1,629 related texts · Page 15 of 34
We all know the story: Jacob, preparing to face his estranged brother Esau, finds himself grappling with a mysterious figure in the dead of night. The Torah tells us "a man" wrestl...
That’s definitely not a new phenomenon. to a story from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 38, a text filled with midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic interpretations and expansions of...
That's the situation Moses faced in a powerful story found in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (chapter 45). The story opens with a terrifying decree: God, in his anger, sends not one, but f...
It's a story of intense longing, divine protection, and a glimpse into the unknowable. Imagine Moses, up on Mount Sinai. He's already had quite the encounter with the Almighty, rec...
The Israelites, fresh from the Exodus, experienced just that, according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of stories and interpretations of Jewish tradition. Rabb...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating work of aggadic literature, gives us a glimpse, a chilling, visceral snapshot of their suffering. Rabbi Akiva, a towering figure in Jewish tra...
We know the basic plot: Haman, the wicked advisor, plots to destroy the Jews, but Esther, the Jewish queen, bravely intervenes and saves her people. But the Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer,...
Jewish tradition certainly has, and it teaches us profound lessons about cause and effect, especially when it comes to how we treat others.It all starts with a verse from Bamidbar ...
The book of Numbers, Bamidbar, wrestles with these questions directly. In the passage we're looking at today from Sifrei Bamidbar (161), we find some fascinating, and at times, cha...
This is exactly the concern that arises in Sifrei Devarim, a rabbinic commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy. The text addresses a critical aspect of justice: familiarity and legiti...
It’s about who gets to be part of the legal process, and it starts with the words "between a man." Now, that seems straightforward. But the rabbis, bless their inquisitive souls, i...
Our tradition has a powerful image for that feeling, and it all revolves around… rain. Specifically, rain in its proper time. (Deuteronomy 11:14)." The yoreh, the early rain, and t...
The story of Rabbi Akiva and the fox on Mount Scopus perfectly captures that feeling. Imagine this: a group of scholars is making their way to Jerusalem. As they reach Mount Scopus...
Isn’t it amazing sometimes, the things we take for granted? We rush through our days, caught up in the whirlwind, and forget the truly monumental things that have shaped us. Like, ...
Jewish law, especially when we’re talking about something as fundamental as economic justice, is all about those details. to a fascinating little corner of the Sifrei Devarim, a le...
The ancient texts of Judaism, particularly the Sifrei Devarim, a legal commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, delve into such weighty matters with surprising precision. Take the ac...
They knew that not everything that grows together, goes together. We’re diving today into a fascinating corner of Jewish law: the prohibition of kilayim – forbidden mixtures, speci...
Our first stop: plowing. Deuteronomy 22 tells us, "You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together" (Deuteronomy 22:10). Seems straightforward. But the rabbis of old, never one...
It’s a fascinating place, full of unexpected twists and turns. Today, we're diving into a passage from Sifrei Devarim, specifically section 246, to explore just that. It’s a small ...
Let’s talk about lending money, but with a twist – a Jewish perspective that’s surprisingly relevant today. The book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), the last of the five books of Moses, ...
The ancient text Sifrei Devarim, a commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, delves into just that. It all centers around a specific verse, a prohibition against kidnapping found in (...
We all do sometimes! a fascinating little corner of Jewish law from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)im (interpretations) on the Book...
Jewish law has a fascinating way of dealing with this very situation, particularly when it comes to the forgotten bounty of the harvest. It’s all rooted in the concept of shikchah ...
Sometimes, diving into the nitty-gritty of old texts reveals surprisingly human stories and concerns. Let's take a peek at a passage from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal inte...
I do, all the time. And sometimes, the rabbis of old, in their infinite wisdom, give us the key to unlock those secrets. Take, for instance, a seemingly simple phrase from the Book...
It’s a question that echoes through the ages, and the Torah, specifically the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), gives us a powerful glimpse. The verse states, "and he became there a n...
The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early rabbinic legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, tells us about this pivotal place. It wasn't just any mountain; it was the plac...
The Hebrew text of (Genesis 3) says Eve "saw that the tree was good for food." The Targum Jonathan says she saw Sammael, the angel of death, standing right there, and was afraid. T...
The Hebrew Bible says God "came down" to see the Tower of Babel and confused humanity's language (Genesis 11:7). But the ancient Aramaic translators of Targum Jonathan told a radic...
The Hebrew Bible says three "men" appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre (Genesis 18:2). The Targum Jonathan tells you exactly what they were and exactly why each one came. They ...
The Binding of Isaac is terrifying in the Torah. In the Targum, it is something else entirely. Isaac was not a passive child led to slaughter. He was thirty-six years old, and he v...
The wrestling match at the Jabbok River is one of the most mysterious scenes in all of Genesis. A man fights Jacob in the dark, and by morning Jacob has a new name and a limp. The ...
The standard book of Exodus says an angel appeared to Moses in the burning bush. The Targum Jonathan, an ancient Aramaic translation composed in the land of Israel, names that ange...
When Moses and Aaron first confronted Pharaoh and demanded he release Israel, the Hebrew Bible records Pharaoh's defiant reply: "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?" (Ex...
The Passover story everyone knows has God striking down the Egyptian firstborn. The Targum Jonathan's version of (Exodus 12) is almost unrecognizably more detailed, packed with num...
The Targum Jonathan on (Deuteronomy 9) contains one of the most dramatic expansions in all of Aramaic literature. When Moses recalls the golden calf, the Hebrew says God was angry ...
The Blessing of Moses in (Deuteronomy 33) gets the full Targum treatment—every tribe's destiny expanded, every blessing loaded with specifics the Torah never mentions. It opens wit...
The death of Moses in (Deuteronomy 34) is eight verses in the Torah. Targum Jonathan turns it into one of the most elaborate death scenes in all of ancient Jewish literature. From ...
Every Friday night, two angels follow you home from the synagogue. One is good. One is not. According to Shabbat 119b, what they find when they arrive determines what happens next....
The Talmud in Chagigah 12b asks a foundational question: what holds up the world? The answer, according to Rabbi Yosei, is a chain of impossible supports—each one resting on someth...
When the Egyptians were drowning in the Red Sea, the ministering angels wanted to sing. God stopped them cold. According to Megillah 10b, He said: "My handiwork is drowning in the ...
Four rabbis were walking away from the ruins of Jerusalem. When they reached Mount Scopus and saw the destroyed Temple, they tore their garments. When they arrived at the Temple Mo...
The Hebrew Bible says God "appeared" to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre (Genesis 18:1). Targum Onkelos says God "became revealed." It sounds like the same thing. It is not. Appearing ...
The Hebrew Bible says Jacob "wrestled a man" until dawn (Genesis 32:25). Targum Onkelos stays with the Hebrew here—it was "a man," not an angel, not a demon, not a divine being. Bu...
The Hebrew Bible says God told Moses, "Who gave man a mouth, or who makes a person dumb or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I—God?" (Exodus 4:11). Targum Onkelos translates this ve...
"Orchot Tushiya": These are the paths that the angel Ezekiel conveyed to our forefather Abraham as part of the covenant traditions. They are cited in the book "HaPliyah", in the in...
[From the Sefer Raziel] Rabbi Ishmael said, "I saw the King of Kings sitting on a high and exalted throne, with His legions standing before Him, upon His right and upon His left. T...
R. Elazar b. Abina said further: "Much more is said [regarding the actions] of Michael than is said of Gabriel; for in describing Michael, it is written (Is. 6, 6.) Then flew unto ...
