1,374 related texts · 18 related myths · Page 3 of 29
It might surprise you. to a seemingly obscure passage and see what we uncover about purity, impurity, and who gets a seat at the table – or, in this case, at the plate. Our journey...
Sometimes, it's not as straightforward as it first appears. Take the classic example of basar b'chalav, meat and milk – a cornerstone of kashrut (dietary laws). You might assume it...
The Torah, in its wisdom, grapples with this very human experience in the book of Devarim, Deuteronomy. Specifically, we find a fascinating discussion in Sifrei Devarim 112, explor...
Sifrei Devarim turns to The Captive Woman and the Limits of Ancient Warfare Law. The passage states, "then you may take her for yourself as a wife." Okay, But the commentary in Sif...
Sifrei Devarim turns to The Captive Woman and the Process of Humanizing War. The text outlines a specific process. The man can bring her into his house. She shaves her head, remove...
The Torah, in its surprisingly blunt way, actually addresses this very human experience. We find it in the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), specifically 21:14. It deals with the laws...
Sifrei Devarim turns to The Rebellious Son and the Limits of Torah Law. The Torah (Deuteronomy 21:18-21) describes a son who is incorrigible, a glutton and a drunkard, and disobedi...
Ever stumble upon a passage in the Torah that just seems. strange? Like, where did that come from? to one of those passages today, found in Sifrei Devarim 219, dealing with the per...
The Torah, in the book of Deuteronomy, or Devarim in Hebrew, grapples with this very question. Specifically, Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretations on Deuteronomy, d...
A partridge sitting on another bird's eggs becomes a legal test case for how far the commandment of shiluach haken reaches. The passage Specifically, It's found in (Deuteronomy 22:...
One of those today – the fascinating world of kilayim (כלאים), the laws forbidding the mixing of certain things. Specifically, You might be asking, "Why on earth can't I wear that ...
Sifrei Devarim turns to The Plaintiff Always Gets the First Word. The text gets even more interesting. It specifies, "’This woman’..we are hereby taught that he states his case onl...
It's about a complete severing, a clean break. But what exactly does that mean? to a fascinating discussion from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early Jewish legal interpretations ...
Why a Divorced Woman Should Not Remarry Nearby is the question behind this passage from Sifrei Devarim. Then, the text refers to the second husband as "another man." Now, this isn'...
Sifrei Devarim reads the law of yibbum, levirate marriage, through the exact words spoken by the surviving brother. Our focus is on the law of yibbum, often translated as levirate ...
It's a fascinating, slightly strange, and deeply human process. The Torah tells us, in (Deuteronomy 25:9), that if a man dies without children, his brother has a responsibility to ...
When Men Strive Together and a Woman Intervenes is the question behind this passage from Sifrei Devarim. Then, the text drills down even further. "A man and his brother" – does thi...
Alexander the Great tied two eagles together with meat in front of them, so they fly upwards with him until his eyelids dropped from the cold. He then descends in a glass box to th...
Four men sat together one afternoon in the Galilee: Rabbi Yehudah ben Ilai, Rabbi Yose, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, and a certain Yehudah ben Gerim. They fell into conversation about ...
The great sage Rabbi (Yehudah ha-Nasi, the editor of the Mishnah, who lived circa 135-217 CE) sent one of his disciples, Levi ben Sisi, to the town of Simonias in the Galilee to se...
The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan records one of the most consequential sentences ever spoken by a people: "All the people responded together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we w...
This single verse holds two of the most important laws in Jewish life. And the Targum layers them tightly together. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus (Exodus 23:19) says: The first ...
Midrash Vayikra Rabbah turns to The Changing Torah. It’s a mind-bending thought, isn’t it? For so many, the Torah – with its 613 mitzvot (commandments) and timeless stories – is th...
Rabbi Shemaya poses a profound question: Why is the impure nazir, someone who took a vow of separation but then became ritually impure, offered leniency in the form of turtledoves ...
He appears in the narrative, offers Moses some crucial advice, and then… well, what do we really know about him? The Book of Exodus tells us, “Yitro heard…” (Exodus 18:1). But hear...
The Torah tells us, "Betzalel crafted..." regarding every single item in the Tabernacle. But, wait a minute! Did he really do it all himself? That's the question posed in Shemot Ra...
A fascinating interpretation from Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Leviticus. It's a wild ride involving the Amalekites, King David, and even a lit...
And the Lord said unto Abram: “Get thee out of thy country” (Gen. 12:1). May it please our master to teach us whether an Israelite is permitted to take upon himself the yoke of the...
Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred (Gen. 12:9). R. Berechiah opened the discussion with the verse: We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts; what shall we do...
And he went out on the second day, and behold, two men of the Hebrews were striving together (Exod. 2:13). Who were these men? They were Dathan and Abiram, who later said: Let us m...
(Deut. 25:18, cont. ) And he cut off (rt. znb) all who were lagging behind you. He smote them with a blow to the tail (rt. znb).51The word can also denote the penis. See PR 7:3; 12...
They confessed their sin, thinking that should be enough. But here's the thing: true repentance isn't just saying you're sorry. It's about changing your actions. God, in his infini...
" This verse, seemingly simple, becomes a springboard for a deep dive into themes of good and evil, destiny, and the very nature of creation. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive com...
"The entire world was created only for my sake" (Sanhedrin 37a). Rabbi Nachman of Breslov takes this teaching at face value: if the world exists for you, then you are responsible f...
When harsh decrees threaten the Jewish people, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov prescribes an unexpected remedy: dancing and clapping hands. The logic runs through a teaching about what co...
The principle that a dream follows its interpretation is not an abstraction. The Talmud in Berakhot 55b demonstrates it through the life of Joseph. And through a hard rule about ti...
Rabbi Elazar ben Dordia was a man consumed by desire. The Talmud in Tractate Avodah Zarah says there was not a single prostitute in the world he had not visited. When he heard abou...
"And it shall come to pass in all the land, declares the Lord, that two-thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one-third shall be left alive" (Zechariah 13:8). Rabbi Berachiah sai...
"Listen to Me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am He, I am the first, and I am the last as well" (Isaiah 48:12). God speaks with the full weight of eternity, before everythi...
The Talmud in tractate Gittin preserves a wild stretch of stories in which Benaiah ben Yehoyada, one of King David's mighty men, captures Ashmedai, king of the demons, and leads hi...
The rabbis taught that Jerusalem was not like other cities. Ten laws applied to her alone, each one a small clue to her strange status. A mortgaged house there was never permanentl...
(Genesis 19:34) is a verse most readers speed past. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan slows down and lets us hear the elder daughter plan. "And it was the day following, and the elder said to...
(Genesis 19:37), in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan: "And the elder brought forth a son, and she called his name Moab, because from her father she had conceived. He is the father of the Moa...
(Genesis 19:38), in the Targum's rendering: "And the younger also brought forth a son, and she called his name Bar-Ammi, because he was the son of her father. He is the father of t...
"Save me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him." Jacob's plea in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (Genesis 32:12) names two things most ancient prayers leave imp...
An Athenian came to Jerusalem, and he greatly mocked the residents of Jerusalem. They said: ‘Who will go and bring him to us?’ One person said to them: ‘I will go and I will bring ...
The Book of Jubilees, a text not found in the Hebrew Bible but considered sacred by some, gives us a peek behind the curtain, fleshing out stories we think we know. And one of thos...
Book of Jubilees turns to Judah and Joseph of Tamar. Remember Judah? One of Jacob’s sons, a key figure in the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors. Well, his story doesn't e...
