266 related texts · Page 6 of 6
A passage from Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, that explores exactly that. We'll be unpacking a single word: "lemor." The verse in qu...
Devarim Rabbah, in its unique way, uses a verse from Deuteronomy as a springboard to explore just that. The verse in question is (Deuteronomy 4:39): "You shall know this day and re...
"Hear, Israel: you are crossing the Jordan today.." It's a powerful opening line from Deuteronomy (9:1), isn't it? A promise, a challenge, a moment of immense transition. But what ...
It seems Devarim Rabbah, in its own unique way, grapples with this very idea. The passage starts with a verse from Deuteronomy: “Hear, Israel: you are crossing the Jordan today" (D...
Devarim Rabbah turns to How Israel's Clothes Never Wore Out for Forty Years. That's exactly what Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings and interpretations on the book ...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, explores the meaning of a verse from Ecclesiastes (9:11): "I again saw under the sun that the race is...
It’s a feeling as old as time, and the ancient rabbis grappled with it too. Kohelet Rabbah, a rabbinic commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastes, dives deep into this very idea, using...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, is part of the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible. Kohelet Rabbah, a Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) commentary on ...
It seems like a minor detail, but as we learn in Shemot Rabbah, it's anything but. Rabbi Ḥanina offers a beautiful explanation. He says that God's choice of words reflects a profou...
Shemot Rabbah turns to Did Pharaoh Himself Weep When Israel Left. That's the surprising question raised in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ex...
Eleven! As it says, "From Egypt to the Land of Israel there are eleven journeys, which can be conducted in eleven days." (Shemot Rabbah 20). So, why did it end up taking them forty...
It sounds like something out of a movie, but the Rabbis grappled with this moment, and what it truly meant. The book of Exodus (14:16) tells us, "And you, raise your staff, and ext...
Shemot Rabbah turns to Moses and the King of Betzalel. The text then quotes (Ecclesiastes 7:1): “A good name is better than fragrant oil, [and the day of death than the day of one’...
That feeling, that intense desire, is at the heart of today's story. We find ourselves in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, an ancient commentary on the Song of Songs, that most beautiful and ...
It’s a story of intimacy, growth, and the need for appropriate boundaries. to a fascinating interpretation of a verse from the Song of Songs, Shir HaShirim, that illuminates this v...
The Song of Songs, or Shir HaShirim in Hebrew, is a tradition of metaphor. And in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on this biblical book, ...
It turns out, according to some ancient Jewish texts, the answer might be closer – and more dangerous – than we think. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, a sage from the Talmudic period, mak...
Rabbi Eliezer lays down a pretty firm rule: A disciple shouldn't issue halakhic rulings in the presence of their teacher, or at least, not until they're a good distance away. How f...
It’s a fascinating idea, and one that Vayikra Rabbah (Leviticus Rabbah), specifically section 22, explores in a surprisingly beautiful way. The passage begins by quoting (Psalm 146...
Vayikra Rabbah turns to Israelite Women Guarded Their Virtue in Egypt. Rabbi Pinchas offers an interpretation: "A locked fountain – these are the virgins. A locked garden – these a...
Our story begins with a loaf of bread on the road, and it takes us on a journey filled with divine insight, legal intricacies, and a little bit of wine! The tale, found in Vayikra ...
“He drew His bow like an enemy; His right hand stood as an adversary, and he killed all delights of the eye. In the tent of the daughter of Zion, He poured out His fury like fire” ...
“The Lord was like an enemy. He demolished Israel, demolished all its palaces, destroyed its strongholds. He multiplied mourning and moaning in the daughter of Judah” (Lamentations...
It is written: “And set it in the ears of Joshua” (Exodus 17:14), this is one of four righteous people to whom a portent was given; two sensed it and two did not sense it. A porten...
Like every path leads to another, and the trees seem to whisper confusing riddles? That's kind of how it can feel when diving into the deeper waters of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. ...
It's a desire that sometimes leads to conflict, as we see when examining certain debates within Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition. In this particular instance, The core argum...
