320 related texts · Page 5 of 7
In Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar 115, we encounter a striking image: the Oral Torah depicted as a "poor woman." Now, don't misunderstand "poor" here. It doesn't mean lacking in...
In his commentary on Parashat Bereshit, Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk (the Noam Elimelech) asks a deceptively simple question: why does the Torah begin with the word "beginning"? Ras...
(Exodus 12:2) "the beginning of months": I might think, for the minimum of months, two (i.e., the most distinctive of months, Sivan and Tishrei). It is, therefore, written (Ibid.) ...
R. Akiva says: One verse states "And you shall slaughter the Pesach (Passover) to the L–rd your G–d, sheep and cattle," and another, "From the sheep and from the goats shall you ta...
(Exodus 12:6) "And it shall be to you for a keeping": Why does the taking of the Pesach (Passover) precede its slaughtering by four days? R. Matia b. Charash says: It is written (E...
Scripture specified it (the fourteenth day) as mandatory. It is not the second assumption, then, that is to be accepted, but the first. "And it shall be to you for a keeping": Scri...
And whence is it derived that in the absence of matzoh and maror one fulfills his obligation with the Pesach (Passover)? From "shall they eat it" (in any event). I might think that...
The Torah uses an unusual doubled phrase when describing how the Passover lamb must not be prepared: "vashel mevushal" — literally something like "cooked, cooked" or "boiled, boile...
The Torah says the Passover lamb must not be "cooked in water" (Exodus 12:9). Water is specified. But Rabbi Yishmael immediately sees the problem: what about wine? What about fruit...
Rabbi Yonathan addressed a legal puzzle hidden inside the Passover laws. The Torah says "let all of his males be circumcised, and then he shall draw near to offer it." A straightfo...
"One Torah shall there be for the citizen and for the stranger" (Exodus 12:49). This verse — one of the most sweeping declarations of equality in the Torah — might seem redundant. ...
There are four sons: a wise son, a wicked son, a simple son, and one who does not know how to ask. What does the wise son say? "What are the testimonies and the statutes and the ju...
The Mekhilta takes a single Hebrew word from the Song of the Sea — "ve'anvehu" — and shows how three different rabbis derive three entirely different meanings from it, each reveali...
Variantly: "on the fifteenth day of the second month": Why is "day" mentioned? To know on which day the Torah was given to Israel. (Rosh Chodesh of the) Nissan on which Israel left...
The Torah records the arrival at Sinai with a precise phrase (Exodus 19:1): "On this day they came to the desert of Sinai." The Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael identifies the exact date ...
"And the seventh year you shall leave it" — the Torah commands that the land be left fallow during the shemitah year. But the Mekhilta anticipates a well-intentioned objection. Som...
"And what they leave shall be eaten by the animals of the field" — the Torah establishes that shemitah produce left uneaten by humans may be consumed by wild animals. But the Mekhi...
(Exodus 23:18) "You shall not slaughter in the presence of chametz the blood of My sacrifice": You shall not slaughter the Pesach (Passover) offering while chametz is still present...
It all comes down to water… and a really old cavern. Let's journey back to the time when the Temple in Jerusalem stood in all its glory. During Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, a ...
But there’s so much more to it than just a spiritual "reset" button. on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, tradition tells us that God sits in judgment of everyone. Then, on Yom K...
That, my friends, is the heart of a beautiful tradition linked to Shavuot (the Festival of Weeks). We know Passover commemorates the Exodus, specifically the parting of the Red Sea...
We all know the story: Jacob, fleeing his father-in-law Laban, takes his wives and children and makes a run for it. But the book of Genesis (31:34) throws a curveball: "Rachel, mea...
Rabbi Samuel bar Nachmani kicks things off, wondering why we sweat during times of transition. He suggests it's connected to the fall of one kingdom and the rise of another. He poi...
Psalm 19 isn't just a pretty poem; it's a meditation on the beauty and clarity hidden within God's commandments. And Midrash Tehillim, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpre...
There’s this beautiful passage in Midrash Tehillim (Commentary on Psalms), specifically on Psalm 27, that offers a powerful image of refuge. It says, "For He will hide me in His ta...
The Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Psalms, wrestles with this very idea in Psalm 42. It speaks of God "passing through the camp with an a...
It might sound audacious, but our tradition actually suggests there are times when the "lower court" – that's us, down here – and the Holy One, blessed be He, are in a bit of a… di...
The ancient rabbis grappled with this too. Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, dives deep into this very question. Specifically, it wrestles wi...
That’s a question that’s wrestled with in Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms. Our passage today comes from Midrash Tehillim 65, and it...
Even in ancient times, people struggled with the feeling that enemies were gaining ground, that darkness was closing in. And the texts? They spoke to it. They still speak to it. to...
Specifically, it grapples with the story of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, and its eventual abandonment in Shiloh. "And he brought them to his holy mountain," Midrash Tehillim tells ...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers a fascinating glimpse into this bond, specifically in its commentary on Psalm 85, attribute...
Jewish tradition has been wrestling with that very tension for centuries, especially when it comes to serving God. One verse tells us plainly: "Serve the Lord with joy." Simple eno...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletic interpretations of the Book of Psalms, suggests it's tied to a future time when "the face of the earth is renewed," a time when God's gl...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Psalms, dives right into this very idea. It starts with the verse, "Blessed are those who keep His testimo...
Our ancestors grappled with this too. And the way they dealt with it, according to ancient texts, is pretty darn fascinating. We're talking about intercalation, a process of adding...
We often picture them strolling among the trees, maybe tending to the flowers. But was there something more to their task? Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval text...
That feeling, that sense of wonder and a connection to something vast, is at the heart of this story about Abraham, our patriarch. According to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinatin...
We all know the story of Passover, the Korban (a sacrificial offering) Pesach, the Paschal lamb. But there's a layer to the story that adds so much depth, a detail that speaks volu...
It's rarely accidental. Jewish tradition teaches that these repetitions often hold a deeper meaning, a hidden layer of significance just waiting to be uncovered. Take, for example,...
And it might even have deep roots in Jewish tradition! Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval text, gives us a glimpse into a very human moment surrounding one of the...
Our story comes from Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 550, a compilation of rabbinic teachings and interpretations of the Hebrew Bible. It fleshes out the familiar tale of Yonah in surprisin...
Our ancestors grappled with this very feeling as they transitioned between eras in ancient Israel. Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from the Yalkut Shimoni on Torah, ...
Sometimes, they are! But even when translated, the nuances… well, they can be tricky. Let’s delve into a passage from Sifrei Bamidbar, specifically Bamidbar 5:20, and see if we can...
We're diving into the fascinating world of the Nazir – the Nazirite – and some seriously intricate rules about their sacred commitment. In the Book of Numbers – Bamidbar in Hebrew ...
Sometimes, digging into the details reveals a surprisingly beautiful logic. a little puzzle from the Book of Numbers – Bamidbar – and see what we can uncover. Our focus is on the L...
But the Rabbis of the Talmud never take anything at face value. They immediately ask: Why does the Torah even need to say this? Isn't it obvious? R. Yoshiyah starts with a powerful...
It's all about Pesach (Passover) Sheni, the "Second Passover," and it raises some fascinating questions about intention, distance, and second chances. In the Book of Numbers (Bamid...
