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We know the story: God commands Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son. Abraham, after a terrible internal struggle, obeys. At the last moment, an angel intervenes, and a ram is sacr...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, tackles this very question. It starts with a verse from Proverbs (2:1): "My son, if you take my sayin...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, gives us a glimpse into that incredible scene, a cosmic struggle between life and death, between Mose...
In Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, we find a fascinating exploration of this very question. It begins with a verse: "Behold, I am sen...
We’re going to delve into a fascinating interpretation found in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic commentaries on the Song of Songs. Here, a single verse – "The sentri...
Specifically, (Song of Songs 7:10): “Your palate is like fine wine that goes pleasantly for my beloved, moving the lips of the sleeping.” A seemingly simple verse… but in Shir HaSh...
But the ancient Rabbis wrestled with this idea, and their insights are surprisingly relevant even today. The passage begins by quoting (Psalms 50:16): "But to the wicked one, God s...
Isn't it fascinating how often we grapple with the line between respect and worship? Where do we draw that boundary? It's a question that goes right to the heart of Jewish thought....
Jewish tradition certainly understands that feeling. And it can be pretty direct about it, too. Take this passage from The Midrash of Philo. Now, Philo of Alexandria, he was a fasc...
If thou lend money to any of my people (Exod. 22:24). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: He that putteth not out his money on interest (Ps. 15:5). Come and obse...
If thou lend money to any of my people (Exod. 22:24). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: He that hath an evil eye hasteneth after riches, and he knoweth not that ...
If thou lend money to any of My people (Exod. 22:24). Scripture states elsewhere: He that augmenteth his substance by interest and increase, gathereth it for Him that is gracious t...
If thou at all take thy neighbor’s garment to pledge (Exod. 22:25). The Holy One, blessed be He, declared: How guilty are your sins before Me, yet I have been patient with you. And...
Remember Joseph? The Hebrew slave who correctly interpreted Pharaoh's dream about the famine? Well, Pharaoh hasn't forgotten. According to the Book of Jasher, after seeing that Jos...
Jewish tradition, particularly the aggadah – the storytelling tradition – doesn't shy away from these questions. to a fascinating tale from Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg), about Ab...
Elisha inherited Elijah's mantle and immediately proved he was no lesser prophet. His miracles were stranger, more varied, and sometimes more violent than his master's. A widow of ...
Three bodyguards of King Darius entered a contest that would decide the fate of the Jewish Temple. The king had fallen asleep after a great feast and woke unable to sleep again. He...
Our story comes from Midrash Tehillim, a fascinating collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms. Here, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) tells us about a part...
It concerns the ma'aser ani, the poor-tithe. (Deuteronomy 14:29) instructs us to provide for "the stranger, the orphan, and the widow that are in your gates." Seems straightforward...
Today, let's talk about forgotten harvests, generosity, and oddly specific measurements. We're diving into Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretations tied to the Book of...
Specifically, (Deuteronomy 26:12). It’s a short verse, but it’s packed with meaning: "then you shall give to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow." Sounds simple, do...
Rabbi Eliezer was one of the most formidable scholars in Israel — a man whose rulings could silence an entire academy. So when a slave in his household died and his students came t...
There was once a man so wicked that the entire town avoided him. He cheated in business, spoke cruelty to strangers, and mocked the sages when they tried to rebuke him. Everyone ag...
We all know the story: Joseph, sold into slavery in Egypt. But the Rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah (86) ask us to consider this: "“[Potiphar…an Egyptian man,] purchased him [from the Ish...
It all starts with a seemingly straightforward verse from (Exodus 21:37): “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he shall pay five cattle for the ox and f...
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov taught that the root cause of exile is a lack of faith. And the cure for exile is the Land of Israel. The connection is not sentimental. It is structural. ...
"This month": Nissan. You say it is Nissan. But perhaps it was some other month of the year? It is written (Exodus 23:16) "And the festival of the ingathering (Succoth) at the end ...
And thus do you find, that whenever Israel is in bondage, the Shechinah is with them, viz. (Exodus 24:10) "And they saw the G��d of Israel, and under His feet, as the work of a sap...
The Mekhilta presents yet another parable about human warriors, this time addressing the most dangerous flaw of all: uncontrolled rage. A warrior in a province, it says, may become...
Three miraculous gifts sustained Israel in the wilderness, and each one was tied to a specific leader. Rabbi Yehoshua teaches that when Miriam died, the well that had followed the ...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael asks a deceptively simple question: what is the purpose of the commandment "You shall not bow down"? If the Torah already states in (Exodus 22:19) tha...
Rebbi says: Beloved is the honoring of parents by Him who spoke and brought the world into being, His having equated their honor and fear to His honor, and their curse (i.e., their...
(Exodus 21:3) introduces a condition for the Hebrew bondsman: "If alone he came, alone shall he go out." The Mekhilta uses this verse to determine whether a master is required or m...
"and he shall bring him near to the door or to the door-post": The door is being compared to the door-post, viz.: Just as a door-post stands in its place, so, the door must be stan...
(Exodus 21:7) "And if a man sells his daughter": Scripture speaks of a minor (under twelve). You say that it speaks of a minor, but perhaps it speaks of an adult!—Would you say tha...
"And if a man sells": We are hereby apprised that he may sell her (as a maid-servant). And whence is it derived that he is permitted to betroth her?—If he can remove her from (the ...
The Torah states: "And if a man sells his daughter as a maid-servant" (Exodus 21:7). The Mekhilta draws a striking inference from this phrasing. A father may sell his daughter as a...
The Torah states: "If one strikes a man and he dies, he is to be put to death" (Exodus 21:12). The Mekhilta explains why this verse is necessary when a similar law already appears ...
(Exodus 21:14) "And if a man be deliberate against his neighbor to kill him, etc.": What is the intent of this section? From (Leviticus 24:17) "And a man if he strike any soul of m...
The Torah declares: "And if one strikes his father and his mother, he shall be put to death" (Exodus 21:15). The Mekhilta explains why this verse is necessary when the Torah alread...
The Torah states: "And one who steals a man and sells him, and he is found in his hand, he shall be put to death" (Exodus 21:16). The Mekhilta asks what this verse adds, since kidn...
(Exodus 21:17) states: "And if one curses his father and his mother, he shall be put to death." The Mekhilta asks why this verse is needed at all, since (Leviticus 20:9) already sa...
(Exodus 21:20) specifies that the master strikes his bondservant "with a rod." The Mekhilta asks: does this mean the master is liable regardless of what kind of rod he used? Even a...
(Exodus 21:22) introduces the case of men who fight and accidentally injure a pregnant bystander. The Mekhilta asks why this passage is necessary. From (Exodus 21:14) — "And if a m...
(Exodus 21:25) "A burn for a burn": If you say (the meaning is that he burned him and spilled his blood, this is already subsumed in "a wound for a wound." If you say that he made ...
(Exodus 21:26) "And if a man strike the eye of his (Canaanite) man-servant": What is the intent of this? From (Leviticus 25:26) "Forever shall you have them serve you," I might thi...
(Exodus 22:1) introduces the law of the burglar: "If the thief be found breaking in." The Mekhilta clarifies what the homeowner's mental state must be. The verse describes a situat...
The Torah presents a puzzling phrase in (Exodus 22:2): "If the sun shone upon him." The context is a homeowner who kills a thief caught breaking in at night. During the night, the ...
