1,423 related texts · Page 24 of 30
The ancient rabbis certainly understood that feeling. And they weren't afraid to address it head-on. In Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early rabbinic legal commentaries on the Boo...
The Book of Deuteronomy, Sefer Devarim, explores just that. In (Deuteronomy 32:9), we read, "For the portion of the L-rd is His people." This verse sparks a fascinating midrash, a ...
Specifically, we're looking at the verse saying "and there will not be with him a strange god." Now, on the surface, this seems pretty straightforward: no idolatry. And one interpr...
It wasn't just about location, location, location. It was about… the food. Seriously. In Sifrei Devarim, a book of legal commentary on Deuteronomy, we get a glimpse into just how a...
We're going to explore one tiny, but potent, verse today that unpacks just that idea. It all comes from Sifrei Devarim 317. It's a passage that's all about how God elevated humanit...
The Sifrei Devarim, a legal midrash on the Book of Deuteronomy, gives us a couple of stark examples, pulling no punches. The first offense? Doing "strange" things. Sounds vague. Bu...
The passage begins by referencing God bestowing the word "hacheil" upon us. The text then connects this to the first of the Ten Commandments, "I am the L-rd, your G-d" (Shemot 20:2...
It’s even found a reflection in our ancient texts. We're going to dive into a short but powerful passage from Sifrei Devarim, specifically section 320. It’s a fascinating little gl...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. And they found echoes of this very human experience woven deep within the words of the Torah itself. Take the verse, "I put to death and I bring t...
It all starts with a verse from Deuteronomy – or Devarim, as we call it in Hebrew. It says, "…and by this thing you shall prolong days." (Devarim, Ibid.) But what is "this thing?" ...
The ancient texts suggest a far more compelling narrative.It opens with the verse, "And he said: The L-rd came from Sinai." But the rabbis of old saw much more in those words. They...
We often picture Moses, standing on the mountain, receiving the tablets. But what about the experience of the people below? Sifrei Devarim 343 gives us a glimpse – a truly mind-ben...
The Sifrei Devarim, an ancient commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, paints a vivid picture, comparing the Torah to something both awe-inspiring and essential: fire. And when you ...
But let's turn to the ancient text of Sifrei Devarim 344 for a little insight. The verse we're looking at says, variantly, "He also loved the peoples." But here’s the thing: the Si...
That feeling, that's what we're diving into today. We’re looking at a tiny phrase tucked away in Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)im ...
Is it just for a select few, a royal inheritance? Or is it for everyone? Sifrei Devarim, a fascinating commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, tackles this head-on. It begins by que...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Sifrei Devarim 352, which explores this concept through the story of the tribe of Benjamin and a mysterious plot of land in Jeri...
The text begins with a blessing: "Blessed is He that broadens Gad." What does it mean? Simply put, the passage teaches us that the territory allotted to the tribe of Gad expanded e...
Our starting point? A little phrase from Sifrei Devarim 355: "He shall be desired of his brothers." Sounds intriguing. The text presents us with two distinct interpretations of thi...
A man who had mastered Scripture, studied the Mishnah, and served many scholars dropped dead in the middle of his life. His widow seized his tefillin (leather phylacteries worn dur...
JOSHUA B. PERAḤIAH AND NITTAI THE ARBELITE RECEIVED THE TRADITION FROM THE PRECEDING. JOSHUA B. PERAḤIAH SAID: PROVIDE YOURSELF WITH A TEACHER, AND GET YOURSELF A COMPANION, AND JU...
The Hebrew Bible says the "sons of God" saw that human women were beautiful, and took wives from among them (Genesis 6:2). That's all it says. The Targum Jonathan rewrites the scen...
When God blessed Abraham in (Genesis 12:3), the Hebrew says simply: "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse." A universal promise. But the ancient Ar...
When Joseph's brothers return to Egypt with Benjamin in Genesis 43, the Hebrew text describes a tense meal. Targum Jonathan transforms it into a scene loaded with hidden signals, p...
