3,492 related texts · Page 31 of 73
Even the great Abraham, our father Abraham, wrestled with that. According to the sages, God wasn't entirely happy with him. Why? Because Abraham, for all his legendary hospitality ...
See, news had reached Abraham about his nephew Lot, and it wasn’t good. Lot was in serious trouble, caught up in the wickedness of the cities of the plain. Now, Abraham and Lot had...
He'd just pulled off a daring rescue, freeing his nephew Lot from the clutches of invading kings. And in doing so, he'd recovered a great deal of stolen goods. Now, the King of Sod...
You know the story: Abraham, victorious in battle, refuses to take any spoils. Not a single thread. Not even a shoe-latchet. A tiny thing. But according to the Legends of the Jews,...
The ancient texts tell us that after the dust settled from the battles described earlier in Legends of the Jews, Abraham was deeply troubled. He couldn't shake the thought of the i...
You’re not wrong. to a classic tale of jealousy, longing, and a bit of divine intervention, straight from the heart of the Sarah and Abraham story. Imagine this: Sarah, Abraham's w...
But let's rewind a bit, to the story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar. Abraham, known for his humility, gave Sarah the authority to deal with Hagar as she saw fit. However, he did offe...
Now, to ensure he gets some rest, God does something… unusual. He makes the day intensely hot. How hot? The Zohar tells us that God bored a hole into Gehinnom (the place of spiritu...
According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, this wasn't just any ordinary tree; it was practically a lie detector for the soul! Imagine a tree that could distinguish ...
He belonged to that rare breed of truly pious individuals: those "who promise little, but perform much." (Avot 5:13) Remember the story of the three strangers who appear outside Ab...
Not just a little, but so much that the very soil sparkled. Sounds like paradise. But what if that abundance bred not generosity, but an insatiable greed? That's the story of a nam...
Even after the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence) – that divine presence, the very aura of God – had withdrawn from him, Abraham didn't give up on praying for the sinners of his gener...
The story of Lot, Abraham's nephew, gives us a masterclass in hospitality gone wrong. We all know the basics: God, displeased with the wickedness of Sodom, sends angels to investig...
The story of Lot is a fascinating example. We know him best, perhaps, for his narrow escape from the fiery destruction of Sodom. But did you know that his salvation wasn't just a s...
Ever find yourself in a sticky situation, and think, "Didn't I just do this?" Well, let's talk about Abraham. He's about to have a serious case of déjà vu. After leaving Egypt, Abr...
And Jewish tradition, rich as it is with stories of answered prayers, offers some fascinating perspectives. Take Abraham, for instance. We know him as the patriarch, the father of ...
And imagine the joke being about your future descendants! That’s precisely what happened at a feast hosted by none other than Abraham himself, as recounted in Ginzberg’s Legends of...
It wasn't the battles with kings or the famine in the land that weighed heaviest on his heart. No, it was the separation from his son, Ishmael, that caused him the most profound gr...
But Ishmael’s story doesn't simply vanish; it continues, filled with hardship, growth, and a surprising encounter with his father. According to Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, Ishm...
We know the story of Isaac, the son born in Abraham's old age, the one through whom the Jewish people would descend. But what about Ishmael, Abraham's firstborn? Was he forgotten? ...
Abraham, busy with honored guests, and Sarah, proving to the women that Isaac was truly her child... they were preoccupied. And at their door stood a beggar, completely ignored. Th...
It's one of the most powerful, and most disturbing, narratives in the Torah. And it all starts with a test. "And the Lord thought to try Abraham and Isaac in this matter. And He sa...
And it’s a theme that runs deep through the story of Abraham and Isaac on their journey to Mount Moriah. As Abraham and Isaac made their way, the Satan – the accuser, the adversary...
But this isn't your typical horns-and-pitchforks depiction. This Satan is far more subtle, far more insidious. Take, for example, the story of Abraham and Isaac – the binding of Is...
