10,602 related texts · Page 121 of 221
That’s kind of what happens when we dive into Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the commentary on the Song of Songs. Today, we're looking at a passage that takes the beautiful imagery of sprin...
The ancient rabbis certainly understood that feeling, and they used powerful stories to explore it. The Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Song o...
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, ...
We often think of the priests, the Kohanim, but the story is so much richer than that. to a fascinating passage from Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the commentary on the Song of Songs, wher...
It sees potential even in the most desolate places. Take the verse from (Song of Songs 4:13), "Your branches are an orchard of pomegranates [shelaḥayikh]." Beautiful. But Shir HaSh...
The ancient rabbis grappled with this, too. And in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Song of Songs, we find a fascinating story that touches on ...
Specifically, the humble nut, as explored in the ancient collection of rabbinic teachings called Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a commentary on the Song of Songs. The verse in question is (...
Take the verse from the Song of Songs, Shir HaShirim, "How fair are your feet in sandals [bane’alim]," with its slightly unusual plural form, "sandals" [ne’alim]. What could that p...
Song of Songs, that beautiful, sensual, often enigmatic book of the Bible, gives us a clue. Chapter 8, verse 8, poses a curious question: “We have a little sister, and she has no b...
Vayikra Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Leviticus, offers a profound and surprisingly intimate perspective. The text tells us that "adam" isn'...
to Vayikra Rabbah, specifically section 2, to uncover some fascinating layers within the verses describing the offerings. We begin with (Leviticus 1:5): “He shall slaughter the you...
It starts with a quote from Job: “When He quiets, who can condemn?” (Job 34:29). The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) uses this to ask: How could the people of Sodom get ...
Jewish tradition certainly does, especially when it comes to oaths. In fact, the Rabbis saw the misuse of oaths as so serious that it could literally bring down the house! Vayikra ...
It happens. But sometimes those moments can teach us something profound about ourselves and the world. Let me tell you a story from Vayikra Rabbah that really hit home for me. It s...
Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic interpretations on the book of Leviticus, dives deep into this very topic, using the verse "when a woma...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. And they found profound metaphors in the everyday to explain the divine orchestration of it all. We find a fascinating exploration of this in Vayi...
It’s a question that’s haunted thinkers for millennia, and Jewish tradition grapples with it in fascinating ways. We find a glimpse into this in Vayikra Rabbah, specifically sectio...
We've all been there, but none of us remember. Jewish tradition, though, offers some pretty fascinating, almost poetic descriptions. , shall we? Imagine, if you will, the very begi...
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...
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai paints a powerful picture of that experience. He teaches that when the Israelites stood at Sinai and proclaimed, "Everything that God said we will perform an...
Like someone's pointing out all your flaws, comparing you to others, and generally making you feel... unworthy? Well, according to some ancient Jewish texts, even the Israelites fa...
Take the sacrifices described in the Torah. Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the book of Leviticus, sees them not just as offerings, but as embodiments of our ...
Rabbi Elazar paints a vivid picture. Imagine a lily growing amidst a thicket of thorns. Beautiful. But how difficult would it be to pluck it, to reach in and claim that delicate fl...
It's more than just tradition; it's a cosmic reset button! to a fascinating interpretation from Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Leviticus, that she...
It all begins with the verse, "Command the children of Israel, and they shall take to you pure virgin olive oil for the lighting, to kindle a lamp continually" (Leviticus 24:2). Th...
The ancient rabbis grappled with this question, and their answers, preserved in texts like Vayikra Rabbah, are pretty . Vayikra Rabbah, a midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)...
The Torah touches on this profoundly, urging us not to ignore the suffering of others. It's more than just a nice idea; it’s a core principle woven into the fabric of Jewish ethics...
The passage centers around the verse from Isaiah (58:12): “Through you, ancient ruins will be rebuilt; you will reestablish generations-old foundations.” What does that even mean? ...
Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Leviticus, tackles this very question. And it does so with a story – a really compelling one. It starts with...
In Vayikra Rabbah 37, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) explores this idea through a fascinating lens: vows. Specifically, it looks at instances where individuals made...
“For the Lord will not forsake forever. For, if He torments, He will have compassion according to His abundant grace. For He does not afflict willingly and torment the children of ...
Wealthy families who once dined on aged wine and fine bread ended up rummaging through garbage heaps for food. Eikhah Rabbah, a 5th-century CE midrash (rabbinic interpretive commen...
“You, Lord, are enthroned forever; Your throne is from generation to generation” (Lamentations 5:1)9).“You, Lord, are enthroned forever; Your throne is from generation to generatio...
“Why do You forget us forever, forsake us for so long?” (Lamentations 5:20).“Why do You forget us forever?” Rabbi Yehoshua bar Avin said: Jeremiah employed four expressions: Spurni...
Rabbi Ḥiyya had a gentile friend in Ashna, who prepared a feast for him, during which he served him everything that had been created in the six days of Creation. He said to him: ‘W...
“To do as every man desired.” The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘I do not fulfill the wishes of all My creatures, and you seek “to do as every man desired?”’ The way of the world is...
“On the seventh day, when the king was merry with wine, he said to Mehuman, Bizzeta, Ḥarvona, Bigta, and Avagta, Zetar, and Kharkas, the seven officials who attended King Aḥashvero...
“Those close to him” (Esther 1:14) – they brought the calamity close to themselves. “Karshena” – who was appointed over the vetch3A plant used as animal feed. [karshinin]; “Shetar”...
“The seven princes of Persia and Media” – Rav and Shmuel, Rav said: Scripture is referring to the kingdom of Aḥashverosh, and Shmuel said: Scripture is referring to the kingdom of ...
Rabbi Ḥiya Raba and Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta were walking in the valley of Arbel and they saw the breaking of the dawn’s light. Rabbi Ḥiya Raba said to Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta: So...
God made a promise embedded in the Torah's harshest chapter of curses, and the rabbis of Esther Rabbah turned it into one of the most powerful statements of divine loyalty in all o...
And usually, it's not something we relish. In fact, Genesis tells us, "It is not good for man to be alone" (Gen. 2:18). But what about God? Think about this: before anything existe...
Maybe that feeling is a tiny glimpse into the ultimate truth: that everything is sacred. Philo, the 1st-century Jewish philosopher from Alexandria, certainly thought so. He envisio...
How do we know what's real, especially when it comes to something as immense as the Divine? How do we stay on the path, the derech, when so many voices clamor for our attention? Th...
It goes deep, friends. Really deep. We're talking about a system where, as the esteemed Kabbalist, the master of the Chamber of Blessing, of blessed memory, tells us, the court has...
Someone is being called out for criticizing the act of diligently seeking to understand the sacred texts. The response is sharp: "Who gave you the authority to seek and investigate...
Take those verses that seem to hint at a divine “we.” The big one, of course, is (Genesis 1:26): "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Seems pretty clear-cut. A plura...
It’s a recurring theme in Jewish thought, this tension between reason and revelation. The Kabbalists, those mystics who plumb the depths of Jewish esotericism, they didn’t hold bac...
