906 related texts · Page 10 of 19
And the Jewish tradition has some pretty incredible answers. According to the Legends of the Jews, when the Jews returned to Jerusalem under Ezra's leadership to rebuild the Temple...
Moses did not die in any normal sense. According to Josephus, writing in the first century CE, the greatest prophet who ever lived simply vanished—swallowed by a cloud on a mountai...
Jewish tradition paints a picture far more intense and overwhelming than we might imagine. The idea that the Torah was given through a single voice? Well, that's just the beginning...
At Sinai, the Israelites experienced the overwhelming presence of HaShem. But what did they actually see? Moses, in his wisdom, warns the Israelites, “And guard your souls very muc...
(Exodus 12:6) "And it shall be to you for a keeping": Why does the taking of the Pesach (Passover) precede its slaughtering by four days? R. Matia b. Charash says: It is written (E...
"and I will be honored through Pharaoh": Scripture here apprises us that when the L–rd exacts punishment of the nations, His name is aggrandized in the world, as it is written (Isa...
The Holy One Blessed be He heals all who enter the world, viz. (Exodus 15:26) "for I am the L–rd who heals you", (Jeremiah 17:14) "Heal me, O L–rd, and I will be healed. Save me, a...
An analogy: A dove, fleeing a hawk, enters a king's palace, whereupon the king opens the eastern window for her, whence she escapes. The hawk, following, the king closes all the wi...
And thus do you find with the men of Sodom, that with what they vaunted themselves before Him, He exacted punishment of them. As it is written (Iyyov 28:5-8) "A land from which bre...
"the L–rd is a man of war': What is the intent of this? Because He revealed Himself at the sea as a hero waging war—"The L–rd is a man of war"—and He revealed Himself at Sinai as a...
(The water) covered the firmament over them and darkened the stars over them, viz. (Ezekiel 32:8) "All the lights of the heavens I will darken above you, and I will bring darkness ...
Variantly: Who is like You ("ba'eilim") among those who call themselves gods? Pharaoh called himself a god, viz. (Ezekiel 29:3) "Mine is my river (the Nile), and I have made it." A...
(Exodus 16:28) "And the L–rd said to Moses: How long will you refuse to keep, etc.": R. Yehoshua says: The Holy One Blessed be He said to Moses: Moses, say to Israel: I took you ou...
(Exodus 19:20) "And the L–rd descended upon Mount Sinai": I might think that the "Glory" itself descended on Mount Sinai. It is, therefore, written (Ibid. 20:19) "that from the hea...
The prophet Daniel had such a dream. It's recorded in the Book of Daniel, and it's a vision that’s puzzled and inspired readers for centuries. "As I looked on," Daniel recounts, "t...
We all know the story: a bush ablaze, yet unconsumed. God's voice booming forth, commissioning Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. But some traditions suggest there was more...
Jewish tradition tells us that when someone is truly immersed in Torah study, something extraordinary happens. Take the story of Rabbi Yonathan ben Uziel. It’s said that when he de...
We find him in the book of Exodus (3:1-6), a shepherd tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, a priest in Midian. One ordinary day, Moses leads the sheep to Horeb, also kno...
And, believe it or not, the Book of Psalms, or Tehillim in Hebrew, tackles this very idea! Our journey begins with Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the...
Like one minute it's love and compassion, and the next... well, fire and brimstone? That tension, that push-and-pull between divine mercy and divine judgment, is something Jewish t...
In Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Psalms, Psalm 27, "The Lord is my light and my salvation," becomes a springboard for exploring just that. But...
We're looking at Midrash Tehillim 45, and it all starts with lilies. The verse in question is (Psalm 45:1): "To the conductor over the white lilies, a wise song of friendship." But...
That’s kind of the idea behind Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary). Midrash, if you're not familiar, is this incredible way of interpreting Jewish texts, digging deep to unc...
The Pesikta DeRav Kahana, a collection of Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic teachings, offers a fascinating insight into this very question. It all starts with a verse f...
