838 related texts · 4 related myths · Page 17 of 18
The familiar version gives us about Moses, about the plagues, about the parting of the Red Sea. But what about the women who defied a king's cruel decree and saved countless Israel...
(Exodus 4:20) tells us, "Moses took his wife and his sons, and mounted them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. Moses took the staff of God in his hand." Simple enou...
The Torah tells us, "The Lord said to Moses: When you go back to Egypt, see all the wonders that I have placed in your hand and perform them before Pharaoh; but I will harden his h...
That feeling isn't new. It goes all the way back to Moses and Aaron facing down Pharaoh in the book of Exodus. They’re walking into the lion's den, asking the most powerful ruler o...
The familiar story centers on the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and the triumphant journey to freedom. But was it really the entire nation that crossed over? Pharaoh, in his...
Shemot Rabbah turns to Moses and the Dreamer of Aminadav. Take, for instance, the passage in Exodus (6:14): "These are the heads of their fathers' houses; the sons of Reuben the fi...
The verse "Draw, and take for yourselves lambs" (Exodus 12:21) might seem straightforward, but the Rabbis saw layers of meaning. They connect it to the verse "With stillness and pl...
Take the Exodus, for example. That final, earth-shattering plague, the death of the firstborn, struck at midnight. But why? Why not high noon? What’s so special about that inky bla...
Shemot Rabbah turns to Six Hundred Thousand Israelites March Out of Egypt. What about the bigger picture? How long were they really in Egypt? (Exodus 12:41) says, "It was at the en...
Our tradition suggests he did, and in a fascinating way: it reveals moments where Moses' own reasoning aligned perfectly with the divine will. The Shemot Rabbah, a collection of ra...
That feeling, that's what The text immediately tells us this refers to the Egyptians, and how God brought justice upon them in Egypt and at the Red Sea. But the how of that justice...
Those passages are easy to skim place names, assuming they're just… well, places. But sometimes, they're so much more. Consider the phrase "the wilderness of Shur," which pops up i...
The Israelites certainly did. In the book of Exodus, right after the incredible miracle of being freed from Egypt, they find themselves wandering in the desert, thirsty and complai...
A collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Exodus, the answer might surprise you. It all goes back to Mount Sinai. Rabbi Yitzḥak makes a bold claim: Everything the prophets w...
Shemot Rabbah, the collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, points this out explicitly. "Come and see," it urges, "how excellent this portion is!" What's so ex...
It all starts with a seemingly straightforward verse from (Exodus 21:37): “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he shall pay five cattle for the ox and f...
"Endow the king with Your justice, God…May he judge Your people with righteousness" (Psalms 72:1–2). Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, a key figure in the compilation of the Mishnah (the earlie...
Our story begins after the devastating sin of the Golden Calf. Can you imagine the scene? Moses is up on Mount Sinai, receiving the very word of God, while down below, the Israelit...
It quickly jumps to a seemingly unrelated verse from Psalms: "I had said: You are divine beings, celestial beings, all of you" (Psalms 82:6). What's the connection? Shemot Rabbah e...
Our story begins with the verse, "They shall take Me a gift" (Exodus 25:2). But where does this gift come from? Shemot Rabbah dives into this, connecting it to a verse in Psalms: "...
Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, gives us a fascinating glimpse into the behind-the-scenes preparations for this monumental task. It a...
Shemot Rabbah turns to How Aaron Reacted When Moses Smashed the Tablets. The scene: Moses is descending from Mount Sinai, clutching the tablets of the law. He sees the Israelites r...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. This week, It all starts with a verse The familiar version gives us: "He gave to Moses, as He concluded speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two ...
The aftermath of the Golden Calf. Moses is up on Mount Sinai, receiving the Torah, while the Israelites down below are, well, not exactly holding the faith. When God tells Moses to...
Our tradition wrestles with that very feeling in the story of the Golden Calf. The scene: Moses is up on Mount Sinai, receiving the Torah, the very blueprint for a just and holy so...
The Book of Exodus, Shemot in Hebrew, tells the story of the Israelites' journey from slavery to freedom, a story punctuated by moments of incredible faith and… well, moments of pr...
You remember the story. Moses is up on Mount Sinai receiving the Torah, and the Israelites, feeling abandoned, panic and create a golden idol to worship. Big mistake. Shemot Rabbah...
Like, "Why does this even exist?" The ancient rabbis grappled with this too. And in Shemot Rabbah (a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Exodus), we find a fascinating e...
That’s kind of the situation Moses found himself in after the incident of the Golden Calf. The people had strayed, big time, and God was understandably furious. But Moses, ever the...
It’s a moment of intense frustration, but also a evidence of Moses's unwavering advocacy for his people. How does he possibly defend the indefensible? to the story as illuminated i...
The Book of Exodus (34:1) tells us that after the Golden Calf incident, God instructs Moses: "Carve for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablet...
The answer, according to the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), is a fascinating blend of divine foresight and, well, a little bit of divine concern! Our story begins, as ...
Take Betzalel, for example, the master craftsman of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. We read in (Exodus 31:2), "See, the Lord has called by name Betzalel, son of Uri, son of Ḥur…” But ...
It involves the story of Betzalel, the artisan chosen to build the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. The verse says, "See, the Lord has called by name Betzalel" (Exodus 35:30). But Shemot R...
It goes all the way back to Mount Sinai, according to the ancient Rabbis. Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the commentary on the Song of Songs, dives into a fascinating interpretation of the ...
Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) commentary on the Song of Songs, dives deep into the verse where God tells Abraham, “Go you from your land, fro...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. And they found ways to see even the most epic struggles, like the Exodus from Egypt, through a deeply human lens. They weren't just interested in ...
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. It starts with the...
It’s an allegory, a conversation between God and the people of Israel. Rabbi Berekhya paints a powerful picture. He says the congregation of Israel is speaking directly to God, say...
We see it everywhere, from synagogue art to holiday decorations. But have you ever stopped to consider why? Well, the source enters a fascinating passage from Shir HaShirim Rabbah ...
It might sound strange, but even the type of tree can hold a profound lesson. to a passage from Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Song of Songs,...
In the beautiful, multi-layered world of Jewish interpretation, this verse opens up into a world of meaning far beyond the literal. Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a classic midrashic (rabbi...
The ancient rabbis certainly knew that feeling. And they found it mirrored in one of the most dramatic moments in the Torah: the splitting of the Red Sea. In Shir HaShirim Rabbah, ...
Rabbi Akiva, that brilliant sage, offers us a breathtaking interpretation of the verse, "My dove, in the clefts of the rock." He connects it directly to the moment when the Israeli...
The ancient rabbis did, and they found clues in the most unexpected places, even in the love poetry of the Song of Songs! It speaks of a "palanquin" made by King Solomon. But this ...
How the Rabbis Connected Doves to the Sanhedrin Court is the question behind this passage from Shir HaShirim Rabbah. The first reading, it's a beautiful compliment. Poetic, even. B...
Our sages pondered just such a return, a return from exile so profound it would reshape the world. This vision is beautifully captured in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the commentary on th...
The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), Shir HaShirim Rabbah, unpacks this verse, revealing layers of meaning. The text begins by clarifying some of the terms. "Nerd and ka...
