465 related texts · 4 related myths · Page 8 of 10
A microcosm of humanity, bobbing on a turbulent sea. Could you imagine the tensions? The sheer claustrophobia? It makes you wonder. The text known as the Midrash of Philo tackles t...
The familiar version gives us the big picture: flood, animals two-by-two, dove with an olive branch. But what about the timing? Specifically, why did Noah wait a full forty days af...
A dove, sure, feels right. But a raven? What's that all about?Philo wasn't just interested in the surface-level story; he was all about digging deeper, finding the hidden meanings ...
We all remember the flood, the ark, and the animals marching two-by-two. But the raven? And why did Noah send out a dove later? What's the deal? The text itself, (Genesis 8:7-8), s...
The Midrash of Philo turns to The Raven That Never Returned From Noah's Ark. The Midrash of Philo, a collection of interpretations and elaborations on the Hebrew Bible attributed t...
The Torah tells us (Genesis 8:10) that Noah waited seven more days and then released the dove again. But why? The Midrash of Philo tackles this head-on, asking a simple but profoun...
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....
Pull back for a second. A worldwide flood. The fate of humanity hanging by a thread – or rather, a wooden beam. And then… silence. The waters recede. But when they recede, and why ...
The floodwaters had receded. The earth was dry. The ark door stood ajar. So, why didn’t he just… leave? That’s the question the Midrash of Philo, a collection of interpretations an...
Philo, a Jewish philosopher living in Alexandria in the first century CE, delved deep into the Torah, seeking wisdom and hidden meanings. And in one particular midrash – a kind of ...
In (Genesis 7:13), when describing who enters the ark, we read about Noah and his sons first, “and after them his wife and his sons’ wives.” But (Genesis 8:18) flips the script whe...
The Midrash of Philo turns to God Blesses Noah to Increase and Multiply After the Flood. God, in his infinite wisdom, tells them: "Increase, and multiply, and replenish the earth, ...
Philo, the great Jewish philosopher of Alexandria, grappled with these questions centuries ago. And his interpretations, preserved in what we call The Midrash of Philo, offer a fas...
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:...
Maybe you’re striving for perfection but keep falling short. Well, the ancient sages had something to say about that, something that resonates even today. Philo, a Jewish philosoph...
Philo, in this particular midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), is confronting the story of Noah and his sons. You know, the flood, the ark, the whole deal. But he focuses on...
Take Noah, for example. The familiar story is this: the ark, the flood, the animals two-by-two. But then, (Genesis 9:20) hits us: "Noah began to be a cultivator of the earth." Okay...
It's a story of a new beginning, a re-creation of sorts. Philo compares Noah to Adam, the first human formed from the earth. Just as Adam began cultivating the land after creation,...
The Torah tells us, quite simply, that "Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard" (Genesis 9:20). Seems straightforward. But this simple verse sparks a fascinatin...
(Genesis 9:21). It's a head-scratcher. What are we supposed to make of that? The question itself isn't new. Generations of interpreters have wrestled with this verse. And one fasci...
The familiar story centers on the Ark, but what happened after the flood? That Noah planted a vineyard and "drank of the wine, and was drunken" (Genesis 9:21). A simple statement. ...
It offers a reading that's surprisingly insightful, telling us it’s actually a praise of the wise person. Yes, you read that right: praise! How can nakedness be praiseworthy? Philo...
It's like the biblical text is hinting at something more, inviting us to dig a little deeper. Consider the story of Noah and his sons after the flood. It's a well-known tale: Noah ...
It's in these tiny seeming inconsistencies that some of the most fascinating interpretations are born. Take the story of Noah and his sons, for instance. The familiar story is this...
They tell a story. They hint at something deeper. Take Noah's sons: Shem, Ham, and Japhet. You'd think their order would be consistent. But it's not! Isn't that peculiar? Sometimes...
These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man … Noah walked with God (Gen. 6:9). Why is Noah’s name repeated three times in this single verse? Because he was one of t...
And God spoke to Noah, saying: “Go forth from the ark” (Gen. 8:15). May our master instruct us whether one is permitted to place saliva upon an ailing eye on the Sabbath. R. Hiyya ...
And Noah, the husbandman, began and planted a vineyard (Gen. 9:20). Noah degraded himself when he began to till the soil. R. Judah the son of R. Shalum said: At first Noah was call...
(Numb. 27:1:) “Then came forward the daughters of Zelophehad.” In that generation the women were fencing11On raising a fence about the Law, see Avot 1:1. that which the men were br...
Book of Jubilees turns to Story of Shem. Chapter 8 gives us a glimpse into the post-Flood world order, focusing on the division of the earth among Noah's sons. It's a geographical ...
Book of Jubilees turns to Arpachshad and the Dreamer. This ancient Jewish text, considered apocryphal by some but deeply revered by others, offers a unique perspective on biblical ...
While the Torah gives us broad strokes, some ancient texts offer a surprisingly detailed picture. One of those texts is the Book of Jubilees. It’s an ancient Jewish work that retel...
The familiar story centers on Noah, the ark, and the animals. But what about the aftermath? What kind of world did Noah and his family rebuild? The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating ...
Legends of the Jews turns to Death of Zelophehad of Moses. These weren't just any women; they were on a mission. Their father, Zelophehad, had died without sons, and they were dete...
Legends of the Jews turns to Judah — Elijah and the Heavenly Realms. The story goes that Elijah, who, as you probably know, is a major figure, often popping up in unexpected places...
Jewish mystical tradition, particularly the Kabbalah, is all about unveiling those secrets. And one of the most fascinating places to look is in the Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zoh...
Rabban Gamaliel, a sage from the first century, certainly thought so. He delved into the symbolic meanings behind the offerings brought in the Temple, revealing layers of connectio...
Five sisters walked into Moses's tent and changed Jewish inheritance law forever. Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 788 wrestles with some tricky questions arising from that encounter, the s...
It will be, from new month to new month, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh will come to bow before Me," said Hashem (Isaiah 66:23). Teach us, our teacher, a person from Israel...
Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be your name (41:18:31). May our Rabb...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to How the Ark Was Lifted and Raised Above the Earth. What does it mean that the flood was forty days, before the ark was lifted? Rabbi Pinchas, quoting Rabbi...
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...
(Deut. 3:23:) “I besought the Lord.” This text is related (to (Job 9:2)2), “It is all one; therefore, I say, ‘He destroys the innocent and the wicked.’” Moses said, “Master of the ...
It pulls no punches in its call for humility and divine justice. Ben Sira, a sage writing in Hebrew around 200 BCE, gives us these powerful words: "Make an end of the head of the p...
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...
Holidays is often remembered as something ancient and unchanging, but every tradition has a beginning. the tradition turns to one possible origin story, found in the Book of Jubile...
The Book of Jubilees, a text from around the 2nd century BCE, offers a pretty stark perspective. It dives deep into the laws and history of Israel, and it doesn’t shy away from lay...
It's a moment of sheer, unadulterated panic. The people knew they were in trouble. Real trouble. So, what did they do? They cried out to God. The verse reads, "They cried to the Go...
