2,086 related texts · Page 33 of 44
Rabbi Eliezer takes the most expansive position in this debate. Like the sages, he rules that a person fulfills the matzah obligation with all types of dough and with second-tithe ...
The Torah states "and you shall circumcise him; then he shall eat of it," establishing circumcision as a prerequisite for eating the Passover sacrifice. The Mekhilta uses this vers...
Rabbi Yitzchak posed a sharp question about what appeared to be a redundant verse. The Torah states that a toshav (resident alien) and a sachir (hired worker) may not eat of the Pa...
"let all of his males be circumcised": We are hereby apprised that (non) circumcision of his males prevents him from offering the Pesach (Passover). Whence do we derive the same fo...
I might think that just as in the armpiece there is one parchment, so, should there be in the headpiece. And this would follow, viz.: Since the Torah prescribes tefillin (leather p...
The Torah instructs placing tefillin (leather phylacteries worn during prayer) "between your eyes." Taken literally, this would mean on the bridge of the nose or the forehead direc...
How often must a person inspect their tefillin (leather phylacteries worn during prayer) to make sure the scrolls inside are still intact? The Mekhilta derives the answer through a...
The Mekhilta preserves one of the most comprehensive lists of a father's obligations to his son in all of rabbinic literature. By Torah mandate, a man must do the following for his...
Rabbi Shimon HaTemani declared that God split the Red Sea in the merit of a single commandment: circumcision. The covenant of Abraham, inscribed in the flesh of every Jewish male, ...
The Mekhilta makes a declaration that connects the Exodus to the future redemption of Israel. The exiles will be gathered in only as a reward for faith. Not for Torah study alone, ...
Rabbi Elazar Hamodai expanded the promise of Sabbath observance far beyond three festivals. Where Rabbi Yehoshua linked Shabbat (the Sabbath) to Pesach (Passover), Shavuot, and Suc...
Rabbi Chaninah once brought a question to Rabbi Elazar in the Great College: how should we understand the word "Refidim" in the verse "and warred with Israel in Refidim"? Should it...
The Mekhilta methodically eliminates every possible misunderstanding about how the Torah was given at Sinai. Each wrong assumption is raised and then demolished by a specific verse...
R. Yossi says: It is written (Isaiah 45:19) "Not in secrecy did I speak, in a place of darkness, etc." In the very beginning, when I gave it, I did not give it in secret or in a da...
The tradition paints a rather… unusual picture. Imagine an angel resembling an ox with a split lip. Strange. But hold that image for a moment, because this angel's position is what...
The tale of Sodom and Gomorrah definitely fits that bill. It's a story of hospitality gone wrong, moral decay, and divine retribution that leaves you breathless. It all starts with...
There's a powerful, almost unsettling image in Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletic interpretations of the Book of Psalms. It speaks of someone being stripped bare, of havin...
It's all about the Tekufot (תְּקוּפוֹת) – the beginnings of the seasons. Now, the text might seem a little dense at first glance, but bear with me. It's like unlocking a secret cod...
The sages of the Sifrei Devarim, an early rabbinic commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, dig deep into this very question, and what they uncover is surprisingly…intense. The rabbi...
That feeling isn't new. Our ancestors wrestled with it too, especially when it came to learning and observing mitzvot (commandments), commandments. to a passage from Sifrei Devarim...
The verse in Deuteronomy (16:4) is pretty clear: "And there shall not be seen unto you leaven in all of your border for seven days." Seems straightforward. No chametz for you! But ...
It's not as simple as "everyone," that's for sure. to what the ancient texts tell us about who’s in, who’s out, and why. The verse we’re unpacking is from Sifrei Devarim, a collect...
The ancient text, Sifrei Devarim, offers a radical idea about that very possibility. It starts with a verse from Deuteronomy (16:16): "…the presence (pnei) of the L-rd your G-d." T...
