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Rabbi Joshua ben Levi, a third-century sage of the Land of Israel, was granted a companion on the road that no one else in his generation was offered. Elijah the prophet, the tirel...
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 16:29) transforms a short Hebrew verse into the founding document of the Sabbath's geography: Behold, because I have given you the Sabbath, I gave...
Maybe, just maybe, there's a hidden message in those seemingly random journeys. In the Book of Numbers – in Hebrew, Bamidbar – we find a detailed list of all the places the Israeli...
“At night,” why at night? Because sound travels only at night, that is why it is stated: “At night.” Rabbi Aivu said: Night draws lamentation with it.80When one cries at night, it ...
And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth (Exod. 12:37). The distance from Rameses to Succoth is forty parasangs (approx. 43 miles), yet Moses’ voice could be he...
(Numb. 27:1:) “Then came forward the daughters of Zelophehad.” In that generation the women were fencing11On raising a fence about the Law, see Avot 1:1. that which the men were br...
"These are the journeys of the Children of Israel" (Numbers 33:1). This is what is stated in the verse (Psalms 77:21), "You led (nachita) Your people like a flock through Moshe and...
It all revolves around light – not just any light, but the divine light, the very essence of creation. And the key, according to the Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah (Wisdom), is that no li...
Jewish mysticism, particularly the Kabbalah, often describes the divine flow of energy in ways that can feel just like that, a shimmering, indirect path. The concept of Kalach Pitc...
In Bamidbar (Numbers) 10:5-6, we read about the signals for the Israelites to move their camps during their desert wanderings. It says, "And when you blow a teruah, then there shal...
The Torah, in the book of Numbers (Bamidbar), actually grapples with this very human dilemma. Specifically, it deals with the complex situation of accidental manslaughter and the c...
The Targum transforms the Torah's bare itinerary of Israel's wilderness journeys in (Numbers 33) into an annotated guide of miracles and disasters. Every campsite gets a story, a n...
The standard text of (Deuteronomy 1) opens with Moses speaking to Israel "beyond the Jordan." But the Targum Jonathan, an ancient Aramaic translation composed between the 1st and 4...
The Torah portion describes the offerings brought by the leaders of the tribes of Israel at the dedication of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. Each day, a different leader brought the ...
And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba (Gen. 28:10). May it please our master to teach us where a man who has unintentionally taken the life of another man may take refuge. Thus do our...
(Numbers 35:11:) “You shall provide yourselves with places to serve you as cities of refuge.” And it is written (in (Numbers 35:13-1)4), “six cities of refuge shall there be for yo...
Testament of Solomon turns to An Evil Demoness. Onoskelis wasn't your garden-variety demon. Imagine this: the torso of a beautiful woman, but instead of legs, she had… the legs of ...
That sense of belonging – or not belonging – is at the heart of a fascinating, and often overlooked, passage from the Book of Jubilees. If you haven’t heard of the Book of Jubilees...
Book of Jubilees turns to Judah and the Fires of Gehenna of Tamar. Our focus today is on a snippet from chapter 41. What's it about? The text lays down some pretty stark directives...
Book of Judith turns to Holofernes in the Holy Land. The news of Holofernes's demise, and the subsequent chaos in the Assyrian camp, has spread like wildfire. The children of Israe...
Our scene opens with a figure named, well, he’s not named in the text. But he's in a tight spot. He's just heard some pretty bad news. He’s "confounded and discouraged," as the ver...
The Book of Maccabees I turns to Judas Splits His Forces to Rescue Besieged Jews. The scene: Judas Maccabeus, the hammer of God, the leader of the rebellion against the Seleucid Em...
The Book of Maccabees I turns to Simon in the Holy Land. The scene is set: Simon is given command of three thousand men, tasked with heading into Galilee, the northern region of Is...
The Book of Maccabees I turns to Judas Maccabeus and David of Nabathites. We pick up their story in 1 Maccabees 5 as they venture east, across the Jordan River, plunging deep into ...
