1,676 related texts · 3 related myths · Page 3 of 35
The familiar version gives us the basic tale: a great flood, a boat full of animals, and a rainbow promising a new beginning. But Jewish mystical tradition often finds deeper layer...
The prophet Micah painted one of the most beloved images in all of Jewish prophecy: "And each man will sit under his grapevine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afra...
Rabbi Yosei from Yokrat was the kind of man who terrified his own family. The Talmud in Tractate Taanit calls him a person "who has no mercy on his own son and no mercy on his daug...
In a year of terrible drought, Nakdimon ben Gorion, one of the three wealthiest men in Jerusalem, approached a Roman official and made a desperate bargain. He borrowed twelve wells...
Nakdimon ben Gurion, one of the three wealthiest men of Jerusalem before the Roman siege, had been so rich that, according to tradition, his daughter's dowry alone was twelve thous...
A min, a sectarian or heretic, came to Rabbi Kahana with a pointed question. Jewish law permits a husband and wife to lie in the same bed even when she is niddah, in her menstrual ...
A group of philosophers once traveled to Rome and put a question to the elders of the Jewish community there. "If your God takes no pleasure in idolatry," they asked, "why does He ...
Gaster's exemplum No. 438, drawn from the Gaster Hebrew manuscripts, tells the story of a stubborn merchant who decided to prove that a person can lose his property any time he wan...
One morning Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai rode out of Jerusalem with his disciples. On the road, he saw a young woman bent over, picking individual barley grains out of the droppings ...
The midrash tells of the last days of Jerusalem under Roman siege. One of the wealthiest women of the city, Miriam the daughter of Baythus, sent her servant to buy flour for the ho...
The Torah says Joseph stored grain in cities. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 41:36) adds a detail that changes the picture entirely: the provision was laid up "as in a cavern i...
The Hebrew says only "two Hebrew men." The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus (2:13) names them. "And he went out the second day, and looked; and, behold, Dathan and Abiram, men of t...
The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan specifies the three gifts that most moved Jethro: "Jethro rejoiced over all the good which the Lord had done unto Israel, and that He had given them mann...
It turns out, the answer isn't so simple. Our sages debated this very point, delving into the nuances of the first rain of the season versus the last. Rabbi Yosei, quoting Rabbi Ye...
It's like a subtle wink, inviting us to dig deeper and uncover hidden connections. Take this verse from Deuteronomy (7:13): "He will love you, bless you, and multiply you; He will ...
It turns out, even a seemingly simple verse about crops can open up a whole world of midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) interpretation. Take (Exodus 9:31-32): “The flax a...
Remember the manna, that miraculous bread from heaven? God instructed the Israelites to gather only what they needed for each day, except on Friday, when they were to collect a dou...
It's almost like a prophetic warning echoing through the ages. This book, not included in the standard Hebrew Bible but considered canonical by some, dives deep into the potential ...
The Book of Jubilees, treasured as scripture by some ancient Jewish communities like the Essenes of Qumran, retells the Torah with a storyteller's eye for detail. And chapter 6 lin...
It’s a story about Judas Maccabeus, a legendary figure of Jewish history, and his relentless fight for his people. After one of his victories, Judas wasn't one to rest on his laure...
That feeling – that’s what I want to A time of immense struggle. Your people are oppressed, your sacred places desecrated. Hope seems lost. Then, a voice rises above the despair, a...
Remember, this is an ancient Hebrew text, not considered canon, but full of fascinating stories filling in gaps in the biblical narrative. Our story picks up with Jacob and his son...
Even the great Abraham, our father Abraham, wrestled with that. According to the sages, God wasn't entirely happy with him. Why? Because Abraham, for all his legendary hospitality ...
Not just any breakfast, but manna, that heavenly food that sustained the Israelites in the desert for forty years. In Ginzberg’s retelling in, Legends of the Jews, life with manna ...
Legend tells us that when King Josiah knew the Temple was about to be destroyed, he took decisive action. He concealed the Aron HaKodesh, the Holy Ark itself. But he didn't stop th...
They've just been liberated from slavery in Egypt, they're being miraculously fed with manna – that heavenly bread that just appears each day – and, according to the lore, they're ...
Can I really do this?" It's a universal struggle, and even Joshua, the future leader of Israel, felt it. Our story unfolds just after the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, with t...
Especially trekking through the desert! But imagine if those clothes were actually…miraculous. The Torah tells us about the Israelites wandering in the desert for forty years after...
Legends of the Jews turns to Egypt — Manna from Heaven. Remember, the Israelites have just been freed from slavery in Egypt. They've witnessed incredible miracles, the splitting of...
The familiar story centers on the twelve spies sent by Moses to scout out the promised land. But did you know there was a real battle of wills between them, a clash that went beyon...
The ancient Israelites did something similar with manna, that miraculous food from heaven. As the story goes, they sang a song not to the manna, but to the well that accompanied th...
He pleaded with God, a conversation recorded in Legends of the Jews and drawn from various Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) sources, begging for just a little longer to...
Herod was twenty-five years old when his father Antipater handed him the governorship of Galilee. His first act was to hunt down a band of raiders led by a man named Hezekiah who h...
How Torah Flows Through the Divine Configurations is the question behind this passage from Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah. The verse reads, ".because the entire governmental order exists ...
Only the High Priest, representing the attribute of Chesed (Lovingkindness) – loving-kindness – was permitted to enter the Holy of Holies. Why? Because this holiest place, equated ...
It all boils down to the rainbow. Yes, that beautiful arc of color we see after the rain. Not just any rainbow. The Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar isn't talking about a faded, w...
The Mekhilta preserves one of the most comprehensive lists of a father's obligations to his son in all of rabbinic literature. By Torah mandate, a man must do the following for his...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael presents a teaching that parallels and extends the previous one about divine wrath, now turning to the subject of divine warfare. The principle is the...
R. Shimon b. Gamliel says: Come and see how different are the ways of the Holy One Blessed be He from the ways of flesh and blood. (A man of) flesh and blood heals bitter with swee...
(Exodus 16:35) "And the children of Israel ate the manna for forty years": R. Yehoshua says: for forty days they ate the manna after the death of Moses. How so? Moses died on the s...
It's a promise, a symbol, and, according to some, a glimpse of something truly extraordinary. The most familiar story, of course, connects the rainbow to Noah and the Flood. We rea...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Psalms, opens up this very question. It tells us that the Holy One gifted the world no less than three core elem...
Midrash Tehillim turns to Manna from Heaven of Shimon. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) paints a vivid picture. Remember the story of Moses striking the rock to bring...
A simple statement: "Doing righteous deeds is of the Lord." But it’s what follows that truly captivates. Rabbi Yitzhak proclaims that everything is in abundance. Righteous deeds in...
Our sages pondered these questions for centuries, and their answers, preserved in texts like Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, might surprise you. It's not just about grand pronouncements or...
Our story starts with Abraham. Remember when he learns that his nephew Lot has been captured? (Genesis 14:13) tells us, "And there came one who had escaped, and told Abram the Hebr...
I'm not talking about Miriam's tambourine (though that's definitely part of it!). I'm talking about something a little more.official. The trumpets. The Book of Numbers – Bamidbar i...
The Torah tells us, "The people would stroll out and gather it" (Numbers 11:8). But did they grumble about the effort? Sifrei Bamidbar cleverly uses another verse, "And the people ...