The property and social laws of (Exodus 22) are terse in the Hebrew Bible. The Targum Jonathan expands them with legal reasoning, precise conditions, and moral commentary that tran...
The Targum Jonathan on (Deuteronomy 6) contains one of the most beloved stories in all of rabbinic literature—and it appears right in the middle of the most sacred prayer in Judais...
Targum Jonathan transforms the dry legal code of (Deuteronomy 19) into something visceral. Where the Torah simply warns that the blood avenger might overtake a fleeing killer, the ...
Targum Jonathan transforms the assembly laws of (Deuteronomy 23) with details that reshape who belongs to Israel and why. A man "born of fornication" cannot enter the congregation—...
The Torah says write the law on plastered stones after crossing the Jordan. Targum Jonathan says write it "with writing deeply engraven and distinct, which shall be read in one lan...
The Torah's promise of return from exile in (Deuteronomy 30) is hopeful. Targum Jonathan makes it messianic. Where the Hebrew says God will gather the scattered, the Targum says: "...
Akabyah ben Mahalalel said: mark well three things and you will not come into the power of sin: know from where you come, and where you are going, and before whom you are destined ...
"So the Egyptians enslaved the children of Israel with back breaking labor [b'farech]" (Ex. 1:13). R. Elazar says, "B'pe rach—with a soft mouth." R. Shmuel says, "B'frichah—With ri...
Rabbi Akiva was caught teaching Torah in public after the Roman Empire banned its study following the Bar Kokhba rebellion. When Pappus ben Yehuda warned him of the danger, Akiva a...
Before you were born, you knew everything. According to Niddah 30b, an angel teaches each soul the entire Torah while the baby is still in the womb. A light burns above the child's...
The Talmud in Tractate Eruvin asks a strange question: why is the Torah compared to a deer? The answer: a deer's womb is narrow. Every time the deer mates, it is as cherished as th...
The Hebrew Bible says God "passed before" Moses and proclaimed the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy (Exodus 34:6). Targum Onkelos renders this as God "made His Shechinah pass" before M...
The Hebrew Bible begins with "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). Targum Neofiti, the Palestinian Aramaic translation, opens with something gran...
..."Let not the rich person glorify themselves with their wealth (Yirm 9:22)." This [refers to] Korach the Levite, who had three hundred mules just to carry the load of the keys to...
"Book of Trust": This book is attributed to Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira. Rabbi Hai Gaon (a renowned Jewish sage) mentioned it in his book "The Unity", and it was also referenced by th...
These are the ten questions that Rabbi Eliezer asked regarding the resurrection of the dead: The first one is - will God resurrect some of Israel or all of them? The answer is that...
We are taught that R. Simon b. Jochai said: "Three precious gifts the Holy One, praised be He! bestowed on Israel, and none of them was bestowed without affliction. The gifts are, ...
Two boys walked past a group of Elders who were sitting together in study. One boy had his head covered, as was the custom of modesty and reverence. The other boy walked by with hi...
R. Eleazar b. Shimeon was a very strongly built man and used to carry people across the river upon his shoulders. Once the Prophet Elijah came to him in the form of an old man and ...
12. Rabbi Joshua b. Levi and the prophet Elijah travelled together although the prophet said R. Joshua would see things which he would not understand. The first night they slept at...
At the court of a king there lived a Jew who was very handsome. The wife of the minister fell in love with him, but he refused her advances. After a time she gave birth to a boy an...
When the Romans made it a capital offense to study Torah, Rabbi Akiba continued to teach openly, gathering great assemblies of students in public. Pappos ben Yehuda found him and w...
The Talmud (Hullin 41b, Avodah Zarah 25b) preserves a cautionary teaching about the vulnerability of scholars traveling on dangerous roads. Students of the sages were sometimes set...
When the Romans sought to destroy the chain of Torah transmission, they targeted the sages who ordained new rabbis. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 14a) records that Rabbi Yehuda ben Bava kn...