The ancient Israelites knew that feeling all too well. to a story from The Book of Maccabees I, a historical account not found in the Hebrew Bible but considered scripture by some....
It's a raw, unflinching glimpse into the aftermath of conflict. The victorious forces "slew all the males with the edge of the sword, and raised the city, and took the spoils there...
It’s a powerful feeling, one that can drive us to great heights... or lead us to stumble. Our story today comes from The Book of Maccabees I, a historical account filled with brave...
They've got you pinned against the Yarden – the Jordan River. Surrounded. What do you do? That's the situation we find ourselves in at the beginning of the ninth chapter of the Fir...
The kind of idea that fuels revolutions and inspires hope. That very concept is at the heart of a fascinating passage in the First Book of Maccabees. Specifically, The scene: A kin...
Book of Jasher turns to Jacob Returns to Bethel and Builds an Altar. Even in this sacred space, life keeps happening. She's buried beneath an oak tree near Bethel. Then, a heavy bl...
Book of Jasher turns to Isaac Dies at 180 and Esau Returns From Edom. The scene opens with Isaac, Abraham's son, nearing the end of his long life – a whopping 180 years! Esau, havi...
Book of Jasher turns to Pharaoh's Advisors Warn That Israel Grows Too Strong. Chapter 65 plunges us right into the heart of Pharoah's court. The scene opens with the counselors and...
Book of Jasher turns to The First Days of Freedom After Leaving Egypt. The Book of Jasher, a text mentioned in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13 and (2 Samuel 1:1)8), fills in some fa...
The story continues, of course! And Chapter 88 of the Book of Jasher to see what happened as the Israelites finally entered the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua. The Bo...
The Book of Jasher, an ancient text referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13, (2 Samuel 1:1)8), offers some fascinating glimpses. The chapter opens by setting the stage: It's a...
Before the third day, the earth was a watery expanse. Then, God commanded, "Let the waters be gathered together," and suddenly, mountains and hills burst forth, creating basins for...
His story, often overshadowed, takes some fascinating turns, especially concerning his wives. In Legends of the Jews, that incredible compilation of rabbinic lore by Louis Ginzberg...
It’s a theme that runs deep in Jewish tradition, especially when it comes to our most righteous figures. In Legends of the Jews, even Jacob, after years of hardship, thought he cou...
Sometimes, the stories behind the stories are the most fascinating of all. Take, for instance, the tale of Adam and his encounter with Satan after, well, the incident. Adam, burden...
This departure had a pretty serious consequence, setting the stage for a major war. Lot wanted to settle in the lush kikkar ha-Yarden, the well-watered circle of the Jordan. But th...
Jacob certainly did. Imagine this: Esau, his twin brother, is not happy. Jacob just received the blessings meant for him, and Esau is out for blood. He's not just passively angry; ...
The story of Jacob arriving in Shechem in the Book of Genesis (Gen. 33:18-20) gives us a glimpse into that idea. But the Rabbis, in their infinite wisdom, expanded the narrative in...
It's far more than just a tale of sibling rivalry and Egyptian intrigue. According to the Legends of the Jews, compiled by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, Jacob endured the hardships of his ...
Legends of the Jews turns to Potiphar's Wife Heard About Joseph's Good Looks. Then… trouble arrives. Potiphar's wife enters the picture. We don’t get her name here, though late ant...
There's a problem. A big one. Sacrifices, especially the Passover sacrifice, the korban (a sacrificial offering) Pesach (Passover), can only be eaten within the boundaries of the H...
You’d think they'd be throwing stones, not gifts. But the story, as it's told, is far more nuanced, and frankly, a little bit strange. The Ginzberg's says retelling in Legends of t...
The offerings each tribe brought to the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, give us some fascinating clues. Take the tribe of Gad, for instance. Remember Simeon, sword in hand, battling to de...
They’re often more than just labels; they’re little prophecies, echoes of divine favor, or even warnings. Take the story of the tribe of Gad, for instance. Their prince was named E...
