12,014 related texts · Page 56 of 251
“Mordekhai knew everything that had been done, and Mordekhai rent his garments and donned sackcloth and ashes. He went out in the midst of the city and cried a loud and bitter cry”...
Jewish tradition speaks of such moments as revelations of the Shekhinah (שכינה), the Divine Presence. But what exactly does that mean? And what does it look like? Sometimes, it see...
Take Noah’s blessing of his sons after the flood. It's a doozy. Specifically, let's zoom in on Japhet. Noah says, "God shall enlarge Japhet, and bid him to dwell in the house of Sh...
The Torah, in its often subtle way, touches upon this very question. Our passage focuses on a seemingly small detail in the story of Sarah and Hagar. You remember the story. Sarah,...
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel (Gen. 14:1). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: Through Thee do we push down our adversaries, through Thy name do we t...
After these things, the word of the Lord came unto Abraham, in a vision, saying: “Fear not, Abram!” (Gen. 15:1). May it please our master to teach us what (the) burnt offerings (pr...
And the Lord said: “Shall I hide from Abraham?” (Gen. 18:17). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: It shall be for the filling of his belly; He shall cast the fie...
And the two angels came to Sodom at evening (Gen. 19:1). What is written before this verse? And Abraham drew near and said, “Wilt Thou sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” (G...
And it came to pass after these words that God did prove Abraham (Gen. 22:1). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: Forasmuch as the king’s word hath power; and wh...
And God did prove Abraham (Gen. 22:1). Observe this difference between the earlier generations and the later generations: The earlier generations were tested by the Holy One, bless...
And Abraham was old, well stricken in age (Gen. 24:1). May it please our master to teach us: What should a man do if he is riding upon an ass when the time for prayer arrives? Thus...
And Abraham took another wife (Gen. 25:1). What is written previously concerning this matter? And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent (Gen. 24:67). You learn from this t...
These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begot Isaac (Gen. 25:19). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: The father of the righteous will greatly ...
These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begot Isaac (Gen. 25:19). Why does Scripture repeat itself by adding: Abraham begot Isaac? There were some men who whispe...
These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begot Isaac (Gen. 25:9). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Children’s children are the crown of old m...
These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begot Isaac (Gen. 25:19). It is written in Scripture: No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tong...
Abraham begot Isaac (Gen. 25:19). R. Isaac stated; No generation lacks scoffers. While Nabal was shearing his flock, David sent some of his young men to him with the request: Give,...
He commanded them, saying; “Thus shall you say unto my lord Esau” (Gen. 32:5). R. Judah the son of Simon began the discussion with the verse: As a troubled fountain, and a corrupte...
And the time drew near that Israel must die (Gen. 47:29). It is stated in Scripture in reference to this verse: For we are strangers before Thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers...
And he called his son Joseph (Gen. 47:29). Why did he not summon Reuben or Judah? After all, Reuben was the firstborn, while Judah was a king. He ignored them and called Joseph ins...
And it came to pass after these things, that one said to Joseph: “Benold, thy father is sick” (Gen. 48:1). May it please our master to teach us whether a benediction may be recited...
And it came to pass after these things (Gen. 48:1). Scripture states in response to this verse: For such as are blessed of Him shall inherit the land; and they that are cursed of H...
Another comment on This is it that their father spoke unto them. and he charged them, and said unto them: “I am to be gathered unto my people” (Gen. 49:28–29). He said to them: If ...
Who came into Egypt with Jacob (Exod. 1:1). Did they actually enter Egypt on that very day? Had not many days passed by since their arrival? (This informs us that) as long as Josep...
And Moses was content to dwell (Exod. 2:21). The word content (vayo’el) is used with reference to an oath, as in the case of Saul: And he adjured (vayo’el) the people (I Sam. 14:24...
Another comment upon the verse And the Lord said to Aaron: “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses” (Exod. 4:27). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: O that thou wer...
And God spoke unto Moses, and said unto him: “I am the Lord; and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob” (Exod. 6:2). May our masters teach us the punishment that is i...
And the children of Israel lifted up their eyes … and they were sore afraid (Exod. 14:10). They resorted to the practices of their fathers. It is written of Abraham: And he called ...
And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun (Exod. 17:12). Since time was calculated by means of the stars, what did Moses do? He stopped the revolution of the sun, t...
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (Exod. 32:13). It is written elsewhere in reference to this verse: And when they shall say to you: “Seek unto the ghosts and the familiar spirit...
And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there (Exod. 34:5). How fortunate was Moses was that he could come before the Omnipresent while no angel or seraph was able ...
(Lev. 8:1-2:) “Then the Lord spoke [unto Moses]…, ‘Take Aaron and his sons along with him, the vestments […].’” This text is related (to Ps. 65:5), “Fortunate is the one You choose...
(Lev. 19:23:) “Now when you come into the land and plant any tree for food.” This text is related (to Zech. 8:11-12), “But now [I will not treat the remnant of this people] as in t...
(Numb. 4:18) “Do not cut off.” See how well the text has said (in II (Kings 14:2)7), “And the Lord did not resolve to blot out the name of Israel from under the heavens.” The Holy ...
(Deut. 25:17:) “Remember what Amalek did to you.” R. Tanhum bar Hanila'i opened [his discourse] (with (Job 13:1)2), “Your remembrances are proverbs of ashes; your responses are res...
“There was a Judean man in the Shushan citadel, and his name was Mordekhai, son of Ya'ir, son of Shimi, son of Kish, a Benjamite” (Esther 2:5).“There was a Judean man [ish] in the ...
Think of it as a kind of expanded, annotated Genesis, written sometime in the Second Temple period. It offers us a glimpse into how some ancient Jews understood their own history. ...
We find it in the Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text that retells and expands upon stories from Genesis. (It’s considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, by the way, ...
We all know the story of Joseph. Sold into slavery, falsely accused, imprisoned, but ultimately rising to become second-in-command in Egypt. But what happened after he interpreted ...
We pick up our narrative with Holofernes, the Assyrian general, riding high on a wave of conquest. The fanfare is deafening: "And all of the land all around went forth towards him ...
The story, as told in the Letter of Aristeas, is a fascinating glimpse into a world of kings, scholars, and, well, a whole lot of money. The narrative picks up with a pressing matt...
How many people were alive before the flood? According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle translated by Moses Gaster in 1899, an exact census was taken...
Terah made five new gods and handed them to his son. "Sell these in the street," he said. Abraham loaded the idols onto his father's donkey and set off toward the marketplace. On t...
The Torah focuses on Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, on Joseph and his brothers. But the world didn't stop spinning just because the Israelites were having family drama. According to Gi...
Pharaoh certainly did. Remember the story? Seven fat cows, followed by seven skinny ones that devoured the healthy ones whole. And then ears of grain – plump and full, swallowed up...
It’s a story filled with twists, turns, and a whole lot of divine intervention. It's the story of Joseph. After Joseph correctly interprets Pharaoh's dreams, foretelling seven year...
That’s the feeling I get when I read about Joseph and his brothers in Egypt. : Joseph, sold into slavery by his own brothers, rises to become one of the most powerful men in Egypt....
Remember, Joseph, now a powerful figure in Egypt, has finally revealed himself to his brothers, the same brothers who sold him into slavery years ago. It's a dramatic reunion fille...
