10,602 related texts · Page 79 of 221
The ancient rabbis wrestled with these very questions. In Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Leviticus, we find a fascinating discussion anchored to t...
Take, for instance, the four species we use on Sukkot – the etrog (citron), the lulav (date palm frond), the hadass (myrtle), and the aravah (willow). They aren't just random plant...
We often take these things for granted, but Jewish tradition suggests there's a deeper, more profound answer than just physics. It's all about ḥukim (חקים), statutes. But not just ...
We often think of life itself, perhaps, or the beauty of nature. But according to Jewish tradition, some gifts are so profound, so foundational, that they shape our very existence....
“Even jackals take out a breast, nurse their pups; the daughter of my people has become cruel, like ostriches in the wilderness” (Lamentations 4:3).“Even jackals take out a breast,...
“When King [Aḥashverosh] was sitting [keshevet hamelekh].” Rabbi Yitzḥak said: The nations of the world do not sit securely. They objected: Is it not written: “When King [Aḥashvero...
“The matter was investigated, and it was revealed; the two of them were hanged on a gibbet and it was recorded in the book of chronicles before the king” (Esther 2:23).“The matter ...
“And in each and every province, any place where the word of the king and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews” (Esther 4:3).Is there great mourning and mino...
“Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had befallen him. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him: If Mordekhai, before whom you have begun to fall, is...
A bit like trying to imagine the edge of the universe. Jewish tradition grapples with these kinds of mind-bending questions all the time, especially when we talk about the creation...
We tell ourselves stories, grand narratives to explain our origins, to make sense of the chaos. And sometimes, those stories take the most unexpected turns. to one of those stories...
Sometimes, understanding a practice means understanding its context. The medieval philosopher Maimonides, in his Mishneh Torah, specifically in "Laws of Idolatry," grappled with th...
The story goes that when the seventy-two elders presented it to him, he didn't just nod politely. He rose from his throne, and prostrated himself before it not once, but seven time...
We call Him by names like YHWH and Adonai, and our sages, may their memory be a blessing, refer to Him as HaKadosh Baruch Hu, "The Holy One, Blessed be He." But what does it all me...
It’s a question that’s plagued theologians and spiritual seekers for centuries. Are we addressing the Infinite, the unknowable source of all creation? Or is there… something more? ...
It's a system that has been unfolding for centuries, really taking root around the start of the sixth millennium – that's roughly the 13th century CE. It all started with a handful...
Maybe you enthusiastically shouted "Amen!" a few too many times, or perhaps you lingered a little too long on the "Modim" (we give thanks) during the Amidah. Turns out, there's a s...
When Genesis says, "when they were created," it's almost teasing us. It's like saying, "Yeah, things were created, but when exactly? We're not really pinning it down." for a second...
We all know the story – God breathes life into Adam. But what kind of life? What kind of being was this first human? It's a question that has haunted thinkers for millennia. And it...
It’s something that’s been pondered for centuries, and even makes an appearance in ancient Jewish texts. The Midrash of Philo, a collection of interpretations and elaborations on t...
The verse that phrase alludes to, of course, comes from (Genesis 3:19), part of the consequences faced by Adam after eating from the Tree of Knowledge. God tells him, "Till you ret...
We all know Noah. The ark, the flood, the whole shebang. But have you ever paused to consider the moment of his birth? What was his father, Lamech, thinking? (Genesis 5:29) tells u...
But wait a minute… God, anxious? God, regretting? It’s a pretty radical idea, isn’t it? We’re talking about (Genesis 6:6), that stark verse that says, "God considered anxiously bec...
(Genesis 7:11) isn’t messing around. Why that precise moment for the deluge to begin? It’s a question that’s kept commentators busy for centuries. Specifically, the Midrash of Phil...
Take the flood narrative in Genesis, for example. We read that "the fountains of the deep were broken open and the floodgates of the sky were opened" (Genesis 7:11). Straightforwar...
It might sound a bit out there, but ancient wisdom suggests there's more truth to that feeling than you might think. Philo, the 1st-century Jewish philosopher from Alexandria, saw ...
And they weren't afraid to ask the tough questions. Take this one, for example, posed in The Midrash of Philo: Why does the Torah specifically mention that God remembered Noah, the...
It's more than just a tale of survival; it's a carefully constructed narrative, brimming with numerical significance. to the depths of the flood and see what we can unearth. The te...
The floodwaters had receded. The earth was dry. The ark door stood ajar. So, why didn’t he just… leave? That’s the question the Midrash of Philo, a collection of interpretations an...
A verse that rolls off the tongue easily: "Sowing-time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and spring, shall not cease day nor night." Simple enough on the surface. But what's reall...
Philo, the great Jewish philosopher of Alexandria, grappled with these questions centuries ago. And his interpretations, preserved in what we call The Midrash of Philo, offer a fas...
It’s more than just pretty light refracting through raindrops. In Jewish tradition, it's a profound promise. A covenant. A cosmic reassurance. But what exactly is it reassuring us ...
It’s more than just a pretty arc of color after the rain, especially when we look at it through the lens of ancient Jewish thought. The Torah tells us that after the flood, God set...
Take Noah’s blessing of his sons after the flood. It's a doozy. Specifically, let's zoom in on Japhet. Noah says, "God shall enlarge Japhet, and bid him to dwell in the house of Sh...
You might recall Nimrod from (Genesis 10:8). It's a brief mention, almost a genealogical footnote: "Chus was the father of Nimrod, who began to be a giant and a hunter before the L...
Take the covenant God makes with Abraham in Genesis 15. It's a big moment. God promises Abraham this whole huge swathe of land for his descendants. But then it gets…well, geographi...
But, like so many things in the Torah, there's a deeper layer, a hidden meaning waiting to be uncovered. The ancient sages, particularly those who engaged in midrash (rabbinic inte...
It might sound trivial, but Jewish tradition is full of stories about how the smallest things can have enormous significance. Today, we're diving into one such story, found in The ...
Sometimes, it’s in those tiny nuances that we find the biggest revelations. Take the story of Sarah. We all know Sarah. Wife of Abraham, matriarch of our people. But have you ever ...
Because the eyes of God, we're told, are everywhere. It's a powerful image, isn't it? From His throne in Heaven, God's eyes observe absolutely everything that takes place in the wo...
In the beginning God created (Gen. 1:1). May it please our master16Many yelammedenu (“may our master teach us”) passages are included in Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) ...
[These are the generations of Noah (Gen. 6:9).] May it please our master to instruct us concerning the number of transgressions for which women die during childbirth. Thus have our...
These are the generations of Noah (Gen. 6:9). R. Tanhuma the son of Abba began the discussion of this subject with the verse: The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he t...
After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram (Gen. 15:1). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous; He is a shiel...
And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days (Exod. 10:22). Our sages maintained: There were seven days of d...
And the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace (Exod. 19:18). What furnace? Perhaps it is comparable to this furnace? Therefore Scripture says: And the mountain burned wi...
Pure olive oil beaten for the light (Exod. 27:20). You find that a person standing in the dark can observe what is transpiring in a lighted place. However, anyone standing in a lig...
When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel (Exod. 30:12). May our masters teach us: How many times each year did the Israelites bring their offerings to the Temple? Thus di...
