839 related texts · Page 3 of 18
The ancient rabbis certainly thought so, observing the Israelites’ cyclical relationship with God in the Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms. Ps...
Take Psalm 113, which begins with "Hallelujah, praise the servants of the Lord." Sounds straightforward. But the Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletic interpretations of the ...
It's not like God shows mercy to Israel for a year or two and then calls it quits! The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) suggests something much deeper is at play here. Th...
Our sages pondered these questions for centuries, and their answers, preserved in texts like Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, might surprise you. It's not just about grand pronouncements or...
They instituted a custom, a seat of honor specifically for the "Messenger of the Covenant." And who is that messenger? None other than Elijah himself! The Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer te...
The people of Jebus, knowing the Israelites were coming, weren't about to just roll out the welcome mat. But how could they possibly hold off the Israelites, especially knowing abo...
The story we find in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, Chapter 36, about King David and the conquest of Jerusalem, reveals just that. It's a fascinating glimpse into how deeply the covenant ...
Our guide today is a passage from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a captivating work of Jewish legend and lore. Specifically, we're looking at Chapter 36, which touches on some pretty sign...
The scene: Jacob is on his deathbed. He summons his beloved son, Joseph. This isn't just a goodbye; it's a moment of profound importance. Jacob says, "O my son! Swear to me by the ...
Our tradition grapples with this question constantly. Take the story of Isaac and Esau, for example. It’s a family drama, a theological debate, and a reminder of the power – and li...
The Jewish tradition wrestles with this question all the time, especially through the concept of teshuvah (repentance) – repentance, return. And there's a powerful story in Pirkei ...
It seems so constant, so familiar. But Jewish tradition, specifically in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of stories and interpretations, offers a surprising, even ...
King David certainly did. In the ancient text Tanna DeBei Eliyahu Rabbah, we hear David, may his memory be a blessing, express this very sentiment: "My fear is within my joy, and m...
The ancient texts of the Jewish tradition grapple with this very question, exploring themes of communal responsibility, atonement, and the delicate balance between individual and c...
We find ourselves in the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), where Moses is recounting his life to the Israelites. He’s looking back at his plea to enter the Promised Land, Eretz Yisrae...
Jewish tradition wrestles with this very human dilemma in fascinating ways, especially when it comes to vows made within a marriage. to a passage from Sifrei Bamidbar, a midrash (i...
It's not always straightforward. There's a lot packed into the Torah, even in what seems like a simple command. to a passage from Sifrei Devarim, an early rabbinic commentary on th...
It's not just a nice thing to do; it's woven into the very fabric of our covenant with God. to a passage from Sifrei Devarim 110, a portion of the ancient legal commentary on the B...
The ancient text, Sifrei Devarim, offers a radical idea about that very possibility. It starts with a verse from Deuteronomy (16:16): "…the presence (pnei) of the L-rd your G-d." T...
For millennia, people have sought guidance from… well, some pretty unusual places.This is a fascinating peek into the beliefs and practices that our ancestors wrestled with, trying...
The Torah, in Devarim (Deuteronomy) 22:2, tells us, "You shall not see the ox of your brother or his sheep going astray and ignore them. You must take them back to your brother." S...
The Torah, in the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), actually has something to say about this. It might surprise you. We find in Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early legal commentarie...
The Torah, in Devarim (Deuteronomy), has something to say about this very situation. Specifically, it deals with finding a lost animal. But it goes way deeper than just "finders ke...
We all know the right thing to do, but the Torah, in its infinite wisdom, dives into the nitty-gritty details. It’s not enough to just say, "Return it!" We need to understand the h...
It might sound dry, but hidden within the laws about seeds and vineyards, we find surprising insights into how our ancestors understood intention, nature, and the very act of creat...
The Torah, as always, has something to say about that. to a little corner of Sifrei Devarim, a fascinating commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, and see what wisdom we can unearth...
It turns out Moses felt the same way as he prepared to leave the Israelites. He needed someone – or something – to vouch for the covenant, to make sure no one could later claim the...
Our ancestors wrestled with these questions, and their answers, preserved in ancient texts, still resonate today. to a fascinating passage from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of earl...
The grain offering described in Leviticus 2 seems straightforward—flour, oil, frankincense, baked into cakes or wafers. But the Targum Jonathan adds a theological bombshell hidden ...
A Matrona asked R. Jose b. Halafta why the covenant of Abraham was not mentioned in the ten commandments and the reply was: "The proselyte mentioned therein implies to the covenant...
Why does the world hold together? Jeremiah gives the unlikely answer: "If not for My covenant day and night, I would not have established the fixed order of heaven and earth" (Jere...
After the conquest of Canaan, God deliberately left certain nations in the land — not because He couldn't remove them, but to test Israel (Judges 3:1-2). The rabbis found this prac...
In the Book of Numbers, Bamidbar, we read about how the Kehatites, a family within the tribe of Levi, had the unique and profoundly important task of carrying the Ark of the Covena...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. And they found a fascinating clue hidden in plain sight, connecting the Garden of Eden to... the Ark of the Covenant! It all hinges on a single wo...
The story of Noah, after the flood, grapples with this very question. We all know the story: the world drowned in sin, Noah builds an ark, saves his family and the animals. But wha...
We find a fascinating glimpse into that struggle in Bereshit Rabbah 44, a section of the ancient midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic collection on the Book of Genesis. It ...
Specifically, verse 17: “It happened when the sun had set, that there was extreme darkness, and, behold, there was a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between those ...
We find ourselves asking this question in Bereshit Rabbah 44, a midrash – a collection of rabbinic interpretations – on the book of Genesis. The verse in question: "On that day, th...
to a fascinating exploration of just that, as we unpack a verse from Genesis and see what the Rabbis of old found hidden within its folds. Our journey begins with the powerful word...
Specifically, we're looking at section 47, which tackles the tricky subject of God's promises to both Ishmael and Isaac. The passage centers around (Genesis 17:20), where God says,...
We read the stories, we know the milestones – but sometimes the weight of those moments gets lost. Take the act of circumcision, the brit milah, at the ripe old age of ninety-nine....
But how do you BECOME ready? Our exploration starts in Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. Here, in section 49, we find a fasc...
The Bible tells us the bare bones of the story, but the Rabbis, in their endless quest to understand God's word, delve deeper, seeking hidden meanings and profound truths. In Beres...
In the Torah, we find Abraham, the patriarch, facing just such a moment when sending his servant, Eliezer, to find a wife for his son, Isaac. It's a journey fraught with responsibi...
It all starts with the verse, “You shall know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God” (Deuteronomy 7:9). Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba uses a parable to unpack this idea. Imagi...
But what does this seemingly simple commandment truly mean? What deeper lessons about mercy and compassion can we learn from a bird's nest? The Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic inte...
In (Deuteronomy 30:12-14), we find the verse, "It is not in the heavens… It is not beyond the sea… Rather, the matter is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you...
Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the book of Ecclesiastes, wrestles with this very question, offering us some pretty intense stories. One tale recounts a...
