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When God sent quail to feed the Israelites in the wilderness, the Mekhilta raises a practical question that reveals something remarkable about divine generosity. One might assume t...
Numbers 11 tells the story of Israel complaining about food in the wilderness. The Targum Jonathan adds a graven image in the camp of Dan, a wind that nearly destroyed the world, a...
It’s a theme that pops up again and again, even in ancient stories. Take Moses, for example. He's tasked with appointing elders and bringing them to the Tabernacle to receive the R...
That’s the feeling I get when I read about the prophets Eldad and Medad. Their story, as retold in Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, is a fascinating little corner of Jewish propheti...
There's a fascinating little story tucked away in Legends of the Jews that gives us a glimpse into the lives of two lesser-known prophets, Eldad and Medad. Now, these weren't just ...
When they went out of Egypt, Moses said ‘and the cloud of God was on them by day’ (Numbers 10:34); and when they went out of Jerusalem, Jeremiah said ‘[You have screened Yourself o...
R. Yehudah says: It is not written "the pupil of the eye, but "the pupil of His eye"—the "eye" of the Holy One, as it were. Similarly, (Malachi 1:13) "And you say (of an offering) ...
The Talmud tells us that the menorah was made of a single piece of gold. But how did Moses, blessed be he, actually make it? The story goes that when God commanded Moses to create ...
Seems straightforward. Not so fast. God wanted the selection to happen at the Tabernacle – the Mishkan, that portable sanctuary that was the heart of their spiritual lives. The ide...
The Torah gives us a fascinating glimpse into this when Moses, the ultimate leader, faces the challenge of delegation. Imagine: The Israelites are in the desert, a vast multitude, ...
Ever have one of those moments where you hear something so earth-shattering, so potentially disruptive, that your first instinct is... well, to shut it down? To make it go away? Th...
No wonder he was feeling the pressure! In the book of Bamidbar (Numbers), specifically chapter 11, verse 16, we find a fascinating solution to Moses’ burden, and it reveals somethi...
It’s a question the rabbis grappled with centuries ago, and their insights, drawn from the Torah itself, are surprisingly relevant today. We find a fascinating discussion in Bamidb...
to a story from Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers, that explores just this. The story goes that God tells Moses to gather seventy men to he...
To teach us that as one metes it out to others, so is it meted out to him. Miriam waited a short time for Moses, viz. (Ibid. 2:4) "And his sister stood from afar to know what would...
(Exodus, Ibid. 21) "And the L–rd went before them by day": We are hereby taught that as one metes it out to others, so is it meted out to him. Abraham accompanied the ministering a...
Moses, the parting of the waters... but what about the Egyptian side of things? It wasn't just a failed chase; it was a full-blown divine smackdown. Imagine this: the Egyptians, so...
We’re talking about the pillar of cloud, that miraculous manifestation that guided them through the wilderness. But the story, as always, is richer than just a simple divine GPS. T...
Seems like a prime opportunity for spiritual growth. But Sifrei Bamidbar, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Numbers, pulls no punches. It points out a rather gla...
Even Moses, our great leader, faced such dilemmas, and the stories of how he navigated them are They reveal not just his wisdom, but also a glimpse into the Divine hand at play in ...
But what about everyone else? Well, Sifrei Devarim 311 sheds some light. It interprets the verse about consulting "your elders, and they shall say it to you" (Deuteronomy 32:7) as ...
In Bamidbar Rabbah – that’s a collection of rabbinic teachings connected to the Book of Numbers – there's a fascinating passage about how God commanded Moses to gather seventy men....
Forget the sanitized Sunday school version. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), that incredible collection of rabbinic interpretations, offers a glimpse into a world of...
When God sent quail to the Israelites in the wilderness, the Torah says "it covered the camp" (Exodus 16:13). The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael asked the obvious question: covered it t...
