12,014 related texts · Page 7 of 251
The ancient rabbis certainly thought so. They saw echoes of the Exodus, the defining moment of Jewish liberation, shimmering even in the life of Abraham. We find this idea beautifu...
The Torah is full of such moments, and the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) are masters at unearthing the layers of meaning. Let's take a peek into Bereshit...
It's not just the giving, but the way we give, the intention behind it. And in the story of Abram and the King of Sodom, found in Bereshit Rabbah (Genesis Rabbah) 43, we see a mast...
We find ourselves asking this question in Bereshit Rabbah 44, a midrash – a collection of rabbinic interpretations – on the book of Genesis. The verse in question: "On that day, th...
The Torah touches on this very issue, and the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), those ancient interpreters of scripture, offer some pretty fascinating expla...
It's never accidental. Jewish tradition teaches us that repetitions often hold profound significance, echoing through generations. Take Abraham, for example, our patriarch. We find...
They saw more than just stories; they saw patterns, echoes, and hidden depths. to one of those fascinating explorations, found in Bereshit Rabbah, the great collection of rabbinic ...
We often focus on the main narrative, but Jewish tradition is rich with interpretations that fill in the gaps, offering deeper insights into the characters and their motivations. L...
And their story, as told in Shemot Rabbah, is a powerful reminder of resilience, faith, and the strength of community. Pharaoh, wasn't just content with enslaving the Israelites. H...
Our story begins in (Exodus 3:7): “The Lord said: I have seen My people’s affliction that is in Egypt, and I have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, as I know their p...
It was about a whole new way of counting time itself. Think of it this way. Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Exodus, offers a beautiful analogy to e...
We read in (Exodus 12:37): "The children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Sukkot, approximately six hundred thousand men on foot, beside children." It's a verse that launches us...
Vayikra Rabbah, a classical midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic text – meaning, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Torah – offers a fascinating perspective. I...
It's like a cosmic echo, a recurring theme of the powerful and the hungry, of oppression and redemption. Vayikra Rabbah 28, a section of the ancient Midrash Rabbah, explores just t...
The Torah touches on this profoundly, urging us not to ignore the suffering of others. It's more than just a nice idea; it’s a core principle woven into the fabric of Jewish ethics...
The Book of Jubilees, a text not included in the canonical Hebrew Bible, offers a fascinating, often expanded, retelling of biblical narratives. It paints a vivid picture of ancien...
We all know the story of the Exodus, the burning bush, the parting of the Red Sea. But what about the years leading up to that moment? The Book of Jasher, an ancient Hebrew text of...
The Torah touches on this in the Brit Bein Habetarim (ברית בין הבתרים), the Covenant Between the Pieces, in Genesis 15. But the story doesn't end there. The Legends of the Jews fil...
The story we're about to delve into, found in Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, paints a vivid picture of a heavenly court in turmoil. God, seemingly distant, and the angels, filled ...
Four "harnessed" with joy: Abraham—(Genesis 22:3) "And Abraham rose early in the morning (for the binding of Isaac), and he saddled his ass." Now did he not have many servants?—(He...
to one of those metaphors, found in Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers. We begin with a beautiful verse from Numbers (24:5): "How goodly are...
to a passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, specifically section 48. The passage opens with a quote from Isaiah (33:13-14): ...
Specifically, we're looking at Bereshit Rabbah 100, which delves into the mourning of Jacob. The verse in (Genesis 50:3) tells us, "Forty days were completed for him, as so are the...
Our story begins with a seemingly simple verse from (Exodus 36:8): "All the wise hearted among those who performed the labor crafted the Tabernacle: ten tapestries of spun linen an...
It's more than just about wine, you see. It's a metaphor, a living, breathing symbol of the Jewish people themselves. We find this beautiful idea elaborated on in Vayikra Rabbah 36...
It’s a question that’s sparked imaginations for millennia. And while the Torah gives us broad strokes, some ancient texts offer a surprisingly detailed picture. One of those texts ...
Let me tell you a story from the Book of Jubilees, an ancient Jewish text that expands on stories from the Torah. It’s sowing season. The time when farmers scatter seeds, entrustin...
The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text considered apocryphal by some, offers a peek behind the curtain. It presents itself as a revelation given to Moses on Mount Sinai by angels...
The scene is set. God is speaking, promising judgement upon the nation that will enslave Abraham's descendants. But it doesn’t end there. There’s a promise of liberation, a return ...
It might surprise you. The Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating document from around the 2nd century BCE, gives us a glimpse into the mind of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the Greek ruler ...
While Abraham was still reciting the song, the fire on the surface rose up on high. He heard a voice like the roaring of the sea. The fire would not stop. And as it climbed, ascend...
The ancient traditions certainly thought so. Let's turn our gaze to the tribe of Benjamin. According to the Legends of the Jews, as retold by Louis Ginzberg, we can almost read the...
Moses sure did. Imagine this: you’re tending sheep in the desert, happily married, a father. Then, BOOM! God appears in a burning bush and tells you to go liberate an entire nation...
Jewish tradition certainly sees things that way, especially when we look at the plagues visited upon ancient Egypt. It wasn't just random suffering; each plague, according to our s...
Josephus, in his work Against Apion, reflects on this very question. He's making a case for the integrity and antiquity of Jewish history, and he does so by comparing it to the his...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, discovers a hidden connection between two events separated by centuries — the plague of the firstborn in Egypt and Abraham's nighttim...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, preserves a question from Rabbi Nathan that captures the emotional texture of the Exodus. The Torah describes the Israelites carrying...
When the Israelites finally left Egypt, they did not leave empty-handed. The Torah describes them departing with "flocks and herds, a great crush of cattle" — a staggering processi...
(Exodus 13:5) speaks of the land "which He swore to your forefathers." The Mekhilta asks a direct question: where exactly in the Torah did God swear this oath to each of the patria...
When the Israelites saw the Egyptian army bearing down on them and the Red Sea blocking their escape, the Torah says they "were exceedingly afraid." But what did they do with that ...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael addresses a legal question about the identity of a wife given to a Hebrew servant by his master. The Torah states that if a master gives his servant "...
Rabbi Yishmael taught a sobering principle about Canaanite bondservants: a Canaanite bondservant can never be redeemed by an outside party. The only path to freedom is the master's...
"Covenant" is written of Israel, viz. (Genesis 17:13) "And My covenant (i.e., circumcision) shall be in your flesh." And it is also written of strangers, viz. (Isaiah 56:4) "and th...
It can be a real head-scratcher.It’s all about water – not just any water, but "the waters of sprinkling," used to purify someone who has become ritually impure, or tamei. The vers...
The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early rabbinic legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, pauses to reflect on just that. It unpacks a key verse, reminding us of the spe...
Genesis 17 records the moment God commands Abraham to circumcise himself at ninety-nine years old. The Hebrew text says Abraham "fell on his face" when God spoke to him. It reads l...
The five daughters of Zelophehad—Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah—heard that the Promised Land would be divided only among males and immediately went to the court. The Targ...
He cast the pur - that is, the lot: Rabbi Chama bar Chanina said, "It was taught [that] when it fell out in the month of Adar, [Haman] rejoiced with great joy: He said, 'The lot fe...
