1,047 related texts · 1 related myths · Page 4 of 22
The famine grinds on. Grain runs thin. And Jacob, the aged patriarch, sits paralyzed at the thought of sending his youngest, Benjamin, down into Mizraim (Egypt). The viceroy there ...
When cornered, honest people speak plainly. The brothers corner themselves at the door of Joseph's house. Before anyone accuses them, they accuse the evidence. "It was when we had ...
The brothers are barely out the city gate. The donkeys have not yet settled into their travel rhythm. Then a shout comes from behind them. "They had not gone far from city, when Jo...
The brothers are innocent of the cup, and they know it. Their defense, preserved in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, is an argument from character. "Behold, the money which we found in the ...
You are walking along a road. Across the field you see an ox. It is the ox of a man you cannot stand. You know, privately, he has done wicked things. Your dislike is not petty, it ...
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus (Exodus 24:8) describes the most solemn act of the covenant ceremony: Mosheh took half of the blood which was in the basins, and sprinkled upon the...
There is a moment on Sinai when God tells Moses to write. Not to remember, not to transmit orally, not to carve into stone alone. But to write. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 34...
At Shushan's gate, even the Torah appeared to mourn. Targum Sheni on (Esther 4:1) says the holy ark was brought out, the book of the Law was taken from it, and sackcloth and ashes ...
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. The familiar story is this: the world drowned in sin, Noah builds an ark, saves his family and the animals. Bu...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to God's Covenant with Abraham Under the Stars. The verse in question is (Genesis 15:8): “He said: My Lord God, how can I know that I will inherit it?” It’s a...
What in the world is going on here? The Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), those ancient interpreters of scripture, were just as captivated by this verse as ...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to What God Revealed to Abraham in the Covenant. Rabbi Yudan brings us a fascinating debate between Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai and Rabbi Akiva. One sage believ...
Our journey begins with the powerful words from (Genesis 17:13): “You shall surely circumcise those born in your house, or those purchased with your silver, and My covenant shall b...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Covenant of Ishmael. So, who gets what blessing? That's where the rabbinic interpretations come in, offering multiple readings. Rabbi Yoḥanan, quoting Rabb...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Covenant of Circumcision of Abraham. (Genesis 17:26) tells us, “On that very day, Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his son.” Simple. But that “very day...
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 fascinat...
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...
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 interpre...
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...
Kohelet, or Ecclesiastes, grapples with these questions, and the rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Kohelet Rabbah, offer some pretty fascinatin...
A passage from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Ecclesiastes, that explores this very idea through the verse: “Cast your bread The first read...
The Book of Exodus, or Shemot in Hebrew, is the ultimate story of resilience. It begins not with triumph, but with oppression. And even in the darkest moments, we find glimmers of ...
Even some of the biggest figures in Jewish history felt that way. Shemot Rabbah, a classic collection of Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) interpretations on the Book of...
The verse in question is from (Exodus 22:25): "If you take your neighbor’s garment as collateral, you shall return it to him by the setting of the sun." Simple enough. But the rabb...
A very special box, – the Ark of the Covenant. The Torah tells us, "They shall craft an Ark of acacia wood: its length shall be two and a half cubits, and its width a cubit and a h...
Jewish tradition teaches us that healing often comes from the very source of our pain. The Shemot Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, explores ...
That feeling isn't new. In fact, our ancient texts wrestle with it all the time. Take the Song of Songs, also known as Shir HaShirim in Hebrew, often considered the most beautiful ...
In Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Leviticus, we find a fascinating discussion anchored to the verse “a bull, or a sheep, or a goat” (Leviticus 1:2...
This question, And it all stems from a seemingly simple verse in Leviticus (26:42): “I will remember My covenant with Jacob, also My covenant with Isaac, also My covenant with Abra...
Vayikra Rabbah turns Jacob's delayed vow at Bethel into a warning about promises made before God. Our starting point is (Leviticus 27:2): “Speak to the children of Israel, and say ...
God told Israel three separate times: do not go back to Egypt. According to Esther Rabbah, they violated every single warning and paid for every single one. Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai ...
One fascinating perspective comes to us from a text known as The Midrash of Philo. Now, when we say "midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)," Philo, a Jewish philosopher living...
The Torah tells us Noah sent it out not once, but twice. The first time, it came back with an olive branch – a sign of hope! But the second time… nothing. It just... didn’t return....
The Midrash of Philo turns to Philo Unpacks God's Covenant Promise to Abraham. Philo, a Jewish philosopher from Alexandria, grappled with this very question. His interpretation, pr...
And he sent Judah before him (Gen. 46:28). Jacob sent Judah before him to establish an academy wherein he might teach the Torah as he had previously done for the tribes. You know t...
Baruch stood on Mount Zion. The ruins smoked beneath him. And then a voice fell from the height of heaven like a stone. "Stand on your feet, Baruch, and hear the word of the mighty...
This is the letter that Baruch son of Neriah sent across the river Euphrates to the nine and a half tribes in exile. It may be the most hopeful document ever written from the rubbl...
Uriel took Ezra back to the beginning. Before the portals of the world were in place. Before the winds blew or thunder sounded. Before the innumerable hosts of angels were gathered...
What happens when even the Divine weeps? What happens when home is lost, not just for us, but for God, too? God is often remembered as unchanging, eternal, beyond our human messine...
Malkut stands at the border where one world ends and the next begins. In Pardes Rimmonim 2:7:11-12, Cordovero describes the chain of worlds as a series of thresholds. Malkut is the...
Where do dreams come from? The Talmud in Berakhot 55a offers a surprisingly psychological answer: from the dreamer's own mind. Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani taught in the name of Rabbi ...
After two full years in prison, Pharaoh dreamed (Genesis 41:1). The midrash reads this through Psalm 73: "As an endless dream, the Lord despised their form." God does not reveal Hi...
“The Lord accomplished what He devised: He implemented His statement that He commanded from the days of old; He destroyed and had no compassion. He caused the enemy to rejoice over...
