1,613 related texts · Page 11 of 34
We often think of the big communal sacrifices, the ones everyone brings together. But what about all the other offerings? The smaller ones, the personal vows, the little gifts we w...
It's not as straightforward as you might think. to a fascinating passage from Sifrei Devarim 71 and unpack some of the nuances. The verse states, "shall you slaughter and you shall...
I’m talking about Jericho, the ancient city whose story is far more than just walls tumbling down. It’s about oaths, consequences, and a chilling fulfillment of prophecy. We all kn...
The verse we’re looking at is from Sifrei Devarim (130), a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy. It’s a complex discussion, a real Talmudic back-and-forth...
It wasn't just a difference of opinion, a harmless cultural practice. Oh no. According to them, idolatry was a spiritual cancer, a plague on the soul. Sifrei Devarim, one of the ea...
That tension, that very human struggle, is right at the heart of this little passage from Sifrei Devarim. It opens with a seemingly straightforward phrase: "that the L-rd your G-d ...
Jewish tradition understands that feeling intimately. And it gives it a deadline! We’re diving into Sifrei Devarim, a fascinating early rabbinic commentary on the Book of Deuterono...
But within those intricate instructions, there’s a beautiful core of responsibility and community. to a small but fascinating corner of that world, found in the ancient text, Sifre...
We find ourselves in Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretations on the book of Deuteronomy, specifically chapter 26, where the Israelites are commanded to declare before...
(Deuteronomy 32:7) tells us, "Remember the days of yore" (Devarim 32:7). That little word, yore, it's packed with meaning. It's not just about remembering the past; it's about lear...
Our tradition knows that feeling well. It speaks of it often. But even in that desolation, there's a promise of protection, a hint of awakening. Sifrei Devarim 314, a passage withi...
That’s the image Sifrei Devarim 318 paints for us, riffing on the verse "and the blood of the grape will you drink as wine." It’s not about hard work, the text suggests. No more ti...
Jewish tradition actually has a powerful image for that feeling, and it connects it directly to hope for the future. It comes from Sifrei Devarim, a commentary on the Book of Deute...
Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)im (interpretations) on the Book of Deuteronomy, gives us a fascinating insight into this idea, focu...
According to tradition, the answer is a resounding "no." There's a fascinating story in Sifrei Devarim that sheds light on this very idea. It all begins with a question from Agniti...
You can almost feel his anticipation, his heart swelling with hope. But then… the hammer drops. "This is the land that I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," God tells Moses, as we...
When God blessed Abraham in (Genesis 12:3), the Hebrew says simply: "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse." A universal promise. But the ancient Ar...
The reveal scene in Genesis 45—Joseph breaking down and declaring "I am Joseph"—is already one of the most dramatic moments in the Torah. Targum Jonathan transforms it into a proph...
Buried in Leviticus 22's rules about blemished offerings, the Targum Jonathan inserts one of the most beautiful passages in all of Targumic literature—a theology of sacrifice roote...
The Torah says write the law on plastered stones after crossing the Jordan. Targum Jonathan says write it "with writing deeply engraven and distinct, which shall be read in one lan...
The Hebrew Bible says God established a covenant with Noah, setting the rainbow as its sign (Genesis 9:12-17). Targum Onkelos renders every instance of "between Me and you" as "bet...
These are the ten exiles which the precious Children of Zion have been exiled: Israel was exiled by Sennacherib in three expulsions; they were exiled afterward by Nebuchadnezzar wi...
(Gemara) Let us see: when do the priests enter to eat the Terumah? Is it not when the stars appear? Let then the Mishnah (the earliest code of rabbinic law) say: "From the time the...
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says, “There are three matters that the earthly court did and the heavenly court agreed with them, and these are they: Reading the Scroll [of Esther on Puri...
Beruria — the brilliant, sharp-tongued wife of Rabbi Meir — encountered Rabbi Yose HaGelili on the road one day. He asked her a simple question, but he asked it in five words when ...
The rabbis taught a stark warning: reduce your tithes, and God will reduce your harvests. The Talmud and Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) preserve the story of a family t...
A prosperous farmer in the land of Israel had fields that yielded abundantly, orchting, and vineyard heavy with fruit. Year after year, God blessed his harvests. But the farmer gre...
When the righteous multiply in the world, good things multiply with them. This is Aggadat Bereshit's reading of "When the righteous are many, the people rejoice" (Proverbs 29:2). N...
"Many peoples have afflicted me from my youth" (Psalm 129:1). The Assembly of Israel — the collective voice of the nation — says this as a Song of Ascents, sung while ascending to ...
(Job 5:19) promises: "From six woes He shall save you, and in the seventh, evil shall not reach you." The midrash asks which six woes — and Solomon in Proverbs provides the list: "...
When the offering was completed (1 Chronicles 18:26), the midrash reads it through Song of Songs: the thread of crimson, the image of the veil that separated the holy from the prof...
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 ...
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...
Even in the Bible, the order in which things are presented can tell a whole story. Take the story of the spies sent by Moses to scout out the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, bef...
It’s a question that resonates throughout Jewish tradition, and one that the Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers, tackles head-on. The passag...
It’s a question that pulls us into the heart of Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. We begin with the verse: "God said: Let the water ...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. And they found a fascinating clue hidden in plain sight, connecting the Garden of Eden to... the Ark of the Covenant! It all hinges on a single wo...
It contrasts Adam, the first man, with Job, the righteous sufferer, highlighting their very different responses to adversity. The text begins with Adam's infamous excuse: "The woma...
It's easy to imagine everyone just carrying on, oblivious, but Jewish tradition suggests otherwise. The Torah tells us, "Noah was a righteous man [ish]" (Genesis 6:9). Seems simple...
to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah 32, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. The verse that kicks it all off is God's instruction to Noah: "Co...
The text opens with a powerful promise from God to Abraham: "I will bless those who bless you, and one who curses you, I will curse, and all the families of the earth shall be bles...
We find a fascinating glimpse into that struggle in Bereshit Rabbah 44, a section of the ancient midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic collection on the Book of Genesis. It ...
They were promised descendants as numerous as the stars, yet years went by in the land of Canaan, barren and seemingly forgotten by destiny. The Torah tells us, “Sarai, Abram’s wif...
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...
The story of Rachel in the book of Genesis speaks directly to that feeling, and offers a powerful message of hope. The Torah tells us simply, "God remembered Rachel" (Genesis 30:22...
The ancient rabbis wrestled with this idea, especially when it came to promises made to God. Let's turn to the book of Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretat...
She was a widow, promised to Judah's youngest son, Shelah. But Shelah was growing up, and Judah just… wasn't making good on his promise. He was worried, see, because Tamar's first ...
The verse says, "He raised his voice in weeping…. And his brothers could not answer him" (Genesis 45:2-3). It's a powerful moment! But what does it really mean? Well, Abba Kohen (a...