We often think of tzedakah, usually translated as charity, as giving money to the poor. But what if it's something far more profound? The Sifrei Devarim, a legal midrash on the Boo...
The Hebrew Bible mentions a cloud over the Tabernacle. The Targum Jonathan turns it into a sentient navigation system—a pillar of divine fire and glory that dictated every movement...
“He drew His bow like an enemy; His right hand stood as an adversary, and he killed all delights of the eye. In the tent of the daughter of Zion, He poured out His fury like fire” ...
We often picture Moses as this towering figure, the man who spoke to God face-to-face and led an entire nation to freedom. But even the greatest leaders have moments of profound vu...
It wasn't always straightforward, and the process of selection was often just as important as the people chosen. In the vast tapestry of Jewish tradition, choosing leaders was a sa...
The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a companion to the Zohar, that mystical masterpiece of Kabbalah, suggests exactly that. In its 75th Tikkun, it unveils a hidden dimension wit...
Adam, the first human, is sitting there, maybe a little anxious. He's thinking about that serpent, the one who tricked him. "Maybe," he worries, "that snake will come back tonight ...
The Israelites are wandering in the desert, fresh from their miraculous escape from Egypt. They’re under divine protection. A pillar of cloud surrounds their camp, shielding them. ...
Jewish tradition teaches us that this feeling might be more than just a lucky coincidence. It might be the very presence of the Divine. Shemot Rabbah, a classic compilation of rabb...
The scene: the Israelites are in the desert, and something unusual is happening. Two men, Eldad and Medad, are prophesying within the camp (Bamidbar/(Numbers 11:2)7). A "youth" run...
Today, let’s dive into a fascinating story from the book of Bamidbar (Numbers), specifically chapter 12, verse 10, and explore the moment Miriam, Moses' sister, is struck with tzar...
Story of Eldad the Danite, Narrative B In the name of the LORD God of Israel, blessed be His name, of our God the King, King of kings, Who chose Israel from among all nations and g...
Rabbi Akiva taught that there were three things Moses could not visualize on his own, no matter how great his prophetic power. God had to physically point them out to him. The firs...
Rabbi Eliezer preserves a stunning exchange between God and Moses at the shore of the Red Sea. The Israelites were trapped — the sea raging before them, the Egyptian army closing b...
The Mekhilta notices something unusual about the verse "And Moses made Israel journey from the Red Sea" (Exodus 15:22). Rabbi Yehoshua points out that this particular journey was i...
The Mekhilta takes a detour from the Exodus narrative to establish a principle about prayer: the prayers of the righteous are short. Not flowery. Not elaborate. Short. The proof co...
The Mekhilta poses a question about the hierarchy of respect: how much honor should a person show to a friend? The answer comes from one of the most revealing moments between Moses...
See [Hen], God is beyond reach in His power (Job 36:22): Rav Berakhiah said, "It is in the Greek language [as hen means one]. It is as you say, One is our God: Exalted in His power...
R. Yochanan said: Jonah went (on that voyage) only to cast himself into the sea, as it is written (Jonah 1:12) "And he said to them: Lift me up and cast me into the sea." All this ...
And thus do you find with Baruch the soon of Neriah, who complained before the L–rd, (Ibid. 45:3) "You (Baruch) say: Woe unto me, the L–rd has added grief to my pain!" (You say:) W...
(Ibid.) "And Moses entered into the mist": This (his closeness to the L–rd) was a function of his humility, viz. (Numbers 12:3) "And the man Moses was extremely humble, etc." Scrip...
The most detailed account of the lost tribes of Israel comes from Eldad the Danite, a traveler whose report is preserved in the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chron...
It’s easy to picture Moses as the ultimate authority figure, standing atop Mount Sinai. But what about the practicalities of his rule? The elders certainly held a position of respe...
You probably know Miriam as a prophetess, a singer, a leader. But she was also human, and like all of us, she wasn't perfect. There's a story in Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg) abou...