It wasn't just about grand ceremonies; even the distribution of offerings had its own set of rules and regulations. to one little-known, but fascinating, detail from Sifrei Devarim...
A man who had mastered Scripture, studied the Mishnah, and served many scholars dropped dead in the middle of his life. His widow seized his tefillin (leather phylacteries worn dur...
Leviticus 23 lists every festival on the Jewish calendar. The Targum Jonathan transforms it from a schedule into an instruction manual, adding measurements, procedures, and theolog...
The judgment of the wicked in Gehinnom (the place of spiritual purification after death) lasts twelve months, as it says “And it shall be from new moon to new moon…” (Yeshayahu 66:...
The Talmud in Berakhot 57a catalogues an entire symbolic vocabulary of dreams—a dictionary of the unconscious, organized by category, where every image carries a fixed meaning. Ani...
The story of Abraham burying Sarah in the book of Genesis, specifically as explored in Bereshit Rabbah 58, really brings that feeling to life. "Abraham arose from before his dead, ...
It starts with the verse "This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2), which marks the beginning of the Hebrew month of Nissan, the month of Passover, the month of our freedom. But ...
The ancient rabbis had something to say about that, and it all comes down to light. Shemot Rabbah, a classic collection of Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic interpretati...
It’s a question that’s been wrestled with for centuries in Jewish tradition. What if someone says Elijah himself appeared to them? According to some, that person might be peddling ...
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel (Gen. 14:1). May it please our master to teach us when a proselyte who has been converted on the eve of the Passover is permitted to par...
And it shall be for a sign upon thy hand (Exod. 13:16). Upon thy hand refers to the biceps. Between thine eyes refers to the top of the forehead. Where is that located? The school ...
This ancient text, considered canonical by some but not included in the standard Hebrew Bible, offers a fascinating glimpse into a world where spiritual forces are constantly at pl...
The Book of Jubilees, a text that dances on the edge of the biblical canon, gives us a breathtakingly detailed account. It’s a story of creation, but also so much more. It’s a stor...
The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text considered scripture in some traditions but not included in the Tanakh, gives us a glimpse into that cosmic schedule. It tells us that God ...
The sheer magnitude of creation, neatly organized into a divine schedule. It’s mind-boggling, isn't it? Our little peek into that schedule comes from the Book of Jubilees, a text s...
Jubilees, for those unfamiliar, is a Jewish work of the Second Temple period. It retells the stories of Genesis and Exodus but with a unique theological slant and additional detail...
Jubilees, for those unfamiliar, is an ancient Jewish text that retells the stories from Genesis and Exodus, but with some… shall we say, interesting additions. It's considered pseu...
to the Book of Jubilees, a text not found in the Hebrew Bible itself, but considered sacred by some, particularly within Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. It's a retelling of Genesi...
The Book of Jubilees, a text from around the 2nd century BCE, gives us a glimpse into that mindset. It’s a retelling of Genesis and Exodus, but with some… well, let's call them exp...
You know, the one with the coat of many colors. We often focus on his rise to power in Egypt, but let’s not forget the messy middle. The part where he's wrongly accused and finds h...
It’s one of the most powerful scenes in the entire Torah, isn't it?The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text considered apocryphal by some, offers a slightly different, expanded ver...
We're diving into the Book of Jubilees today, specifically chapter 44. Now, Jubilees – sometimes called Lesser Genesis – is a fascinating text. It's considered scripture by some, l...
While Genesis gives us the basic family tree, other ancient texts fill in fascinating details, sometimes even offering slightly different accounts. Today, we’re diving into one of ...
Today, let’s pull back the curtain on a seemingly simple passage from the Book of Jubilees, chapter 44. It’s a passage that, at first glance, reads like a dry family register. But ...
Today, let's talk about the number seventy. Specifically, the seventy souls of Jacob’s family who went down to Egypt. It's a seemingly simple statement, isn’t it? "And all the soul...
