906 related texts · Page 11 of 19
We all have. But what if those words had far more power than we imagined? What if they could actually… physically harm us? Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings and in...
Take reading from the Torah, for example. The verse we're looking at is from (Deuteronomy 29:2): "Moses summoned all Israel, and he said to them: You have seen everything that the ...
It's not just poetic flourish. According to Devarim Rabbah, there's a profound and multifaceted reason why Moses calls upon them as witnesses, as partners, as something more. Rabbi...
“An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed” (Exodus 3:2). ...
The Torah tells us, "Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord that He had sent him, and all the signs that He had charged him" (Exodus 4:28). Seems straightforward. But Shemot Ra...
We all know the story, but Shemot Rabbah, a classic collection of midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)im – interpretations and expansions – on the Book of Exodus, offers a fa...
Jewish tradition has some pretty strong opinions on that. And, spoiler alert: it doesn't end well. Shemot Rabbah, a classic collection of Midrash (interpretive stories) on the Book...
It begins with the verse, "This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2), spoken to Moses and Aaron. Why them? The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) asks, why did God speak t...
It’s a concept that’s wrestled with beautifully in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. The verse "I will sing to the Lord, for He is exal...
The story starts with a grumble. "The entire congregation of the children of Israel complained" (Exodus 16:2). They were wandering in the desert, fresh out of Egypt, and their port...
The passage begins by linking the manna, that miraculous bread from heaven, to a verse in Proverbs (9:5): "Come, partake of my bread, and drink of the wine I have mixed." What's th...
And the Shemot Rabbah, a classical collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, gives us some fascinating answers. "The Lord called to him from the mountain, sayin...
In this week's exploration, we turn to Shemot Rabbah 31, a beautiful midrash (rabbinic interpretation) on a seemingly simple verse in Exodus, to unpack this very idea. The verse in...
The ancient rabbis grappled with this, and in Shemot Rabbah (that's the Book of Exodus explained and expanded upon by the Rabbis) we find a fascinating exploration of this very ide...
The Torah portion of Terumah introduces us to Betzalel, the artisan chosen to construct the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. But where did he get all that skill? Shemot Rabbah, a classical...
We often admire great artists and inventors, attributing their brilliance to natural talent or relentless hard work. But what if there’s something more? What if God Himself plays a...
That, my friends, is a glimpse into the mystical world of Torah study as described in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a beautiful, poetic exploration of the Song of Songs. We’re diving into ...
That’s how I feel diving into the pages of Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of Rabbinic interpretations of the Song of Songs. Today, we're looking at a fascinating passage from s...
It turns out, our ancestors were asking these questions too. to a fascinating passage from Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Song of Songs. The ...
Our Rabbis certainly did. They grappled with this very question, especially when comparing the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. In Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the Rabbis delve into...
The text presents a debate between Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Ilai and other, unnamed Rabbis, focusing on the clarity of prophetic vision. Rabbi Yehuda uses the prophet Ezekiel as his ...
Our text from Vayikra Rabbah 5, a midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic collection expounding on the Book of Leviticus, grapples with just that question. It starts with a se...
The core debate boils down to this: Did the descendants of Noah, meaning all humanity before the giving of the Torah at Sinai, offer only burnt offerings, or did they also offer pe...
It all starts with the verse: “Take Aaron, and his sons with him, and the vestments, and the anointing oil, and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams, and the basket of un...
In the beautiful tapestry of Jewish tradition, the role of elders is absolutely fundamental. It’s a theme that echoes throughout our sacred texts. Vayikra Rabbah, specifically Vayi...
But the ancient Rabbis wrestled with this idea, and their insights are surprisingly relevant even today. The passage begins by quoting (Psalms 50:16): "But to the wicked one, God s...
“They heard that I sigh; there is no comforter for me; all my enemies heard of my misfortune, were glad because You acted. May You bring the day that You proclaimed, and they will ...
“He severed in his enflamed wrath all the horn of Israel; He retracted His right hand from before the enemy. He burned in Jacob like flaming fire, consuming all around” (Lamentatio...
It sounds radical, I know. According to some accounts, God bestowed immense honor upon Moses, gifting him dominion over the entire earth, the seas, the rivers – all the elements th...
The Book of Judith grapples with this very feeling. And in chapter 8, we find Judith, a courageous and deeply faithful widow, challenging the elders of her besieged city, Bethulia....
That’s the feeling that practically leaps off the page in the Book of Judith after the tyrant Holofernes is defeated. So, what happens after Judith, this incredible woman, saves he...
The angel turned back to Abraham. "Know from this moment that the Eternal One has chosen you. Be of good courage and use this authority, as far as I bid you, against him who slande...
The angels lifted Enoch onto their wings and carried him upward. The earth fell away beneath him. The air thinned. And then — the first heaven. They set him down on the clouds, and...
The tale goes like this: The archangel Michael himself descended, not in a flashy sports car, but in a chariot of the cherubim – those powerful, angelic beings. Can you imagine the...
They weren't just seeing the world; they were reading it like a sacred text. They saw more than just a landscape; they saw a mirror reflecting the destiny of their people. What did...
Jewish tradition wrestles with this question in fascinating ways. We're told, for instance, that God is fire, and His throne is fire. Clouds and fog surround Him, a visual reminder...
The Heikhalot (the heavenly palaces) Rabbati, a key text in the Heikhalot literature – a collection of mystical Jewish writings describing ascents to the divine throne – gives us a...
The Asarah Perakim LeRamchal, a foundational text attributed to the great Kabbalist Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (the Ramchal), dives deep into this very question. It speaks of four ...
It might sound a little out there, but ancient Jewish tradition offers some surprisingly specific guidance. It all revolves around Shabbat (the Sabbath), that precious day of rest ...
Conversion raises a tricky legal puzzle when it happens at the wrong time of year. Rabbi Shimon, quoted in the Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael (a halakhic midrash (rabbinic interpretive ...
The Hebrew word "nacham" appears in the Exodus narrative, and the Mekhilta pauses to clarify its meaning. While "nacham" can mean "to comfort" or "to regret" in other contexts, her...
Rebbi — Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi — told a parable about the Roman emperor Antoninus that illuminates why God personally guided Israel through the wilderness. Antoninus was presiding at ...
An analogy: A man was walking on the road leading his son before him when robbers came to snare him, whereupon he took him and placed him behind him, when a wolf came to snatch him...
Rabbi Elazar Hamodai looked at the twelve springs and seventy palm trees at Eilim and saw something far older than a desert oasis. He saw the blueprint of creation itself. When God...
When the Israelites grumbled in the wilderness about food, Moses and Aaron told them (Exodus 16:7): "And in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord." The Mekhilta de-Rabbi I...
It sounds like a simple thing, but when you're surrounded by endless sand, under a blazing sun, or a star-filled sky that all looks the same... well, you need a little divine help!...
Moses stood on Mount Sinai wrapped in cloud for six days before God spoke a single word to him. Why the silence? Rabbi Jose the Galilean said it was purification — six days to burn...
Chapter 9 They [the Israelites]--the entire congregation--came to the wilderness of Tzin in the first month, and the nation settled there, and Miriam died there and was buried ther...
