1,870 related texts · 10 related myths · Page 6 of 39
It's a concept that's woven deep into Jewish lore, appearing in various forms throughout our sacred texts and stories. One particularly compelling tale features Rabbi Loew, the leg...
The familiar story centers on Joseph and his brothers. Sold into slavery in Egypt, he rises to prominence, eventually saving his family from famine. But let's rewind and look at th...
In Legends of the Jews, the heavens are arranged so mercy stands near the Throne while destruction is kept at the edge. Ginzberg, in his wonderful compilation Legends of the Jews, ...
Not according to some powerful Jewish legends! They paint a picture of a world created specifically for us, for the people of Israel. It’s a pretty bold claim, isn't it?According t...
The universe is a vast, seemingly endless expanse, and yet, here we are, tiny humans on a small planet, contemplating our existence. It’s a question that has plagued philosophers a...
Legends of the Jews turns to Enoch and the Angels. In Legends of the Jews, after spending a long time in seclusion, Enoch heard an angel calling him. “Enoch, Enoch,” the angel said...
It sounds like a dream. But what if everyone around you is dead-set against it? That's the situation Joseph found himself in, according to Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, when Phar...
Judah wasn't shy about sharing his battlefield exploits. He recounted his bravery in the wars against the Canaanite kings and even against Esau and his descendants. Apparently, in ...
The familiar version gives us the big picture: slavery, plagues, the parting of the Red Sea. But what about the individual choices, the moral dilemmas, the moments of despair and r...
The very voice of the Divine, booming forth, caused heaven and earth to shake. Can you picture it? The sheer power of it was so overwhelming that the people could barely stand. It ...
Legends of the Jews turns to The Spiritual Contagion of Adultery Theft and Lies. First up: adultery. And it's not just the act itself that's the problem. Oh no. According to this t...
The story, as retold by Ginzberg in Legends of the Jews, introduces us to this angel, a being named Hadarniel. This angel, it's said, towers over his brethren, exceeding them by si...
The journey up the mountain was even more perilous than we imagine. Moses, a mortal man, ascending to the very Throne of Glory, surrounded by angels... angels who weren't exactly t...
The familiar picture has him receiving the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, in a moment of serene revelation. But Jewish tradition suggests it was a far more intens...
It's a monumental task. Well, the angels apparently had some thoughts. The story goes that they were a little… skeptical. As we find in Legends of the Jews, a monumental compilatio...
When we look at the story of Joseph, the biblical hero, we find a fascinating answer. Joseph, sold into slavery in Egypt, faces temptation at every turn. But he remains steadfastly...
The ancient Israelites certainly did. Imagine the scene: they're fresh out of Egypt, they've messed up big time with the Golden Calf, and morale is, shall we say, a little low. So,...
The story of Moses’ death in Jewish tradition is so much more than just an ending; it's a evidence of his unparalleled relationship with the Divine. After receiving the decree of h...
The Legends of the Jews, that incredible compilation of rabbinic lore gathered by Louis Ginzberg, paints a vivid picture. It tells us that Moses, knowing Samael (the angel of death...
The story of Deborah unfolds not long after the time of Ruth, another woman held up as an ideal. The Book of Judges tells us that after the death of Ehud, a judge who delivered Isr...
A tale from Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg, a collection that draws from the vast ocean of Jewish tradition. It's a story of idolatry, defiance, and divine intervention. It revolv...
As Ginzberg retells it in Legends of the Jews, at that very moment, an angel descended, not to offer comfort, but to execute judgment. The angel slew four of David's sons, the prop...
A wealthy, pious man blessed with a beautiful and saintly daughter. Sounds like a fairy tale beginning. But tragedy had struck repeatedly. She'd lost three husbands, each one dying...
He’s painted them as law-breakers, as different, as a threat to the kingdom. Basically, the worst sales pitch ever. Then, bam! God steps in, in a manner of speaking, that is. As we...
She wasn't done. This time, she wanted her story, the story of her courage and her people’s deliverance, enshrined within the Holy Scriptures. The sages hesitated. Big time. Adding...
In his work Against Apion, Josephus defends Jewish customs and beliefs against Hellenistic slanders. Here, he outlines the traditional Jewish view of marriage, starting with a clea...
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 ...
Moses spent his final days doing what he had done since Sinai: giving laws. But these were different. These were the laws of a man who knew he would never cross the Jordan. The mil...
It's so much more than just a physical act; it’s a profound moment steeped in tradition, faith, and ancient promises. And at the heart of it all stands a powerful, unexpected figur...
Some say they're locked away in a book, a very special book called the Book of Raziel. This isn't your ordinary paperback. According to tradition, this book was revealed to Adam hi...
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...
The Sefer HaKanah paints a picture of Binah (Understanding) – often translated as understanding or intelligence, one of the Sefirot, the ten emanations of God – as a judge renderin...
One fascinating perspective comes from the Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah, a Kabbalistic text whose title roughly translates to "Garments Opening Wisdom." It grapples with this very parad...
It's like a giant, intricate puzzle, and sometimes, a single verse can unlock a whole new level of understanding. to one such connection, found nestled within the Tikkunei (spiritu...
The Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar, a central work of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), offers a fascinating glimpse into a spiritual realm teeming with angels and divine attributes....
In the mystical world of Jewish thought, especially as revealed in the Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar, it all weaves together in a surprisingly beautiful way. The Tikkunei Zohar...
Sefer Raziel HaMalakh contains something truly unusual for a mystical text, an alternative alphabet. Several of them, in fact. These are not the standard 22 Hebrew letters but spec...
The sixth heaven of Sefer HaRazim is a realm of crystalline purity where the angels exist in a state of perpetual holiness. After the escalating intensity of the lower heavens, fro...
The Hebrew word mazal (מזל) originally meant "constellation" or "star." Only gradually did it shift to mean "luck". And the journey of that word tells the story of Jewish astrology...
The ministering angels were astounded (at Israel's survival), saying: "Idolators walking on the dry land in the midst of the sea!" And whence is it derived that the sea, too, was f...
They said: This thing was expounded by R. Tzaddok, viz. When R. Gamliel made a feast for the sages, all the sages of Israel were seated before him and R. Gamliel arose and served t...
R. Yossi says: It is written (Isaiah 45:19) "Not in secrecy did I speak, in a place of darkness, etc." In the very beginning, when I gave it, I did not give it in secret or in a da...
(Devarim 5:26) "Would that this heart of theirsh (were in them to fear Me and to keep all of My mitzvot (commandments) all of the days so that it be good for them and for their chi...
Why do the laws of adjudication, civil justice, take precedence over all the other commandments in the Torah? Rabbi Shimon gave a deceptively simple answer: because adjudication cr...
The Torah specifies that a Hebrew maidservant does not go free through the loss of "organ prominences", external body parts like teeth or eyes that, if knocked out by the master, w...
The Torah says the ox gored "a man-servant or a maid-servant." The Mekhilta asks: which kind of servant? This must refer to a Canaanite bondservant, not an Israelite one. The proof...
"Who is not betrothed", the Torah specifies that the seduction law applies to a virgin who has not been betrothed. The Mekhilta records a disagreement about the scope of this exclu...
The Torah says, "When you lend money to My people" (Exodus 22:24), using the Hebrew word "im," which normally means "if." This would seem to make lending optional, a generous act y...
