10,602 related texts · Page 71 of 221
The passage speaks of the "will of ascension" of the King – that is, God – at a time described as “lamp of darkness.” Before anything existed, there was only the potential for ever...
We've got morning, afternoon, and evening prayers. But did you know there's a fascinating distinction made between them? It all comes down to this idea of obligation versus… well, ...
Take the very first letter of the Torah, the Beiyt (ב) in Be-REiShYT (בראשית) – "In the beginning." The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a central text of Kabbalah, sees this let...
The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a central text of Kabbalah, opens a window into just that – the mechanics, if you will, of how our prayers ascend. It speaks of seven entitie...
The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a central text of Kabbalah, wrestles with this very feeling in its 52nd section. It speaks of the prayers of the poor, the heartfelt cries ri...
The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a later expansion on the core Zoharic text, certainly seems to think so. It’s a mystical journey, a deep dive into the secrets of the Torah a...
Or at least, they carry a very specific, cosmically significant responsibility. It all goes back to Adam, the first man, and the concept of ḥallah. Now, ḥallah (חַלָּה) is that del...
For centuries, Jewish mystics have pondered that very question, diving deep into the sacred texts, searching for those whispers. And today, we're going to listen in on one of those...
Prepare to have your mind bent a little. Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar 81, a section of the Tikkunei Zohar, which itself is ...
It's like the universe whispering secrets, if only we know how to listen. Today, let’s delve into a fascinating idea from the Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a key text in Kabba...
It's the arrival of the Imma Ila’ah, the Higher Mother, gracing us with her presence. The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a central text of Kabbalah, delves deep into this idea ...
They're called ta'amei ha-mikra, cantillation notes, and they're more than just musical cues. According to some mystical traditions, they hold profound spiritual power. to a partic...
And today, we're diving into a fascinating little corner of that world – a peek into the Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar. The Tikkunei Zohar? Think of it as the Zohar's super-cha...
That feeling, that tension, is something that the mystical tradition of Judaism has wrestled with for centuries. And it's right there in the Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, spec...
Think about Noah's dove. After the flood, Noah sends her out to see if the waters have receded. The verse tells us, "...and she no longer returned to him, at all" (Gen. 8:12). A si...
The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a later, deeply mystical expansion on the Zohar itself, wrestles with just that tension. It explores the idea that we’re constantly being cal...
We remember the giant, the slingshot, the underdog victory. But what if there was more to those five smooth stones than met the eye? The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a profou...
The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, isn't just a book. It's a tapestry woven with secrets, insights, and poetic imagery, all aimed at helping us understand the deeper workings o...
The Jewish mystical tradition, especially the Kabbalah, loves to wrestle with these kinds of questions. And one of the most fascinating places to find these wrestling matches is in...
The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a mystical commentary on the Zohar, that foundational text of Kabbalah, speaks to just that feeling. In section 289, it uses a beautiful imag...
Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Chassidism, opens his masterwork the Tanya with a contradiction. The Talmud in Tractate Niddah says that before birth, every so...
Sarah is the only woman in the entire Torah whose age at death is recorded. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev asks why, and his answer reveals something stunning about what it mean...
Medieval Jewish belief held that the dead do not simply vanish. As Joshua Trachtenberg documented, the spirits of the deceased remained active, aware, and dangerously close—capable...
Even when God spoke to the prophets outside the land of Israel, He did so only in the merit of the patriarchs — and even then, only in a ritually clean place near water. The Mekhil...
(Exodus 12:2) "This month shall be to you": Adam did not count by it (but by Tishrei, as the first month). You say this, but perhaps (the meaning is) "to you," but not to a gentile...
The Torah's description of the tenth plague contains a phrase that seems redundant but actually expands the scope of the devastation far beyond Egypt's borders: "and I smote every ...
Rabbi Yossi HaGlili tackles a puzzle buried in the Torah's festival calendar. The verse in (Deuteronomy 16:15) commands, "Seven days shall you celebrate to the Lord your God." On i...
The Torah says that Passover must be observed "for your generations" (Exodus 12:14), and the Mekhilta immediately spots a potential loophole. The Hebrew word for "generations" is "...
The Torah commands in (Exodus 12:15), "Seven days shall you eat matzot." But which grains actually qualify for making matzah? The Mekhilta digs into this question with characterist...
(Exodus 12:19) "Seven days se'or (leavening) shall not be found in your houses": This tells me only (that the transgression) against finding (it). Whence do I derive (the same for)...
(Ibid. 19) "For whoever eats leavening, that soul shall be cut off": What is the intent of this? From (Ibid. 15) "Whoever eats chametz shall be cut off," I would know only of chame...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, probes the geographic scope of the tenth plague with meticulous care. The verse states: "And the Lord smote every firstborn in the la...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, extends its devastating logic about the plague of the firstborn to the animal kingdom. The verse states that God struck "every firstb...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, preserves a teaching from Rabbi Yossi HaGlili that explains why the Egyptians willingly handed over their treasures to the departing ...
The Torah declares: "And every uncircumcised one shall not eat of it." The Mekhilta asks a pointed question: why is this verse necessary at all? The Torah already stated "No strang...
"Sanctify unto Me every first-born"—generic (implying both males and females). (Devarim 15:19) "the male"—specific, (excluding females). If I have the generic, why do I need the sp...
The Torah prohibits chametz in two locations during Passover: in your houses and in your boundaries. But a careful reader might wonder whether these two prohibitions share the same...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael addresses a practical legal question arising from (Exodus 13:13): "Every human first-born among your sons shall you redeem." The commandment to redeem...
(Exodus 13:15) records a foundational obligation: "and every firstling of my sons I shall redeem." The redemption of the firstborn, known as pidyon haben, is one of the Torah's mos...
Rabbi Akiva posed a provocative question: where do we learn that each of the ten plagues that struck Egypt was actually five plagues in one? If this calculation is correct, the Egy...
After the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and watched the waters crash over the Egyptian army, they burst into song. But how exactly did they sing? The Torah says (Exodus 15:1) "And...
Absalom, the handsome prince who rebelled against his own father King David, was famous throughout Israel for one thing above all else: his magnificent hair. The Mekhilta preserves...
At the climax of the Song of the Sea, Israel proclaimed: "The Lord will reign for ever and ever" (Exodus 15:18). It is one of the most sweeping theological declarations in the enti...
"Speak to them, saying: Towards evening you will eat flesh": He said to them: You have asked for two things: You have asked for bread; for it is impossible for flesh and blood (to ...
When God sent quail to feed the Israelites in the wilderness, the Mekhilta raises a practical question that reveals something remarkable about divine generosity. One might assume t...
Rabbi Yossi offered a provocative comparison: just as a prophet reveals what is hidden, the manna did the same. The wordplay is built into the Hebrew—the word maggid (one who tells...
Mordechai was the fourth of the righteous people given a divine hint — and like David, he recognized it immediately. The Mekhilta finds his hint in a single verse from the Book of ...
The verse states (Exodus 18:22): "Every great thing shall they bring to you." But what does "great" mean in this context? The Mekhilta identifies two possible readings and uses a l...
