10,602 related texts · Page 88 of 221
(Numb. 7:1), “So it came to pass on the day that Moses had finished.” Let our master instruct us: How many things preceded the act of creation? Thus have our masters taught: Seven ...
The picture in the vision swayed. From its left side, a heathen people emerged. They fell upon those on the right side, the people of Abraham's seed, and pillaged them. Men, women,...
"The entire world was created only for my sake" (Sanhedrin 37a). Rabbi Nachman of Breslov takes this teaching at face value: if the world exists for you, then you are responsible f...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, takes up a question about the Israelites' first stop after leaving Egypt: a place called Succoth. "And they traveled from Rameses to ...
Two verses in the Torah appear to contradict each other about how long the Israelites were connected to Egypt. One verse states: "And the habitation of the children of Israel in th...
(Exodus 13:17) "And it was, when G–d sent ("shalach") the people": "sending" in all places is accompaniment, viz. (Genesis 18:16) "And Abraham went with them to send them," (Ibid. ...
(Ibid.) "for the L–rd said: Lest the people bethink themselves when they see war": This is the war of Amalek, viz. (Numbers 14:45). "Variantly: "for the L–rd said, etc.": This is t...
(Exodus, Ibid. 21) "And the L–rd went before them by day": We are hereby taught that as one metes it out to others, so is it meted out to him. Abraham accompanied the ministering a...
What is written of Moses? (Numbers 20:14-16) "And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom … And our fathers went down to Egypt … and He hearkened to our voice." He (t...
The Mekhilta records an astonishing claim: God split the Red Sea not because of anything the Israelites had done, but because of a promise He had made to their forefather Abraham c...
R. Nathan asked R. Shimon b. Yochai: In all places you find "the angel of the L–rd ("yod-keh-vav-keh")—(Genesis 16:7) "and an angel of the L–rd found her"—(Ibid. 9) "and the angel ...
R. Tarfon and the elders were once sitting in the shade of the grove of Yavneh when this question was once asked before them: Why need it be written (Genesis 37:25) "and their came...
The Torah states that Israel saw the Egyptians "dead on the shore of the sea" (Exodus 14:30). The Mekhilta asks a blunt question: were they actually dead? The answer is more distur...
Variantly: "for high on high": He exalts Himself over the exalted. With what the nations of the world exalt themselves before Him, He exacts punishment of them. In the generation o...
An analogy: A king's son goes abroad—he goes after him and attends upon him. He goes to a different city—he goes after him and attends upon him. Thus with Israel. When they went do...
And thus do you find with the men of Sodom, that You gave them a grace period for repentance and they did not repent. As it is written (Genesis 18:20-21) "And the L–rd said: The ou...
And all who help Israel, help, as it were, the Holy One Blessed be He, viz. (Judges 5:23) "Curse Meroz, said the angel of the L–rd. Curse bitterly its dwellers. For they came not t...
(Exodus 15:14) "Peoples heard—they quaked": When the peoples heard that Pharaoh and his hosts were lost in the sea, that the rule of Egypt had ended, and that their idolatry had be...
Issi b. Yehudah says: There are five ambiguous verses in the Torah: "se'eth," "arur," "machar," "meshukadim," and "vekam.": "se'eth"—(Genesis 4:7) "If you do well, you will be forg...
R. Yossi says: Why "other gods"? Not to give a pretext to the nations of the world to say: If they were called by His name, they would be effectual. Behold, they were called by His...
The Torah lists three things a husband must provide for his wife: "she'eirah, kesuthah, and onathah" (Exodus 21:10). These three Hebrew terms are cryptic, and the Mekhilta preserve...
"Covenant" is written of Israel, viz. (Genesis 17:13) "And My covenant (i.e., circumcision) shall be in your flesh." And it is also written of strangers, viz. (Isaiah 56:4) "and th...
After the destruction of the Temple, Nebuzaradan, captain of the Babylonian guard under Nebuchadnezzar, found blood bubbling up from the ground in Jerusalem. According to Gittin 57...
The Hebrew Bible says Abraham named the site of the Binding "God will see" (Adonai Yireh) (Genesis 22:14). Targum Onkelos expands this into a full theological statement: "Abraham w...
