13,298 related texts · Page 276 of 278
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...
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 glimpse into this...
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...
Jewish tradition is vast, an ocean of wisdom passed down through generations. But what happens when we encounter teachings that seem to clash, or interpretations that feel…off? Tra...
to this a bit. The esteemed Rabbi Tam, of blessed memory, as we learn, was deeply troubled by these developments. He saw these new approaches to Kabbalah as a breach, a violation o...
That's the kind of heat we're wading into today. This isn't just a friendly disagreement; it's a full-blown intellectual battle. And at the heart of it lies the Zohar, the foundati...
The book "HaB'rit," in a chapter written by the author of "Ma'amar Kuf" in "Yashar Levav," touches on this very idea: that the very name of God is ever-present on our lips. When we...
And it's a desire that sometimes leads to conflict, as we see when examining certain debates within Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition. In this particular instance, we're divi...
Rabbi Chaim Vital, the principal disciple of the great Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria (known as the ARI) grappled with this very question. In his monumental work, Etz Chaim ("Tree of ...
It's more than just a belief, it's a foundational principle that underpins everything. to what some of our tradition's greatest thinkers have said about it. We can turn to Maimonid...
A microcosm of humanity, bobbing on a turbulent sea. Could you imagine the tensions? The sheer claustrophobia? It makes you wonder. The text known as the Midrash of Philo tackles t...
Philo, in his exploration of Genesis, delves into this very question. He points out that these five animals – the ox (represented by the heifer), the goat, the sheep (the ram), the...
Because the eyes of God, we're told, are everywhere. It's a powerful image, isn't it? From His throne in Heaven, God's eyes observe absolutely everything that takes place in the wo...
The mystics imagined it, and what they saw is The story goes that when God decided to create Adam, it wasn't a snap of the fingers. It was a process. A cosmic sculpting project, if...
The Tree of Souls tells us that these souls resided in the Garden of Eden, up above. And get this: they were all present at the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai! How do we know t...
