4,193 related texts · Page 54 of 88
In Jewish tradition, this isn't just a feeling; it's sometimes a calling. Sifrei Devarim, in its unique way, shines a light on the incredible self-sacrifice of Israel’s great leade...
They saw layers of connection, echoes of stories past, and whispers of divine intent in every word. Take, for instance, a passage from Sifrei Devarim, a legal midrash on the Book o...
The verse in question, from Deuteronomy, speaks of the tribe of Benjamin: "He shall rest securely upon Him." The Sifrei Devarim immediately connects this "security" with the idea o...
The ancient text Sifrei Devarim (Deuteronomy) wrestles with just that idea in a beautiful, almost poetic way. It's talking about the tribe of Benjamin, and specifically, about the ...
It's more than just a feeling. Our tradition teaches us it's literally built on the border between two tribal territories: Benjamin and Judah. But how can that be? We read in Genes...
We read about her tragic death in the Torah, but the exact location... well, that's where things get interesting. The Torah tells us (Genesis 48:7) that Jacob, looking back on his ...
It seems like a simple question, but the answer, like so many things in Jewish tradition, is layered with meaning. The Sifrei Devarim, an ancient commentary on the Book of Deuteron...
And, surprisingly, it's a concept we find echoed even in the most sacred of texts when describing the relationship between God and the tribes of Israel. Sifrei Devarim 352 paints u...
It all comes down to a verse, a blessing really, found in (Deuteronomy 33:13): "And of Joseph he said: 'Blessed of the L-rd is his land.'" Sounds simple enough. But the rabbis of t...
The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early rabbinic legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, offers us a beautiful glimpse into this idea, through its exploration of Moses'...
The ancient text Sifrei Devarim offers a stunningly poetic answer, connecting blessings to something primal, something ancient and enduring. It speaks of "the first of the mountain...
Turns out, ancient Jewish texts imagined just that – a global trade delegation that ends up converting to Judaism wholesale! The text we're looking at today comes from Sifrei Devar...
The ancient text Sifrei Devarim, a commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, offers a fascinating possibility, linking the tribes of Yissachar and Zevulun to this very concept. The ve...
We often think of the biblical tribes as these monolithic entities, but they were families, prone to squabbles and reconciliation just like us. Take the tribe of Asher. What made t...
Our text comes from Sifrei Devarim (a collection of legal midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)im on the book of Deuteronomy). It speaks of a vision granted to Moses, a vision...
(Genesis 4:8) contains one of the strangest silences in the Torah. It says "Cain spoke to Abel his brother," and then nothing. The sentence just stops. The next thing that happens ...
The standard Genesis 36 reads like a dry census of Esau's descendants. But the Targum Jonathan, the ancient Aramaic interpretive translation, quietly inserts theological details th...
The priestly garments in (Exodus 28:1-43) are already elaborate in the Hebrew Bible. The Targum Jonathan turns them into theological weapons. Every piece of clothing becomes an ins...
The Targum Jonathan on (Deuteronomy 5) does something extraordinary with the Ten Commandments. Where the Hebrew gives each commandment as a prohibition, the Targum expands every si...
The Targum Jonathan on (Deuteronomy 7) contains one of the most theologically radical statements in all of ancient Aramaic literature. God did not choose Israel because they were t...
The Targum Jonathan on (Deuteronomy 9) contains one of the most dramatic expansions in all of Aramaic literature. When Moses recalls the golden calf, the Hebrew says God was angry ...
The Targum Jonathan on (Deuteronomy 13) confronts one of the most dangerous problems in ancient Israelite religion: the prophet whose miracles actually work. The Hebrew text warns ...
The Targum Jonathan on (Deuteronomy 15) contains a bleak prophecy hidden inside a law about debt forgiveness. The Hebrew says "the poor will never cease from the land." The Targum ...
The Targum Jonathan on (Deuteronomy 17) puts hard numbers on royal power. The Hebrew says the king shall not "multiply horses" or "multiply wives." But how many is too many? The Ta...
