838 related texts · 4 related myths · Page 15 of 18
Abraham has no interest in Ephron's performance. In Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 23:13), the patriarch addresses Ephron before the people of the land, the witnesses must hear...
The mountain trembled because God Himself had come down upon it. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan renders the moment with startling directness: the Lord revealed Himself on Mount Sinai, ...
Before the Ten Words were spoken, Moses did something remarkable, he spoke back to God. "The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai," he said, "because You Yourself instructed us, sa...
The Targum on (Exodus 24:16) preserves a detail that the plain text rushes past. The glory of the Lord's Shekhinah rested on Mount Sinai, and the Cloud of Glory covered it for six ...
Shemot Rabbah turns to God's Existence. It gets even more interesting when we consider the world around us. According to tradition, everything God created, He created as a pair. He...
Shemot Rabbah turns to The Light Of The Torah. Think about the very beginning. "Let there be light," God said in (Genesis 1:3). But what was that light? Some say it wasn't just any...
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 ...
Midrash Vayikra Rabbah turns to The Changing Torah. It’s a mind-bending thought, isn’t it? For so many, the Torah – with its 613 mitzvot (commandments) and timeless stories – is th...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Nahshon in Battle. Chapter 2 of Bamidbar (Numbers), starts with this: "Those who encamp to the east, the banner of the camp of Judah, according to their ho...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Seeds of Redemption Hidden in Divine Abandonment. The passage starts with a quote from (osea 2:1), a verse brimming with transformation: "It will be that i...
It’s a story of sin, substitution, and…redemption. Originally, get this, the b’chorim, the firstborn sons, held a special spiritual role. They were designated to perform sacred ser...
The ones that make you tilt your head and ask, "Wait, what? (Numbers 3:46) tells us about redeeming the 273 firstborn Israelites who were "over and above the number of Levites." Ok...
It’s a midrash, a rabbinic interpretation, on a verse from the Book of Numbers – Bamidbar in Hebrew, which gives the whole book its name. The verse in question mentions "the tribe ...
Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically chapter 7, gives us a fascinating peek into their thinking. It uses a series of comparisons to illustrate God's, well, "royal" attributes, if you will...
A fascinating, and frankly, a little unsettling, passage from Bamidbar Rabbah 9 that tackles this very idea, exploring the consequences of hidden sins, specifically adultery, and h...
The verse sets the scene: "The man shall bring his wife to the priest, and he shall bring her offering on her behalf, one-tenth of an ephah of barley flour; he shall not pour oil u...
What does it all mean? , drawing on the tradition of Jewish tradition to unravel this mystery. The Torah tells us, "The priest shall write these curses in a scroll, and erase it in...
Protected, in ancient times. The passage begins with a verse from (Numbers 6:27): “And they shall place My name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.” So, what does i...
Bamidbar Rabbah 12, a section of the classic midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) text, wrestles with this very question, using the construction of the Tabernacle – the mis...
It wasn't just a matter of unfolding some tents and calling it a day. The Torah tells us, in (Exodus 40:17), that it was "in the first month during the second year, on the first of...
It’s a story rich with symbolism, divine presence, and, In Bamidbar Rabbah, 13, it all began on the 23rd of Adar, and culminated on the first of Nisan. Rabbi Yosei tells us that fo...
The Torah portion Naso, particularly in Bamidbar Rabbah 13, explores this very concept, using the offerings of the princes as a springboard. It's a fascinating exploration of Israe...
It's like peeling back the layers of an onion – the deeper you go, the more you discover. Bamidbar Rabbah 14, a section of the Bamidbar Rabbah, which itself is a Midrash, a collect...
The verse Now, three tribes were left to offer: Dan, Asher, and Naphtali. So, why Dan first? The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) suggests it's all about Jacob's blessing...
It might seem like a minor detail in the Book of Numbers, but Jewish tradition finds profound meaning in every nuance of the Torah. "On the twelfth day, prince of the children of N...
"Craft for you." (Numbers 10:2) It's all about the personal nature of leadership and the instruments that come with it. "Craft for you," the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commenta...
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 like a secret code, hinting at deeper meanings. Take this verse from (Numbers 11:16): "Gather to Me seventy men [ish]..." Why ish, and not the more common Hebrew word for men,...
Moses knew the feeling. Leading the Israelites through the desert? No small feat! And it seems even he needed a little help. We find ourselves in Bamidbar Rabbah 15, a section of t...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Joshua in Joseph's Time. Remember that? Moses sends out twelve spies to scout the Promised Land. Ten of them come back terrified, painting a picture of ins...
Rabbi Zakai of She'av offers a beautiful insight. He imagines the Israelites asking God: "Master of the universe, everywhere else You call it the land of Canaan, but here, ‘the lan...
Our tradition has some fascinating things to say about that, especially when it comes to warfare and justice. to a curious little passage from Bamidbar Rabbah 19, which elaborates ...
The familiar reading treats about the grand miracles, the parting of the sea, the manna from heaven. But what about the gritty, day-to-day decisions, the moments of doubt and brave...
Jewish tradition sees so much more. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Bamidbar Rabbah 19, unpacks this verse, revealing layers of meaning and offering pr...
The Torah tells us, "When you besiege a city…you shall not destroy its trees" (Deuteronomy 20:19). Seems Protect the environment, even in wartime. Then we read, "Assail the Midiani...
In the ancient world, and even described in the Torah, there was a system in place to offer refuge. The book of Numbers instructs us, "You shall designate cities for you" (Numbers ...
We begin with the verse: "God said: Let the water under the heavens be gathered to one place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so" (Genesis 1:9). But the Rabbis, masters of ...
A reader can imagine grand, sweeping transformations, but sometimes, the most profound miracles are about containing the uncontainable – about fitting more into less. That’s what o...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Noah's Transgression of Canaan. First, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) clarifies that "Noah awoke from his wine" means simply that the wine'...
The Torah gives us hints, but it's in the rabbinic tradition where things get really interesting, where they piece together the ages and relationships to illuminate the story. (Gen...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to The Three Altars Abraham Built in the Promised Land. Why three? Well, each altar served a specific purpose, a distinct expression of gratitude and foresigh...
The rabbis of old, wrestling with this very question, spun a fascinating tale in Bereshit Rabbah 40, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. The story begi...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Kedorlaomer's Transgression. It sounds straightforward. But the rabbis, masters of close reading, saw more than meets the eye. The verse kicks off a discus...
This teaching connects this to a verse from Isaiah (33:15): "He seals his ears from hearing of bloodshed." The idea is that a righteous person doesn't stand idly by when faced with...
It all starts with God promising Abraham countless descendants: "Look now to the heavens, and count the stars, if you can count them… So will your offspring be." But it's the phras...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Lakish — Abraham at the Dawn of Creation. The rabbis ask: how far is too far? The text poses a scenario: Can you go to an idolatrous fair – that is, a fair...
I've been pondering just that as I was reading through Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 48, which elaborates on a seemingly simple verse: (Genesis 18:6). It reads, "Abraham hu...
How do you BECOME ready? Our exploration starts in Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. Here, in section 49, we find a fascinat...
