1,879 related texts · 4 related myths · Page 1 of 40
The Mekhilta, the halakhic midrash on Exodus from the 2nd century CE, examines one of the starkest either-or passages in the Prophets. Isaiah delivers God's ultimatum: "If you acqu...
God made a promise embedded in the Torah's harshest chapter of curses, and the rabbis of Esther Rabbah turned it into one of the most powerful statements of divine loyalty in all o...
Can you feel their anticipation, their weariness, their unwavering faith? They arrive at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, twin peaks that would become the stage for a powerful ritual....
The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early rabbinic legal commentaries on the Book of Deuteronomy, certainly seems to think so. It explores this very idea through the seemingly simp...
“Remember my affliction and my anguish, wormwood and gall” (Lamentations 3:19).“Remember my affliction and my anguish [umrudi]” – the congregation of Israel says before the Holy On...
“Let all their wickedness come before You, and do to them as You did to me for all my transgressions, for my sighs are many and my heart is suffering” (Lamentations 1:22).“Let all ...
Take Psalm 113, which begins with "Hallelujah, praise the servants of the Lord." Sounds straightforward. But the Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletic interpretations of the ...
This question, And it all stems from a seemingly simple verse in Leviticus (26:42): “I will remember My covenant with Jacob, also My covenant with Isaac, also My covenant with Abra...
Our tradition grapples with this very question, especially when considering the immense gifts God has bestowed upon us. Midrash Tehillim, specifically in its exploration of Psalm 1...
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 prophet Micah painted one of the most beloved images in all of Jewish prophecy: "And each man will sit under his grapevine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afra...
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 12:3) performs one of its most characteristic moves, it drops the future straight into the past. The plain verse says, I will bless those who ble...
That feeling echoes through the ages, all the way back to the time of the Maccabees. And it’s where our story begins. These aren’t my words,. This is straight from The Second Book ...
These are the kinds of questions that ripple through the ancient text of Sifrei Devarim, a portion of Jewish legal and ethical thought that explores the book of Deuteronomy. An ash...
Targum Jonathan transforms the assembly laws of (Deuteronomy 23) with details that reshape who belongs to Israel and why. A man "born of fornication" cannot enter the congregation....
Second Maccabees gives us a tantalizing glimpse into just such a mystery, a legend swirling around the prophet Jeremiah. Now, The familiar version gives us Jeremiah. The weeping pr...
The verse in question is (Exodus 34:27), "Write for yourself these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." But what does "these ...
Vayikra Rabbah turns to Twenty-Four Curses Descend When You Ignore Tzedakah. In Rabbi Simon, in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, in Vayikra Rabbah 34, we can't afford to take l...
The Torah lists the patriarchs in a specific order: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In (Exodus 3:6), God introduces Himself to Moses at the burning bush as "the God of your father, the ...
With his departure drawing near, Enoch delivered a series of blessings and curses, a final reckoning, sharp as a blade, that laid bare the difference between the righteous and the ...
In chapter 9, we find a surprisingly vivid image comparing rivers to the people of Israel. rivers, in their natural course, are a blessing. As the text says, "All rivers flowing on...
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 9:15) is a verse that has carried comfort through every Jewish generation. I will remember My covenant which is between My Word and between you a...
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 16:5) lets Sarah speak at length, and the speech is a small masterpiece of grief, accusation, and memory. It begins quietly, my affliction is fro...
"And their cry was heard before the Lord, and before the Lord was the covenant remembered which He had covenanted with Abraham, with Izhak, and with Jakob." The Targum Pseudo-Jonat...
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...
“The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground, are silent. They have placed dust on their heads, have girded themselves with sackcloth. The virgins of Jerusalem have lowere...
The Book of Jubilees, a text that gives us a unique retelling of the Torah, certainly seems to think so. It’s a book overflowing with warnings and rebukes, a call to remember the c...
Why do our sages, according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, institute that we should mention the oath to Noah every single day? It all goes back to that promise, that covenant, found in...
Sifrei Devarim turns to Moses Rebukes Israel with Geographic Code Words. "Across the Jordan": this teaches us, the text says, that Moses is rebuking the people for their actions on...
Leviticus 26 contains the blessings and curses, God's promise of abundance for obedience and a cascading nightmare for rebellion. The Targum Jonathan adds a breathtaking historical...
"Do not be hasty with your words, and let your heart not rush to bring a matter before God" (Ecclesiastes 5:1). Jacob had said: "My way is hidden from the Lord." The rabbis found t...
The Talmud in Maccoth preserves a remarkable teaching: Moses pronounced four severe judgments over Israel, and four later prophets rose up and softened them. This is not rebellion....
It's a little different than what you might expect. In Jubilees 14, we find Abraham in a very familiar role: making sacrifices. He offers up pieces of animals, birds, fruit-offerin...
That feeling, that connection, is at the very heart of the Book of Jubilees, a text brimming with blessings, covenants, and the destiny of a people. Specifically, These aren't just...
Our story begins with Tobi. He’s in exile in Nineveh, in Assyria. And right away, he’s calling out to God: “Remember me, my God, for good.” He’s not just asking for a favor; he’s r...
The vision was nearly complete. God spoke His final words to Abraham, circling back from the cosmic future to the personal promise that had started everything. "Therefore hear, O A...
Moses, fresh from his encounter with the burning bush, is now tasked with the monumental job of leading the Israelites out of Egypt. He’s got a bit of an edge, maybe a little too m...
He led the Israelites through the desert for forty long years, endured hardship after hardship, and finally, finally, the Promised Land was within sight. But he wasn't going to be ...
The story of Deborah unfolds not long after the time of Ruth, another woman held up as an ideal. The Book of Judges tells us that after the death of Ehud, a judge who delivered Isr...
It all started with a vow – a solemn promise made by Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, to Nebuchadnezzar. But things went south, as they often do in these stories. Zedekiah, for re...
That was the reality for the Jews being marched into exile in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar, that infamous king, wasn’t taking any chances. He’d conquered Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple...
What happens when even the Divine weeps? What happens when home is lost, not just for us, but for God, too? God is often remembered as unchanging, eternal, beyond our human messine...
In Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar 40, we're given a glimpse into the intricate relationship between the written word, the divine, and our own spiritual journey. It’s a wild ride...
The ancient mystics did, and they left us clues about how to tap into that power. to a fascinating, if somewhat cryptic, passage from the Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar, a centr...
Jewish mysticism often uses the image of a river to symbolize exile, a time of hardship and spiritual searching. But within that very exile, within the darkest moments, lies the se...
Tikkunei Zohar turns to Guarding the Covenant Prepares You for the Messiah. The passage What happens then? According to the Tikkunei Zohar, those who "guarded the sign of the coven...
"Rise O Patriarchs, Masters of the Covenant!" the text implores. It's an invocation, a plea to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Why? Because, the text says, “'this' – zot – the covenant ...
How Confession Turns Harsh Judgment Into Mercy is the question behind this passage from Likutey Moharan (Rabbi Nachman). Through the Torah of lovingkindness, which the Talmud defin...