Take Abraham's journey to Mount Moriah, the place where he was commanded to sacrifice his son, Isaac. It’s a story we think we know, but let’s pull back the curtain a little. The T...
We all know the story of the binding of Isaac, the Akeidah, a narrative that echoes through millennia. But what happened after the angel stayed Abraham's hand? What was said in the...
He’s about to have a serious conversation. Picture this: the binding of Isaac, the Akedah. The ultimate test of faith. Abraham, after being asked to sacrifice his beloved son, is n...
Abraham and Isaac returned to Beer-sheba after the binding on Mount Moriah, but Sarah wasn't there. A knot of worry tightens in their hearts. Where is she? They learn she's gone to...
That’s kind of what happened to Abraham. God promised him the entire land of Canaan, a massive inheritance for him and his descendants. But when his beloved wife Sarah passed away,...
Well, according to Legends of the Jews, a year after Sarah's death, Abimelech also passed away, at the ripe old age of one hundred and ninety-three! Can you imagine living that lon...
It’s a poignant moment, and the Torah is silent about Isaac's immediate reaction. But Jewish tradition, ever eager to fill in the gaps, gives us a fascinating glimpse into what mig...
Sometimes, the stories are wilder than you'd expect. Take Africa, for example. You might not think it, but some traditions trace the name all the way back to Abraham himself! Accor...
It’s a question that echoes through the ages, and the ancient texts offer a fascinating glimpse into the heart and mind of this pivotal figure. Even though Abraham knew in his hear...
That’s the feeling I get sometimes when I read certain passages in Jewish lore. Take this little gem from Ginzberg’s Legends of the Jews. It's a tiny moment, a snapshot really, but...
Let’s talk about Abraham, a figure revered as a pillar of kindness and righteousness. The legends paint him as nearly unparalleled in his virtue. Now, the time was approaching for ...
The tale goes like this: The archangel Michael himself descended, not in a flashy sports car, but in a chariot of the cherubim – those powerful, angelic beings. Can you imagine the...
The patriarch Abraham did. And the encounter, as you might imagine, was… intense. The story goes that Abraham was sitting under the oak of Mamre, a place of significance in Genesis...
The people of Hebron certainly did, right before Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Imagine this: It's the eve of the holiest day of the year, a time for communal prayer and reflect...
And the reason why might surprise you. According to some traditions, it was actually thanks to the merits of his grandson, Jacob, that Abraham himself was rescued from the fiery fu...
Today, let's talk about Esau. We know him as Jacob's brother, the one who traded his birthright for a bowl of stew. But there's so much more bubbling beneath the surface. According...
The answer, according to Jewish legend, lies with Nimrod and some very special garments. The stories tell us that Nimrod, a mighty hunter and king, possessed clothes imbued with an...
And it all boils down to a simple bowl of lentils. Yep, lentils. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, this encounter happens soon after the death of their gran...
Take Isaac, for example. His life, as the great compilation Legends of the Jews tells us, reads like a mirror image of his father Abraham's. Abraham had to leave his homeland. So d...
But the roots go way back, further than you might think, to the patriarch Isaac himself. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, after Isaac's interactions with K...
Our story takes us back to Isaac, the son of Abraham, and a rather awkward encounter with Abimelech, king of the Philistines. Abimelech, was feeling a little… guilty? Anxious? Perh...
We all know the story: Isaac, old and blind, intends to bless his elder son Esau. But Rebekah, favoring her younger son Jacob, orchestrates a deception. She dresses Jacob in Esau's...
It all starts when Rachel, upon hearing that Jacob, her cousin, has arrived, races home to tell her father, Laban. Sadly, the Torah tells us that Rachel’s mother had already passed...
Jacob, completely innocent, declares, "With whomever thou findest thy gods, he shall not live!" (Genesis 31:32). Ouch. As we learn in Legends of the Jews, this wasn't just a figure...
