484 related texts · Page 4 of 11
We all have. But what happens when that promise is to the Almighty? What kind of weight does that hold? The passage opens with a powerful statement: "What issues from your lips"—a ...
We mortals are bound by seconds, minutes, years. But what about the Holy One, Blessed be He? The Sifrei Devarim offers a glimpse into this very question, revealing a profound diffe...
The Torah grapples with these emotions too, but on a cosmic scale. Today, we’re diving into a powerful verse from Sifrei Devarim, a commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, that spea...
It all starts with the verse: "And this is the blessing..." Now, what does that seemingly simple phrase actually mean? The text offers a couple of intriguing interpretations. The f...
It all comes down to a verse, a blessing really, found in (Deuteronomy 33:13): "And of Joseph he said: 'Blessed of the L-rd is his land.'" Sounds simple enough. But the rabbis of t...
The text begins with a blessing: "Blessed is He that broadens Gad." What does it mean? Simply put, the passage teaches us that the territory allotted to the tribe of Gad expanded e...
The Targum Jonathan on (Deuteronomy 10) buries an entire civil war inside what the Hebrew Bible treats as a simple travel itinerary. The Hebrew says Israel "journeyed from Beeroth ...
"Aggadah (non-legal rabbinic narrative): A Midrash on the Five Books of the Torah, found in a unique ancient manuscript in the world brought from Aleppo (Aram Tzova). It was publis...
Agadeta: There are many Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)im called by the name 'Aggadah (non-legal rabbinic narrative)' or 'Agadeta' that were composed by the early schola...
Midrash HaGadol: Several manuscripts of this midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) are found in well-known libraries, and one belonged to Dr. Alexander Kohut, who used it in t...
"Haggadah (non-legal rabbinic narrative)": A collection of legends and tales that was available to the ancient scholars. Rashi, of blessed memory, cites it in Sanhedrin (31b): "I f...
Legend from "Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) Eicha Rabati" [From "Beit Akeid Haggadot" Part 1, 37] God said to Jeremiah, "Go to Anathoth," for as long as Jeremiah was in...
Another thing said R. Zerika in the name of R. Ami, who speaks in the name of R. Joshua b. Levi: "In the presence of the dead it is not proper to speak of anything except things co...
...It is written (Ps. 119:62) At midnight do I constantly rise to give thanks unto Thee. Did David rise at midnight? Behold! He arose at the beginning of the night, for it is said,...
The book of Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Numbers, delves into Moses' burning desire to witness the vengeance against Midian before his d...
It’s truly fascinating. In (Genesis 30:14), we read about Reuben, Jacob’s eldest son, finding dudaim (דּוּדָאִים) in the field. The verse states: "Reuben went during the days of wh...
We all know the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. But what about Reuben? What role did he play in this dramatic saga? (Genesis...
The Torah portion of Vayigash gives us a glimpse into their complex relationship, and the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), particularly in Bereshit Rabbah ...
It's more than just a love story, you see. Jewish tradition often interprets it allegorically, finding layers of meaning beneath the surface. And sometimes, those layers lead us to...
And, wouldn't you know it, the Rabbis of old had some pretty interesting ideas! In Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Leviticus, we find a fascinating...
Dan shall judge his people like one of the tribes of Israel (Gen. 49:16). Like one signifies that like Judah, he was one of the most distinguished of the tribes. Another explanatio...
(Numb. 32:1:) “Much livestock.” This text is related (to Ps. 75:7), “For it is not from the east or from the west [or from the wilderness that there comes an exaltation (harim)].” ...
The Book of Jubilees, an ancient Jewish text that expands on the stories of Genesis and Exodus, gives us a peek into that moment. It’s like a family reunion, generations connecting...
We know so much about Jacob himself, and his twelve sons who would father the tribes of Israel. But what about their wives? The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating ancient Jewish text ...
Have compassion on thyself, father, and on us and on all our house, for they have come against thee to slay thee and to destroy thy house." And Jacob girded his loins with strength...
