1,629 related texts · Page 20 of 34
The covenant ceremony at Sinai in (Exodus 24) is solemn in the Hebrew Bible. The Targum Jonathan turns it into a visionary experience with one of the most haunting images in all of...
The Targum Jonathan on (Deuteronomy 5) does something extraordinary with the Ten Commandments. Where the Hebrew gives each commandment as a prohibition, the Targum expands every si...
The Hebrew Bible promises: "A prophet from your midst, of your brethren, like me, will God establish for you" (Deuteronomy 18:15). Targum Onkelos translates this verse without alte...
And Devorah, was a prophetess. What was she like, that she prophesied about Israel and judged them? Wasn't Pinchas ben Eleazar alive then? I bring Heaven and Earth to bear witness ...
Robert of Sicily. Wickerhauser, p. 167. Ring. Badder, Badische Sagen, No. 405. Comestor, 1, III. Eisenmenger I, 351 ff. Gervasius, ed. Lieb- recht, p. 8 and note 12, p. 77. Gesta R...
The verse "Speak to the children of Israel…" (Numbers 6:2) seems simple enough, but the Rabbis unpack it with incredible detail. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) imme...
According to the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), not at all. It's a question that comes to the fore when we delve into Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically chapter 20. The pas...
It's one of those stories from Genesis that's always felt a little... abrupt. "His wife looked behind him, and she became a pillar of salt" (Genesis 19:26). Poof! Salt. But the Rab...
We're diving into Genesis 44, where Joseph, now a powerful figure in Egypt, is testing his brothers. Remember the setup? Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt seeking food during a famin...
Kohelet Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, dives into this very idea, particularly when it comes to life, death, and the mome...
The book of Exodus tells us that Moses fled Pharaoh after killing an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave (Exodus 2:15). But Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretati...
It was about a whole new way of counting time itself. Think of it this way. Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Exodus, offers a beautiful analogy to e...
The story begins, as we all know, with the parting of the Red Sea. A moment of unimaginable salvation for the Israelites, fleeing slavery in Egypt. Moses leads the people, and as t...
And Jewish tradition, as always, has some fascinating perspectives. The Book of Exodus, Shemot in Hebrew, is rich with laws and ethical guidelines. And within Shemot Rabbah, a clas...
We find a powerful starting point in (Leviticus 25:35): “If your brother will become poor, and his means fail in proximity to you; you shall support him, stranger or resident alien...
It is written: “You have seen, for You behold mischief and spite; to requite is in Your hand: the helpless man commits himself to You; You are the helper of the orphans” (Psalms 10...
The Torah, in its unflinching honesty, doesn't shy away from these tough questions. to one particularly weighty example. In (Genesis 15:13), God tells Abraham – Avraham, the patria...
Then Judah came near unto him (Gen. 44:18). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: And the envy of Ephraim shall depart (Isa. 11:13). Concerning whom did Isaiah utt...
And the Lord said unto Moses: “stretch out thy hand toward the heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt” (Exod. 10:21). Scripture ...
Another comment on write thee (Exod. 34:27). Scripture states elsewhere: Let them be thine only, and not a stranger’s with thee (Prov. 5:17). What does this verse refer to? When th...
(Lev. 19:2:) “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “Before I created My world, the ministering angels praised My name through you and san...
(Numb. 1:1-2) “Then the Lord spoke unto Moses in the Sinai desert […,] ‘Take a census of the whole congregation.” This text is related (to Ps. 147:20), “He has not done so for any ...
One figure looms large in this discussion: Satanael. In the ancient text of 2 Enoch, this was the name of the highest angel, and the story surrounding him is… complicated, especial...
Jewish tradition offers some pretty fascinating, and sometimes unsettling, answers. Take the story of Satan's fall from grace. It's not just a simple tale of rebellion; it's a comp...
One such story, preserved in Vita Adae et Evae (The Life of Adam and Eve), tells of a remarkable vision. It's a bit obscure, not as well-known as other heavenly journeys like Enoch...
We often picture Moses on Mount Sinai, receiving the divine word directly from God. Forty days and forty nights of dictation. But what if I told you there's another story, a fascin...
In fact, the Sabbath isn't just a terrestrial observance; it's a celestial one, too. Imagine this: right after creating the Sabbath, God gathers all the angels – the angels of the ...
(Genesis 6:4) mentions the Nefilim. That word, Nefilim, generally understood to mean “giants.” But who were they, really? And where did they come from? The Torah just kind of drops...
Let’s journey for a moment into the world described in the book of Ben Sira, also known as Sirach or the Wisdom of Yeshua ben Sira. It's part of the Apocrypha, writings associated ...
We're going to delve into a text that's both familiar and strangely… different. A book that whispers of secrets given directly to Moses on Mount Sinai. I'm talking about the Book o...
The ancient texts resonate with that feeling too. Take the Book of Jubilees, for instance. It paints a stark picture of a world gone wrong, a world that’s deeply, fundamentally…cor...
The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text from around the 2nd century BCE, sheds some unique light on it. Jubilees focuses on calendar and law, presenting itself as a revelation giv...
The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text considered scripture in some traditions, tells us that in the third year of a certain week – Jubilees uses a unique calendar system, by the...
That’s the feeling I get when I read the story of Abram leaving Haran in the Book of Jubilees. Jubilees, if you’re not familiar, is an ancient Jewish text that retells the stories ...
The scene is set. God is speaking, promising judgement upon the nation that will enslave Abraham's descendants. But it doesn’t end there. There’s a promise of liberation, a return ...
And it's a little different than what you might expect. In Jubilees 14, we find Abraham in a very familiar role: making sacrifices. He offers up pieces of animals, birds, fruit-off...
The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text from around the second century BCE, offers a glimpse into just that. It paints a picture of a world teeming with angels, a world where the ...
This particular section, chapter 15, speaks of a profound covenant between God and the children of Israel, a covenant sealed with the act of circumcision – in Hebrew, brit milah. T...
We find ourselves with Isaac, the son of Abraham, a man who clearly inherited not only his father's land, but also, crucially, his father's unwavering faith. The text tells us, "be...
to the Book of Jubilees, a text not found in the Hebrew Bible itself, but considered sacred by some, particularly within Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. It's a retelling of Genesi...
We’re diving into a snippet from the Book of Jubilees. Now, the Book of Jubilees isn’t part of the canonical Hebrew Bible that most people know. Think of it as a fascinating, sligh...
to a fascinating, and frankly, slightly scandalous passage from the Book of Jubilees, a text that expands on the stories we find in Genesis. This particular passage, Jubilees 41, p...
That’s the feeling you get reading the story of Tamar and Judah in the Book of Jubilees. Remember Judah? One of Jacob’s sons, a key figure in the story of Joseph and his coat of ma...
The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text expanding on the Torah’s narratives, takes us into just such a moment with Judah, son of Jacob. It’s a raw, human story, full of mistakes a...
We all know about the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and the giving of the Ten Commandments. But what about the details that fill in the cracks, the "behind-the-scenes" momen...
to a little story from the Book of Tobit that might just offer a glimpse. Our hero, Tobiyyah, has just married Sarah, a woman who, shall we say, had a complicated dating history. S...
We’re at a wedding, a joyous occasion. Tobiyyah has finally won the hand of Sarah, overcoming incredible obstacles with the help of the angel Raphael. You'd think the story would b...
It's not just about following laws, you know. There's a deeper reason, a philosophy woven into the very fabric of Jewish life. Imagine you're sitting with a wise sage, someone deep...
