12,014 related texts · Page 81 of 251
The Israelites are trapped. The sea is before them, Pharaoh's army is closing in from behind. Panic is in the air. They cry out to God, as we read in (Exodus 14:10): "The children ...
The Israelites certainly did at the Red Sea. Pharaoh’s army was bearing down on them, and the sea was, well, a sea. So what were they supposed to do? Pray? Act? Just give up? The B...
It all starts with the verse, "Then Moses…sang" (Exodus 15:1). The Rabbis connect this to (Proverbs 31:26), "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her...
This week, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Shemot Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, specifically Shemot Rabbah 27. It uses the s...
And the Shemot Rabbah, a classical collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, gives us some fascinating answers. "The Lord called to him from the mountain, sayin...
It's more than just a title, more than just a declaration of power. According to Shemot Rabbah, it's a promise. A promise of unwavering commitment, far beyond what any earthly rule...
Shemot Rabbah, the collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, points this out explicitly. "Come and see," it urges, "how excellent this portion is!" What's so ex...
And, well, the answer might surprise you. Rabbi Natan, in Shemot Rabbah, makes a pretty strong statement: justice is fitting for God precisely because He upholds it without showing...
According to Rabbi Elazar, it's justice. That’s why, as Shemot Rabbah tells us, God gave us laws after the Ten Commandments. If justice is perverted, everything crumbles. God, in h...
One minute someone is a hero, the next... well, not so much. It's human nature. But what about those in positions of authority, like judges? Do our shifting opinions of them have c...
It’s a question that takes us to the heart of Jewish thought, and to a fascinating passage in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. The pas...
The ancient rabbis grappled with this, and in Shemot Rabbah (that's the Book of Exodus explained and expanded upon by the Rabbis) we find a fascinating exploration of this very ide...
It sounds strange, but Jewish tradition explores the idea that certain special figures in our history were known by multiple names, each reflecting a different facet of their chara...
Rabbi Abahu tells us that for all forty days Moses spent up on the mountain, he was studying Torah… and forgetting it just as quickly. Can you imagine the frustration? "Master of t...
We all know the story: Moses ascends Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, and the Israelites, impatient and fearful, build a golden idol. But what happens behind the scenes, in the he...
This passage grapples with the aftermath of the Golden Calf. Moses is up on Mount Sinai, receiving the Torah, while the Israelites down below are, well, not exactly holding the fai...
That, in a nutshell, is the tragedy of the Golden Calf. But how quickly did things really fall apart after the revelation at Sinai? The rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive...
In fact, they found an answer – a surprising one – in the power of remembering the righteous dead. Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, de...
Where a promise seemed broken, and you just had to ask, "What now?" That's the kind of raw honesty we find in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of...
He was trying to save the Israelites from destruction, and the story goes something like this… God, seeing the Israelites’ transgressions, essentially challenges Moses. "Find me te...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. They saw the world – our world, and all the worlds beyond – as hanging in the balance, dependent on something surprisingly simple: our commitment ...
The passage opens with the famous verse, "…for your love is better than wine" (Song of Songs 1:2). But almost immediately, we're whisked away to a completely different topic: chees...
It wasn't just handed to us on a silver platter, so to speak. According to the ancient rabbis, receiving the Torah at Sinai was contingent on something quite surprising: finding su...
They found ways to see even those challenging forces as a path towards the Divine. to a fascinating interpretation of a verse from Shir HaShirim, the Song of Songs, explored in Shi...
Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the classical Rabbinic commentary on Song of Songs, offers a fascinating perspective. It suggests that we can "recount your love through wine [miyayin]." But ...
It's like peeling back an onion, only instead of tears, you find profound insights. Let's take a dive into a fascinating passage from Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic...
Rabbi Yitzchak, in Shir HaShirim Rabbah 6, offers a fascinating, if unsettling, interpretation of the events following the plague that killed twenty-four thousand Israelites. This ...
Ever catch a whiff of something amazing and wonder, "What is that?" Our senses are powerful doorways to memory and meaning. And in ancient Jewish tradition, few things were as powe...
Specifically, (Song of Songs 1:17): "The beams of our houses are cedars, and our panels are cypresses." Seems simple enough. But like so much in Jewish tradition, there's a deeper ...
According to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, the experience was so intense that if other nations had understood the benefit of the Ohel Mo'ed, the Tent of Meeting, they would have protect...
That’s what we’re diving into today, exploring a fascinating passage from Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Song of Songs. Specifically, we're l...
We find in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the ancient commentary on the Song of Songs, a beautiful and intimate image of God's relationship with the Jewish people. It begins with the verse,...
The verse we're looking at references a "fawn." Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina equates this to the offspring of a hind. But where is this fawn, this fragile new life? "Behold, he is standi...
to Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations, and unpack just one verse: "Your eyes are doves." Now, on the surface, it's a beautiful compliment. Poetic, even....
It's not just a love poem, you know. Jewish tradition sees it as an allegory, a story of the love between God and Israel. And within its verses, we find echoes of the Temple, its d...
The collection of rabbinic homiletic interpretations of Song of Songs, Shir HaShirim Rabbah, dives deep into this very question. Rabbi Berekhya offers a surprising take: how can ho...
We start with a verse from (Song of Songs 5:16): "His palate is sweet and all of him is delightful. This is my beloved, and this is my companion, daughters of Jerusalem." The Rabbi...
But our tradition, in its rich tapestry of stories, isn't afraid to explore the complexities of the relationship between the Divine and humanity. to one such fascinating exploratio...
Today, we're diving deep into Shir HaShirim Rabbah, specifically section 4, to uncover some fascinating insights about intention, reward, and the enduring nature of good deeds. The...
The passage begins by interpreting a verse about those who left Egypt during the Exodus. It states, "There are sixty queens…" But instead of taking this literally, the Rabbis offer...
The passage opens with the nations of the world addressing Israel, essentially saying, "Why do you keep suffering for your God? Why do you keep dying for Him?" As it says in (Psalm...
I know, it sounds random. But stick with me. In Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Song of Songs, that very grain becomes a powerful symbol for t...
Even your weaknesses, your struggles, they are seen and cherished. to a beautiful passage from Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Song of Songs. ...
It’s amazing what layers can be uncovered when we delve into the ancient texts. Take the verse from (Song of Songs 7:14): “The mandrakes have emitted fragrance, and at our entrance...
Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the commentary on Song of Songs, offers a fascinating take on Abraham's early days, drawing on the verse "We have a little sister [aḥot]" (Song of Songs 8:8)....
Our Rabbis certainly did. They grappled with this very question, especially when comparing the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. In Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the Rabbis delve into...
We're looking at verse 8:12: “My vineyard is before me; the thousand is for you, Solomon, and two hundred for those who guard its fruit.” What does this seemingly simple verse real...
Rabbi Yitzchak, a sage of old, had an interesting take on this. He taught that before the Mishkan – the Tabernacle – was built, prophecy wasn't confined to the Israelites. It was, ...
