1,879 related texts · 4 related myths · Page 4 of 40
A well in the Negev. Seven ewe lambs set apart. In Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 21:32), the Aramaic preserves the ancient name of the place, Beira de-Sheva, the Well of the S...
After years of infertility, the Torah says God remembered Rachel (Genesis 30:22). The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan expands the verb. The remembrance of Rachel came before the Lord, and t...
This is one of the most searching moments in the Targum. After interpreting the dream, Joseph adds a request. The Aramaic frames it with a quiet rebuke: Joseph, leaving his higher ...
The ancestral blessings were not universally loved. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan includes a striking aside in Joseph's final benediction. "The blessings of thy father be added to the ble...
The first public assembly ends not in riot but in worship. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves the triple movement: the people believed, and heard that the Lord had remembered the son...
Moses's final argument turned to the deepest court of appeal in the Jewish tradition: the merit of the avot, the patriarchs. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves it precisely: "Remembe...
(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...
Blessings is often remembered as straightforward – good health, wealth, maybe a loving family. But what if there's a deeper layer to unpack? What if the blessings themselves aren’t...
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...
Book of Jubilees turns to Abram — Covenant of Abraham. The scene: Abram, having just received divine instructions, is at the altar. He’s not just going through the motions. This is...
There are moments in the Torah where the sky seems to split open and a promise falls through. Chapter 15 of Genesis is one of them. In it, God binds Himself to Abraham with a coven...
Book of Jubilees turns to The Covenant Sealed With Isaac Not Ishmael. So what does Abraham do? Does he sit around and wait? Nope. He gets to work. "And Abraham did according as God...
Book of Jubilees turns to Waters of Noah and the Covenant. A celestial court, filled with angels – not just any angels, but the angels of the presence and the angels of sanctificat...
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 spiritual GPS, handed down through gener...
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. Old Jacob, his heart ov...
When we look at texts like the Book of Jubilees, we see just how far that went. The Book of Jubilees, considered scripture in some traditions, particularly Ethiopian, offers a uniq...
Book of Jubilees turns to Ancient Agricultural Tithes Ordained in Jubilees. The Book of Jubilees isn’t part of the canonical Hebrew Bible that most people know. It’s an ancient Jew...
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...
Okay, technically Judith did lay a hand on him… and a sword. Let's rewind. And this moment, the climax, is almost too good to be true. "Her sandals ravished his eyes; her beauty to...
It's about the dedication, the artistry, the sheer audacity of the project. Take, for instance, the story told in the Letter of Aristeas. Can you imagine? He was constantly checkin...
I Maccabees, a historical book not included in the Hebrew Bible but preserved as ancient Jewish literature, opens with a bang, dropping us right into the aftermath of Alexander’s r...
The Book of Maccabees I turns to Lysias Remembered. The king, in the hundred and forty-seventh year of his reign, wasn't hanging around for the dirty work himself. He took half his...
Sometimes, history throws us these little gems that remind us And that's exactly what we find in the Book of Maccabees. The Book of Maccabees I, a historical text not included in t...
Our story begins after the Babylonian exile. Nehemiah, a key figure in rebuilding Jerusalem, calls a certain location Hefter, declaring it holy. But here's the twist: the text imme...
The story continues, of course! And Chapter 88 of the Book of Jasher to see what happened as the Israelites finally entered the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua. The Bo...
The opening columns of the Community Rule describe a yearly covenant renewal ceremony that reads like a cross between a monastic initiation and an ancient Israelite oath of allegia...
From the Exodus to the destruction of the First Temple, Israel was exiled eight times. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle translated by Moses...
It's a story about covenants, wells, and the surprising ways God's presence is revealed in the world. After living among the Philistines for 26 years, Abraham moves near Hebron. So...
Even the great Abraham, our father Abraham, wrestled with that. According to the sages, God wasn't entirely happy with him. Why? Because Abraham, for all his legendary hospitality ...
Abraham knew that feeling well. Before he was Avraham Avinu, our father Abraham, before the brit bein ha-betarim, the covenant of the pieces, he was just a man with a promise and a...
The Legends of the Jews, that incredible collection compiled by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, gives us a glimpse into the inner lives of the patriarchs and matriarchs. Isaac, blessed with ...
Jacob, nearing the end of his life in Egypt, makes a request of Joseph: to be buried in the ancestral land, the land of Canaan. But Jacob wasn't content with just a promise. He wan...
Our story begins with messengers. The messengers of Agnias, to be precise, hurrying back from Kittim (often associated with Cyprus or sometimes Rome) with good news. They carry the...
The ancient Israelites, fresh out of Egypt, thought they had that… but then Amalek came along. The story of Amalek is more than just a battle; it's a clash between faith and doubt,...
Legends of the Jews turns to Moses Read the Entire Torah Aloud Before the Covenant. Before that earth-shattering covenant, before the words were etched in stone, Moses, our teacher...
For Elisheba, the joy is amplified fivefold! As Ginzberg recounts in Legends of the Jews, luck seems to be showering blessings specifically on her. Her husband, Aaron, is the High ...
Yet, even he wasn't perfect. The story goes that when envoys from Babylon came to visit, Hezekiah made some… questionable choices. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of t...
Jehoiachin was a king of Judah, and not a particularly lucky one, it seems. He inherited the throne at a turbulent time, with the Babylonian empire breathing down Jerusalem's neck....
That was Jehoiachin's fate. He was taken into exile by Nebuchadnezzar, along with members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court. Now, the Sanhedrin were seriously worried. With J...
He was, to put it mildly, a key player in a pretty dark chapter of Jewish history. As Nebuchadnezzar's captain of the guard, he was instrumental in the destruction of the First Tem...
“the sound of their grief pierced to the very heavens.” It paints a vivid picture of despair. Where is Moses, their leader, during all this? He’s gone to plead with the Avot, the P...
It’s a universal feeling, and it echoes through the ages, even finding its voice in the ancient stories of our people. The scene: The Jewish people are in exile, far from their bel...
Legends of the Jews turns to Jeremiah Returns to Egypt and Preaches to Exiles There. Well, according to some fascinating stories preserved in Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, the st...
