1,374 related texts · 18 related myths · Page 1 of 29
"Remember what Amalek did to you" (Deuteronomy 25:17). God remembers the righteous for good and the wicked for destruction. When He recalled Abraham, He spoke with affection: "Shal...
When God looks down at a wicked generation, the rabbis said, He searches for one righteous person to carry the weight of atonement for all the rest. This is the reading Aggadat Ber...
The core of the discussion revolves around a complex scenario: a woman is divorced (receives a get) from her husband, but as part of the divorce agreement, a condition is set – let...
After the battle ended, God gave Moses a strange commandment: not to celebrate, but to write. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan reads it this way: "Write this memorial in the book of the ...
One verse can hide two entire storylines. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 36:12) takes a bare genealogical note and cracks it open to reveal both. The Torah tells us that Timna ...
Elisha ben Abuyah had once been one of the greatest scholars of his generation, a colleague of Rabbi Akiba. Then he turned away from the tradition so completely that the rabbis sto...
“The adversary extended his hand over all her delights; for she saw the nations entering her Sanctuary, whom You had commanded that they should not enter Your assembly” (Lamentatio...
One of those intriguing corners of Jewish law, specifically a passage from Sifrei Devarim 288. It’s all about brothers, inheritance, and a rather complex scenario involving yibum. ...
(Leviticus 19:9-10) and (Deuteronomy 24:19) lay out a peculiar agricultural law. When you harvest your field and forget a sheaf behind you, you are forbidden to go back for it. It ...
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...
Each prophet saw God differently. Amos saw Him standing, "I saw the Lord standing beside the altar" (Amos 9:1). Isaiah saw Him sitting, "I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high an...
Tractate Bava Batra preserves a strange debate about classroom size that turns, without warning, into a story of life and death. The rabbis were arguing about elementary education....
“Judah was exiled due to affliction and great enslavement. She settled among the nations, did not find rest; all her pursuers have overtaken her within the straits” (Lamentations 1...
“Also, Vashti the queen made a women’s banquet in the royal palace of King Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:9). Rabbi Yehuda son of Rabbi Simon began: “My people, its oppressors are babes an...
A fascinating corner of Jewish law, a ritual known as chalitzah, found tucked away in the book of Deuteronomy. It's all about shoes, brothers, and escaping a very specific kind of ...
Hand to hand, transaction complete. But as with so much in Jewish law, scratching the surface reveals layers of fascinating complexity. to a passage from Sifrei Devarim, a collecti...
The goal? To continue the deceased brother's lineage. But what happens if things get complicated? What if the brother isn't exactly… careful in his intentions? The Sifrei Devarim, ...
Like you stumble across something in the Torah that makes you stop and say, "Wait, what?" Well, buckle up, because It's all about the yevamah (sister-in-law) and the ritual of hali...
The Torah says (Deuteronomy 21:23), His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; for he that is hanged is accursed of God. The M...
This isn't just another name in the Bible; it represents something deeper. A persistent, almost archetypal force of opposition. The story of Amalek isn't just a historical account;...
(Exodus, Ibid. 9) "And if to his son he designate her (as a wife)": He designates her to his son, but not to his brother. For it would follow (that he does designate her to his bro...
Ever hear a law and think, "Wow, that's… specific?" Well, buckle up, because It’s a concept called yibum, or levirate marriage, and it’s found in the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy) ...
Sifrei Devarim turns the phrase "the wife of the dead one" into a boundary around yibbum and chalitzah. So, what's the puzzle? It all revolves around the phrase, "the wife of the d...
Sometimes, diving into the nitty-gritty of old texts reveals surprisingly human stories and concerns. The source turns to a passage from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal inter...
The kind of stuff that makes you scratch your head and think, "Wow, someone really thought of everything!" Well, These ancient practices, designed to care for a widow whose husband...
