12,014 related texts · Page 249 of 251
“She weeps bitterly at night and her tears are on her cheeks; she has no comforter from all her lovers. All her allies have betrayed her, have become her enemies” (Lamentations 1:2...
“And her tears are on her cheeks [leḥya],” over her priests, just as it says: “He shall give to the priest the foreleg, the jaw [haleḥayayim], and the maw” (Deuteronomy 18:3). Alte...
“Jerusalem has committed a sin, therefore she has become a pariah. All who honored her demean her because they have seen her nakedness. She, too, sighed and turned back” (Lamentati...
There was an incident involving Miriam daughter of the baker, who was taken captive with her seven sons. The emperor took them and placed them behind seven partitions. He brought t...
“Zion spread her hands, there was no comforter for her; the Lord has commanded for Jacob that her adversaries surround her. Jerusalem has become like a pariah among them” (Lamentat...
“He stripped His shrine like a garden; He destroyed His place of assembly. The Lord caused festival and Shabbat (the Sabbath) to be forgotten in Zion and He scorned king and priest...
“The Lord resolved to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion. He drew a line, did not withdraw His hand from demolishing. He caused the rampart and wall to mourn, together they l...
“Arise, cry out at night, at the beginning of the watches, pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him for the life of your infants, who a...
“He wore away my flesh and my skin, broke my bones” (Lamentations 3:4).“He wore away my flesh” – this is the community. “And my skin” – this is the Sanhedrin (the supreme rabbinic ...
“He brought the contents of His quiver into my kidneys” (Lamentations 3:13).“He brought the contents of His quiver [benei ashpato] into my kidneys” – Rav and Shmuel: Rav said: His ...
“It is the Lord’s kindnesses that have not ceased, for His mercies have not ended” (Lamentations 3:22).“It is the Lord’s kindnesses that have not ceased” – Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish ...
“The precious sons of Zion, who were valued in gold, how are they considered earthenware jugs, the handiwork of the hands of the potter?” (Lamentations 4:2).“The precious sons of Z...
There was an incident involving one of the prominent residents of Jerusalem, who said to his lad: ‘Go and bring me water.’ He was waiting for him on the rooftop. [The lad] came and...
“The iniquity of the daughter of my people exceeded the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, and no hands seized it” (Lamentations 4:6).“The iniquity of the daughter of ...
“For Mount Zion, which is desolate; foxes walk on it” (Lamentations 5:18).“For Mount Zion, which is desolate.” It happened that Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya, Rabbi Yehos...
“Why do You forget us forever, forsake us for so long?” (Lamentations 5:20).“Why do You forget us forever?” Rabbi Yehoshua bar Avin said: Jeremiah employed four expressions: Spurni...
“…who reigned from India to Kush, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces.” Rabbi Eliezer in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina: Are there not two hundred and fifty-two provinces in the world...
Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: It is written: “The hair of His head like pure wool” (Daniel 7:9); that He has no debt to any creature. Rabbi Yudan in the n...
“When King [Aḥashverosh] was sitting [keshevet hamelekh].” Rabbi Yitzḥak said: The nations of the world do not sit securely. They objected: Is it not written: “When King [Aḥashvero...
Rabbi Ayevu said: It is written: “For dominion belongs to the Lord; He rules over nations” (Psalms 22:29), yet you say, “when King Aḥashverosh was sitting on his royal throne”?18Is...
“That was in the Shushan citadel” – Rabbi Pinḥas said in the name of Rabbi Ḥananel: The Holy One blessed be He said to him: Cyrus referred to the name of His city and the name of H...
It is written: “You have seen, for You behold mischief and spite; to requite is in Your hand: the helpless man commits himself to You; You are the helper of the orphans” (Psalms 10...
Another interpretation: “Also, Vashti the queen made a women’s banquet.” Why did Scripture see fit to publicize the banquet of Vashti? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa said: Why to that ex...
