12,014 related texts · Page 143 of 251
This is it that their father spoke unto them and blessed them (Gen. 49:28). Scripture does not say “he blessed him” but rather he blessed them. Why is this so? Because he attribute...
And he went out on the second day, and behold, two men of the Hebrews were striving together (Exod. 2:13). Who were these men? They were Dathan and Abiram, who later said: Let us m...
And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel (Exod. 4:29). He told them: The Holy One, blessed be He, has said: I have surely remembered ...
And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth (Exod. 12:37). The distance from Rameses to Succoth is forty parasangs (approx. 43 miles), yet Moses’ voice could be he...
And the Lord went before them by day (Exod. 13:21). Has it not already been said: Do not I fill heaven and earth? (Jer. 23:25), and also: The earth is full of His glory (Isa. 6:3)?...
And God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the Lord thy God” (Exod. 20:1). R. Isaac said: All the prophets received the inspirations for their future prophesies at Mount Sinai. H...
If thou lend money to any of My people (Exod. 22:24). The prophet Jeremiah said: Refuse silver shall men call them (Jer. 6:30). You find that when Israel was exiled from Jerusalem,...
Behold, I send an angel before thee (Exod. 23:20). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: For He will give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways (...
And this is the offering which ye shall take of them: gold, silver, and brass; and blue and purple and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair; and rams’ skins dyed red, etc. (Exo...
And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent (Exod. 26:7). Scripture says elsewhere in allusion to this verse: I have loved you, saith the Lord, yet ye say: “Wherein hast...
When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel according to their number (Exod. 30:12).14Pesikta de Rav Kahana, Shekalim, p. 156. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Ta...
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants (Exod. 32:13). May our masters teach us: Until what time may the morning prayers be recited? Thus our masters teach us that the mo...
The tabernacle of the testimony (Exod. 38:21). This refers the Torah in which they labored. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Because of the Torah and the sacrifices, I will rescu...
And to the elders of Israel: Rabbi Akiva said, "Israel is compared to a bird - just like a bird cannot fly without wings, so [too,] Israel cannot do anything without elders. Rabbi ...
(Lev. 19:2:) “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “Before I created My world, the ministering angels praised My name through you and san...
(Lev. 22:27) “When a bull or a sheep or a goat.” R. Jacob bar Zavday in the name of R. Abbahu opened [his discourse] (with Ezek. 29:16), “And it shall no more be a source of satisf...
The bull was due to the merit of Abraham of whom it is stated (in Gen. 18:7), “Then Abraham ran unto the herd [...] (for a calf to feed his heavenly visitors).”59Lev. R. 17:9; PRK ...
(Numb. 23:4:) “Then God encountered Balaam.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “You evil man! What are you doing?” (Ibid., cont.:) “And [Balaam] said unto him, ‘I have prep...
(Numb. 23:21:) “No one has beheld falsehood in Jacob […].” Balaam said, “He does not pay attention to the transgressions in their hands, He only pays attention to their merit.” (Nu...
(Numb. 25:6:) “Just then one of the Children of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman unto his brothers [before the eyes of Moses and the eyes of the whole congregation of the ...
(Numb. 34:2:) “When you come [into the land of Canaan].” This text is related (to Jer. 2:31), “You, O generation, understand the word of the Lord! Have I been a desert (hmdbr, vowe...
When the Lord cuts down, etc. (Deuteronomy 12:29): "Look to the Lord and keep to His way" (Psalms 37:34). As they were thinking to enter the Land immediately. [Moshe] said to them,...
(Deut. 25:17:) “Remember what Amalek (Esau's grandson) did to you.” This verse is related (to Ps.109:14), “May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord […].” Were ...
We often picture Moses on Mount Sinai, receiving the divine word directly from God. Forty days and forty nights of dictation. But what if I told you there's another story, a fascin...
It pulls no punches in its call for humility and divine justice. Ben Sira, a sage writing in Hebrew around 200 BCE, gives us these powerful words: "Make an end of the head of the p...
It's in those moments that we often turn to something greater, something beyond ourselves. And that's precisely what we find in the words attributed to Ben Sira. This passage, foun...
Think of it as a really old "director's cut" of the Bible. Specifically, we're looking at Jubilees 6. The passage is talking about a particular festival. What festival? Well, that’...
Jubilees, for those unfamiliar, is an ancient Jewish text that expands on the stories in Genesis and Exodus, offering a unique perspective on history and law. Some consider it part...
The Book of Jubilees, for those unfamiliar, is an ancient Jewish text that retells stories from Genesis and Exodus, but with extra details, moral lessons, and a very specific calen...
And the Book of Jubilees, a text not included in the standard Hebrew Bible but valued in some Jewish traditions, certainly has something to say about it. Jubilees chapter 30, in pa...
The tribe of Levi receives a unique blessing—and with it, a sacred role. They will "speak the word of the Lord in righteousness, and they will judge all His judgments in righteousn...
That feeling, that yearning for a brighter future, it’s ancient. And it echoes beautifully in the Book of Jubilees, specifically in Chapter 31, a moment of pure blessing and hope. ...
We find this pivotal moment described in the Book of Jubilees, a fascinating Jewish text from around the second century BCE that retells and expands upon stories from the Torah. In...
Let’s delve into a fascinating corner of Jewish thought to explore just that. We're turning to the Book of Jubilees, a text considered apocryphal by some, but a treasure trove of i...
Today, let's talk about the number seventy. Specifically, the seventy souls of Jacob’s family who went down to Egypt. It's a seemingly simple statement, isn’t it? "And all the soul...
It tells a fascinating detail about the passing of knowledge, specifically within the family of Jacob. Chapter 46 tells us a simple but profound thing: "And he gave all his books a...
And in chapter 7, the pressure really starts to mount. Remember Holofernes? The arrogant general of the Assyrian army? He’s been laying siege to the city of Bethulia, and he's list...
It’s a story packed with adventure, piety, and a healthy dose of divine intervention. to a particularly intense moment from the beginning of the story. Our hero, Tobit, is in deep ...
We pick up the story after the desecration of the Temple in Jerusalem and the persecution of the Jews by the Seleucid Empire. Things looked bleak. Really bleak. But then, a spark i...
We often hear about the heroic moment, the pivotal battle, the seemingly impossible triumph. But what about the days, weeks, and months that follow? What about the messy reality of...
The Book of Jasher, a non-canonical text with roots possibly stretching back to the Second Temple period, offers some fascinating glimpses. Isaac and Rebecca. We begin with a probl...
There are so many fascinating texts just lurking on the fringes, offering alternative perspectives and filling in the gaps in ways you wouldn't expect. Today, we're diving into one...
The Book of Jasher, an ancient Hebrew text referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13 and (2 Samuel 1:1)8), fills in some fascinating details.. Jacob, now on the run toward Haran...
We all know the story of his dramatic rescue as a baby, floating down the Nile in a basket. But what happened next, after he was adopted by Pharaoh's daughter? The Book of Jasher, ...
The chapter opens with a change of leadership in Edom. Baal Channan, son of Achbor, dies and the Edomites reach out to find a new king. They settle on a man named Hadad. He reigns ...
And in Chapter 89, we find just such a song, bursting with praise and recounting God's powerful deliverance. "Then spoke Joshua this song," the text begins, "on the day that the Lo...
According to tradition, on the second day, God brought forth four distinct creations: the firmament (rakia in Hebrew), hell, fire, and the angels. Now, the firmament isn't just the...
Before the third day, the earth was a watery expanse. Then, God commanded, "Let the waters be gathered together," and suddenly, mountains and hills burst forth, creating basins for...
