12,014 related texts · Page 182 of 251
There's a story about that. It's a bittersweet tale, really, about beginnings and forgetting, and it goes something like this... Imagine a circle. Not just any circle, but a celest...
Before rings, before awkward toasts, before even human parents... what did that look like? Well, buckle up, because the story of Adam and Eve's wedding is more lavish and awe-inspi...
This isn't your average garden-variety beast. We're talking colossal, legendary. According to some accounts, Behemoth is so massive it's the size of a thousand mountains! Can you e...
Jewish mystical tradition offers a stunning image: a ceaseless cycle of angelic creation, service, and dissolution, all fueled by a river of fire. Not just any fire, but the Rigyon...
Jewish tradition, particularly Kabbalah, offers some fascinating and intricate possibilities. It's not just about heaven or hell, but a whole cycle of transformation and, sometimes...
Where did the Angel of Death come from? It’s a question that’s haunted humanity for millennia. Was it there from the very beginning, a shadow lurking in the nascent universe? Or di...
Jewish tradition holds a fascinating idea: that God, in creating the world, deliberately left one small part of it unfinished. I know. Why would God do that? Well, according to Pir...
It's easy to imagine him and Eve, heartbroken, trying to make sense of their new, harsher reality. But the stories don't stop there. Some delve into a rather…unsettling chapter of ...
Lilith, the Queen of Zemargad, is breathtakingly beautiful from the head down to her navel. But below? Instead of legs, a raging inferno. According to Kabbalot in Mada'ei ha-Yahadu...
Tonight, we're diving into the shadowy world of Lilith, the night demoness, a figure both terrifying and… strangely compelling. The folklore surrounding Lilith paints a vivid pictu...
According to some accounts, these beings are, in a way, leftovers from the very first week of existence. The story goes that God was creating, creating, creating, all day long for ...
We often think of fire and brimstone when we talk about hell, but Jewish tradition offers some truly terrifying and imaginative descriptions of the afterlife, or rather, Gehenna. G...
Jewish tradition has a powerful image for that feeling, a bridge spanning the terrifying depths of Gehenna. Now, Gehenna – sometimes translated as Hell, but more accurately underst...
The Zohar describes Gehenna as a place where the souls of the wicked are tormented by angels of destruction. These angels wield fiery whips and inflict excruciating pain on the sou...
Jewish tradition has a lot to say on the matter, and some of it is Let's talk about the fate of the soul, particularly what happens to those who, well, weren't so righteous in life...
It’s not a job many would apply for, but Jewish tradition tells us there is someone – an angel, in fact – tasked with this grim responsibility. His name is Samriel, and he's the ga...
Jewish tradition has a place for them, a sort of spiritual purification chamber we call Gehenna. But the story doesn't end there, not by a long shot. What's truly fascinating is wh...
Jewish tradition offers a fascinating possibility: that at the very beginning, God created not one world, but two. Two worlds, springing forth from the very essence of the Divine. ...
The idea, as explored in Tree of Souls, is that the order of the Torah scrolls we hold in our hands might not be the "correct" one. What does that even mean? Well, imagine if the s...
According to one tradition, Moses spent forty days and nights in this heavenly yeshiva before receiving the Torah. During this time, he learned all 613 commandments and all the sec...
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...
According to Jewish tradition, it might just be thirty-six ordinary people. These aren't kings or prophets. They're not wealthy philanthropists or celebrated scholars. They are the...
The concept of the Yetzer ha-Ra (the evil inclination) is a fascinating one, and its origins are debated. Some say it came into being with Adam himself, while others believe it did...
Jewish tradition is full of stories about that feeling, about the anticipation of Mashiach, the Messiah. And some of those stories are downright surprising. Take this one, recounte...
Jewish tradition has a lot to say about it, and it’s pretty . Imagine a world without the sun or moon. I know, sounds like science fiction. But the prophet Isaiah, in chapter 60, v...
According to the Babylonian Talmud (B. Bava Batra 73b), Rabbah stumbled upon a sight that would make any foodie's jaw drop: two geese. But these weren't your average farmyard fowl....
Jewish tradition offers some fascinating glimpses, and one particularly dramatic scene involves Satan himself getting a sneak peek at the Messiah. The story goes that even before t...
Midrash Mishlei, an ancient collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Proverbs, tackles that very question. It all starts with (Proverbs 1:3): "To receive the instructi...
And they left us some pretty powerful guidance, hidden in plain sight within the Book of Proverbs. Let’s take a look at a fascinating passage from Midrash Mishlei, a collection of ...
And according to Midrash Mishlei, a collection of insightful commentaries on the Book of Proverbs, even animals know to avoid it! We find this idea in the midrash on (Proverbs 1:17...
Oh no, it’s right out in the open, making a joyful noise! (Proverbs 1:20) tells us, "Wisdom calls aloud in the street." But what does that mean? The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive ...
The mystics certainly did. And what was their water, their sunlight, their very soil? The Torah. Midrash Tehillim, a beautiful collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, ...
Psalm 2 definitely gets that feeling. “Kings of the earth will stand up, and rulers will band together, against the Lord and against His anointed, saying, 'Let us break their bonds...
And Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Psalms, gives us a glimpse into his struggle. The text opens with a raw, almost painful cry: "How long...
Is there a reason? Is there a divine purpose behind it? Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletic interpretations of the Book of Psalms, grapples with this very issue, drawing on...
David, millennia later, giving voice to the unspoken gratitude of humanity's dawn. Rabbi Samuel, whose teaching is recorded in the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), ident...
It’s a question that’s echoed through the ages, and one that our tradition wrestles with beautifully. Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psal...
King David knew that feeling. And he put it into words that still resonate with us today. (Psalm 31:15). "And my soul is greatly troubled (and you incline your ear), and you, Lord,...
That feeling, that raw emotion, is at the heart of a powerful story preserved in Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms. It's a story about faith, ...
The Psalms, those ancient songs of King David, knew all about that feeling. And the Rabbis, centuries later, unpacked those feelings in their own special way, through midrash (rabb...
The ancient rabbis felt it too, especially after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. They saw the world changing, and not for the better. Midrash Tehillim, a collection ...
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...
Jewish tradition offers a path, not of easy answers, but of profound understanding. (Ecclesiastes 3:11) tells us, "He has made everything beautiful in its time." But what about dea...
And it’s in his words, preserved in the Book of Psalms, that we often find solace and, perhaps surprisingly, a roadmap through those very times.Specifically, we're looking at Midra...
The story of Amalek is one such echo. Amalek, that ancient nemesis of the Israelites, wasn't just a tribe; they represented something far more sinister: the embodiment of unprovoke...
The verse declares, "For the poor shall not always be forgotten; the hope of the poor shall not perish forever." But what does that really mean? Rabbi Yudan, in Midrash Tehillim, a...
Jewish tradition certainly thinks so, and Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers some powerful examples. It’s like a spiritual echo chamber...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Psalms, dives into the depths of human nature and divine justice. And Psalm 10, in particular, sparks some...
