1,164 related texts · Page 15 of 25
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, an ancient and fascinating Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic text, gives us a glimpse into a truly remarkable cosmology. It paints a picture of t...
It’s a question that fascinated them, leading to complex calculations and intricate systems to track the lunar cycle. to a passage from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early ...
It seems so simple, but when you peek behind the curtain, you find a world of intricate detail. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, an early medieval text filled with fascinating traditions, o...
It asks: Why, when God formed humanity, did He gather dust from all four corners of the earth? Why not just use the local dirt? The answer, according to the text, is surprisingly p...
We read about it every year during Passover, the triumphant moment of freedom. But have you ever paused to imagine the aftermath? The Book of Exodus tells us, "And Israel saw the E...
Take, for example, the beginning of the book of Numbers (Bamidbar in Hebrew), where we find a meticulous accounting of the Israelites' travels in the wilderness. It seems a little…...
Today, we're going to explore a passage from the Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of rabbinic literature that sheds light on a particular verse about cities of refuge. The passage we'...
The ancient rabbis certainly did, wrestling with the nuances of laws, especially those concerning cities of refuge. The passage begins by examining the biblical command to establis...
We'll be looking at a passage from Sifrei Bamidbar, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Numbers. Our starting point is Bamidbar (Numbers) 6:6: "All the days of his...
And it happened to King David himself, involving none other than the Ark of the Covenant. We find ourselves in Bamidbar (Numbers 7:9), where the Torah is describing the gifts given...
The verse we're looking at is from (Numbers 10:30): "And he said to him: I will not go; but to my land and to my kindred I will go." Who is "he," and why won't he go? This "he" is ...
The Torah, in the book of Bamidbar (Numbers), gives us a pretty stark example of that. We’re talking about the story of the mann, the miraculous food from heaven that sustained the...
Take the curious case of the mekoshesh, the wood gatherer, found violating the Sabbath in the wilderness. The story, found in Bamidbar 15:32-36 (Numbers), isn’t just about punishme...
In the book of Bamidbar (Numbers), we find ourselves wrestling with just that: Who gets a share of the Promised Land? The verse in Bamidbar 26:53 states: "To these shall the land b...
And that's where today’s little gem from Sifrei Bamidbar (a legal commentary on the Book of Numbers) comes in. The verse we're focusing on is from Bamidbar (Numbers) 28:24: "As the...
In the Torah, we find the concept of cities of refuge, places where someone who accidentally committed manslaughter could flee and find sanctuary. But the details, as always, are f...
Our ancestors certainly understood that struggle. But what if I told you there's a promise woven into the Torah, a promise of abundance right where you are? to a fascinating little...
You stumble across something familiar, but the context is… different. Let's untangle a little bit of that today, drawing from Sifrei Devarim. We find a curious phrase: "as He spoke...
We usually focus on Moses. Maybe Aaron gets a nod. But have you ever considered Miriam’s role? Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, off...
It’s a question our sages grappled with, and their answers are, well, breathtaking. to Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early rabbinic legal interpretations on the Book of Deuterono...
He was a righteous man, tested beyond measure. But how did tragedy initially strike his family? As we learn in Sifrei Devarim, it wasn't due to any inherent sinfulness on their par...
The tribes of Reuben and Gad had enormous herds, and when they saw the conquered territory east of the Jordan, they wanted to stay. The Targum's version of (Numbers 32) captures Mo...
The Targum Jonathan on (Deuteronomy 7) contains one of the most theologically radical statements in all of ancient Aramaic literature. God did not choose Israel because they were t...
The Targum Jonathan on (Deuteronomy 10) buries an entire civil war inside what the Hebrew Bible treats as a simple travel itinerary. The Hebrew says Israel "journeyed from Beeroth ...
Another taught: "The holy blessed one said to the Torah: 'Let us make the human...' She [Torah] replied, 'This human will be short of days, full of conflict, and fall into the hand...
The parable of the blind man and the lame man in the orchard, told by Antoninus to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi in Sanhedrin 91b, establishes one of the Talmud's most important doctrines: b...
Rabbi Yishmael asked: why did Job risk everything by demanding an answer from God (Job 31:35)? Because Job understood something terrible. Without death, life has no name. Without d...
[It is written] (Ps. 66:1) A prayer of David, preserve my soul, for I am pious. R. Levi and R. Isaac both explain this passage. One said : "Thus said David before the Holy One, pra...
A non-Jew once asked Rabban Gamliel a question that seemed simple but concealed a philosophical trap. "Your God," he said, "is supposedly the master of the entire universe. He crea...
11. Ashmedai wished to confuse Solomon's wisdom, so he brought up from the netherworld a man with two heads. Solomon was surprised and so was Benaya, who would not believe it. Aske...
When Alexander the Great conquered the known world, he did not merely defeat armies — he rearranged the claims of nations. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 91a) records that after his conques...
After Abraham sent Ishmael away into the wilderness with his mother Hagar, the patriarch did not forget his firstborn son. According to Pirkei de Rabbi Eliezer and the Midrash Haga...
Gehenna (Hebrew: Gehinnom (the place of spiritual purification after death); Greek: Geenna) originated as "the valley of the son of Hinnom," south of Jerusalem, where child sacrifi...
"And the El Shaddai grant you mercy" (Genesis 43:14). Jacob is sending Benjamin to Egypt — his youngest, his only remaining connection to Rachel, the son he can least afford to los...
Jewish tradition has some fascinating, and frankly, answers. The idea starts with this: it's a five-hundred-year journey between one firmament and the next! That's how vast the cos...
And the king, instead of addressing the crowd, singles you out. He speaks directly to you. That, my friends, is the opening of Bamidbar Rabbah, the ancient midrash on the Book of N...
Let’s take a journey into Bamidbar Rabbah, a treasure trove of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Numbers. We’re looking specifically at the second section, which dives into t...
In the desert, the Israelites found that strength, not just in their faith, but also in their organization, in their very banners. "Each at his banner, with the insignias," says th...
It turns out, quite a few times. And each counting, each census, seems to carry its own weight, its own story. Our springboard is the verse in Numbers, 2:32: "These are those who w...
The Torah, specifically the book of Numbers (Bamidbar in Hebrew), gives us a glimpse into just how much the Holy One, Blessed be He, values the people of Israel. And it's all about...
Their answer is both clever and chilling: The wilderness of Sinai was where they received their death sentence. How could that be? The key, it seems, lies in (Exodus 24:11): “Again...
This particular passage revolves around the census taken of the Israelites in the desert – "Count every firstborn male…" it says. (Numbers 3:40) But it's not just about counting he...
And Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically chapter 7, gives us a fascinating peek into their thinking. It uses a series of comparisons to illustrate God's, well, "royal" attributes, if you ...
The Torah portion describes the offerings brought by the leaders of the tribes of Israel at the dedication of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. Each day, a different leader brought the ...
Jewish tradition suggests that success isn't just handed out; it’s earned through trials, through proving ourselves worthy. Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on t...
The verse sets the scene: “They ascended and scouted the land from the wilderness of Tzin to Rehov, at the approach to Hamat” (Numbers 13:21). But, Bamidbar Rabbah asks, how exactl...
It all starts with a seemingly simple verse: “Amalek dwells in the region of the south” (Numbers 13:29). But the rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) ask a poin...
Believe it or not, there's a story about that – a powerful one, drawn from Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically section 16. It's a tale of complaining, consequences, and a little bit of d...
