1,132 related texts · Page 22 of 24
R. JOSE SAID: HE WHO HONOURS THE TORAH IS HIMSELF HONOURED BY MANKIND, as it is stated, For them that honour Me I will honour, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.11...
The Hebrew Bible says Moses sent twelve spies into Canaan. The Targum Jonathan says he sent "keen-sighted men"—then reveals how spectacularly their vision failed them. Moses dispat...
Korah did not just challenge Moses. According to the Targum Jonathan, he manufactured a theological argument using the very fabric of his clothing, hid treasure he had looted from ...
The Blessing of Moses in (Deuteronomy 33) gets the full Targum treatment—every tribe's destiny expanded, every blessing loaded with specifics the Torah never mentions. It opens wit...
Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa and his wife lived in crushing poverty. Every Friday before Shabbat (the Sabbath), his wife would fire up the oven and throw in some kindling—not to bake bre...
The Hebrew Bible records Moses making the most audacious request in Scripture: "Show me Your glory" (Exodus 33:18). Targum Onkelos renders the response with his most careful theolo...
Midrash on the death of Aaron "I lost the three shepherds in one month" (Zecharia 11:8); and thus, in one month, Aaron, Miriam, and Moses died. Miriam died on the 1st of the month ...
On the last day of his life, Moses did something no prophet had ever done — he dressed his successor in public, with his own hands. He commanded that a golden throne be brought, al...
Pirkei Avot, also known as "Ethics of the Fathers," is one of the most widely studied texts in all of Jewish literature — and one of the most unusual tractates in the Talmud. Unlik...
Book of Eldad the Danite A Question and Answer between the People of Kairouan and Rabbi Zemach Gaon [Epstein, Eldad the Danite, Story I] Before the chariot of Israel and its horsem...
Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) Chacham HaRazim" (The Sage of Secrets): A Midrash regarding angels and gematria (Jewish numerology). According to Stein Schneider, this i...
Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) Sheni Ketuvim In the beginning God created etc. - To declare the might of the acts of creation to creatures, and to make it known to them...
[It is written] (Ps. 66:1) A prayer of David, preserve my soul, for I am pious. R. Levi and R. Isaac both explain this passage. One said : "Thus said David before the Holy One, pra...
A non-Jew once asked Rabban Gamliel a question that seemed simple but concealed a philosophical trap. "Your God," he said, "is supposedly the master of the entire universe. He crea...
R. Gamliel was proud and harsh and forced R. Joshua to stand up in the college during his lecture. Those present, greatly irritated, forced R. Gamliel to resign. R. Elazar b. Azary...
Two men came to pray before Rabbi Eliezer. One prayed at enormous length — pouring out his heart in elaborate, detailed petitions that stretched on and on. The other prayed briefly...
The Exempla of the Rabbis preserves a sprawling collection of tales about Solomon and the power of the divine Name. In these stories, Solomon commands demons, builds the Temple wit...
Two men came before Rabbi Eliezer to pray. One prayed at great length, pouring out his heart in elaborate, detailed petitions that went on and on. The other prayed briefly — a few ...
The birth of Moses was no ordinary event. According to the ancient chronicles preserved in Jerahmeel and the writings of Josephus, the arrival of Israel's greatest prophet was prec...
Moses stood before Israel and said: "You have been shown to know that the Lord, He is God; there is none beside Him" (Deuteronomy 4:35). Not told — shown. The plagues, the sea, the...
That’s what we’re talking about when we talk about God. famous verse from Exodus (3:14), where God tells Moses, "I shall be what I shall be." It’s so much more than just a name. It...
The Torah gives us a glimpse into such an experience with the story of the Ohel Mo'ed, the Tent of Meeting. The Book of Exodus describes how Moses would set up this tent "outside t...