“To bring Queen Vashti before the king with a royal crown, to display her beauty to the peoples and the princes, for she was of fair appearance” (Esther 1:11).Rabbi Aivu said: The ...
“Those close to him” (Esther 1:14) – they brought the calamity close to themselves. “Karshena” – who was appointed over the vetch3A plant used as animal feed. [karshinin]; “Shetar”...
“The seven princes of Persia and Media” – Rav and Shmuel, Rav said: Scripture is referring to the kingdom of Aḥashverosh, and Shmuel said: Scripture is referring to the kingdom of ...
“Was [haya] [a Judean man in the Shushan citadel]….” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Everyone about whom “haya” is stated, it is he at the beginning and it is he at the end.9 He was righteous ...
Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Levi: The Holy One blessed be He said to them, to Israel: You wept and said: “We have become orphans, fatherless” (Lamentations 5:3). By yo...
“When they [the king’s servants] spoke to him [Mordekhai] daily and he did not heed them, they told Haman, to see whether Mordekhai’s words would prevail; for he had told to them t...
“The text of the document was that an edict be issued in every province, to be publicly displayed to all the peoples: Be ready for that day” (Esther 3:14). “The text of the documen...
“For if you are silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father’s house will perish; who knows if it was for a time ...
“The king said to her: What troubles you, Queen Esther, and what is your request… Esther said: If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet… The king sa...
Rabbi Berekhya said: The Holy one blessed be He recorded the redemption of Israel in the Torah, as it is written: “If a stranger who is a resident among you shall prosper…” (Leviti...
The prophet Amos described a man who fled from a lion, only to be attacked by a bear, and when he finally made it home and leaned against the wall, a snake bit him (Amos 5:19). The...
The Hebrew Bible contains a hidden signal that tells you, in a single prefix, whether a king's reign brought joy or catastrophe. Rabbi Yitzhak discovered it buried in the grammar o...
Jewish tradition offers some truly fascinating perspectives on creation, and one that particularly intrigues me is the idea that God didn't just make things. He consulted with them...
It sounds radical, I know. According to some accounts, God bestowed immense honor upon Moses, gifting him dominion over the entire earth, the seas, the rivers – all the elements th...
Our ancestors wrestled with it, too. And they left us a pretty incredible guide to help us navigate it. It’s called The Book of the War of the Lord. A bold title. It promises to il...
But who – or what – is on the receiving end? It's a question that’s clearly bothered people for centuries. I recently stumbled across a fascinating snippet of text – a question, re...
The plea is intense: "My soul yearns to hear profound words, tightly sealed, burning from the lofty heavens... quench my thirst like a parched land." Wow. This isn't just casual cu...
The Jerusalem Talmud, specifically in the tractate Shabbat, recounts a rather bold statement. The sages, or Chazal, tell us about someone who, upon witnessing the beauty of somethi...
Yes, kissing! We often think of kissing as a sign of affection, love, or respect. But in ancient times, it could also be a form of worship. Strange. The Bible itself gives us a gli...
The story goes that when the seventy-two elders presented it to him, he didn't just nod politely. He rose from his throne, and prostrated himself before it not once, but seven time...
This isn't just some dusty historical document. This is a raw, unfiltered response to someone wrestling with complex ideas about God, the universe, and the role of Jewish tradition...
Remember how we talked last time about the "Wars of God," those intellectual battles fought over the proper approach to divine wisdom? Well, buckle up, because the debate rages on!...
How do we know what's real, especially when it comes to something as immense as the Divine? How do we stay on the path, the derech, when so many voices clamor for our attention? Th...
Jewish thought is FULL of those moments. Let’s unpack one, shall we? Our journey starts with what some might call "foolishness and evil folly." Strong words. The text we're looking...
The text we're looking at grapples with just that. It starts with a pretty bold statement: the wisdom of even the greatest Kabbalists – masters of the mystical tradition of Kabbala...
