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The Jewish tradition wrestles with this question, and some of the answers… well, they’re to one particularly fascinating and, frankly, a little scary passage from Pirkei DeRabbi El...
It’s a question that’s haunted humanity for millennia, and Jewish tradition offers some pretty fascinating answers. Rabbi Azariah, whose wisdom is preserved in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliez...
Jewish tradition is full of stories that remind us that endings can be far more significant than beginnings. Take the tale of Jacob's vision at Bethel, for instance, a moment forev...
We all know the story of the manna, the miraculous bread from heaven. But what about water? How did they quench their thirst in that desolate landscape? Well, according to Rabbi Ak...
Tonight, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, specifically chapter 35, that does just that. It centers on Jacob, later known as Israel, and a pivota...
This ancient text, a treasure trove of Jewish legend and lore, offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives of our ancestors. Here, the verse from (Proverbs 4:12), "When thou goest,...
Our story begins with Jacob, completely unaware of the drama unfolding within his own family. Remember when Rachel, his beloved wife, stole her father Laban’s Teraphim – household ...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, by the way, is a beautiful and somewhat enigmatic work of Jewish literature from around the 8th century CE that retells and expands upon biblical narratives...
The story we find in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, Chapter 36, about King David and the conquest of Jerusalem, reveals just that. It's a fascinating glimpse into how deeply the covenant ...
The scene: King David, poised to capture the city of the Jebusites. But this wasn't just any siege. The Jebusites, confident in their defenses, had placed idols upon their walls – ...
That's the pickle Isaac found himself in with the Philistines. We find the story in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (Chapter 36), a fascinating text that retells and expands upon biblical n...
Our guide today is a passage from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a captivating work of Jewish legend and lore. Specifically, we're looking at Chapter 36, which touches on some pretty sign...
Our ancestor Jacob had that experience, big time, at the ford of the Jabbok (יַבֹּק), a river mentioned in Genesis. The story, as told in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (chapter 37), a fas...
It paints a picture of a final transaction, a division of inheritance, that has echoes even today. The story goes that Esau took all that his father, Isaac, had left. But then – an...
The story of Achan, found in the Book of Joshua, gives us a pretty stark answer. And it's a story echoed and expanded upon in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval t...
It's a wild ride through sin, repentance, and the surprising grace that might just be waiting on the other side. Our first stop is the story of Achan. Remember him? He's the guy in...
We all know the story of Joseph, the coat of many colors, and his rise to power. But what about the nitty-gritty details of how he saved an entire nation from starvation? Rabbi Tan...
The scene: Jacob is on his deathbed. He summons his beloved son, Joseph. This isn't just a goodbye; it's a moment of profound importance. Jacob says, "O my son! Swear to me by the ...
He paints a picture, a truly awe-inspiring one, of Moses standing on the mountain. But here's the thing: only his feet were actually on the ground. The rest of him? According to Ra...
The luchot, as they're known in Hebrew. The Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of stories and interpretations, paints a vivid picture of this moment. Initially, the t...
Our ancestors wrestled with these questions too, and their stories offer profound insights. The story begins with Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, a towering figure in Jewish history, o...
We're talking about Moses. The story begins with his birth. Rabbi Simeon tells us he was called Ṭob, "good," because, as (Exodus 2:2) says, "when she saw him, that he was good." A ...
But let’s zoom in on that very first encounter, the one that set the whole thing in motion. It begins with Moses and Aaron, standing before Pharaoh, delivering a message that must ...
We often think of the divine as existing outside of time, but Jewish tradition sometimes paints a different picture – one where even divine plans have a schedule, albeit a flexible...
Our tale begins with a king, rattled from his sleep. He asks for water, a simple request. But something feels off. His servants, his eunuchs – the ones whose job it is to care for ...
The Jewish tradition has never shied away from asking the big questions, and when it comes to the end of days, well, let's just say things get pretty interesting. One fascinating g...
Our tradition certainly does. It’s filled with prophecies and visions of a future so bright, it’s almost hard to imagine. One of the most evocative of these visions concerns the Te...
It's more than just checking the calendar. According to ancient tradition, there was a time when the connection between the earthly and heavenly realms was so clear, so palpable, t...
We get glimpses, whispers, hints throughout our tradition. And sometimes, just sometimes, we get a description so vivid, so lush, that you can almost smell the fruit hanging heavy ...
Sounds like something out of a fairy tale. Well, according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (chapter 51, to be exact), such a place exists, or at least, the potential for it does. The tex...
The story comes from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating and often imaginative collection of midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic stories. The scene opens with messengers...
Like just when you think you've made it, something... shifts? Jewish tradition has a way of acknowledging that final, often fiery, transition. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating...
Our ancestors in the wilderness did the same thing, and, according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, it didn't go so well. The story goes that the Israelites, fresh out of Egypt, started ...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of early Jewish stories and interpretations, grapples with just that. Chapter 54 gives us some intriguing food for thought. It's a ...
One place they did this was in Seder Olam Zutta, a later, shorter version of the Seder Olam Rabbah, a 2nd-century CE rabbinic text that attempts to chronicle history from creation ...
Sometimes, that feeling is more than just a saying. According to a fascinating passage in Tanna DeBei Eliyahu Rabbah 26, the people of Israel are actually like a ship. But what kin...
Even something as seemingly straightforward as who inherits what can have fascinating, and sometimes surprising, origins in Jewish thought. to one such discussion from the Yalkut S...
It turns out, this struggle is ancient. The Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of rabbinic interpretations of the Bible, preserves a powerful midrash—an interpretive story—on the verse ...
Jewish tradition offers a beautiful, hopeful counterpoint to that feeling, especially when it comes to our connection to the land of Israel. to a teaching from R’ Yochanan, as reco...
One intriguing explanation offered in the Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 653 suggests that certain aspects of divine knowledge were given "in secret due to the accuser" – that is, Satan. N...
The Jewish tradition is filled with these echoes, these comparative moments that help us understand not just where we've been, but who we are. One of the most fascinating collectio...
We often hear about the six days of creation, but the tradition goes deeper… diving into the very utterances that shaped reality. The Yalkut Shimoni, a vast collection of rabbinic ...
The Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of rabbinic commentary on the Hebrew Bible, offers a breathtaking glimpse into just that moment. Rabbi Yochanan tells us that the world was create...
And, as with many things in Jewish tradition, there isn't just one answer. There are layers, nuances, and profound insights waiting to be uncovered. One interpretation, found in th...
It’s a question that’s sparked debate and contemplation for millennia. According to a fascinating passage in Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 191, even the angels were curious! The text tel...
The Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic teachings on the entire Hebrew Bible, offers us a glimpse into that world. In section 786, comment...
The Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of rabbinic teachings on the Hebrew Bible, offers a fascinating and poignant glimpse into the deaths of Aaron and Moses. Specifically, Yalkut Shim...
The Israelites certainly did as they stood poised to enter the Promised Land. “And they camped by the Jordan,” the Torah tells us (Numbers 22:1). But what exactly was this Jordan R...
