10,602 related texts · Page 180 of 221
The historian Josephus, in his work Against Apion, tackles these accusations head-on. Apion, a Graeco-Egyptian intellectual, throws a real zinger: "If the Jews are citizens of Alex...
Enter Apion, a Graeco-Egyptian intellectual from the 1st century CE. Josephus, the famous Jewish historian, wrote a whole treatise Against Apion to defend Judaism against his sland...
That's the situation the Jewish people faced in antiquity, and it's what prompted Flavius Josephus to write his powerful work, Against Apion. You see, back in the day, not everyone...
The historian Flavius Josephus, writing in his treatise Against Apion, thought he had the answer, at least when it came to the Jewish people. And it all came down to a specific app...
He argues that the strength of a community isn't found in fleeting celebrations or momentary pleasures, but in the consistent, dedicated education of its children. for a second. Jo...
In his work, Against Apion, he outlines some of the core principles embedded in Jewish law. And they go way beyond the usual "be nice" platitudes. He points out that our legislator...
What if someone just made up the Torah? What if they presented it to the world and said, "Here, this is how to live," and people just… believed them? That's the thought experiment ...
Flavius Josephus, the first-century Romano-Jewish historian, grappled with this very question in his work, Against Apion. And his answer is surprisingly relevant, even today. Josep...
Flavius Josephus, a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian, knew that feeling all too well. In his work, Against Apion, he defends Judaism against its detractors, and in this section,...
Josephus, a Jewish historian writing in the 1st century CE, grappled with this very question in his work, Against Apion. He was defending Judaism against its detractors, and one of...
Ever get the feeling someone's telling stories about you, and they're just... not true? That's kind of the situation the Jewish historian Josephus found himself in during the first...
Four hundred shekels of silver. That was the price Abraham paid for a patch of dirt in Hebron—just enough ground to bury his wife. Sarah had died at one hundred and twenty-seven ye...
Herod sent his sons to Rome for an education. They came home polished, handsome, and walking straight into the deadliest family feud in Jewish royal history. Alexander and Aristobu...
Josephus ends his twenty-volume history of the Jewish people with a list, a boast, and a confession. The list is of every high priest from Aaron to the destruction of the Temple. T...
But Jewish mystical tradition isn't afraid to ask big questions. And sometimes, the answers come in the form of dazzling imagery. The Zohar, that foundational text of Jewish mystic...
It’s a question that’s haunted mystics and theologians for millennia. And the answer, as we find in Jewish tradition, is both breathtakingly beautiful and terrifyingly destructive....
That’s right. According to some mystical traditions, particularly within Kabbalah, the Temple was literally the place where God, the King, and His Shekhinah (שְׁכִינָה), His Divine...
Jewish tradition has a powerful, even startling, way of expressing this idea, especially when talking about the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. It wasn't just bricks and mo...
Jewish tradition has a powerful way of understanding that feeling: it's the Shekhinah, the Divine Presence, in exile with us. Think of the Shekhinah as the feminine aspect of God, ...
It all starts, as many intense stories do, with a separation. Specifically, the separation of God and the Shekhinah (שכינה), God's Divine Presence, often seen as the feminine aspec...
Some stories tell us it all started with a division. A grand sorting. According to tradition, when God created the world, it wasn't a uniform, homogenous blob. No, no. It was divid...
Specifically, in practical Kabbalah, where the veil between worlds feels thin enough to touch. It's all about calling upon souls. Reaching out to them. But how? According to Tree o...
Jewish tradition paints a vivid picture of just such a place: a heavenly otzar, a treasury. But this isn't just any vault filled with gold; it's the Treasury of Merits, a repositor...
Jewish tradition suggests that might be truer than you think, especially when it comes to the relationship between us, the Torah, and the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence). The Shekh...
That’s the scene we’re stepping into today, a scene that plays out once a year, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Our focus? The High Priest, his heart pounding, preparing to en...
