1,613 related texts · Page 34 of 34
But what if I told you there's a perspective, woven into ancient Jewish thought, that offers a slightly different angle?Now, midrash (מדרש) itself, broadly speaking, is a way of in...
It's like we're trying to soften the blow, to create a little distance between the person and the negative action. Well, it turns out this isn't just a quirk of human interaction; ...
It’s more than just a pretty arc of color after the rain, especially when we look at it through the lens of ancient Jewish thought. The Torah tells us that after the flood, God set...
Take the covenant God makes with Abraham in Genesis 15. It's a big moment. God promises Abraham this whole huge swathe of land for his descendants. But then it gets…well, geographi...
The Torah, in its often subtle way, touches upon this very question. Our passage focuses on a seemingly small detail in the story of Sarah and Hagar. You remember the story. Sarah,...
Jewish tradition certainly understands that feeling. And it can be pretty direct about it, too. Take this passage from The Midrash of Philo. Now, Philo of Alexandria, he was a fasc...
That’s certainly true when we delve into the deeper interpretations of brit milah, the covenant of circumcision. We all know the physical act: the circumcision of the male child, a...
Our ancestor Abraham knew that feeling well. We find him in a fascinating moment in the Midrash of Philo, grappling with hope, faith, and the very definition of a "blessing." Philo...
And the Lord appeared unto him by the terebinths of Mamre (Gen. 18:1) May it please our master to teach us: How many benedictions must a man pray each day? Thus do our masters teac...
And the Lord remembered Sarah, as he had said (Gen. 21:1). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: God is not a man that He should lie; neither the son of man, that H...
And he sent Judah before him (Gen. 46:28). Jacob sent Judah before him to establish an academy wherein he might teach the Torah as he had previously done for the tribes. You know t...
And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanite (Exod. 13:5). (Scripture mentions) five nations though there were (in fact) seven nations.17Cf. Mekhil...
And the Lord went before them by day (Exod. 13:21). Has it not already been said: Do not I fill heaven and earth? (Jer. 23:25), and also: The earth is full of His glory (Isa. 6:3)?...
If thou lend money to any of My people (Exod. 22:24). The prophet Jeremiah said: Refuse silver shall men call them (Jer. 6:30). You find that when Israel was exiled from Jerusalem,...
When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel (Exod. 30:12). R. Judah said in the name of R. Samuel the son of Nahman: This may be compared to a king who has many silk garment...
And the Lord said unto Moses: “Write thou these words, for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel” (Exod. 34:27). Scripture states elsewher...
For example, Bezalel, who built the ark, was extolled before the Holy One, blessed be He, and the angels. He was praised in the upper regions and in the terrestrial regions, as it ...
The tabernacle of the testimony (Exod. 38:21). This refers the Torah in which they labored. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Because of the Torah and the sacrifices, I will rescu...
(Lev. 7:12:) “If he offers it for a thanksgiving, and he shall sacrifice.” See how the Holy One, blessed be He, forgives the sins of Israel. See what did they offer to the Holy One...
Another interpretation (of Lev. 19:23), “When you come into the land.” This text is related (to Ps. 105:44-45), “He gave them the lands of nations […]. In order that they might kee...
(Numb. 2:2:) “Each with his standard.” This text is related (to Deut. 32:10), “He found him (i.e., Jacob) in a desert land.” [It was] a great find, [when] the Holy One, blessed be ...
(Numb. 21:17:) “Then Israel sang.” For what reason is Moses not mentioned there?136Numb. R. 19:26. For the reason that he was being punished because of the waters; and no person pr...
(Numb. 25:11) “Phinehas ben Elazar […].” What reason did the Holy One, blessed be He, have for tracing the lineage of Phinehas after this act (of slaying Zimri in Numb. 25:8)?1Numb...
(Numb. 30:3:) “When someone makes a vow (neder) to the Lord.” Let our master instruct us: How are konamot (i.e., vows of abstinence) and vows (nedarim)? Thus have our masters taugh...
It is written (in Josh. 7:19), “Then Joshua said unto Achan, ‘My son, please give glory [to the Lord God of Israel and make a confession to Him; please tell me what you have done, ...
(Deut. 16:18:) “You shall appoint [judges and law officers] for yourselves”; and not for the peoples of the world. Another interpretation (of Deut. 16:18), “You shall appoint [judg...
“When a camp goes out against your enemies, you shall beware of everything evil” (Devarim 23:10). There should be no levity among you so that you do not incur any liability. From w...
R. Levi opened [his discourse] (with Ps. 9:6), “You have rebuked the nations; you have destroyed the wicked one”: “You have rebuked the nations.” This refers to Amalek, of which it...
And Moshe went and spoke these words to all of Israel: The expression "went" is nothing but [an indication of] rebuke, as it is stated (Psalms 46:9), "Go and see the wonders of God...
