1,879 related texts · 4 related myths · Page 2 of 40
The pain, the suffering, the sheer brutality of the Egyptian exile… was actually part of a divine plan? It sounds crazy. To suggest that God deliberately placed the descendants of ...
They instituted a custom, a seat of honor specifically for the "Messenger of the Covenant." And who is that messenger? None other than Elijah himself! The Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer te...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer turns to Joshua — The Ark of the Covenant. The story, as we find it in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, chapter 38, begins with Joshua in anguish. He tears his clothe...
The story comes from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating and often imaginative collection of midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) stories. The scene opens with messengers...
Moses, the guy who led them out of Egypt, parted the Red Sea, and received the Torah on Mount Sinai. You'd imagine he was constantly laying down the law. But according to the Sifre...
It wasn't just about grand gestures; it was also about the consistent, regular offerings. to a small but fascinating passage from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretati...
Sifrei Devarim turns to Samuel Remembered. Rabbi Nehorai, as quoted in Sifrei Devarim, gives us a rather startling answer. He suggests their eagerness for a king wasn't just about ...
Remember, in ancient times, accidental manslaughter wasn't just a tragic accident; it carried real legal consequences. The text says, "not having hated him": If he had hated him, h...
The Torah, in the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), actually touches on this very human experience. It speaks about divorce, about what happens when love fades, or maybe wasn't even t...
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 midrashim (rabbinic...
The blessings of (Deuteronomy 28) receive domestic detail. Being blessed "when you go out" becomes "blessed shall you be in your coming in to your houses of instruction, and blesse...
After the conquest of Canaan, God deliberately left certain nations in the land, not because He couldn't remove them, but to test Israel (Judges 3:1-2). The rabbis found this pract...
When the Lord lays down the sign of the covenant, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 17:10) catches a case the Hebrew leaves implicit. Every male among you shall be circumcised, th...
The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan renders one of the most unsettling lines of the Decalogue with full theological weight. "You shall not bow down to them, or worship before them; for I th...
This week, It all starts with a verse: “The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai." The core of this teaching is a rebuke, almost a lament, from God to the Israelites. He ...
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 story of Esau and Jacob is a classic example, and the Rabbis in Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homiletic interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, unpack it with incredible ...
It all revolves around a seemingly simple question: how do we read the really tough parts of the Torah? Specifically, These aren't exactly the verses you'd choose for a feel-good S...
A passage from Vayikra Rabbah 13 that explores just that. It all starts with the verse, "The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them" (Leviticus 11:1). Seems straightforwa...
The Midrash of Philo turns to God's Covenant with Abraham in Philo's Reading. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) suggests that God isn't necessarily looking for perfect...
He’s just received the earth-shattering news that he, in his old age, is going to have a son with Sarah. A son who will carry on the covenant with God. It's huge! But then comes th...
This is the world Megillat Antiochus throws us into. The story begins with a chilling proposition, whispered amongst the advisors of King Antiochus. "Come now," they urged, "let us...
God revealed Himself to Abraham shortly after, to ease his conscience about the spilling of innocent blood, a scruple that caused him great anguish. God assured him that pious men ...
The Bible is full of them, but sometimes the stories between the lines are even more fascinating. to the tale of Jacob and his father-in-law, Laban, a story ripe with tension, accu...
The Legends of the Jews, Louis Ginzberg's masterful compilation of rabbinic lore, gives us a fascinating glimpse into the deathbed confession of Dan, one of Jacob’s sons. It's a ra...
The story of Moses' birth is a powerful evidence of that kind of bravery, laced with faith and a touch of the miraculous. It all begins with a decree from Pharaoh, ordering the dea...
It's so much more than just a physical act; it’s a profound moment steeped in tradition, faith, and ancient promises. And at the heart of it all stands a powerful, unexpected figur...
It’s a concept that has pulsed through the heart of Jewish longing for centuries: the return of all scattered Jewish communities to the Holy Land. The Babylonian Talmud, in Pesahim...
The midrash (rabbinic interpretation) on Psalm 32 opens with a powerful idea: "Blessed is the man who does not think the Lord counts his sins." In other words, blessed is the perso...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Psalms, offers a surprising answer. It starts with remembering God's wonders. According to the Midrash (rabbinic...
For millennia, people have sought guidance from… well, some pretty unusual places.This is a fascinating peek into the beliefs and practices that our ancestors wrestled with, trying...
It turns out Moses felt the same way as he prepared to leave the Israelites. He needed someone – or something – to vouch for the covenant, to make sure no one could later claim the...
When Boaz sent Ruth home in the early morning, he poured into her shawl "six measures of barley" (Ruth 3:15). The sages, reading closely, asked: can this really mean six grains, so...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Inheriting the Land Depends on Covenantal Fidelity. The Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) teachings on the Book...
The Torah, in the book of Numbers (30:2), grapples with this very idea: "Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying: This is the matter that the Lord ...
Our journey begins with the story of Noah and the flood. (Genesis 8:1) tells us, "God remembered Noah, and all the beasts, and all the animals that were with him in the ark; God ca...
Our sages certainly did. to a fascinating exploration from Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 42, where they dissect the phrase "vayhi bimei" (וַיְהִי בִּמֵי), "it was in the da...
What in the world is going on here? The Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), those ancient interpreters of scripture, were just as captivated by this verse as ...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to What God Revealed to Abraham in the Covenant. Rabbi Yudan brings us a fascinating debate between Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai and Rabbi Akiva. One sage believ...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Covenant of Circumcision of Abraham. (Genesis 17:26) tells us, “On that very day, Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his son.” Simple. But that “very day...
How do you BECOME ready? Our exploration starts in Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. Here, in section 49, we find a fascinat...
It all comes down to remembering, and more importantly, acting. to a story about just that, found in Bereshit Rabbah 53, a section of the ancient midrashic (rabbinic interpretive c...
It all starts with the verse, “You shall know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God” (Deuteronomy 7:9). Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba uses a parable to unpack this idea. Imagi...
It’s a surprisingly ancient feeling. And it's at the heart of a fascinating passage in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Song of Songs. The scen...
The Torah tells us of an agreement, a covenant, between God and the Israelites. But the details, as explored in Vayikra Rabbah, are far more intricate and, frankly, a little . Rabb...
In Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Leviticus, we find a powerful exploration of peace. Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai declares that "Great is peace, as all...
When Israel Is Sold Into Exile God Goes With Them is the question behind this passage from Vayikra Rabbah. Heavy stuff. So, what’s the solution? Despair? Assimilation? Absolutely n...
“Remember, Lord, what befell us; look, and see our disgrace” (Lamentations 5:1).“Remember, Lord, what befell us.” Rabbi Yitzḥak began: “The greyhound, or the goat” (Proverbs 30:31)...
