1,676 related texts · 3 related myths · Page 32 of 35
The Hebrew Torah commands Israel to keep the Sabbath. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan adds three words that change the flavor entirely: Israel shall keep the Sabbath "to perform the delight...
The timeline is what makes the sin unbearable. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves God's charge with its full sting: "Quickly have they declined from the way which I taught them in Si...
The Passover sacrifice in the Temple had an exact choreography, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 34:25) preserves its two ironclad rules. First: you may not slaughter the korb...
A single grammatical detail in (Exodus 19:19) triggered centuries of rabbinic reflection. The verse reads: "Moses spoke, and God answered him out loud." Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Ber...
The Torah has a default order. Moses before Aaron. Joshua before Caleb. Father before mother. Heaven before earth. Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Bereshit 14:1 collects the quiet exceptio...
At the very heart of it all, there is ONE God. Absolutely eternal. Completely self-sufficient. As Rabbi Maimonides, the great medieval Jewish philosopher and legal scholar, emphasi...
One that opens up a whole world of understanding about the special role this tribe played. Our story starts in the Book of Numbers, Bamidbar in Hebrew, which literally means "in th...
It states: "Every gift of all the sacred items of the children of Israel that they will present to the priest shall be his." Sounds But the rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpre...
What Happened When the Suspected Wife Drank the Water is the question behind this passage from Bamidbar Rabbah. So, what’s going on here? The Torah outlines a procedure where a wom...
Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers, dives deep into the prophet Amos's rebuke of those who are "tranquil in Zion" (Amos 6:1). Who are these ...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Why Is There an Extra Vav in the Word Offering. The passage asks, "vekorbano (a sacrificial offering), why is there an extra vav?" The word korban, meaning...
Bamidbar Rabbah, that incredible collection of Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) teachings on the Book of Numbers, dives deep into this very question. It’s not just a ma...
Strike a match, touch it to the wick, and boom – light. But in Jewish tradition, even something as seemingly mundane as lighting a lamp can be filled with profound meaning. Conside...
The story goes that God tells Moses to gather seventy men to help lead the Israelites. Sounds straightforward. But Moses faces a real dilemma. "If I choose five from each tribe," h...
They return with tales of giants and fortified cities, sowing fear among the Israelites. But before all that drama, there's this seemingly simple statement: "That place he called t...
Bamidbar Rabbah, if you're not familiar, is a Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) collection, meaning it's a compilation of rabbinic interpretations and expansions on the ...
The familiar reading treats about the grand miracles, the parting of the sea, the manna from heaven. But what about the gritty, day-to-day decisions, the moments of doubt and brave...
A quote from (Numbers 22:2): "Balak son of Tzipor saw all that Israel had done to the Emorites." This sets the stage for a larger discussion about divine justice and fairness. "Bal...
Our story today, drawn from Bamidbar Rabbah 20, a section of the classical Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), plunges us right into such a situation – a tale of Moabites, ...
Like we can somehow pull the divine wool over God's eyes. a fascinating passage from Bamidbar Rabbah 20 that explores this very idea, highlighting three figures who, tried to do ju...
It might seem like a simple opening, but Jewish tradition finds layers of meaning even in the placement of God’s name in the very first verse. Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, a prominent f...
They believed every single letter, every seemingly insignificant word, held profound secrets. Take the very first verse of Genesis, Bereshit (בראשית): "In the beginning, God create...
Rabbi Yoḥanan, a towering figure in the Talmudic era, offers a startling idea. He suggests that when God created the sea, He made a deal. A condition (tna’o in Hebrew) that it woul...
Our tradition acknowledges that feeling, especially when we consider the mysteries of creation. What was it like before the Big Bang of Genesis? What was God "doing"? The Rabbis of...
It sounds shocking, I know. The story starts with a curious discovery. In Rabbi Meir's personal Torah scroll, a peculiar reading was found in the verse “And, behold, it was very [m...
The rabbis of old certainly pondered this question. In Bereshit Rabbah, that incredible collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, we find Rabbi Yehuda and Rabb...
The familiar story is this: the ark, the flood, the animals two by two. But have you ever stopped to wonder about the timing of it all? It's not just about the rain, but about the ...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to When Even God Regretted Creating Humanity. We find a fascinating glimpse into this in Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book...
God is often remembered as all-knowing, all-seeing, but the Rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of early Jewish interpretations of Genesis, dare to imagine a divine experience ...
In the book of Bereshit, Genesis, we find two such words used to describe key figures: tamim and haya. What do they really mean? , because the Rabbis of old sure had some fascinati...
The familiar story is this: the flood, the animals two-by-two, a rainbow of hope at the end. But what about the blueprints? How did Noah actually build this thing? The Torah, in (G...
The familiar story is this: the flood, the ark, two of every animal… but the logistics! How did he feed them all? What did he eat? The Torah tells us, "And you, take for you from a...
The familiar picture has Noah releasing the dove, seeing the rainbow, and rebuilding the world. But the Torah tells us a less rosy story, a story of wine, exposure, and consequence...
It turns out, our sages have been wrestling with that feeling for centuries. Rabbi Yoḥanan opens with a powerful proverb: "One who repays good with evil, evil will not move from hi...
It's like a song with a recurring chorus, reminding us of something vital. the story turns to one of those refrains, the reassurance "Fear not, Abram," and see what echoes it holds...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Lakish — Abraham at the Dawn of Creation. The rabbis ask: how far is too far? The text poses a scenario: Can you go to an idolatrous fair – that is, a fair...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to The Young Bull Abraham Gave Ishmael to Prepare. Remember when three divine guests show up at Abraham's tent in the heat of the day (Genesis 18)? He springs...
The verse But I bore a son for his old age.” It's Sarah, speaking after the miraculous birth of Isaac at an age when such a thing seemed utterly, impossibly beyond comprehension. T...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Abraham Saddles His Donkey for the Binding of Isaac. Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, a prominent figure in the Talmudic era, makes a striking observation. He says ...
The story of Abraham burying Sarah in the book of Genesis, specifically as explored in Bereshit Rabbah 58, really brings that feeling to life. "Abraham arose from before his dead, ...
Blessings is often remembered as material wealth, good health, maybe even a long life. But what if the true blessing is something far deeper, something almost…invisible? The tradit...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Eliezer's Camels and the Test of Idol Worship. Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Yirmeya pose a fascinating question to Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Rabba: Were Abraham's camels, pa...
Our story begins with the verse: "It was after the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son, and Isaac lived beside Be’er Laḥai Ro’i" (Genesis 25:11). Be’er Laḥai Ro’i, meaning ...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Righteousness of Isaac. The Rabbis identify ten distinct famines that have struck the world throughout history. Ten! That's a lot of empty plates.* One dur...
The rabbis of old grappled with this question, too. And they found answers woven into the very fabric of our sacred texts. Rabbi Abbahu, a fascinating figure from the 3rd century, ...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Leah — Laban at the Dawn of Creation. Take Laban, for example. You remember Laban. Jacob's wily uncle and father-in-law. (Genesis 29:16) simply states: "La...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Jacob — Isaac at the Dawn of Creation. In this, midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), or interpretation, King Solomon, with divine inspiration (ruach...
Rabbi Ḥama ben Rabbi Ḥanina suggests that Jacob wasn't wrestling just anyone; he was battling Esau’s guardian angel! Remember when Jacob says, "For therefore I have seen your face,...