A Tale of Rabbi Kahana [From Batei Midrashot (rabbinic interpretive commentary), Volume 4] (Published by S. A. Wetheimer, 1897) A Tale of Rabbi Kahana: Rabbi Kahana and his wife we...
“May You pursue them in wrath and destroy them from under the heavens of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:66).“May You pursue them in wrath and destroy them” – Jeremiah said: “May you pur...
“Remember, Lord, what befell us; look, and see our disgrace” (Lamentations 5:1).“Remember, Lord, what befell us.” Rabbi Yitzḥak began: “The greyhound, or the goat” (Proverbs 30:31)...
The ancient Israelites, fresh out of Egypt, thought they had that… but then Amalek came along. The story of Amalek is more than just a battle; it's a clash between faith and doubt,...
That letter is Dalet (ד). In gematria, the Jewish mystical system of assigning numerical values to Hebrew letters, Dalet represents the number four. In this particular passage from...
Rabbi Elazar Hamodai reveals a chilling detail about Amalek's attack. The Israelites were protected by the Clouds of Glory, miraculous formations that surrounded the camp on all si...
When Amalek attacked Israel in the wilderness, Moses did not simply organize a military response. He turned to God with an argument that struck at the heart of the divine project i...
Rabbi Eliezer employs one of the most powerful tools in the rabbinic interpretive arsenal: the gezeirah shavah, a comparison of two passages that share a common word. The word in q...
Did you ever think about the exile from Eden as… a divorce? It sounds a little strange, I know. We tend to think of Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden as a punishment, a seve...
" The term sorer umoreh itself is fascinating. It appears in the Book of Deuteronomy (21:18-21), outlining a grim scenario. But what exactly does it mean to be "wayward and rebelli...
Sifrei Devarim turns a painful legal case into a question that still stings: who gets to speak, and whose voice carries weight? It all starts with a husband making a pretty serious...
It’s far more than just signing some papers. Rabbi Akiva, a towering figure of Jewish law, weighs in on the matter. He states a husband can divorce his wife "even if he finds anoth...
Sifrei Devarim turns to The Ink, the Pen, and the Rules for Writing a Get. " This, in its immediate context, refers to the writing of a get, a Jewish divorce document. But the rabb...
Sifrei Devarim turns to The Purpose and Obligation of Levirate Marriage. (Deuteronomy 25:5-10) lays out the scenario. The deceased brother's sibling, the yavam, has a responsibilit...
Sifrei Devarim turns to The Ceremony of Refusing Levirate Marriage. The passage deals with a very specific situation: a man who refuses to go through with a yibbum, or levirate mar...
Sometimes, it’s not just the ancient Hebrew, but also the cultural context that can leave us scratching our heads. Take this little nugget from Sifrei Devarim 295, a commentary on ...
It starts with a poignant observation: "and you were faint and weary". This refers to Israel. Why is this weariness important? Because right after, it says, "and did not fear the L...
Amalek's attack on Israel at Rephidim is only a few verses in (Exodus 17). The Targum Jonathan expands it into an epic confrontation with backstory, supernatural geography, and a w...
They tell a story. They hint at something deeper. Take Noah's sons: Shem, Ham, and Japhet. You'd think their order would be consistent. But it's not! Isn't that peculiar? Sometimes...
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov taught that the pursuit of honor is a spiritual trap, and the only escape is through silence in the face of humiliation. When a person chases honor, they n...
When Er died, the custom of yibbum, levirate marriage, required his brother Onan to marry Tamar and father a child who would legally carry Er's name and inherit Er's portion. The f...
That feeling, that raw, unfair sting, is at the heart of the story of Jacob and Esau, and the stolen blessing. The scene is set: Isaac, now old and with failing eyesight, calls for...
“Mordekhai told him everything that had befallen him [karahu]” (Esther 4:7). He said to Hatakh: ‘Tell her that the descendant of karahu6Amalek, the subject of the verse in (Deutero...
