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“And did not remember His footstool [hadom raglav],” Rabbi Ḥanina bar Yitzḥak said: The Holy One blessed be He does not remember that blood [hadam] that was between the legs of the...
“In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Aḥashverosh, he had cast a pur, that is, the lot, before Haman for each day and for each month, to the tw...
Remember, Joseph, now a powerful figure in Egypt, has finally revealed himself to his brothers, the same brothers who sold him into slavery years ago. It's a dramatic reunion fille...
Jewish tradition certainly thinks so, and it gives us some pretty compelling stories to illustrate this point. Think about the building of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, that portabl...
Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, offers a breathtakingly intricate account, and today we're diving deep into one specific, fascinating element: the formation of partzuf (a divine config...
We know it's a time for rest, reflection, and delicious challah, but Jewish tradition holds some truly wondrous ideas about this holy day, reaching even beyond the veil of life its...
Jewish tradition suggests we're constantly surrounded by unseen forces, especially on Shabbat, the Sabbath. And some of those forces? Well, they’re angels. The Talmud, specifically...
When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel (Exod. 30:12). May our masters teach us: How many times each year did the Israelites bring their offerings to the Temple? Thus di...
Bezalel the son of Uri (Exod. 31:2). He was one of the seven descendants of Adam called by various names. Jesse was called by four names, Bezalel by six, Joshua by eight, Elijah by...
Hew these two tablets (Exod. 34:1). Scripture states elsewhere: The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich (Prov. 10:22). This refers to Elisha’s prayer for water, when he said: Thus...
And the Lord said unto Moses: “Write thou these words” (Exod. 34:27). May our masters teach us: Is one who writes two letters on the Sabbath (while unmindful of the prohibition or ...
After Jacob's direct encounter with the Divine, something unexpected happens. The text says, "He finished speaking with him, and He went up from him, and Jacob looked till He had a...
The Book of Jubilees, an ancient Jewish text from the Second Temple period, offers a powerful glimpse into the mechanics of forgiveness, and it all starts with a transgression. Cha...
It’s a question rulers have wrestled with for millennia. The Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating historical text, gives us a peek into just such a conversation, a moment of royal pon...
Following the pestilence, God instructs Moses and Elazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to take a census. A head count of the entire Israelite community, specifically those twenty y...
Would you still offer that help? That’s the dilemma, in a sense, that God faces in the lead-up to the Exodus. As we learn in Legends of the Jews, God, in speaking to Moses, lays ba...
The most obvious miracle, of course, was its very existence. But the story gets even richer when we consider the details. According to the ancient texts, manna didn't fall every da...
It’s more than just a day off. It’s a connection to something ancient, something profound. It’s a chance to step back and remember. But it wasn't always easy. Imagine this: The Isr...
The ancient rabbis pondered this very question. They imagined a conversation between God and Israel, a dialogue about the ultimate reward for following the Torah, the sacred teachi...
He had to manage not only the destructive fury of the angels, but also something even more daunting: God's own wrath. Imagine the scene. God, deeply hurt by the Israelites' betraya...
The story goes that Moses actually fetched the tablets himself, from a diamond quarry that God pointed out to him. Imagine that! Not just receiving the word of God, but actively pa...
It’s a question that pops up when we delve into the story of the Golden Calf, that infamous moment when the Israelites, fresh from their liberation from Egypt, decided to worship a...
He was the master craftsman chosen to bring the Tabernacle to life. A true artist, filled "with the spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kind...
The story of Bezalel, the architect of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, gives us a glimpse. It's a fascinating tale. Even though God Himself knew that Bezalel was absolutely the right ...
Build the Tabernacle first, and then create the Ark of the Covenant, the special chest to house the Torah. Makes sense. But then came Bezalel, the master craftsman, with a differen...
We often think of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, and its sacred objects, but right alongside their creation, the priestly garments were being made too, specifically for Aaron and his...
The Israelites, wandering in the desert, carrying the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, with them. It wasn't exactly backpacking. There were heavy pieces involved. How did they manage it al...
The laws surrounding leprosy, or tzara'at, were incredibly strict. Imagine being banished not just from your home, but from the entire community! While other forms of ritual impuri...
A census isn't just about numbers; it's about belonging, about representation. But here's the twist: Moses hesitates when it comes to the tribe of Levi. Why? Because, unlike the ot...
After the incredible event of the Golden Calf, when Moses, in his blazing anger, shattered the first set of tablets, we read in Legends of the Jews that Moses demonstrated just how...
We're diving into a pivotal moment from the story of Korah, a fascinating and troubling tale of ambition, jealousy, and ultimately, divine justice. Remember, this all comes from Le...
Take Aaron, for example. After the tragic episode of the Golden Calf – a moment where Aaron, sadly, wasn't entirely blameless – God initially decreed that all four of Aaron's sons ...
One man, Kenaz, is tasked with a monumental mission: to bring forth the truth from each of the tribes. It's a daunting task, like trying to hold water in your hands. As the story g...
But even kings, even the "sweet singer of Israel," aren't immune to mistakes. And one mistake, in particular, almost cost him everything: the census. Now, you might be thinking, wh...
King Solomon, with his legendary wisdom, knew how to untangle even the most complex lies. We see this in one particular story recounted in Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg. It...
He was, let's just say, very enthusiastic about idol worship. And he wasn't shy about flaunting it. As Ginzberg retells it in Legends of the Jews, Ahab taunted Elijah, basically sa...
These aren't just any years; they're cosmic Shemittot. The word Shemittah might sound familiar – it's the same word used for the sabbatical year, when fields lie fallow, a time of ...
The passage in Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar 56 dives deep into a pivotal moment: the sin of the Golden Calf. Remember that story? Moses is up on Mount Sinai receiving the Tora...
Some might seem straightforward, but when you start digging into the mystical texts, things can get really interesting. Take, for instance, the idea of when scholars should… well, ...
David, King of Israel, certainly did. And he turned to the most powerful tool he knew: confession. Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic commentaries on the Book of Psalms, de...
The Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, gives us some pretty wild and wonderful glimpses into that future. It all starts with a frust...
It's more than just challah and candles, you know. According to Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Psalms, the Sabbath is a powerful, almost tangib...
It turns out, that feeling has deep roots in our tradition. Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Psalms, offers a fascinating perspective on this tra...
It’s more than just a day off. It’s a legacy. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval text, offers a beautiful parable to explain why. Imagine a person with incredibly...
It's more than just a day off. It’s a profound connection to the very act of creation, a weekly reminder of God's rest, and our own. But how do we know this? The Pirkei DeRabbi Eli...
It's a portal, a time set apart. And according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a beautiful, almost novelistic Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), keeping Shabbat (the Sabbath) b...
The sun is beginning to dip, painting the sky in hues of orange and gold. It's the seventh hour of the day, according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 19, and Adam, the first human, is en...
The ancient Israelites certainly did. They came to Moses with a real head-scratcher. "Moses!" they asked, according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval midrash ...
