2,273 related texts · Page 46 of 48
The Hebrew Bible says the people told Aaron: "Make us gods that will lead us, for this Moses, we do not know what happened to him" (Exodus 32:1). Targum Onkelos translates this wit...
IV. 4. A man called Joseph Mokir Shabba (“honourer of the Sabbath") lived next to a rich Parsee. The latter was told that all his property would go to Joseph. He, therefore, sold a...
When Alexander the Great conquered the known world, he did not merely defeat armies — he rearranged the claims of nations. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 91a) records that after his conques...
God looked down at the world before the flood and saw something He hadn't seen since the days of Adam — a civilization that had talked itself into impunity. The wicked had done the...
"Behold, God will not cast away the perfect, neither will He uphold the evildoers" (Job 8:20). God visited Sarah and she conceived (Genesis 21:1) — after decades of barrenness, aft...
Hannah vowed at Shiloh — if God gives her a son, she will give him back (1 Samuel 1:11). Rabbi Berachiah used this verse to address four theological objections that people raise ag...
"In all their affliction, He was not afflicted" (Isaiah 63:9). The midrash reads this as conditional: if Israel does the will of God in their troubles, then He is afflicted with th...
"Listen to Me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am He — I am the first, and I am the last as well" (Isaiah 48:12). God speaks with the full weight of eternity — before everyt...
Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers, dives deep into the prophet Amos's rebuke of those who are "tranquil in Zion" (Amos 6:1). Who are these ...
Take the case of the nazir, or Nazirite, described in the Book of Numbers. We're talking about someone who takes a special vow to abstain from wine, avoid contact with the dead, an...
Jewish tradition grapples with this apparent contradiction all the time. Take the famous Priestly Blessing from (Numbers 6:26): "May the Lord show favor to you, and grant you peace...
Why the darkness? The passage opens by connecting God’s encounters with Bilam, the non-Israelite prophet, specifically noting that God "came to Bilam at night." This links back to ...
The story of Pinḥas (Phineas) in the book of Numbers is a wild ride, a tale of zealotry, divine intervention, and a whole lot of questions about what's right and wrong. The scene i...
Today, let's talk about the daughters of Tzelofḥad. Their story, found within Bamidbar Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic commentary on the Book of Numbers, is far more than just a ...
An apple? Maybe… but our tradition offers a whole orchard of possibilities! The rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), in Bereshit Rabbah 15, really sink their t...
It's usually translated as "also," "indeed," or even "moreover." Seems harmless enough. But according to Rabbi Ḥanina ben Sansan, that seemingly innocent word, when uttered with a ...
In Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, we find a fascinating discussion about the depth of that relationship. Rabbi Yoḥanan, R...
It's more than just a colorful arc in the sky. In fact, according to Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of Rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, the rainbow holds pro...
Take, for example, the sons of Ḥam (חָם), Noah's son: "Kush, and Mitzrayim, and Put, and Canaan" (Genesis 10:6). We see the names that echo through history – Mitzrayim, which is Eg...
We all know the basic story: humanity, unified and speaking a single language, decides to build a tower reaching the heavens. God, not thrilled with this display of hubris, scatter...
Sometimes, a single letter can unlock a whole new world of understanding. Take the verse from (Genesis 15:14), promising that the Israelites would leave Egypt with "great property....
The Torah touches on this very issue, and the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), those ancient interpreters of scripture, offer some pretty fascinating expla...
The Torah tells us Sarah saw Ishmael "playing" (Genesis 21:9), and it was enough for her to demand, in no uncertain terms, that Hagar and Ishmael be banished. But what exactly did ...
And Bereshit Rabbah, that incredible collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, offers a fascinating perspective. It's found in Bereshit Rabbah 55 and it all st...
The Torah tells us that Abraham was old, zaken (Genesis 24:1). But the rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah 59 ask, what does that really signify? The rabbis dig deep, finding layers of meani...
We often think of gold, jewels, maybe the perfect outfit. But what if the Torah suggests something far simpler? Let's turn to (Genesis 24:53), the story of Abraham's servant securi...
Take the tale of Isaac, Jacob, and Esau. We all know the basics: Jacob deceives his father, Isaac, and steals Esau's blessing. But what happens after? What was Isaac really thinkin...
Dreams have always held a special fascination, and Jewish tradition is no exception. Take the famous dream of Jacob in (Genesis 28:12): "He dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set on...
The verse we're looking at is (Genesis 30:23), where Rachel, finally blessed with a son, exclaims, "God has removed my disgrace!" But what exactly is this "disgrace" she's referrin...
The text opens with a discussion about "messengers" (malakhim). Were they ordinary people, or something more? Some Rabbis suggest they were actual angels! It blurs the lines betwee...
Take the reunion of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 33. We read how Jacob arranged his family as he approached his brother, placing the maidservants and their children first, Leah and he...
Our ancestors felt it too. And the Rabbis, in their infinite wisdom, addressed it head-on. We find a fascinating discussion in Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 79, sparked by ...
Sometimes, the answer lies hidden in plain sight, tucked away in ancient commentaries on the Torah. Take, for example, the seemingly simple act of bathing a baby after circumcision...
We're looking at the story of Joseph, the favored son, being sent to check on his brothers. It all starts with the line: "His brothers went to herd their father’s flock in Shekhem"...
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...
We all know the story: Potiphar's wife tries to seduce Joseph, he resists, and then, scorned, she falsely accuses him, leading to his imprisonment. But the ancient rabbis, never on...
Here, the rabbis are exploring the verse in (Genesis 44:8), where Joseph's brothers, completely innocent of any wrongdoing, exclaim, "Behold, silver that we found in the opening of...
And they found hints of it in the most unexpected places – like the story of Jacob sending Judah ahead to Joseph in Goshen (Genesis 46:28). The verse says, "He sent Judah before hi...
The passage centers around Jacob's blessing to his son Judah: "Judah, you shall your brothers acknowledge; your hand will be at the nape of your enemies; your father’s sons will pr...
(Psalm 100:3) declares, "Know that the Lord is God." But it's the next part that really sparked their interest: "He made us, and we are His" (Psalm 100:3). Or is it? See, the Hebre...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, that explores just that, through the lens o...
It seems so natural, so ingrained in Jewish practice, that we might not even stop to ask why. But the Rabbis of old, they were always asking. They wanted to know the source, the re...
In fact, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Kohelet Rabbah, connects them to something much deeper: the consequences of our actions and, specifically, our...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet in Hebrew, certainly does. And the rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), in Kohelet Rabbah, wrestled with it too. Specifica...
It's part of the human condition. But have you ever considered that this struggle might be… a cosmic drama playing out on a miniature scale, right inside of you? That’s the kind of...
Turns out, Moses did. And, according to the Shemot Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, it didn't go unnoticed. The story begins, as we k...
We all know the story: God commands Moses to go to Pharaoh and demand the release of the Israelites. But Moses hesitates. He protests, famously declaring, "I am not a man of words"...
The book of Shmot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, offers a fascinating perspective on this very idea, focusing on Moses, Jethro (Yitro in He...