Some traditions whisper that it’s so much more. Imagine this: The Red Sea is splitting, a monumental miracle unfolding before the eyes of the Israelites. According to some, at that...
to a fascinating passage from Bamidbar Rabbah 14, a Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), or interpretation, on the Book of Numbers, that explores this very tension. The pass...
In Jewish tradition, even the sequence of seemingly minor details can hold profound meaning. Take, for instance, the offerings of the princes in the Book of Numbers. Why does the p...
It might seem like a minor detail in the Book of Numbers, but Jewish tradition finds profound meaning in every nuance of the Torah. "On the twelfth day, prince of the children of N...
Even the tribe of Levi felt that way once, and their story, preserved in Bamidbar Rabbah (Numbers Rabbah) 15, is a powerful reminder of how God sees and values each of us, even whe...
The verse from Proverbs (26:6) sets the stage: “One who sends things by the hand of a fool cuts off his feet and drinks rancor.” Ouch. Strong words. But here's the puzzle: were the...
It’s a story found within Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Numbers. The scene is set: Moses has sent out spies to scout the Land of Israel. ...
It’s a question that echoes through the story of Moses and the waters of Mei Meriva – the waters of dispute. "These are the waters of dispute, where the children of Israel quarrele...
"Aaron will be gathered to his people," God tells Moses, "for he will not come into the land that I have given to the children of Israel, because you defied My directive at the wat...
The Israelites, fresh out of Egypt, certainly did. We find ourselves in the book of Numbers, Bamidbar in Hebrew, specifically chapter 21, verse 4: “They traveled from Hor Mountain ...
We often read about the grand miracles, the parting of the sea, the manna from heaven. But what about the gritty, day-to-day decisions, the moments of doubt and bravery? (Numbers 2...
This is the complex and very human story bubbling beneath the surface of (Numbers 27:17), "that the congregation of the Lord will not be like a flock that has no shepherd." It's a ...
We often take it for granted, but the bracha, the blessing after the meal, has a rich history, deeply intertwined with our relationship to the Land of Israel. Our source for this j...
Even Shabbat, the day of rest, felt that way once. Isn't that incredible? Our sages grappled with a question: why did God specifically bless Shabbat? Bereshit Rabbah, a collection ...
The verse in Genesis (6:14) states: "Craft for you an ark of cypress wood; you shall craft the ark with compartments, and you shall coat it within and without with pitch." Now, Rab...
Today, we're diving into Bereshit Rabbah 42, a fascinating passage from the Midrash, the body of ancient rabbinic interpretations of Scripture. This passage looks at Genesis 14, sp...
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven." We all know the famous line from Ecclesiastes (3:1). But have you ever stopped to consider just how m...
We pick up the story in (Genesis 32:4), where it says: "Jacob sent messengers." But before we get to that, (Genesis 32:3) tells us something crucial: "Jacob said, when he saw them:...
Bereshit Rabbah, that beautiful collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, dives deep into this very verse (Genesis 34:25) about Simeon and Levi avenging their ...
That feeling isn't new. Our ancestors wrestled with it too. Let’s delve into a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Gen...
The Torah is brimming with them, and Jewish tradition loves to unpack their layers of meaning. Take the dream of the chief butler in the Joseph story. In (Genesis 40:9), he recount...
Our guide? None other than Bereshit Rabbah 93, a treasure trove of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis. Specifically, we're looking at the moment Judah "approached" (va...
It's easy to read the Torah as a collection of individual stories, but the rabbis of old saw something more: echoes, parallels, and meaningful connections woven throughout the gene...
We often hear about the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the mighty hand of God... But what about the internal processes, the spiritual shifts that paved the way for that monum...
Take reading from the Torah, for example. The verse we're looking at is from (Deuteronomy 29:2): "Moses summoned all Israel, and he said to them: You have seen everything that the ...
In (Deuteronomy 31:14), God says to Moses, "Behold, your days are approaching to die; summon Joshua, and stand in the Tent of Meeting and I will command him." This verse, "Behold, ...
