938 related texts · 25 related myths · Page 18 of 20
When the Holy One commanded Israel to contribute materials for the Mishkan, the Tabernacle in the wilderness, the instruction could have been simple taxation. Every household owes ...
The great intercessor did not rise to his prayer from confidence. He rose from terror. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves the detail the Hebrew leaves out: Moses was shaken with fear...
Three thousand men fell that day at the hands of the Levites. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, the Aramaic paraphrase of the Torah, wants you to know exactly who died. "The sons of Levi did...
The morning after the Levites had gone through the camp with swords, Moses gathered the people for a speech that was not a speech. It was a confession, delivered to the ones who ha...
Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) teachings on the Book of Numbers, tackles this very question, and the answer might surprise you. The p...
Bamidbar Rabbah refuses to skim the tribal offerings. Reuben's silver dish, basin, and incense ladle all become signals. The Torah tells us about Elitzur's offering: "His offering ...
Like checking the price tag after you’ve already won the lottery. Well, according to Bamidbar Rabbah 16, part of the larger collection of Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentar...
In this week's Torah portion, Chukat, we find a particularly fraught moment (Numbers 20:8). God tells Moses, "Take the staff…and give the congregation and their animals to drink." ...
The Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers, illuminates this very question. It tells us that the well, a miraculous source of water that accompa...
It all starts with the line: “Moav was very alarmed by the nation because they were numerous, and Moav was dreaded by the children of Israel” (Numbers 22:3). But what does it reall...
God Himself steps in to clarify Pinḥas's lineage. But why now? What did God see that prompted this? The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Bamidbar Rabbah 21,...
God's command to Moses: "Take the vengeance of the children of Israel against the Midianites; then you will be gathered to your people" (Numbers 31:2). It seems straightforward. Av...
The verse This is right before the Israelites are about to wage war against the Midianites. Now, God tells Moses, "Take the vengeance" (Numbers 31:2). So why doesn't Moses lead the...
The verse in (Joshua 1:5) declares, "As I was with Moses, I will be with you." This promise seems to imply that Joshua would enjoy a life parallel to that of Moses, who lived to be...
The rakia, the firmament – that expanse we see as the sky – is like a gigantic pool of water. Above that pool, there's a dome, and because of this cosmic pool, you get condensation...
The ancients certainly did. Take clouds, for example. We see them drift across the sky, maybe bringing rain, maybe just shading the sun. But did you know that the rabbis saw in clo...
Rabbi Elazar bar Rabbi Shimon grappled with this very question. He observed that the land is watered primarily at its upper layer. But what then, he wondered, about the carob tree ...
An apple? Maybe… but our tradition offers a whole orchard of possibilities! The rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), in Bereshit Rabbah 15, really sink their t...
What happens after the first murder? After Cain kills Abel, what kind of justice, or mercy, is extended? (Genesis 4:15) tells us: "The Lord said to him: Therefore, anyone who kills...
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...
Consider the sons of Ḥam (חָם), Noah's son: "Kush, and Mitzrayim, and Put, and Canaan" (Genesis 10:6). We see the names that echo through history – Mitzrayim, which is Egypt, and C...
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...
We'll be looking at Bereshit Rabbah 49, which unpacks Abraham's famous negotiation with God over the fate of Sodom. Remember the story? God is about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah b...
The story of Abraham pleading with God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah is more than just a negotiation; it’s a glimpse into the very nature of divine justice and collective responsibil...
We see this principle vividly illustrated in the story of Sodom, particularly in the events surrounding Lot and his angelic visitors. The Torah tells us, in (Genesis 19:10), “The m...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Angels Who Boasted and Were Punished for It. The Bereshit Rabbah suggests that the angels who revealed God's plan to destroy Sodom paid a steep price: they...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Were Rebecca's Gifts Fruit or Exotic Treasures. The tradition turns to (Genesis 24:53), the story of Abraham's servant securing a wife for Isaac. It says, ...
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...
Take the tale of Isaac, Jacob, and Esau. The familiar version gives us the basics: Jacob deceives his father, Isaac, and steals Esau's blessing. But what happens after? What was Is...
King David certainly did. In Psalms, he repeatedly begs God to rise up and intervene. But what does it really mean for God to "arise"? And when will that moment finally come? Our s...
Like everyone's shouting, "Me! Me! It's all about me!" Well, the ancient rabbis felt that too, and they captured this human tendency in a beautiful, earthy parable found in Bereshi...
Our journey begins with a seemingly simple verse from (Genesis 42:5): "The sons of Israel came to acquire grain among [betokh] those who came, as the famine was in the land of Cana...
In Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, we find a powerful exploration of Joseph's role during the famine. It all starts with Jacob not...
That’s kind of what happened to Jacob after Joseph disappeared, according to the ancient commentary, Bereshit Rabbah. The Torah tells us, "Jacob saw that there was grain [shever] i...
The scene: a devastating famine grips the land. Jacob's sons have returned from Egypt with grain, but it’s gone. They need to go back, but the mysterious Egyptian ruler, who we, th...
It's also so much more. It’s a roadmap, a history book, a mystical text. And it's all wrapped up together, often needing a little… unpacking. That's where commentaries like Bereshi...
The scene is intense. Joseph, after years of separation and playing a cat-and-mouse game with his brothers, is about to reveal his true identity. But let’s back up a little. Rememb...
In Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, they dig deep into this verse, connecting it to the story of Samson, the legendary strongman from t...
The Torah is full of these stories, and they often leave us scratching our heads. One such story is that of Moses, perhaps the greatest prophet in Jewish history, who led the Israe...
The Book of Deuteronomy promises, "when the Lord your God will expand your border" (Deuteronomy 19:8). But what does that expansion really mean? Is it just about more territory? Th...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, opens a window into just such a possibility. It begins with the verse, "When you approach a city…" bu...
The story revolves around Miriam's affliction with tzara'at, often translated as leprosy, after she and Aaron speak critically of Moses. When Moses witnesses his sister's suffering...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, explores the meaning of a verse from Ecclesiastes (9:11): "I again saw under the sun that the race is...
Well, Jewish tradition offers a powerful, and frankly heartbreaking, story about just such a predicament involving Moses himself. Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homiletic teaching...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet in Hebrew, wrestles with this too. "The wind goes to the south, and turns to the north; around and around the wind turns, and on its rounds the...
The verse in question, from (Ecclesiastes 1:11), states, "There is no memory of the former ones; and also of the latter ones, who will be, there will be no memory of them, among th...
Sometimes, the answer isn’t just in swords and shields. Sometimes, it's in something far more powerful: wisdom. Our story comes from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interp...
