3,492 related texts · Page 10 of 73
We all know the tale, but let's really dig into the heart of it. The story goes that King Nimrod, a pretty unpleasant character if we're being honest, decided to throw Abraham into...
Our story comes from Ginzberg’s Legends of the Jews, drawing on ancient midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic traditions, which paints a vivid picture of Abraham’s early lif...
They were promised a child in their old age – a miracle, really. But when faced with the seemingly impossible, did they truly believe? The Torah tells us that when God says Sarah w...
In the Legends of the Jews, Ginzberg retells this powerful moment where Abraham challenges God's justice. Can you imagine that? Arguing with the Almighty! God, having already destr...
Let me tell you a story… a story about Moses, facing down none other than Samael (the angel of death) himself. Now, Samael isn't your run-of-the-mill angel. He's often depicted as ...
It’s not just the aroma of challah baking, you know. According to the Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, it’s something truly profound. The Tikkunei Zohar, a crucial text of Kabbal...
That feeling, that tension, it's not new. In fact, the ancient text of Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic commentaries on the Book of Psalms, wrestles with this very idea. ...
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...
It was said before Abraham was born. Nimrod was a heretic concerning the truth of the lord blessed be he. He was conceited and he said that he himself was a God. And the people of ...
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...
A. & B. Abraham & Nimrod. Pirke de R. Eliezer, XXVI. Midr. Hagadol, Gen. Lekh Lekha. Gen. R. 38 § 19. Gen. R. of Moses Hadar- shan to 11, 28 and 46, 28. Horowitz, Eked, I, 40. Jera...
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...
We all know the basic story: humanity, unified and speaking a single language, decides to build a tower reaching the heavens. God, not thrilled with this display of hubris, scatter...
The Torah gives us glimpses, but it's in the rabbinic stories, the aggadah (non-legal rabbinic narrative), that we really get a sense of the spiritual climate. One story, found in ...
The Torah is full of such moments, and the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) are masters at unearthing the layers of meaning. Let's take a peek into Bereshit...
We often think of the Torah as a clear-cut set of instructions, but sometimes, things get a little… complicated. Take the story of God's promise to Abraham in (Genesis 15:19-21). G...
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...
(Psalm 119:89) declares, “Forever, Lord, Your word stands firm in the heavens.” But does this mean it doesn’t stand firm here, with us? Our sages grappled with this, finding an ans...
He’s practically the cornerstone of our faith. But why him? What was so special about this one man that he earned that title? Well, let’s dive into a beautiful interpretation from ...
In Shir HaShirim Rabbah (Song of Songs Rabbah), a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Song of Songs, we find a verse being unpacked with layers of meaning. The verse spea...
It's like a cosmic echo, a recurring theme of the powerful and the hungry, of oppression and redemption. Vayikra Rabbah 28, a section of the ancient Midrash Rabbah, explores just t...
Jewish tradition explores that feeling in a fascinating way when it discusses Noah. The world was, to put it mildly, a mess. According to the Torah, humanity's wickedness had reach...
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...
We often think of it as a cozy, if crowded, zoo. But Jewish tradition paints a far more complex – and at times, unsettling – picture. The Ark wasn't just thrown together. It was bu...
It turns out, our tradition has some fascinating ideas about this, rooted in the stories of Noah and the Flood. We find in (Genesis 9:1), immediately after the Flood, that “God ble...
For a home, for a future, for a connection to something bigger than himself. And then he arrives at Shechem. The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text that expands on the stories we...
That unsettling feeling is something Abraham, our ancestor, knew all too well. Let's look at a particularly vivid scene from the Book of Jubilees, a text that expands on the storie...
We often think of holidays as something ancient and unchanging, but every tradition has a beginning. Let’s peek into one possible origin story, found in the Book of Jubilees, a tex...
And He said, "Because thou hast obeyed My voice, and hast not withheld thy son, thy first-born, but hast offered him up to Me, in order that I might make a great nation of thee, an...
The Book of Jubilees, an ancient Jewish text that expands on the stories in Genesis, gives us a glimpse into his heart. This isn’t your Sunday school Abraham, calmly trusting in Go...
We find them in dire straits, besieged by the Assyrian army. Despair is setting in. They're starting to lose faith. And that's when Judith steps forward, her words a beacon in the ...
Haran, the eldest son of Terah, made his living selling his father's idols to the Chaldeans. His younger brother Abraham refused to worship them. When the Chaldeans came to test bo...
We know the destination, the covenant, the near-sacrifice of Isaac... but what about the very beginning? According to Legends of the Jews, a vast compilation of Jewish folklore by ...
And let me tell you, it wasn't pretty. After two years had passed – two years since Abraham defied him and was thrown into that fiery furnace – Nimrod was haunted by a vision. He s...
Take Abraham, for example. We know him as the patriarch, the father of our faith. But have you heard the legends of his battles? Ginzberg, in Legends of the Jews, paints a picture ...
The Torah touches on this in the Brit Bein Habetarim (ברית בין הבתרים), the Covenant Between the Pieces, in Genesis 15. But the story doesn't end there. The Legends of the Jews fil...
According to Jewish tradition, the inhabitants of Sodom and the other cities of the plain suffered the ultimate loss: not only their lives in this world, but also their portion in ...
Isaac knew that feeling. For three long years after his mother Sarah's passing, Isaac was inconsolable. He sought solace in the academy of Shem and Eber, immersing himself in study...
According to tradition, Abraham actually died five years early. That's right. He was supposed to live to be a ripe old 180, the same age his son Isaac eventually reached. But somet...
We all know the story – the Exodus, the wandering in the desert, and finally, the moment to claim their inheritance. But it wasn’t just a simple walk in the park. There were nation...
The story we're about to delve into, found in Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, paints a vivid picture of a heavenly court in turmoil. God, seemingly distant, and the angels, filled ...
Like one minute you're celebrating, and the next... well, the next you're facing something truly terrifying? That's the feeling you get reading the words of Esther, as she pleads f...
Kabbalah, the mystical heart of Judaism, delves deep into these questions, offering a fascinating, intricate map of the soul. And in the Sha'ar HaGilgul (the reincarnation of souls...
The Kabbalists, especially in texts like Sha'ar HaGilgul (the reincarnation of souls)im, the "Gate of Reincarnations," offer a fascinating, intricate, and ultimately hopeful perspe...
Jewish mysticism explores these very feelings, often using incredibly rich and symbolic language. The passage starts with a seemingly small detail, a missing letter! We're reminded...
"These are the generations of Isaac, the son of Abraham" (Genesis 25:19). Rashi comments simply: "these are Jacob and Esau, who are discussed in the portion." But Rebbe Elimelech o...
