2,273 related texts · Page 28 of 48
King Ahasuerus, in the Book of Esther, was having one of those nights, and nothing seemed to calm him. That is, until… According to Legends of the Jews, Ahasuerus only found a bit ...
Josephus, the first-century Romano-Jewish historian, grappled with this very question when trying to explain why the Jewish people weren't as well-known to the Greeks as, say, the ...
Ever hear a story so outlandish, so dripping with bias, that you just have to raise an eyebrow and ask, "Really?" That's exactly the kind of tale we're diving into today, thanks to...
Enter Apion, a Graeco-Egyptian intellectual from the 1st century CE. Josephus, the famous Jewish historian, wrote a whole treatise Against Apion to defend Judaism against his sland...
It’s a charge that’s been leveled against the Jewish people for centuries. Even Josephus, way back in the first century C.E., tackled this very criticism in his work, Against Apion...
Isn't it amazing to consider the different ways people organize their societies, and how those structures reflect their deepest beliefs? : what could be a more sacred form of gover...
Josephus, in his work Against Apion, gives us a glimpse into the Jewish understanding of this concept, and it’s surprisingly profound. Josephus argues that there should be one cent...
Flavius Josephus, in his work Against Apion, gives us a glimpse into the ancient Jewish legal and moral framework, and it’s He's writing to defend Judaism against its detractors, a...
And in the ancient world, it was no different. Flavius Josephus, the first-century Romano-Jewish scholar and historian, knew this all too well. In his work, Against Apion, he passi...
The writer Josephus, in his work Against Apion, makes a pretty bold claim. He argues that Jewish laws and customs have not only been admired but actively imitated by people across ...
The ark landed in Armenia, and according to Josephus, the locals were still showing off pieces of it in the first century CE. He calls the site Apobaterion (αποβατηριον)—"The Place...
Baal HaSulam, in his profound "Introduction to Zohar," offers a breathtaking insight. He tells us that God’s satisfaction in bestowing goodness upon creation is directly tied to ou...
The ancient mystics certainly did. And in the Heikhalot (the heavenly palaces) Rabbati, a text that pulls back the curtain on the heavenly realms, we find a powerful message about ...
The Maggid Meisharim, a fascinating text attributed to the great Kabbalist, Rabbi Joseph Karo (the same Joseph Karo who compiled the Shulchan Aruch, the Code of Jewish Law!), purpo...
It’s a profound and beautiful concept explored in the teachings of the Ramchal, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, specifically in his work Asarah Perakim LeRamchal. The Ramchal unveils a...
You're not alone. But what is that "realness" we experience in dreams? In a dream, one moment you're flying, the next you're talking to your long-lost great aunt Mildred in a field...
Ever wake up from a dream and think, "Wait, how did that happen?" One minute you're flying, the next you're giving a presentation naked, and then suddenly you're a talking teapot. ...
Jewish mystical tradition, specifically the ancient text Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah (Wisdom), offers a fascinating perspective on these experiences. It all boils down to the "Revelati...
The Jewish mystical tradition, particularly the Zohar, sees these dreams as more than just random firings of neurons. They can be, in fact, visions – glimpses into the hidden light...
Jewish tradition certainly recognizes that struggle. In fact, some texts get incredibly vivid about the forces at play. Imagine this: a group of sages are walking along, deep in co...
Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev opens his commentary on Parshat Va'era with a question about the nature of prophecy. God tells Moses, "I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jac...
"And Jacob settled in the land where his father dwelled" (Genesis 37:1). Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk opens his commentary on Parashat Vayeshev not with Joseph's coat or his brother...
When God told Moses in (Exodus 7:1), "See, I have made you an overlord to Pharaoh," a question immediately arose in the minds of the ancient rabbis. The verse seems to single out M...
The Israelites spent twelve months in Egypt after Moses first appeared before Pharaoh. Twelve months of escalating plagues, mounting chaos, and growing anticipation of departure. D...
One of the most remarkable claims in rabbinic tradition is that the Israelites preserved their identity throughout centuries of Egyptian bondage by refusing to change their names. ...
The Torah commands the Israelites to eat the Passover lamb "in haste" (Exodus 12:11). But whose haste? The Mekhilta identifies a surprising ambiguity in this seemingly simple word ...
"And it was in the middle of the night" (Exodus 12:29). The tenth plague — the slaying of the firstborn — struck at midnight. But the Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, rai...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, captures the moment when Pharaoh finally broke. After the tenth plague — the death of every firstborn in Egypt — Pharaoh summoned Mos...
"and they emptied out Egypt": We are hereby apprised that their idols melted and returned to their former state, (so that they were now permitted to take them.) And whence is it de...
"And the habitation of the children of Israel in Egypt and in other lands was four hundred and thirty years." This is one of the verses that they (the seventy-two elders changed) i...
Rabbi Nathan offered a striking interpretation of the word bakosharoth from (Psalms 68:7), "He takes out the bound bakosharoth." Rather than reading it as a single word, he split i...
Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah, one of the most prominent Tannaitic sages, made a bold claim about why God chose to liberate Israel from Egypt. It was not because of anything the enslave...
The place where Israel camped before crossing the Red Sea bore a name loaded with meaning. The Mekhilta offers multiple interpretations of "Chiroth" — and each one tells a differen...
Of all the idols in Egypt, only one survived the plagues: Ba'al Tzefon. The Mekhilta explains that God deliberately left this single idol standing — and then commanded Israel to ca...
(Exodus 14:3) "And Pharaoh will say about the children of Israel: They are nevuchim in the land": "nevuchim" is "confounded," as in (Joel 1:18) "How the beasts groan! The herds of ...
The Torah says simply that Pharaoh "harnessed his chariot" (Exodus 14:6). The Mekhilta reads those four words as a revelation of just how consumed Pharaoh was by his obsession to r...
The Mekhilta reveals a darkly ironic scene at the shore of the Red Sea. Pharaoh caught up with the Israelites camped by the water, and the Torah says he "pressed ahead." But the Me...
When the Israelites stood trapped between the sea ahead and Pharaoh's army behind, a single verse describes the moment the divine rescue began (Exodus 14:19): "And the angel of God...
Rabbi Yehudah interprets the verse "And He removed their chariot wheels" (Exodus 14:25) as describing a scene far more spectacular than a simple mechanical failure. According to hi...
As the walls of water began crashing down upon the Egyptian army, a debate erupted among the soldiers trapped in the seabed. The Torah records that "Egypt said: I shall flee from b...
And (this obtains) not with Egypt alone, but with all who afflict Israel throughout the generations. As it is written (Psalms 78:66) "And He beat back His foes. Eternal disgrace di...
Pappus expounded (Song of Songs 1:9) "to a mare in the chariots of Pharaoh, etc.": Pharaoh rode on a stallion—the Holy One Blessed be He revealed Himself, as it were, on a stallion...
(Exodus 14:30) "And Israel saw Egypt dead on the shore of the sea": For four reasons: That they not say: Just as we came up on this side, so they came up on another side (and will ...
"a horse and its rider": The Holy One Blessed be He brings horse and rider, stands them in judgment, and says to the horse: Why did you pursue My children? The horse: An Egyptian s...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael states a foundational principle of divine justice: "As one metes it out, so is it meted out to him." God's punishments are not random. They mirror the...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael presents a teaching that parallels and extends the previous one about divine wrath, now turning to the subject of divine warfare. The principle is the...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael draws attention to a single word in the Song at the Sea that transforms the entire verse from a description of the past into a prophecy of the future....
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael interprets one of the most powerful lines in the Song at the Sea: "And in the greatness of Your grandeur You break those who rise up against You" (Exo...
