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We all know the story: Moses is up on Mount Sinai, receiving the Torah, and the Israelites, feeling abandoned, demand a new god. But what was going on behind the scenes? What choic...
We all know the story from Exodus 32 – Moses is up on Mount Sinai, receiving the Ten Commandments, and the Israelites, feeling abandoned, demand that Aaron make them a god. But how...
The ancient texts are full of these brushes with oblivion, and the forces, both divine and human, that intervene. to a fascinating passage from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a collection...
We know the big story: God, Moses, the Ten Commandments... but what about the details? to a fascinating passage from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a beautiful and often imaginative work ...
Rabbi Tachanah, quoted in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (chapter 46), gives us a fascinating glimpse behind the curtain. He says the tablets weren't some earthly creation, dug up from the...
The Yalkut Shimoni, a massive compilation of rabbinic commentary on the entire Hebrew Bible, offers a fascinating glimpse. In its section on Torah portion 405, it says something qu...
It’s a story richer than you might think, and it all starts as the Israelites journeyed from Elim. Imagine the scene: the newly freed Israelites, fresh from the miracle of the Red ...
The Yalkut Shimoni, a vast collection of rabbinic commentary on the Hebrew Bible, compiled sometime in the 13th century, hints at just such a thing. Specifically, the commentary on...
Seems like a prime opportunity for spiritual growth. But Sifrei Bamidbar, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Numbers, pulls no punches. It points out a rather gla...
Our jumping-off point is a verse from Numbers (Bamidbar) 10:10: "And on the day of your rejoicing and on your appointed times you shall sound the trumpets." Seems straightforward. ...
Today, let's unpack a passage from Sifrei Bamidbar, specifically focusing on (Numbers 18:30-32), which deals with the Levites and their portion of the tithes. The verse states, "An...
The verse in Deuteronomy (11:22) tells us "to walk in His ways." But what are the ways of the Holy One, Blessed be He? How do we even begin to emulate the Divine? Well, Sifrei Deva...
We often think of judges as these impartial figures, robed and removed, but Jewish tradition delves into the nitty-gritty of who sits on the beth din (court of law) and what makes ...
The golden calf episode in (Exodus 32:1-35) is already one of the Torah's most dramatic stories. The Targum Jonathan makes it wilder, stranger, and more theologically loaded than a...
God told Moses to "bring near Aaron" for the priestly consecration—and the Targum Jonathan adds three devastating words the Hebrew Bible does not contain: "who is afar off on accou...
In the standard Hebrew text, God takes the Levites instead of Israel's firstborn sons. The Targum Jonathan adds details that transform this administrative swap into a high-stakes t...
The Targum Jonathan on (Deuteronomy 4) transforms the Sinai revelation into something far more vivid than the Hebrew original. Where the Bible says God spoke from the fire, the Tar...
A Matrona asked R. Eleazar: "Why for the one sin of worshipping the golden calf were they punished with three kinds of death ?” He refused to answer a woman, but explained to his p...
Sabbath Pre-Eminence. Sanhedrin (the supreme rabbinic court), f. 65 a—b. B. Batra, 6. Sota, V. cf. Sota, 31, s. v. Gadol. J. Berakhot, IX. Pesikta R, ch. 23, f. 119b. Tanh. Exod. K...
Blessing of Sabbath. Gen. R. 10 §4. Midr. Hagadol, Exod. Jithro. Krauss, Antoninus, p. 37. 121a. Money in Stick. Nedarim, f. 25 a. Shebuot, f. 29 a. Pesikta R. ed. Fried- mann, f. ...
"The Lord says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand'" (Psalm 110:1). This verse launches one of the most complex readings in Aggadat Bereshit — about how the Holy One loves and exalts...
That feeling, that inherent worth… it's something the ancient rabbis grappled with too. And they found a powerful message about it in the very first verses of the Book of Numbers, ...
It all starts with a simple verse: "These are those who were counted of the children of Israel…" And from there, it launches into a deep dive about blessings, promises, and the end...
"And stand it before Aaron, the priest, and they shall serve him." This seemingly simple instruction reveals a whole world of responsibility. But what does it mean to "serve him"? ...
Sometimes, a seemingly simple verse can unlock a whole world of understanding about God's relationship with us. to one such passage from Numbers, specifically 3:11-13. It starts pl...
The Book of Numbers (Bamidbar) is where we find this story. God tells Moses, "You shall take the Levites for Me, I am the Lord, in place of every firstborn among the children of Is...
We find ourselves in just such a situation in the Book of Numbers, Bamidbar in Hebrew. Specifically, in Bamidbar Rabbah, a Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic compilation ...
Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of Rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers, delves into this very question, specifically in the context of redeeming firstborn sons. The passage hin...
Leprosy, for example, wasn't just a disease. According to some Jewish traditions, it could be a sign of something deeper, a consequence of wrongdoing. But what wrongdoing specifica...
Rabbi Yosei HaGelili, a sage known for his sharp insights, challenges us to consider just that. He points to a time when things were different for the Israelites, a time of purity ...
Bamidbar Rabbah, a classic collection of Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic teachings on the Book of Numbers, gives us a fascinating peek into just that. It takes a passa...
But what does it all mean? , drawing on the rich tapestry of Jewish tradition to unravel this mystery. The Torah tells us, "The priest shall write these curses in a scroll, and era...
Even the tribe of Levi felt that way once, and their story, preserved in Bamidbar Rabbah (Numbers Rabbah) 15, is a powerful reminder of how God sees and values each of us, even whe...
The Book of Numbers—Bamidbar in Hebrew—tells us to "Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and purify them" (Numbers 8:6). But hidden within that instruction, our sage...
The Book of Numbers, Bamidbar in Hebrew, picks up the story after the tumultuous events at Sinai. In Bamidbar Rabbah 15, a Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), or interpreti...
Today, let's talk about counting, specifically, the census in the Book of Numbers, Bamidbar in Hebrew. We find ourselves in Numbers 26, right after a devastating plague. God tells ...
to one of those moments, a scene ripe with intrigue, involving Abraham, Sarah, and Avimelekh, king of Gerar. The story unfolds in Genesis 20. Avimelekh, deceived by Abraham’s claim...
That’s what I want to talk about today, by diving into a powerful story from Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings and interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy. This...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, opens a window into just such a possibility. It begins with the verse, "When you approach a city…" bu...
It sounds almost unbelievable, doesn't it? Yet, according to Devarim Rabbah, this is precisely the monumental struggle Moses faced at the end of his life. Rabbi Yoḥanan tells us th...
It's part of the human condition. But have you ever considered that this struggle might be… a cosmic drama playing out on a miniature scale, right inside of you? That’s the kind of...
It happened. And the story, found in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, is It all starts after the Golden Calf incident. Moses, understa...
We all know the story: Moses ascends Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, and the Israelites, impatient and fearful, build a golden idol. But what happens behind the scenes, in the he...
In (Exodus 32:9), after the sin of the Golden Calf, God says to Moses, "I have seen this people and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people." But what exactly does "stiff-necked" even...
That’s kind of the situation Moses found himself in after the incident of the Golden Calf. The people had strayed, big time, and God was understandably furious. But Moses, ever the...
One perspective comes to us from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. In Shemot Rabbah 44, we find a powerful idea connected to the story ...
Today, let’s dive into a powerful story from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, where Moses does just that after the sin of the Golden C...
In Shemot Rabbah, the great midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic collection on the Book of Exodus, we find a story about just that, and it hits right at the heart of the re...
