906 related texts · Page 16 of 19
Jewish tradition has a powerful and beautiful answer: the Ruah ha-Kodesh, the Holy Spirit. According to tradition, before the Throne of Glory, before angels, before even the stars ...
We, with our messy emotions and tear-streaked faces, tend to project a lot onto the Divine. But Jewish tradition actually gives us some incredibly vivid, even surreal, images of Go...
Jewish tradition understands that feeling, and even gives it a name: fiery waves. These aren't just any ordinary ocean waves, mind you. These are the ones, we're told in the Talmud...
We’re talking about the hayyot (חַיּוֹת), the “living creatures,” also sometimes called the heavenly creatures. These aren't your average angels. According to the lore, they're som...
They weren't just any ordinary slabs of rock. According to Jewish tradition, they were something truly extraordinary, imbued with a divine spark. The Zohar, that foundational text ...
Remember the scene: Moses, up on Mount Sinai, receiving the very word of God, etched onto stone tablets. And then… disaster. The Israelites, impatient and faithless, melt down thei...
The story of Moses on Mount Sinai offers a profound glimpse into this mystery, showing us not just what to pray, but how. The Book of Exodus tells us that Moses ascended Mount Sina...
That’s the feeling this ancient story evokes. Imagine Jerusalem, poised on the brink of annihilation. God, in his wrath, sends an angel to destroy it. Can you picture it? A city ab...
Forget fig leaves – the story is far more dazzling than that! According to tradition, before the infamous bite of the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve weren't just naked, they were cl...
We all know the basics: Sodom is doomed, Lot and his family are warned to flee, and they're given one crucial instruction: don't look back! But Lot's wife… she just couldn't resist...
We find ourselves with the Israelites in the desert. Moses, their leader, has ascended Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, the divine law, from God. Days turn into weeks. Down below,...
It’s one of those enduring mysteries that captures the imagination. They were carried away, prisoners in their own land, and exiled beyond the mysterious river Sambatyon. But what ...
But Jewish tradition speaks of just such a place: the city of Luz. Imagine a city whose histories are meticulously kept, filled with all the details of life and learning, spanning ...
The Jewish tradition has a lot to say about the Olam Ha-Ba, the World to Come. And some of it might surprise you. One image, found in Eliyahu Rabbah, paints a pretty cozy picture. ...
Jewish tradition is rich with imagery of the End of Days, and one particularly potent symbol keeps popping up: a gate. Not just any gate, but the Golden Gate of Jerusalem. Now, Jer...
Turns out, it does! And like any good friend, it’s got some warnings mixed in with the… well, potential for celebration. This all comes to light in a fascinating passage from Midra...
It’s not always what you think. Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers a glimpse into this very question, and it's wild. The pass...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletic interpretations of the Book of Psalms, uses just that image to illuminate the fate of the wicked. In Midrash Tehillim 68, we find a powe...
Today, let's look at a passage from Midrash Tehillim, specifically Midrash Tehillim 78, which grapples with one of the most tragic moments in the Book of Leviticus: the death of Na...
The book of Psalms, Tehillim, offers glimpses, poetic refrains that hint at the immense creative power at play. Psalm 104, in particular, paints a vivid picture: "The deep clothes ...
The story of Joseph in Egypt resonates so deeply because it touches on this universal human experience. And Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book o...
The ancient wisdom of Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, explores just this idea, using Psalm 119 as a springboard. "With all my heart I have ...
It wasn't just about getting a list of rules. According to Midrash Tehillim, it was a moment when the very voice of God became audible to humankind, a unique event in all of creati...
We all know the basic outline – wickedness, angels, fire and brimstone – but some of the details tucked away in Jewish tradition add layers of complexity and, frankly, a lot of hea...
We find him, as Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (Chapter 40) tells us, leading his flock. Not just anywhere, mind you, but all the way to Horeb. That's right, Mount Sinai, also known as Hor...
The Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating and somewhat enigmatic work of aggadic literature, offers a glimpse into that pivotal moment. It paints a picture of the Torah's power, li...
Talk about pressure! So, what do you do when you're stuck between a relentless enemy and a seemingly impassable sea? That's exactly the question Moses puts to the Holy One, blessed...
We all know the story of the Exodus, of course. Moses, the pillar of cloud, the parting waters… But who was brave enough to actually take the first step into the unknown? According...
The scene is set: Saul, the first king of Israel, is preparing for battle against the Amalekites. This wasn't just any battle. The Amalekites, as we read elsewhere in Torah, held a...
It wasn't exactly a quiet retreat for the Israelites down below, that's for sure! According to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of stories and interpretations, thin...
It's a story of intense longing, divine protection, and a glimpse into the unknowable. Imagine Moses, up on Mount Sinai. He's already had quite the encounter with the Almighty, rec...
We read the story every Passover, we sing the songs, but sometimes the sheer horror of it can get lost in the ritual. Rabbi Akiva, a towering figure in Jewish tradition, pulls no p...
It’s a story richer than you might think, and it all starts as the Israelites journeyed from Elim. Imagine the scene: the newly freed Israelites, fresh from the miracle of the Red ...
Our ancestors certainly did. Today we're diving into a fascinating story from Sifrei Bamidbar, a legal commentary on the Book of Numbers, that grapples with just that feeling of ex...
I'm not talking about Miriam's tambourine (though that's definitely part of it!). I'm talking about something a little more...official. The trumpets. The Book of Numbers – Bamidbar...
It seems the Israelites did just that after their exodus from Egypt. In the book of Bamidbar (Numbers), chapter 11, verse 5, we hear them complaining, "We remember the fish that we...
Moses certainly did. In the Book of Numbers – Bamidbar in Hebrew – we find him at a breaking point. The Israelites are complaining, constantly. He’s exhausted. He cries out to God,...
The Israelites, fresh out of Egypt and wandering in the desert, definitely knew that feeling. We find ourselves in Bamidbar (Numbers), specifically chapter 11, verse 18. The people...
It wasn't just about following rules; it was about timing, intention, and connecting with something far greater than ourselves. Our journey begins with a verse from Bamidbar (Numbe...
But sometimes, digging into those nitty-gritty bits reveals surprising insights about how our ancestors thought about connecting with the Divine. Let's take a peek into a passage f...
It's a passage that sparks some interesting questions, and the ancient commentary, Sifrei Bamidbar, dives right in. "And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying: Take the revenge of the ch...
Our source today is Sifrei Devarim 12, a section of the Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)im on the Book of Deuteronomy. It paints a r...
It's all about Moses and Joshua, right before Moses' passing and Joshua's taking the reins. The text dives into the verse, "And charge (tzav) Joshua." Now, this isn't just a simple...
The passage in question revolves around a moment of intense frustration, recorded in the Book of Numbers (Bamidbar 11:22). The Israelites, fresh out of Egypt, are complaining. They...
The ancient text, Sifrei Devarim, in its commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, touches on this very human experience, this potential for straying. "And you go astray," it says. Bu...
Sifrei Devarim, a part of Jewish legal literature, uses that very image to kick off a powerful message about Torah study. It paints a picture of two people walking a mil (a unit of...
That feeling, that pervasive sense of collective responsibility, echoes powerfully in a passage from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronom...
Our tradition knows that feeling well. It speaks of it often. But even in that desolation, there's a promise of protection, a hint of awakening. Sifrei Devarim 314, a passage withi...
