1,047 related texts · 1 related myths · Page 3 of 22
Jewish mysticism certainly thinks so. to a rather intense passage from the Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar, specifically Tikkunei Zohar 118, which deals with life, death, and the...
"Rise O Patriarchs, Masters of the Covenant!" the text implores. It's an invocation, a plea to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Why? Because, the text says, “'this' – zot – the covenant ...
The Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar, a central work of Kabbalah, wrestles with this very question. It starts with the beginning, with Bereishit, the first word of the Torah, whic...
How Confession Turns Harsh Judgment Into Mercy is the question behind this passage from Likutey Moharan (Rabbi Nachman). Through the Torah of lovingkindness, which the Talmud defin...
Moses carried God's message to the people of Israel. He delivered the divine offer: accept the Torah, become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. The people responded with unani...
The Torah commands that when you take a garment as a pledge for a loan, you must return it to the borrower so they can sleep in it at night. But the Mekhilta noticed a problem: the...
His nephew, Lot, has just departed, choosing a different path, and perhaps a more materially prosperous one. Abram might be feeling a little…lost. Then, something incredible happen...
The story, as told in Midrash Tehillim, revolves around the moment Shlomo wanted to bring the Aron Kodesh, the Ark of the Covenant, into the Kodesh Hakodashim, the Holy of Holies. ...
The Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, grapples with this very issue. It opens with the verse, "Trust in the Lord and do good" (Psalm...
Our ancestors grappled with the very same feeling. And in the beautiful pattern of Jewish tradition, we find wisdom woven into stories, like this gem from Midrash Tehillim, a colle...
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, The passage begins with King David, a warrior, a poet, a king....
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 ...
Sifrei Bamidbar turns to Sanhedrin's Path of Return. The passage begins by asserting, "And the Cohein [priest] shall make atonement for the entire congregation of the children of I...
Sifrei Bamidbar turns to Covenant of Moses of Israelites. Why wasn't Moses allowed to enter? The verse reads, "because of you." Because of the Israelites' actions at the waters of ...
The verse from Numbers (Bamidbar 30:9) sets the stage: "And if on the day that her husband hear, he constrain her and annul her vow." The Sifrei Bamidbar teases out the implication...
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 a short passage, but it speaks volumes about how seriously our ancestors took the responsibility of caring for the poor. The passage begins with a fascinating thought experime...
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...
The familiar version gives us 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 t...
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 pract...
The verse is a hinge the Hebrew Bible almost hides. After the humiliation of Egypt, after Pharaoh hands Sarah back and sends the family away, (Genesis 13:3) tells us that Abram ret...
When the Lord frames the covenant in (Genesis 17:7), Targum Pseudo-Jonathan slips in one of its most telling technical terms. The covenant is established between My Word and thee. ...
When the Lord lays down the sign of the covenant, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 17:10) catches a case the Hebrew leaves implicit. Every male among you shall be circumcised, th...
The eighth day is the answer to a careful question: how soon can a newborn be brought under the covenant? Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 17:12) settles the timing and then push...
(Genesis 17:13) in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan turns a one-way sacrament into a chain. He who is circumcised shall circumcise him, the one already inside the covenant brings the next on...
Verse 14 is the hardest word in this chapter, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan does not round its edges. The uncircumcised male, unless he have someone to circumcise him, shall be cut of...
After the test, the quiet kindness. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 42:25) describes Joseph's instructions: fill their vehicles with grain, return each man's money to his sack, ...
