975 related texts · 16 related myths · Page 6 of 21
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. The scene. God, deeply hurt by the Israelites' betrayal, speak...
The story goes that Moses actually fetched the tablets himself, from a diamond quarry that God pointed out to him. Not just receiving the word of God, but actively participating in...
So, why this specific amount? The rabbis of old weren't just making things up as they went along. There's a reason woven into the very fabric of the story. According to rabbinic tr...
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...
Legends of the Jews turns to The Golden Calf of Aaron. Moses must have been pleased to hear that the High Priest would come from his own tribe, the tribe of Levi. But his joy surel...
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. While other forms of ritual impurity only kept people away from the sanctuary, those afflicted with leprosy were ...
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...
Legends of the Jews turns to Moses Appeals to the Levites to Abandon Korah. Moses, seeing that Korah was beyond reason, shifted his focus. He turned to the other Levites, the men o...
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...
Even kings, even the "sweet singer of Israel," aren't immune to mistakes. And one mistake, in particular, almost cost him everything: the census. You might be thinking, what’s so b...
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 ...
Tikkunei Zohar turns to The Golden Calf and Moses on Mount Sinai. The text highlights a curious phrase from (Exodus 32:1): "And the People saw that Moses delayed…" The Tikkunei Zoh...
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, ...
In what lies in the other ark it is written (Exodus 20) "I am the L–rd your G–d," and of Joseph it is written (Genesis 50:19) "Am I in the place of G–d?" In what lies in this ark i...
(Exodus 16:28) "And the L–rd said to Moses: How long will you refuse to keep, etc.": R. Yehoshua says: The Holy One Blessed be He said to Moses: Moses, say to Israel: I took you ou...
After every other plea had been rejected, Moses turned to his nephew Elazar, the son of his brother Aaron. And threw himself at his feet. "Elazar, my brother's son," Moses said, "i...
(Exodus 35:1) "And Moses assembled, etc." What is the intent of this section? From (Ibid. 25:8) "and they shall make for Me a sanctuary," I might think both on a weekday and on the...
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...
In Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Psalms, the Sabbath is a powerful, almost tangible force. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) star...
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 a legacy. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval text, offers a beautiful parable to explain why. Imagine a person with incredibly precious belongings, things of...
It’s a profound connection to the very act of creation, a weekly reminder of God's rest, and our own. The Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval text, offers a powerf...
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 ...
The familiar story is this: 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 ...
The familiar story is this: 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. B...
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...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer turns to The Ten Commandments of Sabbath. Rabbi Elazar, son of 'Azariah, gives us a very specific timeline. He says that it was on a Friday, the 6th of the m...
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 it first appears, and it all starts as the Israelites journeyed from Elim. The scene: the newly freed Israelites, fresh from the miracle of the Red Sea, ar...
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. ...
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, "And you shall say to t...
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...
Judges is often remembered as these impartial figures, robed and removed, but Jewish tradition explores the nitty-gritty of who sits on the beth din (court of law) and what makes t...
That feeling of responsibility, that urge to protect the ones you care about.. it's deeply human, isn't it? But what if that feeling extended to an entire nation? What if you were ...
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...
