838 related texts · 4 related myths · Page 18 of 18
Jewish tradition often uses metaphors to help us understand our place in the world, our relationship with God, and the destinies of nations. Take this story, as told by Rabbi Shmue...
Shir HaShirim Rabbah turns to Sixty Queens and Eighty Concubines - An Exodus Allegory. It doesn't stop there! "And eighty concubines," the verse continues. According to this interp...
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 explore th...
A beautiful analogy, connecting the "vineyard" mentioned in Song of Songs to the Sanhedrin, the ancient Jewish high court. Why a vineyard? Because, as we learned in Mishna Eduyot, ...
The Torah starts the book of Leviticus, Vayikra in Hebrew, with just that kind of a call. "He called to Moses, and the Lord spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying…" (Levitic...
Vayikra Rabbah, a fascinating Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) text on the Book of Leviticus, dives into this very idea, using a beautiful analogy to explain how the To...
Rabbi Yitzchak, a sage of old, had an interesting take on this. He taught that before the Mishkan – the Tabernacle – was built, prophecy wasn't confined to the Israelites. It was, ...
A fascinating story from Vayikra Rabbah, a Midrash (rabbinic commentary) on the Book of Leviticus, that explores just that. It's a story of ambition, betrayal, and ultimately, divi...
"The elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord and one shall slaughter the bull before the Lord." Okay, so far so good. It’s a very s...
The Torah tells us of an agreement, a covenant, between God and the Israelites. But the details, as explored in Vayikra Rabbah, are far more intricate and, frankly, a little . Rabb...
The ancient rabbis grappled with these questions, poring over scripture to understand the nature of prophecy itself. to their fascinating discussion, found in Vayikra Rabbah 6, a m...
The rabbis of old certainly did, and they painted some pretty wild pictures! One fascinating glimpse comes from Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book...
Bar Kappara starts with a verse from Proverbs: “Wisdom has built her house” (Proverbs 9:1). He equates this house with the Torah itself. Makes sense. The Torah is our foundation, t...
They found wisdom in a seemingly simple verse from Ecclesiastes: "Through slothfulness the ceiling sags, and through idleness of the hands the house leaks." (Ecclesiastes 10:18). W...
It turns out the Talmud and Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) are full of stories about them. And, interestingly, God seems to have taken special notice of their actions. ...
Vayikra Rabbah turns to Rabbi Shimon and the Torah of Shabbat. "A bull, a sheep, or a goat, when it is born, shall be seven days under its mother." Why those seven days? The text e...
The verse from (Leviticus 23:24) sets the stage: "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: In the seventh month, on the first of the month, shall be a rest for you, a remembrance b...
Vayikra Rabbah imagines Moses ascending into a heavenly debate over Torah, wisdom, and power. The tradition turns to Vayikra Rabbah, specifically chapter 31. This Midrash, a collec...
Vayikra Rabbah opens a hard teaching about giving and withholding kindness, and the stakes begin with the poor at the door. The first example? None other than Abraham. Abraham as a...
The verse Seems straightforward. God promising timely rain for a bountiful harvest. But the Rabbis, never content with the surface level, ask a crucial question: Is this promise ju...
The question at hand: how could the Israelites, knowing the honor due to God, prostrate themselves before something that was created? Isn't that, well, a bit too close to idolatry?...
The Tree of Souls tells us that these souls resided in the Garden of Eden, up above. And get this: they were all present at the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai! How do we know t...
