808 related texts · Page 15 of 17
The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal midrash on the book of Deuteronomy, poses a fascinating question about a seemingly simple phrase: "before his death." It appears in the co...
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 Torah, our guide to navigating life's complexities, doesn't shy away from these tough questions. And in the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), we find a particularly striking examp...
It’s a question that’s echoed through generations, pondered in synagogues and around countless Shabbat (the Sabbath) tables. The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal midrash (rabb...
Five persons are not granted forgiveness:1The meaning is not that the doors of forgiveness are for ever shut against them, but that they are so hardened in sinning that they will n...
Abraham made his servant Eliezer swear an oath by placing his hand on the mark of circumcision. The Torah says "under my thigh." The Targum says exactly what it means: the section ...
After the golden calf, God told Moses something devastating in (Exodus 33:1-23). The Shekinah (the Divine Presence) would not travel with Israel anymore. The Targum Jonathan turns ...
The final chapter of Exodus (Exodus 40:1-38) is, in the Hebrew Bible, the moment God's Presence fills the completed Tabernacle. The Targum Jonathan turns this moment into a prophet...
Numbers 7 is the longest chapter in the Torah, listing identical offerings from twelve tribal princes across twelve days. It is famously repetitive. The Targum Jonathan rescues it ...
After the plague killed twenty-four thousand, God ordered a new census. The Targum's version of (Numbers 26) opens with a phrase absent from the Torah: "the compassions of the heav...
The standard text of (Deuteronomy 1) opens with Moses speaking to Israel "beyond the Jordan." But the Targum Jonathan, an ancient Aramaic translation composed between the 1st and 4...
The Hebrew Bible says God "paid regard" to Abel's offering but not to Cain's (Genesis 4:4-5). Targum Onkelos rephrases this as: "There was favor before God" for Abel's offering, bu...
The Hebrew Bible promises: "A prophet from your midst, of your brethren, like me, will God establish for you" (Deuteronomy 18:15). Targum Onkelos translates this verse without alte...
Agadeta: There are many Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)im called by the name 'Aggadah (non-legal rabbinic narrative)' or 'Agadeta' that were composed by the early schola...
Book of Eldad the Danite A Question and Answer between the People of Kairouan and Rabbi Zemach Gaon [Epstein, Eldad the Danite, Story I] Before the chariot of Israel and its horsem...
Story of Eldad the Danite, Narrative B In the name of the LORD God of Israel, blessed be His name, of our God the King, King of kings, Who chose Israel from among all nations and g...
(Gemara) Let us see: when do the priests enter to eat the Terumah? Is it not when the stars appear? Let then the Mishnah (the earliest code of rabbinic law) say: "From the time the...
Turnus Rufus and Akiba dispute about the preeminence of the Sabbath. Rufus holds high office, having been appointed by the Emperor. Akiba says that the Sabbath has also been appoin...
There was a man who owned a prosperous vineyard and a cellar full of casks — fine oil and rich wine, the fruits of years of careful labor. He was wealthy by any measure. But he had...
The Story of Antoninas andR. [Jehudaha-Nassi] who preferred the cold meals of the Sabbath. The Rabbi explained to Antoninus that the superiority of Sabbath meals over those of the ...
Two men came to pray before Rabbi Eliezer. One prayed at enormous length — pouring out his heart in elaborate, detailed petitions that stretched on and on. The other prayed briefly...
After the destruction of the Temple, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananiah was consumed by grief. "Woe to us," he cried to his teacher Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai. "The place where the sins of...
IV. 4. A man called Joseph Mokir Shabba (“honourer of the Sabbath") lived next to a rich Parsee. The latter was told that all his property would go to Joseph. He, therefore, sold a...
Solomon's Throne. Kolbo, § 1 19. Yoma, f. 44b. J. Yoma, f. 41a. Targum II to Esther. Bahya (ed. Krakau) f. 36b, 64d, 106b, 142c, 213b. Jerahmeel,ch. LXXXI V, p. 251 & CIX. Cassel, ...
Two men came before Rabbi Eliezer to pray. One prayed at great length, pouring out his heart in elaborate, detailed petitions that went on and on. The other prayed briefly — a few ...
God told Noah to enter the ark, and then, after the flood, He told him to leave it. "Go out from the ark" (Genesis 8:16). A simple command — except the rabbis hear in it a whole th...
Why does the world hold together? Jeremiah gives the unlikely answer: "If not for My covenant day and night, I would not have established the fixed order of heaven and earth" (Jere...
Some traditions whisper that it’s so much more. Imagine this: The Red Sea is splitting, a monumental miracle unfolding before the eyes of the Israelites. According to some, at that...
Like everyone else has a partner, a purpose, a connection that you're just... outside of? Well, according to some beautiful old stories, even the Sabbath felt that way. The Sabbath...
Serah, daughter of Asher, one of Jacob's sons. We find her name nestled in the list of those who went down to Egypt with Jacob to escape the famine. You can find it in (Genesis 46:...
The ancient sages pondered similar questions when interpreting the very first verse of the Book of Numbers, Bamidbar, which begins: “The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Si...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically Bamidbar Rabbah 2, which explores these very questions through the lens of ancient Israelite camp ...
We're diving into Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically section 2, which is like a treasure trove of rabbinic interpretations and stories drawn from the Torah and the Prophets. What's so f...
It's not a mistake, and it's definitely not filler! Sometimes, those repetitions are there to teach us something profound about the people and stories within. to one such instance ...
The text opens with a seemingly straightforward instruction: "The Lord said to Moses: Count every firstborn male of the children of Israel from one month old and above, and take th...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically section 4, that deals with some rather delicate and, frankly, surprising perspectives on premature...
It all goes back to a fascinating swap, a divine exchange, that re-shaped the spiritual landscape of ancient Israel. We find the seeds of this story in Bamidbar Rabbah, specificall...
The ones that make you tilt your head and ask, "Wait, what? We're talking about the redemption of the firstborn. (Numbers 3:46) tells us about redeeming the 273 firstborn Israelite...
The Book of Numbers, or Bamidbar in Hebrew, gives us some fascinating insights into this very question, particularly in the fourth chapter, as explored in Bamidbar Rabbah, a classi...
It wasn't just packing up and hitting the road. Every aspect, down to who touched what and in what order, was meticulously planned and imbued with deep meaning. to just one small p...
That feeling isn't new. In fact, the ancient Israelites grappled with it too, as we learn from Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers. Our story...
It’s a midrash, a rabbinic interpretation, on a verse from the Book of Numbers – Bamidbar in Hebrew, which gives the whole book its name. The verse in question mentions "the tribe ...
It wasn't just about slapping some tent poles together, you know. It was a meticulously orchestrated operation, each family of Levites having a specific, divinely appointed task. t...
It's all about the Merari family, one of the three Levitical clans tasked with the Tabernacle’s transportation and setup. The Torah tells us in (Numbers 4:29), “The sons of Merari,...
And Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically chapter 7, gives us a fascinating peek into their thinking. It uses a series of comparisons to illustrate God's, well, "royal" attributes, if you ...
The passage starts with the seemingly straightforward case of a suspected adulteress in (Numbers 5:12): "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: If the wife of any man wi...
But that's precisely what we find explored in Bamidbar Rabbah 9, a section of the great Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic collection that delves into the book of Numbers...
We find one such moment in Bamidbar Rabbah 12, nestled within the Book of Numbers. It's a story about offerings, divine reassurance, and the enduring nature of service. The passage...
