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We all know the story from Exodus, but the Rabbis in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the collection of rabbinic commentary on the Song of Songs, really dig into the depths of that betrayal. ...
(Deut. 27:9:) “Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, saying, ‘Pay attention and listen.’” What is the meaning of pay attention (hasket) and listen? Be silent (h...
And it shall be if you listen to listen (Deuteronomy 28:1): If you listened a little, your end will be to listen much. Another interpretation: You will make your studies heard in f...
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov taught that prayer is the essential weapon of the Messiah. Not a sword. Not an army. Prayer. The teaching begins with a striking image from the Zohar: the ...
To draw peace into the world, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov taught, you must elevate God's glory to its source. And that source is fear. "To fear the glorious name" (Deuteronomy 28:58)....
The true tzaddik (a righteous person), Rabbi Nachman of Breslov teaches, is the one who looks at every detail of creation and asks: why did God make it this way? Why does a lion ha...
Why travel to see a tzaddik (a righteous person) in person when you can read their teachings in a book? Rabbi Nachman of Breslov answered this question directly: there is an immeas...
When the Egyptians were drowning in the Red Sea, the ministering angels wanted to sing. God stopped them cold. According to Megillah 10b, He said: "My handiwork is drowning in the ...
After Bar Kamtza's betrayal, the emperor sent Nero to conquer Jerusalem. According to Gittin 56a, Nero arrived and performed a series of divination tests. He shot arrows in every d...
After the destruction of the Temple, Nebuzaradan, captain of the Babylonian guard under Nebuchadnezzar, found blood bubbling up from the ground in Jerusalem. According to Gittin 57...
The verse calls them "the precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold" (Lamentations 4:2). According to Gittin 58a, the Jewish children taken captive to Rome after the Temple's ...
The Roman emperor challenged Rabban Gamliel with a direct theological question: if your God is everywhere, why can He not be seen? According to Sanhedrin 39b, the conversation expo...
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...
Before the world was created, God hid the Torah. Not in a vault, not in a distant heaven — hidden in the fabric of things, waiting for the right person to find it. And then Abraham...
Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother Esau (Genesis 32:4). The Hebrew word is malachim — messengers, angels. The midrash says this literally: Jacob sent actual angels. He had ...
There was an incident involving Miriam bat Baitus, whom Yehoshua ben Gamla betrothed [to him], and the king appointed him to be the High Priest.173He was appointed to this position...
“He is like a bear in ambush to me, a lion in hiding” (Lamentations 3:10).“He is like a bear in ambush to me” – this is Nebuchadnezzar. “A lion in hiding” – this is Nevuzaradan. Al...
A single verse from Deuteronomy captured the entire emotional arc of Jewish exile. "In the morning you will say: Would that it were evening, and in the evening you will say: Would ...
Ben Sira, a sage whose wisdom echoes through the ages, certainly thought so. He dives straight into the heart of familial honor, and it's a message that still resonates powerfully ...
Jewish tradition understands that feeling deeply, and sometimes, the simplest phrases carry the weight of generations trying to break free. Take this seemingly straightforward stat...
That feeling, that connection, is at the very heart of the Book of Jubilees, a text brimming with blessings, covenants, and the destiny of a people. Specifically, we're going to lo...
We're going to dive into one of those today, straight from the Book of Jubilees. Now, the Book of Jubilees is a fascinating text. It’s considered apocryphal by many, meaning it's n...
We've all been there. But what if those fleeting moments of negativity had cosmic consequences? That’s a question that echoes powerfully from the Book of Jubilees, an ancient Jewis...
The Book of Jubilees, for those who aren't familiar, is an ancient Jewish text, considered part of the biblical apocrypha or pseudepigrapha – writings that hover around the edges o...
The people are desperate, their water supply dwindling, and their faith is being tested. The city leaders, Uzziah, Chabris, and Charmis, have made a desperate gamble: they've vowed...
Ginzberg, in Legends of the Jews, tells us that Noah wept bitterly at the sight of the destruction. He turned to God, saying, "O Lord of the world! Thou art called the Merciful, an...
Her death, according to Legends of the Jews, wasn't just a family tragedy. It was a blow to the whole land. Imagine the shift: while she lived, things flowed smoothly, blessings ab...
: Jacob sent messengers ahead, bearing gifts, with instructions to address Esau as "my lord... from his slave Jacob." It sounds deferential, doesn’t it? But according to the legend...
Turns out, according to some pretty amazing stories, it wasn't as simple as just saying "yes." Before that earth-shattering covenant, before the words were etched in stone, Moses, ...
These weren’t just pretty rocks. Oh no. Each of the twelve stones corresponded to one of the twelve tribes of Israel, and according to the legends, they possessed unique properties...
It wasn't just a chaotic mass of people wandering aimlessly. Oh no, there was structure, order, and vibrant banners flying high! According to Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, each o...
We're talking about a powerful statement made by none other than the prophet Balaam, a figure known for his ability to curse nations. He was hired to curse the Israelites, but some...
We met Balaam before. He's that non-Jewish prophet hired by Balak, the King of Moab, to curse the Israelites. Only… it didn't quite work out that way, did it? Instead of curses, bl...
The sages teach us that God bestowed three gifts upon the world: wisdom, strength, and wealth. But these gifts, potent as they are, come with a caveat. If they originate from God, ...
We find a fascinating detail in Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg). When Kenaz carried the stones to the sanctuary, they shone so brightly that they lit up the entire earth like the mi...
It's more than just a simple pleasure; it's a connection to something profound. This blessing, this goodness, isn't just about the taste in our mouths. It's about the health that f...
But the idea behind it? Absolutely massive. The text is, essentially, a declaration of faith and reliance on God. It begins with a powerful affirmation: "Blessed be God for ever Am...
Jewish mysticism suggests you might be right. The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a central text of Kabbalah, explores the concept of divine rebuke, a daily reminder from the he...
The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, as many know, is a collection of commentaries that "repairs" or "rectifies" the deeper meanings of the Torah. It's not exactly light reading....
The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a companion to the Zohar, delves into the deeper meanings of the Torah. In one particular passage, it explores the verse "As Y”Y lives! Lie d...
There’s a secret tucked away in the Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a particularly mystical section of the Zohar, that might just change the way you approach your daily devotion...
They’re powerful forces, capable of shaking the very foundations of existence. In Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar 123, we encounter a fascinating scene. The Masters of the Mishna...
We remember the giant, the slingshot, the underdog victory. But what if there was more to those five smooth stones than met the eye? The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a profou...
(Exodus 14:30) "And Israel saw Egypt dead on the shore of the sea": For four reasons: That they not say: Just as we came up on this side, so they came up on another side (and will ...
Rabbi Yishmael taught that the word "if" in the Torah generally means something is optional — except in three specific cases where "if" actually means "when," making the instructio...
Similarly, "And if an altar of stones you make for Me." This is mandatory. You say it is mandatory, but perhaps it is optional. (This is not so,) for it is written (Devarim 27:6) "...
(Exodus 21:17) states: "And if one curses his father and his mother, he shall be put to death." The Mekhilta asks why this verse is needed at all, since (Leviticus 20:9) already sa...
"And if one curses his father and his mother" — the Mekhilta notices that this verse uses "and," connecting father and mother together. Taken literally, this might mean the death p...
