5,341 related texts · 2 related myths · Page 109 of 112
This isn't just some dusty historical document. This is a raw, unfiltered response to someone wrestling with complex ideas about God, the universe, and the role of Jewish tradition...
Remember how we talked last time about the "Wars of God," those intellectual battles fought over the proper approach to divine wisdom? Well, buckle up, because the debate rages on!...
Being accused of disrespecting the very wisdom you hold sacred. That's the situation hinted at in this passage, a passionate defense against accusations of failing to uphold Jewish...
a world where falsehood reigns and those who uphold Torah are scorned. It's a harsh indictment, a cry of pain from someone who feels that the very foundations of their community ar...
It goes deep, friends. Really deep. Not just a quick chat, but a full-on investigation, using seven different interrogations! Seven? Why seven? Well, It's not enough to just hear w...
The Wars of God turns to Accused of Heresy for Balancing Tradition and Reason. The writer is responding to accusations, accusations of deceit, of misleading students, of even heres...
Jewish tradition is vast, an ocean of wisdom passed down through generations. But what happens when we encounter teachings that seem to clash, or interpretations that feel…off? Tra...
The esteemed Rabbi Tam, of blessed memory, as we learn, was deeply troubled by these developments. He saw these new approaches to Kabbalah as a breach, a violation of the very fenc...
You're not alone! The tradition teaches that deep understanding requires dedication, effort, and a willingness to truly explore the text. The power to investigate and inquire withi...
Jewish mysticism offers us a glimpse, a whisper of understanding, and some of the most fascinating insights come from the Zohar, the foundational text of Kabbalah. And within the Z...
It's not as simple as shouting into the void, that's for sure! According to the Zohar, the central text of Kabbalah, and subsequent Kabbalistic teachings, all our service, all our ...
The book "HaB'rit," in a chapter written by the author of "Ma'amar Kuf" in "Yashar Levav," touches on this very idea: that the very name of God is ever-present on our lips. When we...
This is a tricky concept, one that's tripped up even seasoned students of Kabbalah. The question at hand is: why doesn't Adam Kadmon – the primordial man, a concept representing th...
It's a desire that sometimes leads to conflict, as we see when examining certain debates within Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition. In this particular instance, The core argum...
The question of creation... it's one that's gripped humanity for millennia, isn't it? How did it all begin? Was there a before? And if so, what was it like? The rabbis of old grapp...
The Jewish tradition grapples with this very question, and it's a fascinating journey to explore. Rabbi Tzadok ben Yechiel, in the book "Ravid HaZahav," makes a crucial distinction...
That’s kind of what we're doing today, diving into some pretty deep Kabbalistic concepts about the nature of the Divine. It's a complex topic, and there are…let’s just say opinions...
Oy vey! Have we, in our zeal for hidden wisdom, inadvertently stumbled into idolatry? It's a question that weighs heavily, especially when considering the influence of the Zohar an...
Genesis doesn't waste words, so when it seems to ramble, the rabbis lean in. Look at (Genesis 2:14). It's not just that the Euphrates river is mentioned. Oh no, we also get that th...
In Midrash of Philo, there's a deeper lesson woven into the very act of tending the Garden. Cultivating the land involves two crucial elements: working the earth and safeguarding i...
What does it mean to name something? The book of Genesis gives us a glimpse into this very idea. In (Genesis 2:19), it says, "And whatever Adam called each living thing, that was t...
Why wasn't she just... there? Well, according to a fascinating interpretation found in the Midrash of Philo 22, it's not just a random detail. It speaks to something much deeper ab...
Ancient Jewish wisdom has something profound to say about that very human struggle. Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher living in Egypt in the first century CE, offered a uni...
The Midrash of Philo turns to Philo's Hidden Meaning in Adam's Garments of Skin. A reader can dismiss this detail. So, God makes clothes. Big deal. But, as Philo of Alexandria, a J...
The ancient Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria grappled with this very question. Philo, living in the 1st century CE, sought to reconcile Jewish scripture with Greek philosophy...
Take the story of Cain and Abel. A foundational story. The familiar version gives us it: the first brothers, the first offering, the first murder. So, why is it that in (Genesis 4:...
Philo explores the significance of numbers, particularly one, seven, ten, and seventy, connecting them to sin, punishment, and the very fabric of justice. He starts with a fundamen...
These are the kinds of questions that our sages wrestled with, poring over every word of the Torah for hidden meanings. Let's consider Noah. The familiar story is this: the flood, ...
The Torah tells us, in (Genesis 7:19), about the flood: “And the water overflowed fifteen cubits above all the highest mountains.” Simple enough The first reading. But if we dig a ...
The Midrash of Philo turns to What It Destroyed Every Living Substance Really Means. It seems straightforward At first. The Flood wiped out everything. End of story. But Jewish tra...
Philo, a Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria in the first century CE, delved into these questions. He wrote extensively on the Torah, often offering allegorical interpretati...
We see potential, and we want to help it blossom. But how do you actually do it? The Midrash of Philo, a collection of interpretations and homilies attributed to the philosopher Ph...
Philo, the great Jewish philosopher of Alexandria, grappled with these questions centuries ago. And his interpretations, preserved in what we call The Midrash of Philo, offer a fas...
Some interpret this verse as God’s permission for humanity to eat meat. After the flood, the world was starting anew, and perhaps a new dietary allowance was being granted. But is ...
The Torah tells us that after the flood, God set a bow in the clouds as a sign of the covenant with Noah, a promise never again to destroy all life with a flood (Genesis 9:13). But...
It's like the biblical text is hinting at something more, inviting us to dig a little deeper. Consider the story of Noah and his sons after the flood. It's a well-known tale: Noah ...
Philo grapples with this very question: Why are the names "Lord" and "God" sometimes used together? His answer? It's all about God's attributes, specifically benevolence and kingly...
Take the covenant God makes with Abraham in Genesis 15. It's a big moment. God promises Abraham this whole huge swathe of land for his descendants. But then it gets…well, geographi...
The ancient sages certainly did. to a fascinating interpretation from the Midrash of Philo that uses geography to explain the pursuit of happiness itself. Philo, a Jewish philosoph...
Take this passage from The Midrash of Philo. Now, Philo of Alexandria, he was a fascinating figure – a Jewish philosopher living in Egypt during the Roman era. He tried to bridge t...
That’s certainly true when we explore the deeper interpretations of brit milah, the covenant of circumcision. The familiar version gives us the physical act: the circumcision of th...
It's a practice deeply rooted in Jewish law, but when you really stop and think about it, some tough questions arise. Philo, the 1st-century Jewish philosopher from Alexandria, gra...
The Tree of Souls tells us that these souls resided in the Garden of Eden, up above. And get this: they were all present at the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai! How do we know t...
You'd expect a pretty epic location. But did you know there was a whole competition to be that mountain? The story goes that when the mountains caught wind that God was planning a ...
There's one particular story that throws this idea into sharp relief: the Giving of the Torah. At the very beginning, when the Creator shaped the cosmos, there was a clear line in ...
Midrash Tanchuma turns to The Center Of The World. Wait, there's one more layer. Before the Ark stands the Foundation Stone, and the entire world, according to tradition, was found...
And the Lord said: Behold, man has become like one of us (Gen. 3:22). May our master teach us the punishment inflicted upon one who speaks evil?29Speaking evil (slander) is conside...
And the whole earth was of one language (Gen. 11:1). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Slay them not, lest my people forget, make them wander to and fro by Thy ...