The Torah says the Levites have no land inheritance. Targum Jonathan goes further, specifying exactly what they receive instead—twenty-four gifts of the priesthood. That number doe...
The Torah says do not fear superior armies. Targum Jonathan says something far more radical—all the enemy's horses and chariots "are accounted as a single horse and a single chario...
The Torah's rule against cross-dressing in (Deuteronomy 22:5) is brief and absolute. Targum Jonathan rewrites it entirely, replacing the general prohibition with something specific...
The levirate marriage ceremony in (Deuteronomy 25) is already dramatic in the Torah. Targum Jonathan turns it into theater. The brother-in-law's refusal must happen "before five of...
“For you have not yet come…” (Devarim 12:9) this was said in order to permit private altars between the ‘resting place’ and the ‘inheritance’, because the resting place refers to S...
The Hebrew Bible records Balaam's first two oracles over Israel (Numbers 23), and both times, the pagan prophet finds himself unable to curse what God has blessed. Targum Onkelos t...
Two Jews were carried away captive from Mount Carmel. The captor following them overheard one saying to the other “A she -camel has passed before us, she is blind of one eye and on...
The Romans led Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel and Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha to their execution together. Both were among the greatest sages of their generation, and both had been condemne...
Rabbi Meir was traveling through Samaria when he encountered a Samaritan who was proud of his lineage. "I am a descendant of Joseph," the man declared — claiming descent from the m...
VIII. God decreed that Solomon should be punished for transgressing three laws. Ashmedai, after the building of the temple, told Solomon that he would show him some wonderful thing...
Rav Huna was a wealthy man who owned vast vineyards and employed many laborers to tend them. But he had a flaw. When the harvest was finished and the grapes had been pressed and th...
Hiram, king of Tyre, was one of the most audacious men in all of scripture. God had given him wealth, beauty, and a lifespan that stretched across centuries — some sages say he liv...
How should a person pray? The Talmud (Berakhot 30b) records a teaching that reshaped how Jews understood their daily standing before God. When you pray, the sages said, you are not...
The sage known for his extraordinary carefulness was Rav, and his caution extended even to the smallest details of daily life. The Talmud in Hullin (95b) preserves a teaching about...
Beruria, the brilliant wife of Rabbi Meir, had a sister who was captured by the Romans and sent to a brothel in the city. Beruria turned to her husband and pleaded with him to resc...
Prince of the demons, and an important figure both in Talmudic and in post-Talmudic literature, where he appears as accuser, seducer, and destroyer. His name is etymologized as = "...
Divination using the deceased was reportedly widespread among Persians, Greeks, and Romans. The Israelites likely adopted this practice from Persian sources and engaged in it exten...
Metatron is the name of an angel found only in Jewish literature. Elisha b. Abuyah, seeing this angel in the heavens, believed there were "two powers" or divinities (Hag. 15a). Whe...
"And your eyes shall see" (Malachi 1:5). The prophet promises that Israel will watch the fall of Edom — watch it with their own eyes, from their own territory, and say: "Great is t...
"Do not be hasty with your words, and let your heart not rush to bring a matter before God" (Ecclesiastes 5:1). Jacob had said: "My way is hidden from the Lord." The rabbis found t...
The scene is set in (Numbers 14:1): “The entire congregation raised and sounded their voice and the people wept that night.” It sounds dramatic, doesn't it? But what was behind all...
It zeroes in on the verse, "You shall not rove after your heart" (Numbers 15:39), explaining that our hearts and eyes often act as mediators of temptation, leading us down paths we...
The story, as it unfolds in the Book of Numbers, centers on Balak, king of Moab, who is terrified by the approaching Israelites. He hires Bilam, a non-Israelite prophet known for t...
It’s a question that's captivated thinkers for millennia. And surprisingly, there's a bit of a debate about it, even in ancient rabbinic texts. The verse that sparks this discussio...
