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Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers a fascinating perspective. It points to the tribe of Levi, specifically those who resisted ...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, opens up a fascinating window into this very question. It uses a beautiful image – the "rose of Sh...
And down below? The Israelites, impatient, scared, and feeling abandoned, decide to build themselves a new god – a golden calf. Talk about a betrayal. The Midrash (rabbinic interpr...
And the story of how he approached God for forgiveness, as told in Midrash Tehillim 19, is both surprising and deeply human. The Midrash, a collection of rabbinic commentaries on t...
Specifically, in Midrash Tehillim 103, we find a fascinating exploration of God's abundant forgiveness. The text opens with a simple statement: "Doing righteous deeds is of the Lor...
Jewish tradition offers some pretty fascinating, and sometimes mind-bending, perspectives on this. to one found in Tanna DeBei Eliyahu Rabbah, a text filled with ethical and theolo...
Take the curious case of the mekoshesh, the wood gatherer, found violating the Sabbath in the wilderness. The story, found in Bamidbar 15:32-36 (Numbers), isn’t just about punishme...
That’s the fascinating idea we find in the book of Numbers, Bamidbar, specifically in verse 18:20. It says, "And the L-rd said to Aaron: In their land you will not inherit, and you...
Jewish tradition grapples with this very question, particularly when we look at the roles of Aaron and David, and their descendants. Which brings up an interesting comparison: who ...
We read in the book of Numbers that "all those counted were six hundred three thousand, five hundred and fifty" (Numbers 1:46). But numbers in the Torah are never just numbers, are...
Sometimes the pieces don’t quite fit at first glance. Take, for instance, the tribe of Levi. In the Book of Numbers – Bamidbar in Hebrew – we find two seemingly opposing instructio...
We find ourselves in Bamidbar Rabbah 12, a section of the Midrash Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic teachings on the books of the Torah. The text opens with a seemingly simple stat...
But did they really get away with it? The Book of Devarim—Deuteronomy—opens with the phrase, "These are the words that Moses spoke…" And the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commenta...
It all starts with a seemingly straightforward verse from (Exodus 21:37): “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he shall pay five cattle for the ox and f...
Our story begins after the devastating sin of the Golden Calf. Can you imagine the scene? Moses is up on Mount Sinai, receiving the very word of God, while down below, the Israelit...
Take the story of atonement after the sin of the Golden Calf. It all starts with an offering. But what kind of offering? The verse in Exodus tells us to "Take one young bull." But ...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. This week, we're diving into a passage from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, specifically Shemot Rab...
The Book of Exodus, Shemot in Hebrew, tells the story of the Israelites' journey from slavery to freedom, a story punctuated by moments of incredible faith and… well, moments of pr...
The book of Exodus tells us that after the giving of the Torah, the Israelites, impatient and afraid, built the Golden Calf. God, understandably, was furious. "Let Me be," He says ...
This particular section, Shemot Rabbah 43, gives us a glimpse into the intense drama that unfolded between Moses and God after the Israelites' colossal blunder. The verse in questi...
We all know the story from Exodus 32 – the Israelites, impatient for Moses to return from the mountain, pressure Aaron to create a god for them. He obliges, a golden calf is made, ...
And it offers us not just one, but three opportunities for a fresh start each year during the High Holy Days season. But how does it all work? Vayikra Rabbah, a Midrash on the book...
There was one final thing to do before Enoch could go home. God called one of the older angels — a terrible, menacing being, white as snow, with hands like ice and the appearance o...
We all know the stories of its power, its presence in the Tabernacle, and later, its prominent place in Solomon’s Temple. But what happened after that first Temple fell? Well, acco...
"And they shall slaughter it": whether on a weekday or on a Sabbath. And how would I satisfy (Exodus 31:14) "Its (Sabbath's) profaners shall be put to death"? With other labors, as...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus compiled in the 2nd century CE, traces another instance of the Bible's "as He spoke" formula — a device the rabbis use to link later p...
The Torah declares about the Sabbath: "for it is holy to you" (Exodus 31:14). The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael draws from this phrase a remarkable teaching about how Sabbath observanc...
(Exodus 35:3) commands: "You shall not light a fire in all of your dwellings" on the Sabbath. The Mekhilta connects this verse to a completely different discussion about the shemit...
Variantly: "You may not light a fire in all of your dwellings": From (Leviticus 6:6) "A perpetual fire shall burn on the altar," I might think, both on the weekdays and on the Sabb...
When the offering was completed (1 Chronicles 18:26), the midrash reads it through Song of Songs: the thread of crimson, the image of the veil that separated the holy from the prof...
“Esther summoned Hatakh, one of the king’s chamberlains whom he had set before her, and commanded him to go to Mordekhai to know what this is and why this is” (Esther 4:5).“Esther ...
A person trapped on a low spiritual level might assume that deep Torah understanding is beyond their reach. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov says the opposite is true: the pathway from the...
(Exodus 12:1) "saying": Go and say it to them immediately. These are the words of R. Yishmael. As it is written (Exodus 34:34) "And he went out and spoke to the children of Israel ...
And thus do you find with the forefathers, that they deported themselves with circumspection (in this regard), viz.: (Genesis 22:3) "And Abraham arose early in the morning," (Ibid....
"I shall sing to the Lord," for He is merciful. The Mekhilta turns from God's power and wisdom to the attribute that defines the Jewish understanding of the divine character more t...
You shall not take": What is the intent of this? (Leviticus 19:12) "You shall not swear falsely in My name" speaks only of swearing. Whence is it derived that it is also forbidden ...
Hillel taught: "Be of the disciples of Aaron — loving peace and pursuing peace, loving people and drawing them near to the Torah." But what did Aaron actually do? Rabbi Meir explai...
The full scope of Moses's argument against the angels is recorded in Shabbat 89a, and it is a masterclass in turning your opponent's own premises against them. Moses went through t...
The death of Moses is the most devastating scene in the Torah—and the Talmud in Sotah 13b expands it into something almost unbearable. Moses pleaded with God not to let him die. He...
The Hebrew Bible records Moses making the most audacious request in Scripture: "Show me Your glory" (Exodus 33:18). Targum Onkelos renders the response with his most careful theolo...
And these are the generations of Aaron and Moses. [Betai Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ot Third Chamber] Our rabbis taught: Brothers who are partners and who increased ...
Rabbi Yehuda said, "Three books are opened on Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) before the Holy One, Blessed be He: One of wholly righteous people; and they are immediately writt...
"And it came to pass at that time that Judah went down" (Genesis 38:1). The rabbis heard in "went down" more than geography. Judah left his brothers, married a Canaanite woman, and...
Moses stood before Israel and said: "You have been shown to know that the Lord, He is God; there is none beside Him" (Deuteronomy 4:35). Not told — shown. The plagues, the sea, the...
A psalm of Asaph opens this section of Aggadat Bereshit: "God has made Himself known in Judah; His name is great in Israel" (Psalm 76:2). And immediately the rabbis add the verse f...
That raw, visceral feeling is at the heart of a powerful story about Moses and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Imagine Moses, our leader, the one who brought us out of ...
“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...
“Let all their wickedness come before You, and do to them as You did to me for all my transgressions, for my sighs are many and my heart is suffering” (Lamentations 1:22).“Let all ...
