12,014 related texts · Page 124 of 251
That feeling, that connection, it's at the heart of this story from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, Chapter 44. The Israelites are facing a fearsome foe: Amalek. Moses, wise and divinely c...
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...
A story found woven into the ancient text of Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer. The scene: Mount Sinai. Moses is up there receiving the Torah, the ultimate gift, the very blueprint for a just...
The text from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, chapter 45, sheds some light. The Rabbi points out that "All the princes were not associated in the affair of the calf." Where do we see this?...
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 ...
According to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of stories and interpretations, Moses spent forty days atop Mount Sinai. Imagine him there, not just receiving the Tor...
He’s the one who, in a moment of righteous zeal, stopped a plague by taking decisive action against public immorality (Numbers 25). It’s a complex story, filled with passion and qu...
The story of the Midianites in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, chapter 47, really dives into that urgency. It's a fascinating, and at times, unsettling account of revenge and its consequen...
We often talk about it in broad strokes – centuries of suffering, a nation in bondage. But what if I told you that, according to one tradition, the actual period of intense enslave...
We're talking about Moses. The story begins with his birth. Rabbi Simeon tells us he was called Ṭob, "good," because, as (Exodus 2:2) says, "when she saw him, that he was good." A ...
It paints a picture of a young Moses deeply connected to his people, even while living in Pharaoh's palace. The text tells us that everyone in Pharaoh's household was involved in M...
But let’s zoom in on that very first encounter, the one that set the whole thing in motion. It begins with Moses and Aaron, standing before Pharaoh, delivering a message that must ...
Take the story we find in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, chapter 49. It’s a fascinating glimpse into how God, according to this ancient text, foresees the future and subtly orchestrates e...
Jewish tradition has some powerful stories about that feeling – and about the surprising ways the tables can turn. Take, for example, the story of Samuel and Agag. In Pirkei DeRabb...
We know the basic plot: Haman, the wicked advisor, plots to destroy the Jews, but Esther, the Jewish queen, bravely intervenes and saves her people. But the Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer,...
They faithfully rose and set, marking the days, months, and years. But according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early collection of Biblical stories and legends, all that...
The ancient Israelites certainly did. And sometimes, their reactions… well, let's just say they weren't always their finest moments. We find a particularly vivid example of this in...
It’s a recurring theme in our tradition, and each instance carries a powerful lesson.This isn't a physical descent, mind you, but a drawing near, a manifestation of the Divine pres...
Our ancestors in the wilderness did the same thing, and, according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, it didn't go so well. The story goes that the Israelites, fresh out of Egypt, started ...
It's not as well-known as its older sibling, Seder Olam Rabbah, but it offers us a peek into rabbinic understandings of history. In this particular section, the text lays out the l...
This text, a shorter and later version of the more famous Seder Olam Rabbah, attempts to create a chronological framework for biblical history. Think of it as an ancient attempt to...
This passage speaks of the abominable worship of Molekh, and the horrifying sacrifices made in the Valley of Ben-hinnom. Now, the Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 277, drawing on earlier rab...
to a fascinating passage from the Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 470, a compilation of rabbinic commentary on the books of the Prophets, which explores this very feeling. The story begins ...
Our story comes from Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 550, a compilation of rabbinic teachings and interpretations of the Hebrew Bible. It fleshes out the familiar tale of Yonah in surprisin...
It’s a theme that echoes throughout Jewish history, a bittersweet dance between redemption and exile. that a bit. The Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of Midrash (rabbinic interpretiv...
The Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of rabbinic commentary on the Hebrew Bible, offers a poignant reflection on this very idea, drawing a stark contrast between the Exodus from Egypt...
We know the story: fleeing from his brother Esau, he rests his head on a stone and has this incredible vision. But the Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of Midrash (rabbinic interpreti...
Maybe your parents didn't sign you up for piano lessons, or you never got that trip to Disney World. But what about something more fundamental, something tied to your very identity...
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...
The Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic teachings on the entire Hebrew Bible, offers us a glimpse into that world. In section 786, comment...
The ancient Israelites knew that feeling intimately. The Yalkut Shimoni, a fascinating collection of Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic interpretations of the Hebrew Bibl...
In the book of Numbers (33:55), we find a rather stark warning: "And if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, then those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your ...
Today, we're going to explore a passage from the Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of rabbinic literature that sheds light on a particular verse about cities of refuge. The passage we'...
The passage starts with a seemingly simple statement: "Just as the city accepts, so too its boundary accepts." Okay... but what does that even MEAN? Well, the rabbis immediately ra...
The Torah actually dedicates quite a bit of thought to this, and the Rabbis, ever delving into the details, explore the concept of the city of refuge, or Ir Miklat (עיר מקלט), in f...
Our tradition grapples with this question intensely, especially when dealing with accidental death and the concept of atonement. to a passage from the Yalkut Shimoni on Torah, spec...
The Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic teachings, gives us a glimpse into the heart of Moshe at this pivotal moment, drawing on Torah 816...
to the first word of Sifrei Bamidbar ("The Book of Numbers") and see what treasures we can unearth. That word is "Command" (צו, tzav in Hebrew). The Rabbis of old weren't satisfied...
In the book of Bamidbar – Numbers, in English – we find a fascinating passage that deals precisely with this: the idea of sacred space, separation, and the surprising presence of t...
The verse we're looking at is from (Numbers 5:21): "Then the Cohein," the priest, "shall beswear the woman with the oath of the curse." Now, what exactly does that mean, "the oath ...
There's a fascinating passage in Sifrei Bamidbar, a collection of ancient rabbinic legal interpretations on the Book of Numbers, that dives deep into this very idea. It uses the st...
They're not just there to fill space. They often open up surprising insights into human nature and our relationship with the Divine. Take, for example, a passage from Sifrei Bamidb...
What seems like a simple act is actually steeped in tradition, detail, and a whole lot of meaning. Let's unpack it. The Book of Numbers, Bamidbar in Hebrew, gives us the source for...
And it happened to King David himself, involving none other than the Ark of the Covenant. We find ourselves in Bamidbar (Numbers 7:9), where the Torah is describing the gifts given...
The verse in question, from Bamidbar 7:16, speaks of a he-goat offered as a sin-offering. But what exactly was this sin-offering meant to atone for? The Sifrei Bamidbar tells us it...
We're diving into Sifrei Bamidbar, a fascinating commentary on the Book of Numbers (Bamidbar in Hebrew). And right off the bat, verse 9:1 hits us with something intriguing: "And th...
It can be surprisingly complicated! Today, we're diving deep into a seemingly simple question: Who exactly was Moses' father-in-law? Was it Chovav, or Reuel, or maybe someone else ...