You might be surprised. It’s not just about commemorating the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. According to some mystical traditions, Shavuot (the Festival of Weeks) is actually...
There's a story, a haunting one, about a well within the Temple court in Jerusalem. It's known as the Weeping Well, and its story is woven into the very fabric of the Ninth of Av, ...
It's one of the most enigmatic scenes in the entire Torah (Genesis 32:24-30), and Jewish tradition has offered some pretty wild interpretations over the centuries. One compelling i...
Jewish tradition, especially in Kabbalah, offers a fascinating, layered understanding. It's complex, beautiful, and deeply personal. We find discussions about the Nefesh (the vital...
It’s a question that’s wrestled with in the profound Kabbalistic text, Sha’ar HaGilgul (the reincarnation of souls)im (the reincarnation of souls), or “The Gate of Reincarnations.”...
Jewish mystical thought, particularly in the Kabbalah, has a fascinating way of looking at this, especially concerning the human soul. to a concept found in Sha'ar HaGilgul (the re...
It’s a question that has occupied Jewish mystics for centuries. to a fascinating idea from the Sha’ar HaGilgul (the reincarnation of souls)im, the "Gate of Reincarnations," a text ...
The Sha’ar HaGilgul (the reincarnation of souls)im, the "Gate of Reincarnations," part of the teachings of the Ari, Rabbi Isaac Luria, a 16th-century Kabbalist, offers a fascinatin...
We often think of death as the end, the final curtain. But Jewish mystical tradition, particularly through the lens of gilgul (the reincarnation of souls) – reincarnation – paints ...
But the Ibur is something different entirely. According to the Chachamim, the Rabbis, the Ibur is a secret, a hidden process where the soul of a righteous person, a Tzaddik (a righ...
We often talk about the soul as a single entity, but Kabbalah teaches us that it's actually comprised of different parts. Think of it as a layered cake: the Nefesh, the Ruach, and ...
In Jewish mystical thought, particularly in the teachings about gilgul (the reincarnation of souls), or reincarnation, it's not just baggage, it's… well, it’s complicated. We’re di...
This isn’t just philosophical musing. It has real implications. The tradition teaches that Moshiach ben Dovid, the Messiah, won't arrive until all the Ruchos and Neshamot – all the...
Maybe there's a reason for that. Jewish mystical tradition, particularly in the teachings of gilgul (reincarnation), offers a fascinating perspective on how we evolve, correct mist...
According to the Sha'ar HaGilgul (the reincarnation of souls)im, the "Gate of Reincarnations," that little loose end can have some pretty profound implications. To understand this,...
Jewish mystical tradition offers a fascinating perspective on this, particularly through the lens of reincarnation, or gilgul. Now, reincarnation isn't just about one soul bouncing...
The Sha'ar HaGilgul (the reincarnation of souls)im, the "Gate of Reincarnations," a profound Kabbalistic text, delves into this very idea. It explores the intricate dance of souls,...
Some, particularly those who've distanced themselves from the yoke of Torah and mitzvot (commandments), argue that God created the universe and then, essentially, walked away. We'r...
It’s a question that has plagued theologians and philosophers for centuries, and it's a question that sits at the very heart of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. To understand the answer...
The great Kabbalist, Baal HaSulam, in his introduction to the Zohar, dives deep into this very idea, giving us a glimpse into what might have been. He explains that before God even...
The great Kabbalist, Baal HaSulam—Rabbi Yehuda Leib HaLevi Ashlag—wrestled with this very question in his "Introduction to Zohar." He anticipates a challenge, a nagging doubt that ...
Jewish mysticism offers a fascinating perspective on this feeling, one that mixes patient acceptance with unwavering hope. The great Kabbalist Baal HaSulam, in his "Introduction to...
Like they're holding you back from something... bigger? Kabbalah, the ancient Jewish mystical tradition, grapples with this very question. It suggests that true transformation, eve...
