...
The scene: Jacob is about to deceive his father Isaac in order to receive the blessing meant for his brother Esau. He's understandably nervous. "Behold," he says to Rebecca, "Esau ...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Isaac Grew Suspicious of How Fast Jacob Found Game. The story, as we find it in Genesis 27, is fraught with tension. Isaac, old and blind, asks Jacob how h...
Jewish tradition, in its beautiful and often poetic way, offers a compelling answer: the people of Israel. to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic i...
The story of Isaac blessing Jacob instead of Esau is one that resonates with that feeling, and the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) grappled with it intense...
Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin, quoting Rabbi Levi, shares a profound idea: God took the conversations of the patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – and transformed them into the very...
Our story begins with Rachel, one of the matriarchs of the Jewish people. She was barren, a source of immense sorrow in a time when children were seen as a woman's greatest blessin...
The verse But what exactly is this "disgrace" she's referring to? Rabbi Levi bar Zechariah offers a powerful insight. He suggests that before a woman has a child, societal blame te...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Jacob — Isaac at the Dawn of Creation. In this, midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), or interpretation, King Solomon, with divine inspiration (ruach...
Our ancestor Jacob certainly did. When he sends messengers ahead to his brother Esau, the report they bring back plunges him into fear. But within that fear, we find a fascinating ...
Jacob, our patriarch, certainly did. In (Genesis 32:11), after years of wandering and working, facing down tricksters and building a family, Jacob cries out, "I am unworthy of all ...
