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It's filled with poetic imagery, and today we're going to delve into just one verse, (Song of Songs 4:4): "Your neck is like the tower of David, built magnificently. One thousand b...
Now, Song of Songs is already pretty heady stuff – love, longing, metaphor piled upon metaphor. But the Rabbah, the commentary, takes it to a whole new level, interpreting the poem...
It turns out, the ancient rabbis thought about this a lot, especially when it came to the relationship between humanity and God.” In Shir HaShirim Rabbah 6, a midrash (rabbinic int...
The collection of rabbinic homiletic interpretations of Song of Songs, Shir HaShirim Rabbah, dives deep into this very question. Rabbi Berekhya offers a surprising take: how can ho...
Beautiful. But what's it really saying? The verse begins, "His cheeks are like a bed of spices." Rabbi Yannai offers a fascinating interpretation. He recalls his youth when he and ...
Take this verse from (Song of Songs 5:15): "His calves are pillars of marble, set on sockets of fine gold; his appearance is like Lebanon, choice like cedars.” Now, what does any o...
It's filled with metaphors, and some of them are truly striking. Take this one: "Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon." What does that even mean? Well, the Rabbis of Shir HaShiri...
We're looking at verse 8:12: “My vineyard is before me; the thousand is for you, Solomon, and two hundred for those who guard its fruit.” What does this seemingly simple verse real...
to a story about the name Ephraim, and how it’s so much more than just a name. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Vayikra Rabbah, that treasure trove of r...
It all starts with the verse: “Take Aaron, and his sons with him, and the vestments, and the anointing oil, and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams, and the basket of un...
It’s a powerful idea, and it’s one that our sages explored deeply. There's a fascinating passage in Vayikra Rabbah 11 that tackles just this – the idea that God interacts with us i...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. And they found profound metaphors in the everyday to explain the divine orchestration of it all. We find a fascinating exploration of this in Vayi...
After all, it's not exactly a flattering name given Canaan's, shall we say, complicated backstory. Vayikra Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Lev...
We find ourselves in Vayikra Rabbah, specifically chapter 20, digging into the story of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, and their brothers Elazar and Itamar. You remember Nadab and ...
And believe it or not, there's an ancient teaching that uses a similar image to describe the Jewish people's relationship with… well, pretty much everything. It all starts with a l...
It all starts with a verse from the Song of Songs (5:15): “His calves [shokav] are pillars of marble [amudei shesh].” But what do calves and marble pillars have to do with… well, a...
The verse from (Leviticus 23:24) sets the stage: "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: In the seventh month, on the first of the month, shall be a rest for you, a remembrance b...
The ancient rabbis pondered such a moment, centered on our patriarch, Jacob, and a vision of a ladder reaching to the heavens. The scene is set in Genesis, where Jacob dreams of a ...
The ancient rabbis grappled with these questions too, and their insights, preserved in texts like Vayikra Rabbah, offer some startling perspectives. Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba, quoting R...
In Jewish tradition, the number seven is definitely one of those numbers. It’s not just a random figure; it's woven into the very fabric of our understanding of the world and our r...
Vayikra Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Leviticus, delves into this very question, challenging us to examine our motivations and the imp...
“She has no comforter.” Rabbi Levi said: Any place that it is stated: “Has no [ein],” [ultimately] she will have. “Sarai was barren, she had no [ein] child” (Genesis 11:30), but [u...
Rabbi Akiva was sitting and lecturing and his students [began] dozing. He sought to rouse them; he said: Why did Esther merit to rule over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces? R...
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...
It’s a question that has echoes through Jewish tradition, and one that comes up in a fascinating discussion about bowing down, prostration, and the very nature of God’s glory. The ...
Isn't it fascinating how often we grapple with the line between respect and worship? Where do we draw that boundary? It's a question that goes right to the heart of Jewish thought....
The book "HaB'rit," in a chapter written by the author of "Ma'amar Kuf" in "Yashar Levav," touches on this very idea: that the very name of God is ever-present on our lips. When we...
The ancient sages certainly did. And they found profound meaning in that feeling. to a fascinating interpretation of a well-known biblical passage, explored in the Midrash of Philo...
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...
And they gave us a whole treasure trove of interpretations, embellishments, and downright fascinating tales to flesh things out. The verse in question? (Genesis 16:15): "Hagar brou...
We find him in (Genesis 17:3), and the Torah tells us, "Abraham fell on his face." But... why? What was going on in that moment that caused Abraham, the patriarch, the man of faith...
One such moment comes to us in (Genesis 17:18). Abraham, after hearing God's promise of a son, Isaac, through Sarah, turns to God and says, "O may my son Ishmael live before thee!"...
The story of Abraham and Isaac, the Akeidah (the binding), grapples with these very questions. Abraham and Sarah, living in the Land of Israel, yearned for a child. Their lives wer...
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel (Gen. 14:1). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: Through Thee do we push down our adversaries, through Thy name do we t...
And the Lord remembered Sarah, as he had said (Gen. 21:1). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: God is not a man that He should lie; neither the son of man, that H...
And the Lord remembered Sarah, as he had said (Gen. 21:1). May it please our master to teach us: What is considered ona’ah (wrong doing)? Our masters teach us: A man is forbidden t...
And the Lord remembered Sarah, as he had said (Gen. 21:1). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, have br...
And Abraham was old, well stricken in age (Gen. 24:1). May it please our master to teach us: What should a man do if he is riding upon an ass when the time for prayer arrives? Thus...
And Abraham was old, well stricken in age (Gen. 24:1). R. Joshua the son of Nahmani said: Men become old prematurely because of four things: fear, grief caused by children, a wicke...
And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son (Gen. 25:19). May it please our master to teach us why peace-offerings (sacrifices) were instituted?1There are three kinds of ...
These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begot Isaac (Gen. 25:19). It is written in Scripture: No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tong...
Abraham begot Isaac (Gen. 25:19). R. Isaac stated; No generation lacks scoffers. While Nabal was shearing his flock, David sent some of his young men to him with the request: Give,...
And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old (Gen. 27:1). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: Instead of thy fathers shall be thy sons, whom thou shalt make prin...
And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba (Gen. 28:10). May it please our master to teach us where a man who has unintentionally taken the life of another man may take refuge. Thus do our...
The Lord saw that Leah was hated (Gen. 29:17). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: For He knoweth base men; and when He seeketh iniquity, will He not then conside...
And God remembered Rachel (Gen. 30:22). Scripture states elsewhere: He executeth justice for the oppressed (Ps. 146:7). This verse alludes to Israel. R. Phinehas the priest, the so...
I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now. and I have oxen, and asses and flocks, and manservants and maid-servants (Gen. 32:5–6). He was telling Esau: “Though I have lived...
42:1). May it please our master to teach us the number of days during which a mourner is forbidden to work. Thus did our master teach us: A mourner is forbidden to work during the ...
