4,193 related texts · Page 3 of 88
Jewish tradition grapples with this, especially when it comes to a concept called sorer umoreh, the "wayward and rebellious son." Now, the term sorer umoreh itself is fascinating. ...
Sometimes, even seemingly small words open up worlds of interpretation. to one such instance, found in Sifrei Devarim, specifically dealing with (Deuteronomy 23:9). The verse state...
Turns out, Jewish tradition has a lot to say about the power – and the potential harm – packed into our words. Sifrei Devarim, a fascinating work of halakha (Jewish law) connected ...
to a fascinating corner of Halakha (Jewish Law) today, found within the ancient text of Sifrei Devarim, a commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy. Our starting point is a rather unus...
There's more to it than you might imagine, especially when we peek into the ancient Jewish agricultural laws. to a fascinating little verse from Devarim, Deuteronomy, specifically ...
Not just any rain, mind you, but a gentle, life-giving shower falling on parched grass. The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)im on th...
And the answer, well, it's more mystical than you might imagine. The book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), the last book of the Torah, tells us, "And He buried him in the valley, in the l...
But Jewish tradition sees so much more. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Bamidbar Rabbah 19, unpacks this verse, revealing layers of meaning and offerin...
It all stems from the opening of Devarim, the Book of Deuteronomy. Moses stands before the Israelites, ready to deliver his final, powerful speeches. And the very first verse we en...
to a story from Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, that really brings this to life. The story picks up right after the Exodus. Imagine t...
In (Deuteronomy 3:2), God tells Moses, "Do not fear him, as I have delivered him and his entire people and his land into your hand; you shall do to him as you did to Siḥon, king of...
The ancient rabbis pondered this very idea, using a seemingly simple verse about eating meat to unlock profound insights about freedom, desire, and divine provision. It all starts ...
We all have. But what if those words had far more power than we imagined? What if they could actually… physically harm us? Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings and in...
Even Moses, the great lawgiver, felt it. In Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, we find a poignant moment where Moses pleads with God. He...
And they found a surprisingly relevant metaphor in the Book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet. The verse says, "all the rivers go to the sea." Kohelet Rabbah, a Midrash (rabbinic interpr...
These are the ten questions that Rabbi Eliezer asked regarding the resurrection of the dead: The first one is - will God resurrect some of Israel or all of them? The answer is that...
Hell has seven names. This is what Aggadat Bereshit says when Malachi promises "the day is coming, burning like an oven" (Malachi 3:19). The rabbis did not flinch from the geograph...
Hannah was barren for years. Her husband loved her and her rival taunted her and the priest Eli misread her prayer as drunkenness. The whole story is about a woman whose deepest lo...
“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...
What did Mordekhai say to someone who would say to him: “Why are you violating the king’s command?” (Esther 3:3) Rabbi Levi said: Mordekhai would say: ‘Moses our master cautioned u...
"Remember what Amalek did to you" (Deuteronomy 25:17). God remembers the righteous for good and the wicked for destruction. When He recalled Abraham, He spoke with affection: "Shal...
A single verse from Deuteronomy captured the entire emotional arc of Jewish exile. "In the morning you will say: Would that it were evening, and in the evening you will say: Would ...
Not just any giant, but the giant. The one with a bed... well, you won't believe it. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, Og had this bed—fashioned out of ivor...
Talk about pressure! The Israelites weren’t exactly waging war on Moab, but their very presence – a kind of “hostile, though not warlike, attitude” as Ginzberg phrases it in Legend...
In (Deuteronomy 1:4), we read about Moses recounting how God helped them defeat Sichon, king of the Amorites. But what does that seemingly simple historical detail really tell us? ...
We read phrases like "the sword of the Lord," but... swords don't literally belong to God. And they certainly don't eat flesh! So, what's going on when we read, as we do in Sifrei ...
The chapter opens with a change of leadership in Edom. Baal Channan, son of Achbor, dies and the Edomites reach out to find a new king. They settle on a man named Hadad. He reigns ...
It involves a divine tour, some hard "nos," and a resounding "yes" that changed everything. The story goes that before God presented the Torah to Israel, He offered it to all the n...
I'm not just talking metaphorically big, but physically, impossibly huge. Let's talk about Og, king of Bashan. Now, Og wasn't just tall; he was…unwieldy, let's say. Imagine someone...
Moses, knowing his time is near, addresses the Israelites. He's not just giving a farewell speech; he's ensuring the continuity of the sacred knowledge. "To explain this Torah," he...
In the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), specifically chapter 3, verse 24, we find Moses pleading with God. He says, "Your greatness (gadlecha)..." But what exactly does that gadlecha...
The ancient rabbis certainly understood that feeling. And they weren't afraid to address it head-on. In Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early rabbinic legal commentaries on the Boo...
This question sits at the heart of a beautiful passage from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)im on the Book of Deuteronomy. It revolv...
Turns out, the Torah might have some surprising advice for us, hidden in the very last words Moses ever spoke to the Israelites. It’s in Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:2, part of Moses' ...
When you approach a friend, do you immediately launch into your requests, or do you begin with a little connection, a little appreciation? Our prayers, especially the Amidah—that c...
It’s a question that resonates through the ages, and the Sifrei Devarim, an ancient commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, offers a fascinating perspective. The text begins with th...
The story, as you might recall, is…well, let’s just say it’s complicated. After the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his daughters are living in a cave. The daughters, be...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, tackles this very question. It starts with a verse from Proverbs (2:1): "My son, if you take my sayin...
The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)im on the Book of Deuteronomy, tackles this very feeling in a fascinating way. It starts with th...
It turns out, even ancient texts grapple with these questions, offering surprising insights into universal ethics. to Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically section 8. This isn't your typic...
A classic example surfaces in Bamidbar Rabbah 19 as it grapples with a seemingly simple verse: "Israel sent messengers to Siḥon, king of the Emorites, saying…" (Numbers 21:21). The...
Take, for example, the story of sending messengers. In one place, it says Israel sent them. In another, it says Moses did. So, which is it? Did the whole nation get together and wr...
The ancient rabbis wrestled with this, too, and their insights, preserved in Shemot Rabbah, are surprisingly relevant today. The verse from Hosea (14:3) says, "Take words with you ...
It pulls no punches in its call for humility and divine justice. Ben Sira, a sage writing in Hebrew around 200 BCE, gives us these powerful words: "Make an end of the head of the p...
It wasn't always through armies and diplomacy. Sometimes, they turned to magic. Take Balak, for instance, the King of Moab. He wasn't just any king. The Torah introduces him as the...
Our story begins with the Moabites, watching with growing unease as Israel triumphs over their enemies. But they knew it wasn't just military might at play. It was... something els...
Rabbi Yossi HaGlili tackles a puzzle buried in the Torah's festival calendar. The verse in (Deuteronomy 16:15) commands, "Seven days shall you celebrate to the Lord your God." On i...
The Mekhilta continues its meditation on the Song of the Sea by enumerating the reasons God is worthy of song. "I shall sing to the Lord," the Israelites declared — and one reason ...
