839 related texts · Page 6 of 18
The Jewish tradition wrestles with this question, and some of the answers… well, they’re to one particularly fascinating and, frankly, a little scary passage from Pirkei DeRabbi El...
And one of the most poetic comes from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a collection of stories and teachings that many scholars believe comes from around the 8th century. It paints a pictur...
Jewish tradition grapples with this question constantly, and one of the most powerful answers lies in the concept of teshuvah (repentance) – repentance. But is it really that power...
Sometimes, that feeling is more than just a saying. According to a fascinating passage in Tanna DeBei Eliyahu Rabbah 26, the people of Israel are actually like a ship. But what kin...
The Torah actually dedicates quite a bit of thought to this, and the Rabbis, ever delving into the details, explore the concept of the city of refuge, or Ir Miklat (עיר מקלט), in f...
And it happened to King David himself, involving none other than the Ark of the Covenant. We find ourselves in Bamidbar (Numbers 7:9), where the Torah is describing the gifts given...
That’s the raw, human ache at the heart of this little story tucked away in Sifrei Devarim. It's a moment of profound frustration for Moses, right at the edge of the Promised Land....
Moments where the choices seem equally appealing, or equally daunting. This week, in Sifrei Devarim 53, we find a powerful exploration of just that – the choices we face and the il...
I’m talking about Jericho, the ancient city whose story is far more than just walls tumbling down. It’s about oaths, consequences, and a chilling fulfillment of prophecy. We all kn...
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...
to a fascinating corner of the Sifrei Devarim, a commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, and unpack some intriguing scenarios. Imagine this: a woman gets divorced. Simple enough. Bu...
Jewish tradition actually has a powerful image for that feeling, and it connects it directly to hope for the future. It comes from Sifrei Devarim, a commentary on the Book of Deute...
And while definitive answers might elude us, Jewish tradition offers tantalizing hints and comforting assurances. Our exploration begins in Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal an...
You can almost feel his anticipation, his heart swelling with hope. But then… the hammer drops. "This is the land that I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," God tells Moses, as we...
The purification ritual for a healed leper involved two birds. One was killed. The other was dipped in the dead bird's blood, mixed with spring water, and released over an open fie...
The Torah's promise of return from exile in (Deuteronomy 30) is hopeful. Targum Jonathan makes it messianic. Where the Hebrew says God will gather the scattered, the Targum says: "...
The Hebrew Bible says God established a covenant with Noah, setting the rainbow as its sign (Genesis 9:12-17). Targum Onkelos renders every instance of "between Me and you" as "bet...
The Hebrew Bible says God told Abraham, "Fear not, I am your shield" (Genesis 15:1). Targum Onkelos renders this as "My Word is your strength." The shield becomes a Word. The prote...
A man whilst praying did not return the salute of the Hegemon. The excuse he gave was that standing before the King of Kings, he could not pay respect to inferiors.
When God gave the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, the sages taught that He did not speak them into a void. Each commandment was connected to the covenant God had already made with...
"Do not be hasty with your words, and let your heart not rush to bring a matter before God" (Ecclesiastes 5:1). Jacob had said: "My way is hidden from the Lord." The rabbis found t...
(Job 5:19) promises: "From six woes He shall save you, and in the seventh, evil shall not reach you." The midrash asks which six woes — and Solomon in Proverbs provides the list: "...
Take, for instance, the ritual of the sotah, the suspected adulteress, described in the Book of Numbers (Bamidbar). It’s… complicated. The priest writes curses on a scroll and then...
Even in the Bible, the order in which things are presented can tell a whole story. Take the story of the spies sent by Moses to scout out the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, bef...
They were promised descendants as numerous as the stars, yet years went by in the land of Canaan, barren and seemingly forgotten by destiny. The Torah tells us, “Sarai, Abram’s wif...
But what does it truly signify? And why there? In Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, we find a fascinating discussion between Rabbi Yishm...
It seems that this feeling, envy, is as old as the hills – or at least as old as the stories in Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. Ou...
But Jewish tradition, in its beautiful and often poetic way, offers a compelling answer: the people of Israel. to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbin...
It’s a feeling as old as time, and it resonates deeply within the story of Jacob. We find him in (Genesis 31:3), receiving a direct message from the Almighty: "Return to the land o...
She was a widow, promised to Judah's youngest son, Shelah. But Shelah was growing up, and Judah just… wasn't making good on his promise. He was worried, see, because Tamar's first ...
The Bible is full of them, and the story of Joseph and his brothers is no exception. It's a tale of betrayal, forgiveness, and ultimately, reconciliation. But what about the subtle...
We've all been there. But what does Jewish tradition really say about the power and accessibility of prayer? Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homiletic teachings on the Book of Deut...
We find ourselves grappling with this very question in the ancient text of Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Ecclesiastes. The verse in questi...
Pharaoh's army bearing down, water as far as the eye could see. What do you do? The Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, paints a vivid pi...
Our sages pondered just such a return, a return from exile so profound it would reshape the world. This vision is beautifully captured in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the commentary on th...
Li (לי). It simply means "to Me" or "for Me." But according to the ancient sages, as we learn in Vayikra Rabbah, that little word packs a cosmic punch. It signifies an unbreakable ...
“Mordekhai returned to the king’s gate and Haman hastened home, mourning and covering his head” (Esther 6:12). Mordekhai returned to the king’s gate; [this phrase] teaches that he ...
Mordekhai returned to the king’s gate and Haman hastened home, mourning and covering his head” (Esther 6:12) – Mourning for his daughter, and covering his head because of what had ...
We're talking about Noah, of course. The righteous man in a world gone completely bonkers. And just before the floodgates open, God says something really interesting: "I will set u...
We get that the dove comes back with an olive branch, a symbol of hope. But what about that raven? It just… leaves. Never returns. What's the deal with that? The Midrash of Philo, ...
You remember the story: the floodwaters are receding, and Noah sends out a dove to see if there's dry land. The first time, she returns with nothing. The second time, with an olive...
Take the moment after the Flood, when the world is starting over. God gives Noah and his family a new covenant, a new set of rules. And smack dab in the middle of it, we find this:...
Sometimes, those tiny details hold the biggest secrets. Take (Genesis 15:10), for example. It’s a verse about Abraham, and God's covenant with him. Seems straightforward. "And he t...
What does it even mean? The verse appears in the context of the brit bein ha-betarim, the “covenant between the pieces.” God makes a covenant with Abraham, promising him descendant...
Specifically, not eating it. The Book of Jubilees, a text bubbling with rich detail expanding on the Torah’s narratives, dives headfirst into this very topic. This isn’t just a sug...
The Book of Jubilees, a text not found in the Hebrew Bible but considered scripture by some, pulls back the curtain on some pretty intense family drama, and the consequences of not...
In it, we find a stark warning, a line drawn in the sand regarding actions so egregious that they warrant the ultimate penalty. The passage states, “And for this law there is no co...
The Book of Jasher, an ancient Hebrew text referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13 and (2 Samuel 1:1)8), fills in some of those gaps. It's like a behind-the-scenes look at the...
