12,014 related texts · Page 199 of 251
Believe it or not, that feeling has ancient roots in how we've historically treated those deemed "unclean." to a fascinating, and frankly, unsettling passage from Vayikra Rabbah, a...
That’s because, often, it is! one such instance. We find ourselves in Vayikra Rabbah (Leviticus Rabbah) 19, diving into a seemingly straightforward verse from (Leviticus 15:25), de...
Vayikra Rabbah, specifically chapter 20, dives right into this difficult territory. It starts with a quote from Proverbs (17:26): “To punish also the righteous is not good." It's a...
The ancient rabbis grappled with this question, and their insights, preserved in texts like Vayikra Rabbah, offer some truly fascinating answers. Rabbi Abba bar Avina, a sage of ol...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating interpretation from Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Leviticus. It's a wild ride involving the Amalekites, K...
Our tradition recognizes this struggle, and even offers some pretty ingenious battle strategies. It all starts with a verse from Leviticus (16:3): “With this Aaron shall come.” But...
It's a story about dedication to Torah study, unexpected homecomings, and maybe, just maybe, the importance of knocking before you enter. The story begins with two renowned scholar...
And, wouldn't you know it, the Rabbis of old had some pretty interesting ideas! In Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Leviticus, we find a fascinating...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating, and frankly, pretty intense passage from Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Leviticus. This particular section...
Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Yirmeya, citing Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba, paint this incredible picture: The Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to craft shelters and canopies in the Garden of E...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Vayikra Rabbah 26 that explores the devastating power of lashon hara (לשון הרע), or "evil tongue" – slander. Rabbi Yosei of Milḥ...
Specifically, Vayikra Rabbah 26. It all starts with a simple phrase: "Speak to the priests." But as is so often the case in Jewish tradition, there's a whole universe packed into t...
It all starts with the verse in (Leviticus 22:29): “When you slaughter a thanks offering to the Lord, you shall slaughter it to garner favor for yourselves.” Now, Rabbis Pinḥas, Le...
Specifically, we're looking at (Leviticus 23:11), which instructs us about waving the omer "before the Lord, for acceptance on your behalf; on the day after the sabbath the priest ...
The lulav, the palm branch we wave during Sukkot, the Festival of Booths, seems simple enough. But what if that seemingly innocent branch had a dark secret? Vayikra Rabbah, a fasci...
The ancient rabbis grappled with this question, and their answers, preserved in texts like Vayikra Rabbah, are pretty . Vayikra Rabbah, a midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)...
In the book of Vayikra, Leviticus, we read a troubling story about the "son of an Israelite woman" who, as the verse says, "went out" (Leviticus 24:10). But...went out from where? ...
Jewish tradition wrestles with these questions constantly. Take, for example, the difficult case of the mamzer. The mamzer, often translated as "illegitimate child," occupies a com...
And the story, as recounted in Vayikra Rabbah 34, is It all started on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, a time for reflection and new beginnings. Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, a promi...
We all know rain is a blessing, a sign of divine favor. But what if it rained at the wrong time? What if the heavens opened up right when you were trying to do your weekly shopping...
Vayikra Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Leviticus, gives us a glimpse into that idyllic vision. Specifically, it discusses the verse “I ...
A certain Cuthite said: ‘I will go and see a certain Jewish elder40Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Yosei. who mocks people.’ He came and sat near him. He said to him: ‘I saw in my dream f...
A certain woman came to Rabbi Elazar. She said to him: ‘I saw that the rafter in the house snapped.’ He said to her: ‘This woman will bear a male child.’ She went, and so it was fo...
“Judah was exiled due to affliction and great enslavement. She settled among the nations, did not find rest; all her pursuers have overtaken her within the straits” (Lamentations 1...
“Gone from the daughter of Zion is all her splendor. Her princes are like deer that have not found pasture; they went powerless before the pursuer” (Lamentations 1:6)“Gone from the...
“From on high He sent fire into my bones, and He crushed them; He spread a net for my feet, He turned me back. He rendered me desolate, suffering all day” (Lamentations 1:13).“From...
There was an incident involving Miriam bat Baitus, whom Yehoshua ben Gamla betrothed [to him], and the king appointed him to be the High Priest.173He was appointed to this position...
There was an incident involving Miriam daughter of Nakdimon for whom the Sages alloted five hundred gold dinars for a basket of perfume each day. She nonetheless stood and cursed t...
There was an incident involving Doeg ben Yosef who died and left a young son to his mother. She would measure him in handbreadths and donate his weight in gold to the Temple182Lite...
“The Lord is righteous, for I have defied His word. Hear now all you peoples, and see my pain: My young women and young men have gone into captivity” (Lamentations 1:18).“The Lord ...
“How the Lord has clouded the daughter of Zion in His wrath. He cast the splendor of Israel from the heavens to the earth, and did not remember His footstool on the day of His wrat...
Rabbi Pinhas said in the name of Rabbi Hoshaya: There were four hundred and eighty synagogues in Jerusalem before the destruction. The number came from a single verse — "filled wit...
“What shall I attest to you, to what shall I liken you, daughter of Jerusalem? To what shall I equate you, and comfort you, virgin daughter of Zion? For your breach is as vast as t...
“The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their music” (Lamentations 5:14).“The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their music.” They ceased playi...
Another matter: “The elite of Persia and Media” – sometimes Media precedes Persia and sometimes Persia precedes Media. When the throne is in Media, Persia is secondary to it; when ...
“One hundred and eighty days” – the last day was like the first day. There was an incident involving a certain man whose name was Barbohin. Our Sages went to him regarding matters ...
“Drink was served in vessels of gold and vessels of diverse kinds, and abundant royal wine, in keeping with the king’s bounty” (Esther 1:7).“Drink was served in vessels of gold” – ...
“[Also [gam], Vashti the queen] made a women’s banquet,” she fed them kinds of soup [gema’in]. Rabbi Yitzḥak said: She fed them kinds of sweets. “In the royal palace” – she situate...
“Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's word by means of the officials, and the king was very angry, and his fury burned within him” (Esther 1:12).She sent and said to him thin...
“The king said to the wise men, those knowledgeable about the times, for so was the practice of the king before those learned in custom and law” (Esther 1:13).Who were they? Rabbi ...
“Memukhan said before the king and the princes: It is not against the king alone that Vashti the queen has sinned; rather, it is against all the princes and all the peoples who are...
“The king’s decree about what he will do will be heard throughout his entire kingdom, vast as it is, and all wives will give honor to their husbands, from great to small” (Esther 1...
“After these matters, King Aḥashverosh promoted Haman son of Hamedata the Agagite, and he raised him up and set his seat above all the princes who were with him” (Esther 3:1).“Afte...
Another matter: “After these matters” – Rabbi Levi said: What the verse says: “When the wicked sprout like grass, and evildoers flourish” (Psalms 92:8); what is written at the end ...
“Haman said to King Aḥashverosh: There is one people that is scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from every peo...
“And in each and every province, any place where the word of the king and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews” (Esther 4:3).Is there great mourning and mino...
“Mordekhai told him everything that had befallen him [karahu]” (Esther 4:7). He said to Hatakh: ‘Tell her that the descendant of karahu6Amalek, the subject of the verse in (Deutero...
“Haman said: ‘Indeed, Queen Esther gave a feast and besides the king she did not bring anyone but me. And tomorrow too I am invited by her along with the king” (Esther 5:12).“Haman...