“How does the greatly crowded city sit alone? She has become like a widow. Great among the nations, a princess among the states: She has become a vassal” (Lamentations 1:1).“How [e...
A certain woman came to Rabbi Elazar. She said to him: ‘I saw that the rafter in the house snapped.’ He said to her: ‘This woman will bear a male child.’ She went, and so it was fo...
There was an incident in which Rabbi Yehoshua was walking along the path.49This was a path through a field that was created by people traversing it. A certain person found him walk...
When Rabbi Yosei of Milḥaya died, Rabbi Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish went up to perform an act of kindness136They went to participate in the funeral. and Rabbi Yitzḥak Pesaka went up w...
“Sapping my strength,” Rabbi Tanḥum ben Rabbi Yirmeya said: There are four matters that exhaust a person’s strength, and they are: Fasting, the road, iniquity, and the kingdom of B...
“He wore away my flesh and my skin, broke my bones” (Lamentations 3:4).“He wore away my flesh” – this is the community. “And my skin” – this is the Sanhedrin (the supreme rabbinic ...
It is written: “You have seen, for You behold mischief and spite; to requite is in Your hand: the helpless man commits himself to You; You are the helper of the orphans” (Psalms 10...
Another interpretation: “Also, Vashti the queen made a women’s banquet.” Why did Scripture see fit to publicize the banquet of Vashti? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa said: Why to that ex...
“There was a Judean man in the Shushan citadel, and his name was Mordekhai, son of Ya'ir, son of Shimi, son of Kish, a Benjamite” (Esther 2:5).“There was a Judean man [ish] in the ...
Rabbi Berekhya said: The Holy one blessed be He recorded the redemption of Israel in the Torah, as it is written: “If a stranger who is a resident among you shall prosper…” (Leviti...
This one’s half fire, half ice. Quite the contrast. According to 3 Enoch 32:1, when God opens this extraordinary book, something incredible happens. Avenging angels are unleashed. ...
Jewish tradition is filled with stories of those who dared to try. One of the most famous of these accounts involves four prominent sages who, according to the Talmud (Hagigah 14b)...
It speaks of a place far, far removed from the familiar landscapes of heaven and earth. A sort of cosmic timeout corner. Imagine this: You’re at the very edge of everything, where ...
Jewish tradition gives us a few different, evolving, and sometimes contradictory answers. One early picture, found in the ancient text 1 Enoch (specifically, chapters 22:1-14), dat...
We've all been there. But what if I told you that even those seemingly mundane moments hold profound spiritual significance? That's what we find when we delve into the wisdom of Be...
This ancient text, part of the Apocrypha and Deuterocanonical books, is packed with practical advice for navigating the ups and downs of daily life. It’s like having a really wise,...
Ben Sira, that wise sage of antiquity, knew that feeling well. He offers us some pretty direct advice on avoiding such pitfalls in his wisdom literature. He warns, “And so he will ...
We all do it. But what if that cover is completely misleading? What if the real treasure lies hidden, masked by appearances? Ben Sira, that wise sage whose words dance between scri...
We've all been there. But what if I told you an ancient text, attributed to Ben Sira, offers some pretty timeless advice on how to avoid those pitfalls? It's not about rigid rules,...
Ben Sira paints a picture of someone so deeply connected to wisdom that they "encamp about her house." What does that even mean? It's more than just visiting. It suggests a dedicat...
He offers a bracing counterpoint to that idea. Ben Sira, in this passage (Ben Sira 16), challenges us to consider what truly matters. He suggests that simply having more – more chi...
Ben Sira, that ancient sage whose wisdom dances between the canonical and the apocryphal, wrestles with this very feeling in his writings. He captures that whisper of doubt that cr...
Ben Sira, that wise sage whose words we find in the apocryphal book of the same name, grapples with just that. He paints a portrait, not of perfection, but of something far more co...
It offers guidance for practically every aspect of life. And chapter 32 gives us some timely advice on how to conduct ourselves at a banquet. "That thou mayest rejoice in their hon...