Forget the sanitized Sunday school version for a moment. to a raw, unfiltered account from the Book of Jubilees. The Book of Jubilees, sometimes called Lesser Genesis, offers a det...
It’s a relentless chronicle of life and death, battles and betrayals. We're in Egypt, some seventy-nine years after Jacob and his family arrived. The years are marked by a somber r...
We often hear about the immediate aftermath – the vengeance of Simeon and Levi. But what about Jacob and his family? Did they just pack up and leave? Well, according to the Legends...
It's easy to skim over names and births, but hidden in those details are tales of longing, rivalry, and divine intervention. Take the story of Issachar, Jacob's son. His very name,...
The ancient texts are filled with such moments, none more potent than the confrontation between Judah and Joseph in Egypt. The story unfolds as the brothers, still unaware that the...
These weren’t just pretty rocks. Oh no. Each of the twelve stones corresponded to one of the twelve tribes of Israel, and according to the legends, they possessed unique properties...
Forget polls and focus groups. In ancient Israel, sometimes the answer came from… a breastplate. Specifically, the breastplate of the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest. This wasn't just...
Jewish tradition certainly thinks so, especially when it comes to the names of significant figures. Take, for example, the twelve princes of the tribes of Israel. Their names weren...
In Jewish tradition, even the placement of the tribes in the desert wasn’t random. It was divinely ordained, each position reflecting a unique characteristic and purpose. God, spea...
We often picture them as a unified mass, but the ancient texts paint a much more vibrant, organized picture. Imagine a sea of colorful banners, each telling a story, each represent...
It wasn't just a matter of drawing lines on a map. It was, according to tradition, a divinely orchestrated process, a fascinating blend of the practical and the miraculous. After s...
David made one mistake that cost seventy thousand lives. He counted his people. The Torah had been explicit: if you number Israel, every person counted must pay a half-shekel to Go...
"And these are the names of the children of Israel" (Exodus 1:1). The Torah lists the twelve tribes again, even though they were already named in Genesis. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Be...
Rabbi Eliezer, in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating work of Jewish aggadah (non-legal rabbinic narrative) and folklore, paints a breathtaking picture. It's more than just a sim...
The verse in question is Bamidbar 27:12: "And the L-rd said to Moses: Go up to this Mount Avarim." Now, Mount Avarim overlooked the promised land. But it wasn't just any land; it w...
Jewish tradition wrestles with this very human dilemma in fascinating ways, especially when it comes to vows made within a marriage. to a passage from Sifrei Bamidbar, a midrash (i...
Here, we're wrestling with (Numbers 30:13), which states, "Her husband has annulled them." Sounds simple. But like so much in Jewish law, the devil's in the details! The question a...
It starts with the rather simple phrase: "And of Naftali he said." Now, you might be thinking, "Okay, who’s Naftali and why should I care?" Good question! The text itself poses tha...
R. ‘Aḳiba said: A fence1The ‘fence’ is here taken in the sense of a safeguard or an aid to. With this paragraph, cf. Aboth 3:17. to honour is [the avoidance of] jesting,2That this ...
Jacob gathered his twelve sons around his golden bed to reveal the future. But something went wrong. According to Targum Jonathan, Jacob intended to show them "the hidden mysteries...
The completion of all the Tabernacle's furnishings and garments in (Exodus 39:1-43) should feel repetitive. The craftsmen were building exactly what God commanded. But the Targum J...
The final chapter of Numbers in the Targum's version (Numbers 36) resolves a legal crisis that the daughters of Zelophehad had inadvertently created. The heads of the clan of Gilea...
Sabbath Pre-Eminence. Sanhedrin (the supreme rabbinic court), f. 65 a—b. B. Batra, 6. Sota, V. cf. Sota, 31, s. v. Gadol. J. Berakhot, IX. Pesikta R, ch. 23, f. 119b. Tanh. Exod. K...
