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... Another reading: “Comfort, oh comfort My people” (Isaiah 40:1) Said the Holy Blessed One: Who needs to be comforted? For one whose wife died, not the husband? Thus was Zion ana...
We’re talking about idols here, not just the golden statues, but the idea of idolatry. What does it truly mean to make something a god? R. Chanina b. Antignos, quoted in the Sifrei...
"You shall not steal" — this is the eighth of the Ten Commandments. But what kind of stealing does it prohibit? The Mekhilta argues it refers to kidnapping, not theft of property. ...
Leviticus 19 contains the famous command "love your neighbor as yourself." The Targum Jonathan's version is subtly different: "thou shalt love thy neighbour himself, as that though...
It suggests that the Holy One, blessed be He, uses two primary attributes to guide the world: justice and singular governance. But what do those really mean? Let's unpack it. Justi...
“Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our houses to foreigners” (Lamentations 5:2).“Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers.” What type of turning? It is “l...
The rabbis once overruled God—and God laughed. According to Bava Metzia 59b, the incident began with an argument about an oven. Rabbi Eliezer declared a certain oven ritually pure....
In what lies in the other ark it is written (Exodus 20) "I am the L–rd your G–d," and of Joseph it is written (Genesis 50:19) "Am I in the place of G–d?" In what lies in this ark i...
And these are the generations of Aaron and Moses. [Betai Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ot Third Chamber] Our rabbis taught: Brothers who are partners and who increased ...
Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) Sheni Ketuvim In the beginning God created etc. - To declare the might of the acts of creation to creatures, and to make it known to them...
“Gone from the daughter of Zion is all her splendor. Her princes are like deer that have not found pasture; they went powerless before the pursuer” (Lamentations 1:6)“Gone from the...
“In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Aḥashverosh, he had cast a pur, that is, the lot, before Haman for each day and for each month, to the tw...
What happens to those grapes? Who do they belong to? It seems like a simple question, but like so many things in Jewish tradition, it opens up a fascinating window into our values....
The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Shemot Rabbah, dives right into this question with a powerful idea. It begins with the verse, "These are the ordinances...
The ancient texts of Judaism grapple with these questions in profound ways, and today we're going to dive into a fascinating passage from the Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 787 that explo...
The verse in question, often translated as "He also loved the peoples," is the starting point. But what does it mean? Does God love all nations equally? Or is there, perhaps, a… hi...
We find a powerful idea nestled within its verses, a radical claim about the relationship between God and the Jewish people. It all starts with the verse "This month shall be for y...
Rabbi Berekhya said: The Holy one blessed be He recorded the redemption of Israel in the Torah, as it is written: “If a stranger who is a resident among you shall prosper…” (Leviti...
(Lev. 19:2:) “You shall be holy.”7Tanh., Gen. 1:7. See what is written (in Josh. 24:19), “for He is a holy God (in the plural).”8The words, HOLY and GOD, are both plural in the Heb...
(Lev. 19:2:) “You shall be holy.” R. Pinhas bar Hama the Priest said that R. Reuben said, “What is the meaning of that which is written (in Ezek. 3:12), ‘and I heard after me?’14Th...
R. Yehudah says: It is written (Leviticus 20:27) "And a man or a woman, if there be in them an ov or a yidoni" (shall be stoned). Now "ov" and "yidoni" are types of witchcraft. Why...
The Mekhilta catalogs the multiple transgressions committed by someone who lends money at interest. From the Torah's various prohibitions against usury, the rabbis identified five ...
(Lev. 19:2:) “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “Before I created My world, the ministering angels praised My name through you and san...
In the Legends of the Jews, Ginzberg retells this powerful moment where Abraham challenges God's justice. Can you imagine that? Arguing with the Almighty! God, having already destr...
It’s a question that echoes through the ages, particularly when we grapple with concepts like divine justice and mercy. to a fascinating passage from Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews...
Jewish tradition is full of stories that explore this very idea, often through the lens of interactions with figures like Elijah the Prophet, a recurring character known for his un...
But in the mystical traditions of Judaism, particularly in the Heikhalot (the heavenly palaces) literature, we encounter just such figures.Heikhalot Rabbati, which translates to "T...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, records a teaching from Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov about how the Israelites knew exactly what to ask from the Egyptians — and how the E...
The Torah states a blunt exclusion about the Paschal lamb: "No stranger may eat of it." The Mekhilta explains who "stranger" includes, and the answer is broader than it first appea...
Beloved is Israel — so beloved that God gave entire nations as kofer, as ransom, for the souls of His people. The proof is (Isaiah 43:3): "I gave Egypt as kofer for you, Ethiopia a...
Beloved are the strangers — the converts to Judaism. The Mekhilta emphasizes how many times the Torah exhorts Israel to treat them well. "And a stranger you shall not afflict" (Exo...
Beloved are the strangers, for by every epithet that Israel is called, the strangers are called. Israelites are called "servants," as it is written (Leviticus 25:55) "For unto Me t...
Beloved are the converts, and the Mekhilta offers a stunning proof: God delayed Abraham's circumcision until the age of ninety-nine specifically to keep the door open for future co...
It all comes down to this idea: God loves the stranger. But why? What's so special about the stranger? Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Psalms, o...
It's all about Pesach (Passover) Sheni, the "Second Passover," and it raises some fascinating questions about intention, distance, and second chances. In the Book of Numbers (Bamid...
The ancient rabbis pondered this question, especially when thinking about Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel. They looked at the intense historical desire for this particular piece ...
Jewish tradition is full of these details, and each one is packed with meaning. to a seemingly simple phrase from Sifrei Devarim 129: "sheep and cattle." It seems straightforward e...
We make choices every day about who or what we'll put our faith in. But what if the best choice wasn't about picking the flashiest option, but choosing the source of all blessings ...
Old Tobi, from the Book of Tobit, definitely knew that feeling. Here’s a scene: Tobi, blind and worried about his son Tobias's perilous journey, needs a reliable guide. He finds on...
Sometimes, the most righteous outcomes arise from the most unexpected places. to a fascinating story from the Book of Susanna, a tale of false accusations, quick thinking, and divi...
Rebekah, wife of Isaac and mother of Jacob and Esau, certainly did. Imagine this: Isaac, old and blind, is about to bestow a blessing – a powerful, almost magical blessing – on his...
We find ourselves in Egypt, where Joseph, having risen to power, confronts his brothers. Remember, these are the very brothers who sold him into slavery years before. Now, disguise...
Maybe it's because they tap into something deeply human, a shared understanding of fairness, justice, and even… reputation. to a fascinating little tidbit from the vast ocean of Je...
The story of Micah and his homemade sanctuary is a wild ride through the human tendency to, well, improvise. We find this tale tucked away in Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, painti...
The Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah, a key text in Kabbalah, explains it beautifully. It tells us that a Sefirah (a divine emanation) is a single power, one of ten overall powers that make...
It breaks down the very foundation of governmental order, the architecture of how things work, into two key parts. First, it states that the entire governmental order of Justice is...
There is a warrior in a province. As soon as the arrow leaves his hand he cannot retrieve it. Not so, the Holy One Blessed be He. When Israel do not do His will, a decree goes fort...
This is exactly the concern that arises in Sifrei Devarim, a rabbinic commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy. The text addresses a critical aspect of justice: familiarity and legiti...
