12,014 related texts · Page 3 of 251
Haran, the eldest son of Terah, made his living selling his father's idols to the Chaldeans. His younger brother Abraham refused to worship them. When the Chaldeans came to test bo...
The story of Abraham, or Avraham in Hebrew, is a powerful exploration of just that. The ancient texts tell us that Abraham faced ten trials, each designed to test the depths of his...
It wasn't just a simple "Okay, God, I'll go." According to the Legends of the Jews, as retold by Ginzberg, Moses' agreement came with conditions. He wanted assurances that his requ...
The ancient texts tell us that after the dust settled from the battles described earlier in Legends of the Jews, Abraham was deeply troubled. He couldn't shake the thought of the i...
But Ishmael’s story doesn't simply vanish; it continues, filled with hardship, growth, and a surprising encounter with his father. According to Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, Ishm...
That feeling… it's a heavy one. And it's something Judah, one of Jacob's sons, knew all too well. See, Jacob was utterly devastated by the supposed death of his beloved son, Joseph...
Sarah laughed when the angels told her she would bear a son. She was ninety years old. Abraham was a hundred. The idea was absurd—and yet Isaac was born, and his very name, Yitzcha...
That's the atmosphere that hangs heavy in the opening of Heikhalot (the heavenly palaces) Rabbati, a mystical text describing heavenly ascents and divine secrets. Rabbi Ishmael, a ...
It's one of those biblical tales that's just packed with odd details, and the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) had a field day unpacking it all. We find a f...
It all starts with God promising Abraham countless descendants: "Look now to the heavens, and count the stars, if you can count them… So will your offspring be." But it's the phras...
It says, "Abram was ninety-nine years old, and the Lord appeared to Abram; He said to him: I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be faultless.” Ninety-nine years old. It’s never t...
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven." We all know the famous line from Ecclesiastes (3:1). But have you ever stopped to consider just how m...
I've been pondering just that as I was reading through Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 48, which elaborates on a seemingly simple verse: (Genesis 18:6). It reads, "Abraham hu...
That’s the kind of feeling I get when I think about Abraham and that young bull. Let's set the scene. Remember when three divine guests show up at Abraham's tent in the heat of the...
Jewish tradition certainly thinks so. to a passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, to see just how much weight our Sa...
The Bible tells us the bare bones of the story, but the Rabbis, in their endless quest to understand God's word, delve deeper, seeking hidden meanings and profound truths. In Beres...
We find a poignant example in the story of Abraham's burial, as recounted in Bereshit Rabbah 62, a section of the classic midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic collection th...
What it means to truly come "home?" The Torah touches on this very human longing as Jacob, nearing the end of his life, makes a heartfelt request of his son, Joseph. "The time for ...
After all, it's not exactly a flattering name given Canaan's, shall we say, complicated backstory. Vayikra Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Lev...
In Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Leviticus, we find a powerful exploration of this idea. It all starts with a seemingly simple verse: "You shall...
We find a clue in Vayikra Rabbah, specifically in a passage connected to the story of the "son of an Israelite woman" (Leviticus 24:10). The text begins by quoting the Song of Song...
It’s more profound than you might think. (Genesis 12:5) tells us, “Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot, son of his brother, and all their property that they had acquired, and the pe...
The Mekhilta identifies one of the hidden miracles of the Egyptian exile: the Israelites never abandoned the Hebrew language. Despite living for centuries among Egyptian speakers, ...
R. Chanina b. Akiva says: "More beloved" was the seeing of our father Abraham than that of Moses. For Abraham was not caused to exert himself whereas Moses was. What is stated of A...
R. Nathan says: Whence is it derived that the L–rd showed our father Abraham, Gehennom, the giving of the Torah and the splitting of the Red Sea? From (Genesis 15:17) "And it was, ...
Jacob said: "My way is hidden from the Lord, and my justice has passed away from my God" (Isaiah 40:27). This was Israel speaking — the whole nation's complaint condensed into one ...
“Pay them retribution, Lord, according to their handiwork” (Lamentations 3:64).“Pay them retribution” – Jeremiah said: “Pay them retribution.” Asaf said: “Pay our neighbors retribu...
We often think of Abraham as this towering figure of faith, but the Book of Jubilees, an ancient Jewish text from the Second Temple period, gives us a stark look at the consequence...
It tells us that Abraham, wise as he was, gave Ishmael and his sons, along with the sons of Keturah, gifts before sending them off. He then bequeathed everything else to his belove...
More specifically, it's the year Abraham passed away. And where are his sons, Isaac and Ishmael? They’re making a journey. The Book of Jubilees, a text considered canonical by the ...
We all know the dramatic ending – sold into slavery, rising to power in Egypt, and eventually saving his family from famine. But what about those missing pieces, the everyday strug...
There's a whole world of fascinating texts out there, bubbling with stories and details that expand on the familiar narratives. Today, let's peek into one of them: the Book of Jubi...
That’s kind of what happened after Joseph's incredible rise to power in Egypt. Remember Joseph? Sold into slavery by his brothers, then, through a series of unbelievable events, ri...
You might imagine sibling rivalry, but perhaps you haven't imagined this level of one-upmanship. The story goes that Ishmael, brimming with pride, decided to brag to Isaac. Accordi...
And the reason why might surprise you. According to some traditions, it was actually thanks to the merits of his grandson, Jacob, that Abraham himself was rescued from the fiery fu...
We often think of the Biblical figures as these grand, larger-than-life heroes and villains. But sometimes, when you really dig into the stories, you find details that are just… sh...
The story of Joseph being sold into slavery is one we all know. But have you ever stopped to really consider his experience in those first agonizing moments? Ginzberg, in his Legen...
That’s what the fourth plague was like for the ancient Egyptians. Pharaoh, stubborn as ever, had ignored the previous warnings. He wouldn't release the Israelites, wouldn't listen ...
Forty days to explore an entire country, a mission impossible made possible by… well, by something a little miraculous. That's the story of the spies sent to scout out the land of ...
We often picture a triumphant march towards the Promised Land, but the reality, according to our sages, was far more complex, fraught with fear and even internal conflict. The Lege...
Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah, one of the most prominent Tannaitic sages, made a bold claim about why God chose to liberate Israel from Egypt. It was not because of anything the enslave...
"by way of the land of the Philistines, for it was near": Near (i.e., "close") is the thing of which the Holy One Blessed be He spoke to Moses (Exodus 2:12): "When you take the peo...
Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah taught that God split the Red Sea for the Israelites in the merit of their forefather Abraham. His proof comes from a sweeping passage in (Psalms 105:42-43...
Today, let’s explore a passage from the Pesikta deRav Kahana, specifically section 13, where Rabbi Abba bar Kahana unpacks a verse from the prophet Isaiah (10:30): “Raise your voic...
That feeling, that sense of wonder and a connection to something vast, is at the heart of this story about Abraham, our patriarch. According to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinatin...
It's far more than just a nice story about hospitality. According to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval text that weaves together biblical narrative and rabbinic ...
Sometimes, those threads are stronger than we imagine, woven with love and a touch of the divine. Our story today comes from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating work of Jewish li...
We meet her after the death of Sarah, when Abraham – yes, that Abraham – takes her as his wife. But who was she, really? Some traditions identify her with Hagar, the mother of Ishm...
