4,193 related texts · Page 13 of 88
Jubilees, in its 40th chapter, paints a picture of Joseph that goes beyond the familiar story of the coat of many colors and the dreams. It tells us, "for he walked in uprightness,...
That’s the feeling that hangs in the air as we turn to the Book of Tobit, specifically chapter 7. Remember Tobiyyah, our hero, sent on a quest to retrieve some much-needed silver? ...
The Book of Jasher, an ancient Hebrew text referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13 and (2 Samuel 1:1)8), offers a fascinating account. .. The scene opens with Isaac, Abraham's...
Sometimes, it's the little-known stories, the tucked-away details, that truly bring the past to life. to a snippet from the Book of Jasher, a text mentioned in the Bible itself (Jo...
And while the Torah itself offers a relatively concise account, Jewish tradition, as it often does, fills in the gaps with breathtaking detail. According to Legends of the Jews, a ...
The story of Judah confronting Joseph in Egypt is just that—a dramatic face-off fueled by family secrets, accusations, and the desperate need to protect a brother. The scene is set...
According to Legends of the Jews, that incredible compilation of rabbinic lore by Louis Ginzberg, in his one hundred and twenty-fifth year, while still healthy, Asher gathered his ...
The story of Moses' birth is a powerful testament to that kind of bravery, laced with faith and a touch of the miraculous. It all begins with a decree from Pharaoh, ordering the de...
Plagues, parting of the Red Sea, freedom! But the details…they’re wild. Imagine the scene: the Egyptians, fresh from the devastation of the tenth plague, practically shoving the Is...
And it led to one of the most dramatic moments in the Joseph story. Pharaoh, plagued by these intense dreams, had already consulted the wise men of Egypt. But their interpretations...
Picture him gathering his sons around him, his voice perhaps a little weaker now, but his eyes still shining with conviction. He doesn't dwell on personal matters, or worldly posse...
"What! Is our sorrow not great enough, burdened as we are by those who have suffered in Egypt from the very beginning? Must you add more to the land?" Can you imagine Aaron saying ...
It wasn't just random chaos. According to Jewish tradition, there was a profound, almost poetic, justice at play. The Torah, our sacred text, often draws parallels between differen...
It's easy to think of them as just escalating horrors, but sometimes the sequence itself holds a clue. Let's look at the plague of the frogs, the second of the ten, and see what we...
According to the Legends of the Jews, as retold by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, Moses chose his servant Joshua to lead the charge. Why? Because Moses knew that only a descendant of Rachel...
We all know the big picture – freedom from slavery, the Ten Commandments. But what about the finer details? What was the tone, the emphasis, the heart of his message? Well, accordi...
Turns out, according to some pretty amazing stories, it wasn't as simple as just saying "yes." Before that earth-shattering covenant, before the words were etched in stone, Moses, ...
But Moses, Moshe Rabbenu, our teacher, wasn't about to give up on them. For forty days and forty nights—that's right, another forty-day stretch in the Bible—from the 18th of Tammuz...
That feeling isn’t new. to a story about Korah, a figure who challenged Moses and Aaron, found in Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg, which itself draws from various Midrash (ra...
It’s easy to imagine him as this larger-than-life figure, divinely guided, but sometimes he acted with remarkable prudence, almost bordering on… politeness. We find an example of t...
That's the story we're about to explore. After all those years wandering in the desert, the Israelites, led by Moses, were finally approaching the land promised to them by God. The...
We all know the story: the Israelites, wandering in the desert, grumbling (as they were wont to do!). And as a result, God sends serpents amongst them (Numbers 21:4-9). But here's ...
The story centers around Zimri, a prince of the tribe of Simeon, and his brazen defiance. He publicly takes Cozbi, a Midianite woman, as his own. A clear violation of the law. But ...
Specifically, think about the Midianites and the Moabites. Both were thorns in the side of Israel, but according to tradition, the command to wage war against them came at the same...
That, my friends, is a glimpse into the heart of Moses at the end of his life. He's standing there, so close to the Promised Land, after leading the Israelites through forty years ...
He needed an advocate, someone to plead his case before the Almighty Himself. But who could possibly take on such a task? First, he turned to Mount Sinai. – Sinai! The very mountai...
Today, we're diving into one such path, guided by the words of Josephus, a first-century Romano-Jewish historian. He's responding to some pretty harsh claims made by an Egyptian pr...
Vital, as recounted in Sefer ha-Hezyonot, dreamed of a very unusual Simhat Torah, the joyous holiday that celebrates the completion of the annual Torah reading cycle. Imagine this:...
He paints a picture of a future where the light of wisdom will shine so brightly that even the most unlearned will recognize the greatness of Torah scholars. Imagine a world where ...
At Sinai, the Israelites experienced the overwhelming presence of HaShem. But what did they actually see? Moses, in his wisdom, warns the Israelites, “And guard your souls very muc...
Jewish mystical thought, especially as expressed in texts like Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah ("Key to the Gates of Wisdom") suggests that everything – absolutely everything – works toget...
The mystics of the Kabbalah certainly thought so. And in the Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a companion volume to the Zohar itself, we find some truly fascinating interpretatio...
Maybe you should. The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a cornerstone of Kabbalistic thought, makes a pretty bold statement: because the People of Israel have guarded the covenant...
This passage speaks of a future time, a moment of profound transformation linked to Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks, when we celebrate the giving of the Torah. The text tells us tha...
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov taught that there is a reason why Torah scholars so often oppose the true tzaddik (a righteous person)im (the righteous). It is not a flaw in the system. I...
An analogy: A man sent to his servant: Go and bring me a fish from the marketplace. He goes and buys him a rotten fish, at which the master says to him: Either eat the fish, or rec...
Rabbi Yossi HaGlili told a parable to explain one of the most staggering miscalculations in the history of Egypt. A man inherited a beth kor of land — a sizable property — and sold...
Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai offered his own version of the parable about Egypt's catastrophic miscalculation, and his telling amplified the scale of the blunder dramatically. A man inh...
Rabbi Avshalom the Elder told a parable to explain why God responded to Moses' extended prayer at the Red Sea with what seemed like impatience. The parable captures the tenderness ...
An analogy: A dove, fleeing a hawk, enters a king's palace, whereupon the king opens the eastern window for her, whence she escapes. The hawk, following, the king closes all the wi...
R. Eliezer b. Tadai says; Moses would begin with his words, and Israel would respond (with theirs). Moses would begin: "I shall sing to the L–rd," and Israel would end with him and...
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...
The expounders of metaphors said: They did not "find" words of Torah, which are compared to water. Where is this seen? (Isaiah 55:1) "Ho! all who thirst, go to the waters!" Because...
(Exodus 15:26) "And He said: If pay heed, you shall pay heed": From here it was derived: If a man paid heed to one mitzvah, he is caused to pay heed to many mitzvot (commandments)h...
Moses told the people, "Be ready in three days" (Exodus 19:15), instructing them to separate from their wives in preparation for receiving the Torah. But the Mekhilta notices a pro...
Rabbi Akiva challenged Rabbi Eliezer with a question about what happened when God spoke the commandments at Sinai. Moses spoke and God answered — but what does that mean? Rabbi Eli...
The sages offered an alternative view of how the Ten Commandments were arranged on the two tablets. While Rabbi Chanina ben Gamliel taught that five commandments appeared on each t...
R. Eliezer says: to apprise us of the exalted state of Israel. When they all stood at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, there were no blind ones among them, viz. "And all the peopl...
