4,670 related texts · Page 51 of 98
In Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Leviticus, we find a fascinating discussion about the source of illness, one that goes far beyond simple ...
The passage opens with a quote from the Book of Job: “Does the eagle ascend at your directive?” (Job 39:27). Rabbi Yudan of Gaul uses this verse to ask a powerful question about Aa...
See, (Leviticus 16:23) tells us that Aaron, the High Priest, would enter the Tent of Meeting – the Ohel Mo'ed – and remove the linen vestments he wore when he entered the Sanctum –...
Vayikra Rabbah, a Midrash (rabbinic commentary) on the Book of Leviticus, explores this very idea in a fascinating way. It starts with the seemingly simple phrase, "You shall be ho...
The ancient rabbis grappled with this very question. In Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Leviticus, they explore a fascinating connection between ho...
It’s a question that Rabbi Avin tackles in Vayikra Rabbah, and his answer is both insightful and, frankly, a little bit comforting. Rabbi Avin uses a parable. Imagine a king with a...
It's the idea that God, while ultimately one, expresses different attributes. And one of the most profound shifts happens when we, humanity, turn towards Him in sincere prayer. Rab...
We find a surprisingly intimate answer tucked away in Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Leviticus. Rabbi Yoshiya starts us off with a verse from (Psa...
And it offers us not just one, but three opportunities for a fresh start each year during the High Holy Days season. But how does it all work? Vayikra Rabbah, a Midrash on the book...
We find a powerful starting point in (Leviticus 25:35): “If your brother will become poor, and his means fail in proximity to you; you shall support him, stranger or resident alien...
The verse we’re exploring today comes from Vayikra Rabbah 34, which is part of the larger collection of Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)im that interpret the Book of Levi...
We're talking about tzedakah, often translated as charity, but really meaning righteousness and justice. It’s more than just giving; it's about correcting imbalances in the world. ...
It turns out, according to ancient wisdom, there just might be. to Vayikra Rabbah 34 and see what treasures we can unearth. Our journey begins with a verse from Isaiah (58:8): "The...
Our story begins with a loaf of bread on the road, and it takes us on a journey filled with divine insight, legal intricacies, and a little bit of wine! The tale, found in Vayikra ...
“She has become like a widow.” Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: They did not go to extremes vis-à-vis the attribute of justice, and the attribute of justice did not go to extremes in th...
“She weeps bitterly at night and her tears are on her cheeks; she has no comforter from all her lovers. All her allies have betrayed her, have become her enemies” (Lamentations 1:2...
“The yoke of my transgressions is preserved in His hand, becoming entangled, coming upon my neck, sapping my strength. The Lord delivered me into the hands of those against whom I ...
“He drew His bow like an enemy; His right hand stood as an adversary, and he killed all delights of the eye. In the tent of the daughter of Zion, He poured out His fury like fire” ...
“The Lord was like an enemy. He demolished Israel, demolished all its palaces, destroyed its strongholds. He multiplied mourning and moaning in the daughter of Judah” (Lamentations...
“He stripped His shrine like a garden; He destroyed His place of assembly. The Lord caused festival and Shabbat (the Sabbath) to be forgotten in Zion and He scorned king and priest...
“The Lord forsook His altar, cursed His Temple; He gave into the hand of the enemy the walls of its palaces. They raised their voice in the House of the Lord, like a day of festiva...
“The Lord accomplished what He devised: He implemented His statement that He commanded from the days of old; He destroyed and had no compassion. He caused the enemy to rejoice over...
“Let him sit alone and be silent, because He has laid it upon him” (Lamentations 3:28).“Let him sit alone and be silent” – Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: The Holy One blessed be He ...
“The kings of the earth and all the inhabitants of the world did not believe that an adversary and enemy would enter the gates of Jerusalem” (Lamentations 4:12).“The kings of the e...
“Even now, our eyes fail toward futile help. In our waiting, we awaited a nation that cannot save” (Lamentations 4:17).“Even now, our eyes fail.” What would the Ten Tribes do? They...
Rabbi Akiva was sitting and lecturing and his students [began] dozing. He sought to rouse them; he said: Why did Esther merit to rule over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces? R...
Rabbi Ayevu said: It is written: “For dominion belongs to the Lord; He rules over nations” (Psalms 22:29), yet you say, “when King Aḥashverosh was sitting on his royal throne”?18Is...
“That was in the Shushan citadel” – Rabbi Pinḥas said in the name of Rabbi Ḥananel: The Holy One blessed be He said to him: Cyrus referred to the name of His city and the name of H...
The fool vents all his spirit, and the wise will soothe it, restraining it” (Proverbs 29:11). “The fool vents all his spirit” – this is Aḥashverosh; “and the wise will soothe it, k...
Another interpretation: “Also, Vashti the queen” – Shmuel began: “When they are inflamed, I will set out their banquet [and get them drunk, that they revel and then sleep an endles...
It is written: “You have seen, for You behold mischief and spite; to requite is in Your hand: the helpless man commits himself to You; You are the helper of the orphans” (Psalms 10...
“To bring Queen Vashti before the king with a royal crown, to display her beauty to the peoples and the princes, for she was of fair appearance” (Esther 1:11).Rabbi Aivu said: The ...
“The king was very angry and his fury burned within him.” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: At that moment, The Holy One blessed be He said to the angel appointed over fury: Descend and blow win...
“Those close to him” (Esther 1:14) – they brought the calamity close to themselves. “Karshena” – who was appointed over the vetch3A plant used as animal feed. [karshinin]; “Shetar”...
It is written: “And set it in the ears of Joshua” (Exodus 17:14), this is one of four righteous people to whom a portent was given; two sensed it and two did not sense it. A porten...
“On each day, Mordekhai would walk before the courtyard of the harem, to find out how Esther was, and what would be done with her” (Esther 2:11). “On each day, Mordekhai would walk...
Another matter: “After these matters” – Rabbi Levi said: What the verse says: “When the wicked sprout like grass, and evildoers flourish” (Psalms 92:8); what is written at the end ...
“The king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and it was written in accordance with everything that Haman had commanded the king’s satraps, and the go...
“For if you are silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father’s house will perish; who knows if it was for a time ...
Another interpretation: “Haman took the garments and the horse....” (Esther 6:11). He came to Mordekhai and said: ‘Rise and get dressed.’ How unlucky is this man; last night I was ...
“And you, write about the Jews as is pleasing in your eyes in the name of the king” (Esther 8:8), and send to all the provinces “to destroy and to kill and to eliminate” (Esther 8:...
The ancient Israelites, our ancestors, were intensely careful about anything that could be perceived as foreign worship. And I mean intensely. The Talmud, that vast ocean of Jewish...
It’s a question that’s plagued theologians and spiritual seekers for centuries. Are we addressing the Infinite, the unknowable source of all creation? Or is there… something more? ...
My dear friend, it all boils down to the core of our faith: the absolute and singular authority of God. Our sages, whose wisdom stretches back to Moses himself, taught us that the ...
It’s a question that’s captivated thinkers for ages, and the Midrash of Philo, a collection of interpretations and expansions on the Hebrew Bible attributed to the Jewish philosoph...
The question is simple: Why does the creation of animals and flying creatures get mentioned again after we already had the whole six-day creation story in Genesis 1? It seems a bit...
Philo, the great Jewish philosopher of Alexandria, who lived in the first century CE, offers some mind-bending insights. In his Midrash of Philo, he suggests that those things crea...
Take the image of the cherubim, those powerful, enigmatic beings guarding the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve were expelled. What do they really represent? Philo, a Jewish philos...
