813 related texts · Page 7 of 17
The offerings each tribe brought to the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, give us some fascinating clues. Take the tribe of Gad, for instance. Remember Simeon, sword in hand, battling to de...
Ever have one of those moments where you hear something so earth-shattering, so potentially disruptive, that your first instinct is... well, to shut it down? To make it go away? Th...
He wasn't a Canaanite, mind you, those ancient inhabitants of the land of Israel. But, like some of them, Korah serves as a cautionary tale: immense wealth, squandered by pride. Th...
In Jewish tradition, the concept of final instructions, of ethical wills, is incredibly powerful. It’s about more than just passing on possessions; it’s about passing on values, a ...
He pleaded with God, a conversation recorded in Legends of the Jews and drawn from various Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic sources, begging for just a little longer to...
Gideon, one of the Judges of Israel, certainly did. The story goes that an angel appeared to Gideon, tasking him with a monumental mission: delivering Israel from the oppression of...
We find some tantalizing glimpses in the ancient texts. Imagine this: a throne, not just of wood and stone, but teeming with symbolism, a visual representation of power, prophecy, ...
Let’s talk about Jeremiah. We all know the prophet. The one who warned Judah of its impending doom, the “weeping prophet” who saw the Babylonian exile coming. But what happened aft...
A donkey saw an angel before the greatest prophet of the ancient Near East did. That detail alone tells you everything about the story of Balaam. Balak, the king of Moab, was terri...
to a fascinating passage from the Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, specifically Tikkun 289, where the human eye becomes a microcosm of the divine. The Tikkunei Zohar, a later exp...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic commentary on Exodus, arrives at one of the most dramatic prophetic verses in all of Scripture: "The glory of the Lord shall appear, and all flesh will ...
"and I will be honored through Pharaoh": Scripture here apprises us that when the L–rd exacts punishment of the nations, His name is aggrandized in the world, as it is written (Isa...
"and the children of Israel went out with a high hand": Scripture hereby apprises us that when the Egyptians were pursuing Israel, they vilified and execrated and cursed, while Isr...
Three times they returned and three times they fell. The first, in the days of Sancheriv, viz. (Isaiah 31:1) "Woe unto those who go down to Egypt for help!" The second, in the days...
An analogy: A dove, fleeing a hawk, enters a king's palace, whereupon the king opens the eastern window for her, whence she escapes. The hawk, following, the king closes all the wi...
The Mekhilta takes the worldwide rejection of idolatry at the Red Sea and projects it forward into the future. What happened momentarily at the sea — when all nations opened their ...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael explores a tradition about what God revealed to Moses at the end of his life. Among the many visions granted to Moses before his death, the rabbis ask...
Yithro warned Moses with a vivid and frightening prophecy (Exodus 18:18): "You will languish." The Hebrew word used here prompted two different interpretations from the rabbis, and...
Like one minute it's love and compassion, and the next... well, fire and brimstone? That tension, that push-and-pull between divine mercy and divine judgment, is something Jewish t...
Specifically, in Midrash Tehillim 3, we find interpretations that wrestle with the ideas of sin, salvation, and divine protection. The passage opens with a powerful statement: “Man...
It’s a question humanity has grappled with for millennia. Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Psalms, tackles this very question head-on in it...
It’s a profound question, and one that Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Psalms, explores in a truly beautiful way. Specifically, Midrash Tehillim...
The text opens with a discussion of "rana," which can be translated as a cry or supplication. But it's not just any cry; it's a cry of righteousness. The Midrash (rabbinic interpre...
The ancient rabbis felt that way too, and they found profound meaning in even that experience. They asked: how do we find God, even when we're being humbled? The Midrash Tehillim, ...
The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) begins with the verse, "To the conductor, a song of praise. Shout to God, all the earth, sing the glory of His name." It beautifully ...
We're about to dive into a fascinating slice of Jewish tradition from Midrash Tehillim, specifically Psalm 78, that does just that, exploring the story of the Israelites in the des...
It's more than just challah and candles, you know. According to Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Psalms, the Sabbath is a powerful, almost tangib...
But according to ancient Jewish wisdom, it’s a question worth pondering. Especially when we’re talking about garments of majesty, strength, and even…vengeance. The book of Psalms (...
That feeling of hope against the odds… it’s a deeply human experience, one that echoes through the ages, and it’s at the heart of this passage from Midrash Tehillim 119. Midrash Te...
The Pesikta DeRav Kahana, a collection of Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic teachings, offers a fascinating insight into this very question. It all starts with a verse f...
It’s a question that echoes through the ages, and Jewish tradition offers a fascinating perspective. The Sifrei Bamidbar, a collection of legal and ethical teachings connected to t...
to a fascinating passage from Sifrei Bamidbar, a rabbinic commentary on the Book of Numbers, and explore the complexities of war, justice, and the consequences of bad counsel. The ...
"Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth" (Deuteronomy 32:1). It’s a powerful call to witness, but have you ever stopped to wonder why M...
One particularly striking passage from Sifrei Devarim explores this very idea, starting with a poignant scene. Imagine Moses, descending from Mount Sinai, tablets in hand, after th...
Jewish tradition understands this feeling on a cosmic scale. Sifrei Devarim, a collection of teachings and interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, explores this very idea in a ...
Jewish tradition has a powerful message for those moments: you are never truly alone. The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)im on the ...
The Hebrew Bible says Moses died "by the mouth of God" (Deuteronomy 34:5). Ancient tradition interprets this as death by a divine kiss—the gentlest possible departure from life. Ta...
..."Let not the rich person glorify themselves with their wealth (Yirm 9:22)." This [refers to] Korach the Levite, who had three hundred mules just to carry the load of the keys to...
We can see this theme beautifully illustrated in Bamidbar Rabbah (Numbers Rabbah) 4, which draws a powerful lesson from the seemingly straightforward verse, “The charge of Elazar, ...
Today, we’re diving into a fascinating, and frankly, a little unsettling, passage from Bamidbar Rabbah 9 that tackles this very idea, exploring the consequences of hidden sins, spe...
Specifically, we're looking at the offerings of Elyasaf son of Deuel, the prince of the tribe of Gad. "On the sixth day, prince of the children of Gad, Elyasaf son of Deuel" (Numbe...
to a fascinating passage from Bamidbar Rabbah 14, a Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), or interpretation, on the Book of Numbers, that explores this very tension. The pass...
The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Bamidbar Rabbah 19, poses a fascinating question: Why isn’t Moses, the leader who struck the rock and brought forth wat...
The text opens with 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 justic...
We find ourselves in the book of Numbers, with Balak, the king of Moab, terrified of the Israelites. He hires the sorcerer Bilam to curse them. But, as we soon discover, things don...
Pretty impressive. But unlike the other days, there's no resounding declaration of "that it was good." Why this omission? The rabbis of old certainly wrestled with this question, a...
And they all seem to stem from one little verse in Genesis (1:17): “God set them in the firmament of the heavens to illuminate upon the earth.” Rabbi Yoḥanan sees something special...
We all know the story: 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 gener...
