3,492 related texts · Page 27 of 73
The Mekhilta presents a remarkable statement from the congregation of Israel, addressed directly to God, that explains exactly why they are singing at the Red Sea. "Lord of the wor...
The Mekhilta preserves a remarkable story about the descendants of Rechav — also known as the Rechabites, a family that had taken a perpetual vow to drink only water, never wine, a...
The Torah prohibits "gods of silver and gods of gold" (Exodus 20:20). But what exactly do these phrases add to the prohibition against idolatry? After all, the commandment against ...
(Exodus 31:13) says: "For it is a sign between Me and you." The Mekhilta reads "between Me and you" — between God and Israel — to the exclusion of the other nations. The Sabbath is...
Jewish tradition certainly thinks so, and Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers some powerful examples. It’s like a spiritual echo chamber...
But they’re woven into the very fabric of Jewish thought, and they surface in unexpected places, like in the Midrash Tehillim. The Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletical int...
The ancient sages certainly did. They grappled with the forces that obscure the divine, and in Midrash Tehillim—a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms—we find a powe...
According to the Pesikta DeRav Kahana, a collection of rabbinic teachings, there's so much more to it than meets the eye. Rabbi Acha delves into the verse from Isaiah (42:8): "I am...
You're not alone. Our ancestors, too, gazed at the stars, seeking meaning and guidance in their celestial dance. And according to ancient Jewish wisdom, that dance holds profound s...
Jewish tradition definitely paints that picture. It's not just a distant Creator winding up the universe and letting it go. No, according to our sages, God’s been intimately presen...
The Jewish tradition teaches us that time itself can be layered, that moments can resonate across generations. : is it possible that the same night, the very same 24 hours, could w...
They faithfully rose and set, marking the days, months, and years. But according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early collection of Biblical stories and legends, all that...
Our tradition certainly understands that feeling. And it finds a powerful voice in the prayer of Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes. We find this prayer tucked away in Sifrei D...
What would it look like? What would it represent? Our sages pondered this very question, and the answers they gave are both beautiful and a little bit chilling. In Sifrei Devarim, ...
Stories like the one we find hinted at in Sifrei Devarim 43. It all starts with Lot, Abraham's nephew. Remember him? We find him in Bereshith (Genesis) 13:10, choosing to settle in...
The Sifrei Devarim, a legal midrash on the Book of Deuteronomy, gives us a couple of stark examples, pulling no punches. The first offense? Doing "strange" things. Sounds vague. Bu...
The ancient rabbis wrestled with that feeling too, especially when considering the relationship between Israel and the other nations. We find a powerful, raw expression of this in ...
THERE WERE TEN GENERATIONS FROM ADAM TO NOAH. What need is there for mankind to [know] this? It is to teach you that although those generations provoked Him continually, the Holy O...
The Hebrew Bible says God "came down" to see the Tower of Babel and confused humanity's language (Genesis 11:7). But the ancient Aramaic translators of Targum Jonathan told a radic...
Abraham made his servant Eliezer swear an oath by placing his hand on the mark of circumcision. The Torah says "under my thigh." The Targum says exactly what it means: the section ...
Genesis 38, the story of Judah and Tamar, is already one of the most dramatic chapters in the Torah. The Targum Jonathan amplifies every beat, adding prayers, prophecies, and moral...
The Torah says write the law on plastered stones after crossing the Jordan. Targum Jonathan says write it "with writing deeply engraven and distinct, which shall be read in one lan...
When God appeared to Abram and commanded him to circumcise himself, the patriarch was already ninety-nine years old. According to the Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 80, God's words carrie...
When God gave the Torah at Sinai, the Israelites did not simply accept it freely. According to Shabbat 88a, Rabbi Avdimi bar Hama bar Hasa taught that God uprooted Mount Sinai and ...
Skipping one small ritual cost a man his entire identity. According to a tale preserved in the Exempla of the Rabbis, a 1924 compilation by Moses Gaster drawn from medieval Jewish ...
Jacob saw the leaders of Esau listed in the Torah — king after king after king (Genesis 36:31-43) — and was afraid. "How can I stand against all of them? I am one man." The Holy On...
The passage kicks off with a powerful image: "In an earthenware vessel." Rabbi Meir offers a striking contrast. If the woman being accused of infidelity enjoyed fine wine in fine g...
We start with the line: "It was in the days of Amrafel..." Now, Bereshit Rabbah doesn't just let that lie. Oh no. It immediately asks: who was this Amrafel? Turns out, he was a man...
Jewish tradition certainly sees echoes of the past in the present, especially when it comes to empires. In Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the ...
It's a fascinating, and sometimes complex, corner of Jewish law. Our guide for today is Bereshit Rabbah, a classic Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic text – meaning, a co...
The passage opens with Avimelekh and Pikhol approaching Abraham. Now, who exactly was Pikhol? Rabbi Yehuda says Pikhol was his actual name. But Rabbi Nehemya offers a fascinating a...
Our ancestors felt it too. And the Rabbis, in their infinite wisdom, addressed it head-on. We find a fascinating discussion in Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 79, sparked by ...
The verse in question comes from (Exodus 3:15): "God said further to Moses: So shall you say to the children of Israel: The Lord, the God of your fathers, God of Abraham, God of Is...
It wasn't just a random event, a quirk of fate. According to Rabbi Ḥama, there was a very specific, almost divinely orchestrated reason. Imagine Moses growing up comfortably in his...
It turns out, even a seemingly simple verse about crops can open up a whole world of midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic interpretation. Take (Exodus 9:31-32): “The flax a...
It’s a story about courage, about challenging the status quo, and about showing the world that what they worship is nothing more than an illusion. The verse in question is, "draw, ...
Our story comes from Shemot Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Exodus. We’re looking at chapter 17, which delves into the symbolism of the Passover of...
The verse “Yitro…heard” (Exodus 18:1) sparks a fascinating connection to a seemingly unrelated verse from Job: “The stranger does not stay the night outside” (Job 31:32). What’s th...
In Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, we find a fascinating exchange. God tells Moses, "And you, draw near to you." Now, Moses isn't exa...
It's not just about skin disease. It's about something far deeper. Something that touches on the very fabric of our community and our souls. In Vayikra, Leviticus, we find the word...
In Jewish tradition, the number seven is definitely one of those numbers. It’s not just a random figure; it's woven into the very fabric of our understanding of the world and our r...
Take, for instance, that cryptic line in (Genesis 15:16): "For the sins of the Amorites were not as yet completed." What does that even mean? It's a verse that on the surface seems...
These are the generations of Noah. Blessed be the name of the King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, who chose Israel from among the seventy nations of the world, as it is wri...
Fear not, Abraham (Gen. 15:1). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: Happy is the man that feareth always; but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into evil (Pr...
And the Lord remembered Sarah (Gen. 21:1). Scripture says elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Then the nations that are left round about shall know that I, the Lord, have builded ...
These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begot Isaac (Gen. 25:19). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: The father of the righteous will greatly ...
These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begot Isaac (Gen. 25:19). Why does Scripture repeat itself by adding: Abraham begot Isaac? There were some men who whispe...
These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begot Isaac (Gen. 25:9). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Children’s children are the crown of old m...
