1,400 related texts · Page 29 of 30
And according to the ancient rabbis, there's a profound reason why. Rabbi Yitzḥak opens Vayikra Rabbah 31 with a powerful image, quoting (Psalms 119:140): “Your saying is exceeding...
It’s a question that’s occupied Jewish thinkers for millennia, and today we're diving into a fascinating piece of that puzzle. Let's turn to Vayikra Rabbah, specifically chapter 31...
It's not just about taste or culinary use; there's a deeper story, a narrative woven through our texts that elevates olive oil above all other oils. Rabbi Ḥiyya, in Vayikra Rabbah ...
Take, for instance, the story in Vayikra Rabbah 31, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Leviticus. It focuses on Aaron, the High Priest, and his rol...
The ancient sages did, too. And they found wisdom in the balance. Rabbi Tanhum ben Rabbi Hiyya, a wise teacher of old, opened his heart with a verse from Ecclesiastes (7:14): “On a...
The Torah touches on this profoundly, urging us not to ignore the suffering of others. It's more than just a nice idea; it’s a core principle woven into the fabric of Jewish ethics...
You're not alone. Our tradition recognizes this struggle, this internal tug-of-war. And it offers a powerful image to understand it. The text we're looking at today comes from Vayi...
Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Leviticus, tackles this very question. And it does so with a story – a really compelling one. It starts with...
“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...
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...
“May it not befall you, all wayfarers. Look and see: Is there any pain like my pain, which has been done to me, with which the Lord has tormented me on the day of His enflamed wrat...
“And did not remember His footstool [hadom raglav],” Rabbi Ḥanina bar Yitzḥak said: The Holy One blessed be He does not remember that blood [hadam] that was between the legs of the...
“He severed in his enflamed wrath all the horn of Israel; He retracted His right hand from before the enemy. He burned in Jacob like flaming fire, consuming all around” (Lamentatio...
“What shall I attest to you, to what shall I liken you, daughter of Jerusalem? To what shall I equate you, and comfort you, virgin daughter of Zion? For your breach is as vast as t...
“Your iniquity is completed, daughter of Zion; He will not continue to exile you. He will reckon your iniquity, daughter of Edom, He will expose your sins” (Lamentations 4:22).“You...
“It was during the days of Aḥashverosh; that [hu] Aḥashverosh who reigned from India to Kush, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces” (Esther 1:1). Hu [appears] five [times] for ev...
“The king said to her: What troubles you, Queen Esther, and what is your request… Esther said: If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet… The king sa...
This happens, especially when we delve into the complex world of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. And that’s precisely what this passage addresses: a series of misunderstandings and mis...
How do we know what's real, especially when it comes to something as immense as the Divine? How do we stay on the path, the derech, when so many voices clamor for our attention? Th...
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? ...
And one intriguing perspective comes to us from the writings attributed to Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher who lived in Egypt during the time of the Second Temple. In "Th...
It’s a question that’s nagged at theologians and storytellers for centuries. Why does Moses, in the book of Genesis, specifically call out the serpent as being the craftiest of the...
Philo, the 1st-century Jewish philosopher from Alexandria, grappled with this very question in his own way. In what we call "The Midrash of Philo," he argues that Adam must have be...
Turns out, there's more to it than just a quick wardrobe fix. Our sages saw layers of meaning woven into that very first act of covering up. In The Midrash of Philo, we find a fasc...
Philo, a Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria in the first century CE, offered a unique lens through which to view the Torah. He sought to reconcile Jewish tradition with Gre...
A dove, sure, feels right. But a raven? What's that all about?Philo wasn't just interested in the surface-level story; he was all about digging deeper, finding the hidden meanings ...
It’s more than just pretty colors arching across the sky. : God makes a covenant, a sacred agreement, with humanity after the great flood. And what's the sign of this unbreakable p...
The Midrash of Philo, a collection of interpretations and elaborations on the Torah, offers a profound perspective. It highlights the expression, "And he took unto him," suggesting...
It all starts with the verse: "Abraham passed over and sat upon them" (Genesis 15:11). Simple enough. But what does it mean? What is Abraham sitting on? Some interpret this verse a...
And the answer, again and again, comes back to this: God is everywhere. It's right there in the scriptures. As it says, "His presence fills all the earth" (Isaiah 6:3). We're not t...
And he went out on the second day, and behold, two men of the Hebrews were striving together (Exod. 2:13). Who were these men? They were Dathan and Abiram, who later said: Let us m...
And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel (Exod. 4:29). He told them: The Holy One, blessed be He, has said: I have surely remembered ...
Go into the wilderness to meet Moses (Exod. 4:27). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each ...
And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord (Exod. 4:29). Moses began to reveal to him everything that the Holy One, blessed be He, had told him, and that he was to go perform t...
And the Lord said unto Moses: “Stretch forth thy hand toward heaven that there may be hail” (Exod. 9:22). Scripture says (elsewhere in allusion to this verse): Whatsoever the Lord ...
And the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying (Exod. 12:1). Is it not a fact that He spoke only to Moses? Why, then, does the Scripture say unto Moses and Aa...
And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun (Exod. 17:12). Since time was calculated by means of the stars, what did Moses do? He stopped the revolution of the sun, t...
18:1). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: And so I saw the wicked buried, and they came into their rest; but they that had done right went away from the holy pl...
In the third month (Exod. 19:1). Scripture says elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Have I not written unto thee excellent things (shilshom) of counsels and knowledge (Prov. 22:20...
When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel according to their number (Exod. 30:12).14Pesikta de Rav Kahana, Shekalim, p. 156. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Ta...
And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of speaking with him (Exod. 31:18). R. Simeon the son of Lakish said: This may be compared to a man whose teacher is instructing him...
And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down (Exod. 32:1). The word boshesh (“delayed”) indicates that it was the sixth hour of the day. Forty thousand people had assemb...
(Lev. 1:1:) “Then [the Lord] called unto Moses.” Let our master instruct us: When the one who leads the prayers makes a mistake by not saying the benediction on the cursing of the ...
(Numb. 1:1:) “Then the Lord spoke unto Moses.” Fortunate are you, Moses!25Numb. R. 1:6; cf. Lev. R. 1:1. Six hundred thousand were present with the priests, the Levites, and the el...
(Numb. 1:1) “Then the Lord spoke unto Moses in the Sinai desert.” [Sinai] was called by six names: Mountain of God (as in Ps. 68:16), Mount Bashan (ibid.), Mountain of Peaks (ibid....
(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 ...
(Numb. 16:1:) “Now Korah […] took.” [What] he took [was] his prayer shawl and he went to get counsel from his wife.11Numb. R. 18:4. When the Holy One, blessed be He, said (in Numb....
(Numb. 16:1:) “[Korah who is] the son of Izhar [who is] the son of Kohath [who is] the son of Levi betook himself.” But there is not written "the son of Jacob" [or] "the son of Isr...
