1,613 related texts · Page 3 of 34
Another interpretation: "See I" (Deuteronomy 11:26). I who have chosen goodness, see how different I am from the whole world, such that the creatures should not say, "When Moshe ca...
Rabbi Simlai made one of the most ambitious claims in the entire Talmud. He said: 613 commandments were given to Moses at Sinai—365 prohibitions corresponding to the days of the so...
King Solomon stood before God and prayed at the dedication of the Temple. "Master of the Universe," he said, "let everything else be set aside and focus on my prayer and supplicati...
“The Lord is righteous, for I have defied His word. Hear now all you peoples, and see my pain: My young women and young men have gone into captivity” (Lamentations 1:18).“The Lord ...
“Why do You forget us forever, forsake us for so long?” (Lamentations 5:20).“Why do You forget us forever?” Rabbi Yehoshua bar Avin said: Jeremiah employed four expressions: Spurni...
“Esther said, to respond to Mordekhai” (Esther 4:15). She said to him: “Go, assemble all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast on my behalf; do not eat and do not drink for...
Today's story from Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Psalms, is all about how seemingly small acts of courage and confession can have enormo...
The story of Isaac and Esau, as told in the Book of Jubilees, definitely gives you that vibe. We pick up the story with Isaac, son of Abraham, having just returned from Beersheba, ...
The ancient text of the Book of Jubilees, a fascinating work expanding on the narratives of Genesis, gives us a poignant example. We find ourselves in the midst of the story of Jac...
This guy, he was living a life of devotion, even in exile in Nineveh. And as we pick up the story in the Book of Tobit, chapter two, things are about to get… well, complicated. It’...
We often focus on the big, dramatic moments – the covenant, the near-sacrifice of Isaac. But what about the everyday stuff? The family dynamics? The sibling rivalry? The Book of Ja...
They have stories too, tales of redemption, bravery, and unexpected turns of fate. Take Judah, for example. We all know he sold his brother Joseph into slavery. But did you know th...
The story of the Israelites and the serpents in the wilderness offers us a powerful glimpse. You remember the story. After complaining yet again about their circumstances, God send...
So, Balaam, the non-Jewish prophet hired by Balak, king of Moab, to curse the Israelites, is ready to get down to business. Balak and his princes are all waiting, anticipation thic...
That’s the feeling that clings to the story of Moses and his unfulfilled dream of leading the Israelites into the Promised Land. We all know the story: Moses, the reluctant prophet...
Remember how Moses desperately wanted to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land? We've talked about that burning desire before. But Samael (the angel of death), that ever-prese...
The Torah is full of blessings, but it's not always straightforward. Some blessings are more potent than others, some are given grudgingly, and some come with unexpected consequenc...
Did they just... fade away? Well, let's talk about Phinehas. Phinehas, remember him? The zealous grandson of Aaron who, in Numbers 25, took decisive action to stop a plague and was...
The ancient Israelites knew that feeling all too well. Imagine the scene: the Ark of the Covenant, the most sacred object in their possession, finally brought into their land. You’...
It wasn’t just the exile, the loss of Jerusalem, the absence of the Temple. It was the constant, almost taunting reminders of what they had lost. One of the most painful of these, ...
Jewish mysticism understands that feeling. It’s baked right into the cosmic process of repair. We’ve talked before about the Sefirot, the ten emanations of divine energy that struc...
It all revolves around the letter Vav (ו). Yes, that simple, straight line that's also a Hebrew letter with a numerical value of six. The text states, "During the intermediate bles...
In the Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a companion work to the Zohar, that foundational text of Kabbalah, we find an intriguing connection between the maror – that bitter herb w...
The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, that mystical, poetic expansion of the Zohar, paints a picture of just that scene, a constant stream of souls seeking entry, seeking voice. I...
It all revolves around the story of Jonah. We know the story: he runs from God, gets swallowed by a whale (or a giant fish, depending on the version), and eventually repents and fu...
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...
That’s precisely what’s happening at the very beginning of Sefer Devarim, the Book of Deuteronomy. The text wastes no time diving right in. It says, "across the Jordan," and "in th...
It turns out, this isn't just good manners – it might be ancient wisdom! The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early Jewish legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, teaches ...
The ancient texts are full of fascinating details about these questions. to a passage from Sifrei Devarim, a legal commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, to explore some nuances of...
It all starts with the verse: "And this is the blessing..." Now, what does that seemingly simple phrase actually mean? The text offers a couple of intriguing interpretations. The f...
The Targum's version of (Numbers 23) reveals Bileam's inner strategy. When he looked at Israel, "he knew that strange worship was among them, and rejoiced in his heart." He spotted...
Rebuke not the wicked lest you make an enemy. Having thus spent all his money he went to another town. There a man asked a scribe to write a petition, offer- ding a small coin. The...
When God gave the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, the sages taught that He did not speak them into a void. Each commandment was connected to the covenant God had already made with...
(Psalm 119:89) declares, “Forever, Lord, Your word stands firm in the heavens.” But does this mean it doesn’t stand firm here, with us? Our sages grappled with this, finding an ans...
The Torah tells us Sarah saw Ishmael "playing" (Genesis 21:9), and it was enough for her to demand, in no uncertain terms, that Hagar and Ishmael be banished. But what exactly did ...
It seems that this feeling, envy, is as old as the hills – or at least as old as the stories in Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. Ou...
In Vayikra Rabbah 37, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) explores this idea through a fascinating lens: vows. Specifically, it looks at instances where individuals made...
Ben Sira, also known as Ecclesiasticus, is a book of wisdom literature, a treasure trove of insights into Jewish thought and practice, though it's not included in the Hebrew Bible'...
Ben Sira, in his wisdom, reminds us of the immense task Aaron undertook. He says, "And who, in his nobility, his heart, atoned for the children of Israel." Aaron atoned. Think abou...
The Book of Jubilees, an ancient Jewish text, offers us a glimpse into his extraordinary life. This book, considered scripture by some, expands on the biblical narrative, filling i...
The Book of Jubilees, a text bubbling with detail about the early days of humankind and covenants with God, offers a fascinating glimpse. In the 15th chapter, we find Abraham – sti...
Specifically, we're going to explore Chapter 15, which focuses on the covenant between God and Abraham. This is a foundational story, one that echoes through Jewish history and ide...
We're in the aftermath of a huge moment: God’s promise to Abraham. But it's not just any promise; it's a covenant. A sacred agreement. God tells Abraham, "My covenant shall I estab...
The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text from around the second century BCE, offers a glimpse into just that. It paints a picture of a world teeming with angels, a world where the ...
Like one wrong step and… well, you know. In the Book of Jubilees, we find this intense father-to-son talk that feels exactly like that—a guide to staying on that path. It’s like a ...
It’s a beautiful, almost intimate, scene from the life of Jacob, the patriarch who would become known as Israel. Specifically, we are looking at Chapter 22. Imagine old Jacob, his ...
We’re diving into a snippet from the Book of Jubilees. Now, the Book of Jubilees isn’t part of the canonical Hebrew Bible that most people know. Think of it as a fascinating, sligh...
The people are terrified. But Achior, the leader of the Ammonites, dares to speak truth to power. He warns Holofernes that the Israelites are protected by their God and cannot be d...
