759 related texts · Page 4 of 16
(Gemara) Let us see: when do the priests enter to eat the Terumah? Is it not when the stars appear? Let then the Mishnah (the earliest code of rabbinic law) say: "From the time the...
Come, listen. The proselyte Beluria asked Rabban Gamaliel: "It is written in your Torah (Deut. 17) The Lord who forgiveth no persons and taketh no bribe; and it is also written (Nu...
(22) We are taught in a Baraitha, R. Simeon b. Jochai said: "There are four matters that R. Akiba expounded, but which I interpret differently. The fast of the fourth, means the se...
An heathen heard of the honour paid to the high priest and he wished to become a Jew. Shammai refused him saying that it was ridiculous for him to pretend to become high priest. Hi...
Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers, gives us a glimpse into this. It focuses on a seemingly small detail: how the menorah, the candelabrum o...
Why priests were priests, Levites were Levites, and the firstborn... well, what was the deal with the firstborn? Our story begins in Bamidbar Rabbah 6, a section of the great Midra...
That’s what diving into Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically chapter 9, feels like. We're looking at a fascinating passage dealing with the Sotah, the suspected adulteress, and the laws s...
The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Bamidbar Rabbah 15, tells us that crafting the menorah was uniquely challenging for Moses. More so than any other objec...
The ancient rabbis wrestled with this feeling too, especially when thinking about how we, as humans, could possibly offer anything to God. Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic...
The story of the menorah, the candelabrum in the Tabernacle, as told in Bamidbar Rabbah 15, is a wild ride about just that. It's a reminder that even Moses, the ultimate receiver o...
It's not about being stingy, but about creating a sense of progression, a journey. Believe it or not, we find a hint of this idea in the book of Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically in se...
But what does it truly signify? And why there? In Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, we find a fascinating discussion between Rabbi Yishm...
The Shemot Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, offers a breathtakingly intimate perspective on that pivotal moment. Specifically, Shemot...
It’s a story about courage, about challenging the status quo, and about showing the world that what they worship is nothing more than an illusion. The verse in question is, "draw, ...
It's more than just matzah and retelling the Exodus story. The Torah itself calls it a "night of vigil" – leil shimurim (Exodus 12:42). But what exactly does that mean? What is God...
That feeling is something our ancestors grappled with intensely after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. And in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the ancient commentary on Song of Son...
The verse in question, from (Leviticus 14:4), describes a ritual for purifying someone who has been healed from a skin disease: “The priest shall command, and one shall take for th...
The ancient rabbis certainly did! They saw profound symbolism woven into every thread, especially when it came to the garments of the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest. : the High Pries...
He points out a simple truth: When we wash our clothes on a rainy day, we have to work so hard to dry them. But while we're sleeping soundly, the Holy One, blessed be He, sends a l...
“I called to my lovers, they deceived me; my priests and my elders perished in the city while they sought food for themselves to restore their souls” (Lamentations 1:19).“I called ...
That’s the kind of feeling that permeates the story of the Ari, or Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572), the great Kabbalist, and his annual pilgrimage to Meron. Every Lag ba-Omer – that ...
The story of Og, King of Bashan, from Legends of the Jews, is a wild ride that explores just that! The Israelites, fresh from their victory against Sihon (a battle that, by the way...
The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a central text of Kabbalah, offers a fascinating parable that speaks directly to this feeling. Imagine a king locked in a bitter dispute, a w...
But in the mystical world of the Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, even the most mundane object can be a gateway to profound understanding. We’re diving into the Tikkunei Zohar, s...
to a fascinating passage from the Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a central work of Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition. The passage focuses on the number eighteen. Eighteen...
Rabbi Yonathan builds a towering logical structure to prove that Passover leftovers cannot be burned on the festival — and like Rabbi Yishmael, he argues the Torah did not need an ...
Rabbi Yossi raised a deceptively simple question about the Passover laws that reveals how carefully the rabbis read every word of the Torah. The commandment says, "Seven days shall...
Rabbi Elazar Hamodai expanded the promise of Sabbath observance far beyond three festivals. Where Rabbi Yehoshua linked Shabbat (the Sabbath) to Pesach (Passover), Shavuot, and Suc...
The Torah records the arrival at Sinai with a precise phrase (Exodus 19:1): "On this day they came to the desert of Sinai." The Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael identifies the exact date ...
We tend to think of Rosh ha-Shanah, the Jewish New Year, as the Day of Judgment. But what if I told you the Divine courtroom is actually in session a lot more often than we realize...
That, my friends, is the heart of a beautiful tradition linked to Shavuot (the Festival of Weeks). We know Passover commemorates the Exodus, specifically the parting of the Red Sea...
Ever find yourself reading the Psalms and wondering, "What's really going on here?" We do too! to a fascinating passage from Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretati...
Psalm 19 isn't just a pretty poem; it's a meditation on the beauty and clarity hidden within God's commandments. And Midrash Tehillim, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpre...
Our ancestors grappled with this too. And the way they dealt with it, according to ancient texts, is pretty darn fascinating. We're talking about intercalation, a process of adding...
That feeling isn't new. Our ancestors wrestled with it too, especially when it came to learning and observing mitzvot (commandments), commandments. to a passage from Sifrei Devarim...
The ancient text, Sifrei Devarim, offers a radical idea about that very possibility. It starts with a verse from Deuteronomy (16:16): "…the presence (pnei) of the L-rd your G-d." T...
The book of Vayikra Rabbah, a treasure trove of rabbinic interpretations on the book of Leviticus, dives deep into this very idea. It all starts with a quote from the prophet Jerem...
Take the four species we use on Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles: the etrog (citron), the lulav (palm branch), the hadass (myrtle), and the aravah (willow). We wave them, we rejoic...
What became of Cain? The Bible tells us he wandered, marked and cursed, after the murder of his brother Abel. But the Torah is silent on the details of his death. So, naturally, th...
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov taught that prayer is the essential weapon of the Messiah. Not a sword. Not an army. Prayer. The teaching begins with a striking image from the Zohar: the ...
To draw peace into the world, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov taught, you must elevate God's glory to its source. And that source is fear. "To fear the glorious name" (Deuteronomy 28:58)....
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov taught that anyone who wants to taste the Or HaGanuz (אור הגנוז), the Hidden Light that God stored away from the first day of creation, must elevate the qu...
The Mekhilta makes a striking claim about the moral character of the Israelites in Egypt: they were not guilty of sexual immorality. The proof comes from an unexpected source — a v...
The Torah states in (Exodus 12:16) that "all labor shall not be done" on the festival days. The Mekhilta asks a pointed question: who exactly is covered by this prohibition? The an...
"And the whole mountain trembled" (Exodus 19:18) — when God descended onto Mount Sinai, the mountain shook. But the Mekhilta reveals that Sinai was not the only mountain trembling....
The Torah states: "If one strikes a man and he dies, he is to be put to death" (Exodus 21:12). The Mekhilta explains why this verse is necessary when a similar law already appears ...
The Torah states in (Exodus 21:12): "If one strikes a man." The language is specific — "a man." The Mekhilta immediately asks the obvious question: does this mean the law only appl...
(Exodus 21:14) "And if a man be deliberate against his neighbor to kill him, etc.": What is the intent of this section? From (Leviticus 24:17) "And a man if he strike any soul of m...