Sounds daunting. Well, according to Sifrei Bamidbar (Numbers), Moses himself had a little trouble with it! In (Numbers 8:4), we read, "And this was the work of the menorah… accordi...
That feeling, that intense pressure, isn't new. Moses, the great leader of the Israelites, felt it too. And the Torah, in its unflinching honesty, doesn't shy away from showing us ...
It might seem obvious, but the Torah actually gives us some pretty profound insights into this very thing. We find in Sifrei Bamidbar, a midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)i...
Moments where the choices seem equally appealing, or equally daunting. This week, in Sifrei Devarim 53, we find a powerful exploration of just that – the choices we face and the il...
The Hebrew Bible says Moses came to "the mountain of God" at Horeb (Exodus 3:1). Targum Onkelos specifies: "the mountain on which the Glory of God was revealed." The mountain is no...
The Hebrew Bible records Moses making the most audacious request in Scripture: "Show me Your glory" (Exodus 33:18). Targum Onkelos renders the response with his most careful theolo...
The Hebrew Bible promises: "A prophet from your midst, of your brethren, like me, will God establish for you" (Deuteronomy 18:15). Targum Onkelos translates this verse without alte...
Pirkei Avot, also known as "Ethics of the Fathers," is one of the most widely studied texts in all of Jewish literature — and one of the most unusual tractates in the Talmud. Unlik...
Furthermore, said R. Levi b. Chama, in the name of Resh Lakish : "What is meant by the passage (Ex. 24:12) And I will give thee the tablets of stone, with the law and the Commandme...
Moses stood apart from every other prophet who ever lived. The rabbis taught that while other prophets saw God through clouded glass, Moses alone saw through a clear lens — an unob...
Not just any mountain, but Mount Sinai itself, the very place where God met Moses. It’s a mind-bending image, isn't it? That's how some of our tradition describes the moment of rev...
Before the sun, the moon, the stars... before anything? Jewish tradition has some pretty mind-bending answers, and one of the most fascinating involves the Torah. Not just the one ...
This week, we're diving into a powerful message about gratitude, using the ancient text of Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically Bamidbar Rabbah 1. It all starts with a verse: “The Lord sp...
But what if the answer wasn’t a cold, scientific explanation, but a beautiful, poetic description hidden within our sacred texts? The Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teac...
The ancient rabbis grappled with that feeling too, especially when things were going well for the Israelites. Take the story in Bamidbar Rabbah 12, which begins with a single, load...
These are the kinds of questions that ripple through the ancient texts. In Bamidbar Rabbah, we find a fascinating exploration of the verse, "He heard the Voice speaking with him" (...
The Book of Bamidbar Rabbah (Numbers Rabbah), in its 15th section, delves into just that, using the seemingly simple instruction of crafting silver trumpets as a springboard. "Craf...
The Book of Numbers, Bamidbar in Hebrew, picks up the story after the tumultuous events at Sinai. In Bamidbar Rabbah 15, a Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), or interpreti...
It’s a tale of ambition, delusion, and a very dangerous offering. The scene is set: Moses, leading the Israelites. And then comes Koraḥ, a Levite, challenging Moses’s leadership, s...
Why the darkness? The passage opens by connecting God’s encounters with Bilam, the non-Israelite prophet, specifically noting that God "came to Bilam at night." This links back to ...
Jewish tradition grapples with this very idea – the seeming imbalance between what we offer God and what God offers us. The passage in Bamidbar Rabbah 21, a collection of rabbinic ...
The story of Cain and Abel, as explored in Bereshit Rabbah, the ancient rabbinic commentary on Genesis, offers some pretty profound insights. We all know the basic story: Cain and ...
It's more than just a colorful arc in the sky. In fact, according to Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of Rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, the rainbow holds pro...
The Torah is brimming with them, and Jewish tradition loves to unpack their layers of meaning. Take the dream of the chief butler in the Joseph story. In (Genesis 40:9), he recount...
