813 related texts · Page 13 of 17
When God told Moses, "Pass over before the people" (Exodus 17:5), the instruction sounds like a simple command to walk ahead of the crowd. But the Mekhilta hears at least three dif...
Israel looked at the staff of Moses and saw only devastation. It had brought ten plagues upon the Egyptians in Egypt — blood, frogs, lice, and all the rest. Then it brought ten mor...
After the crisis at the rock, the place received two names: Massah, meaning "testing," and Merivah, meaning "quarreling" (Exodus 17:7). But who gave it those names? The Mekhilta re...
When Amalek attacked the Israelites at Rephidim—the first nation to wage war against the newly freed slaves—Moses turned to his student Joshua with a command (Exodus 17:9): "Choose...
Three men climbed to the top of the hill before the battle against Amalek: Moses, Aaron, and Chur (Exodus 17:10). The Mekhilta explains that their ascent was not a military decisio...
When God took Moses to the summit of Mount Pisgah and showed him the entire Promised Land, the vision included far more than hills and valleys. The Mekhilta asks: how do we know th...
Before Moses died, God took him to the summit of Mount Nebo and showed him the entirety of the Promised Land — every region, every valley, every corner of the territory his people ...
When Jethro heard "that the Lord had taken Israel out of Egypt," the Mekhilta draws a remarkable conclusion: the Exodus is not just one miracle among many. It is the miracle agains...
(Exodus 18:4) "and the name of the second, 'Eliezer,' for (Moses said: 'The G–d of (Elokei) my father was my help (ezri), and He saved me from the 'sword of Pharaoh.'" R. Yehoshua ...
R. Nathan made a bold comparison between two of the most important covenants in Jewish history — and declared that the covenant with an obscure desert clan was greater than the cov...
Moses came down from the mountain and "called to the elders of the people" (Exodus 19:7). The Mekhilta draws a lesson about leadership from this simple narrative detail: Moses did ...
Concerning this it is stated in the Tradition (Song of Songs 2:14) "My Dove in the clefts of the rock … Show me Your face; let me hear Your voice. For Your voice is sweet and Your ...
(Ibid. 20:8) "Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it": "Remember" and "Keep" (the Sabbath day to sanctify it [Devarim 5:12]) were both stated in one pronouncement. (Exodus 31:14) ...
R. Shimon says: Why need this ("for he is his money") be stated. Even if it were not stated I would know it by induction, viz.: Since his ox is killed for (killing) his man-servant...
"and your wives will be widows, and your children, orphans": From "and I shall kill you by the sword," do I not know that your wives will be widows, and your children, orphans? Why...
Moses certainly did. In the book of Exodus (33:18-23), we find Moses pleading with God, "Oh, let me behold Your presence!" It's a raw, human moment. Can you imagine the courage, th...
We often think of God as all-knowing, all-powerful, the ultimate authority... but what if I told you there's a tradition that suggests God, too, is a student? It's a fascinating id...
We all know the story: Abraham, his faith tested to the absolute limit, is commanded to sacrifice his beloved son. But what about the ram, the creature that ultimately takes Isaac'...
They weren't just any ordinary slabs of rock. According to Jewish tradition, they were something truly extraordinary, imbued with a divine spark. The Zohar, that foundational text ...
The tradition tells us that he did. Imagine the scene: Abraham, his father, raises the knife. But according to some accounts, Isaac's eyes weren't fixed on the blade. Instead, they...
That’s the feeling this ancient story evokes. Imagine Jerusalem, poised on the brink of annihilation. God, in his wrath, sends an angel to destroy it. Can you picture it? A city ab...
There’s a fascinating, little-known story about King David that suggests even he needed a wake-up call. Imagine this: David, the shepherd-turned-king, is wandering through a dense,...
According to Tree of Souls, when Noah was loading up the ark, Og made a deal. He swore to Noah and his sons that if they’d let him come along, he’d be their servant forever. Now, s...
We often think of angels as perfect messengers, but Jewish tradition sometimes paints a more complex picture. to a tale of angelic disobedience, punishment, and eventual redemption...
Instead, it sees these tiny creatures as symbols – powerful metaphors for…empires. Yes, empires! Buckle up. First, we have the ant: "Ants are a folk without power, and yet they pre...
Midrash Tehillim, a beautiful collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers a powerful contrast to this feeling. It tells us that while worldly gifts can be lost, the...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers a fascinating glimpse into this very idea, particularly in its eighth section. Our journey ...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. Midrash Tehillim, a fascinating collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, wrestles with this very idea. (Psalm 9:6), "The enemy's sword...
That feeling, that tension, is ancient. And it echoes in the verses of Psalms, specifically in Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Psalms. We ...
The ancient sages grappled with that same feeling. They explored the power of prayer, the weight of our words, and the question of whether God truly hears us. And they found some f...
It's not just about good versus evil. Sometimes it's about who gets to wield power, and where that power truly comes from. Midrash Tehillim, a fascinating collection of interpretat...
It’s not always what you think. Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers a glimpse into this very question, and it's wild. The pass...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers some fascinating perspectives on this very question, particularly in its treatment of Psal...
The Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Psalms, invites us to do just that. It uses a powerful comparison to highlight God’s unique creative power, ...
It's no wonder that the Psalmist David, gazing up at that same sky millennia ago, wrote, "The heavens declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1). But what does that declaration actuall...
There’s this beautiful passage in Midrash Tehillim (Commentary on Psalms), specifically on Psalm 27, that offers a powerful image of refuge. It says, "For He will hide me in His ta...
(Psalm 27:13), "If I did not believe in seeing the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living..." It’s a powerful line, isn't it? A raw admission of vulnerability, immediately ...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, dives deep into this idea. In one particular passage (Midrash Tehillim 30), it explores the connec...
The book of Psalms touches on this very feeling. (Psalm 61:3), "…when my heart becomes faint…," it's not just a pretty verse, it's a doorway into understanding the depths of prayer...
But according to the ancient wisdom of Midrash Tehillim, it’s a profound truth. The text opens with a connection to Psalm 62, "For the conductor, on the hands of the dove. Yet my s...
We often think of praise as loud, exuberant, filled with song and dance. But what about the silence? What kind of praise is that? (Psalm 65:1-2) gives us a clue: “For the conductor...
The ancient rabbis knew that feeling well. And they found solace, not in denying the reality of loneliness, but in recognizing that even in the most desolate places, God is present...
But Jewish tradition, particularly in the words of Midrash Tehillim (a collection of rabbinic commentaries on the Book of Psalms), offers a profound perspective on this feeling, es...
That’s a question that the ancient Rabbis wrestled with, and their thoughts are preserved for us in the Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms. to ...
It’s a very human feeling. And it’s a feeling that resonates deeply within the words of the Midrash Tehillim, specifically in its commentary on Psalm 79. , shall we? The Midrash (r...
Psalm 82 opens with a powerful image: "A Psalm of Asaph. God stands in the congregation of God; He judges among the gods." It's a verse that speaks volumes about justice, responsib...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Psalms, explores that very feeling in Psalm 103. It speaks of remembering God's commandments, and what that real...
The book of Psalms, Tehillim, offers glimpses, poetic refrains that hint at the immense creative power at play. Psalm 104, in particular, paints a vivid picture: "The deep clothes ...
