389 related texts · 22 related myths · Page 6 of 9
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...
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, boiled...
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. Af...
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 revealing...
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. Some...
"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 Mekhil...
(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. During Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, a very special ritual took place: the water libation, or nisuch ha-mayim. Imagine the ...
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 Kippu...
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...
The familiar story is this: 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...
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...
"And he brought them to his holy mountain," Midrash Tehillim tells us, "this is the Temple." "And he cast lots for them in the inheritance and settled them in their tents. The glor...
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. Think of it like a cosmic tune-up, making sure Passove...
The familiar picture has them strolling among the trees, maybe tending to the flowers. But was there something more to their task? Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medie...
That feeling, that sense of wonder and a connection to something vast, is at the heart of this story about Abraham, our patriarch. In Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collecti...
The familiar story centers on 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...
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. Consider a fascina...
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 mos...
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. a fascinating passage from the Yalkut Shimoni on Torah, specifically section 881,...
Sometimes, they are! But even when translated, the nuances… well, they can be tricky. The source explores a passage from Sifrei Bamidbar, specifically Bamidbar 5:20, and see if we ...
What Happens When a Nazirite Breaks One Restriction is the question behind this passage from Sifrei Bamidbar. In the Book of Numbers – Bamidbar in Hebrew – Chapter 6 lays out the l...
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...
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 que...
In the Book of Numbers (Bamidbar), chapter 9, verses 9 and 10, we read: "And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the children of Israel, saying: A man if he be unclean by a d...
They might seem like scribal errors, or maybe even decorative flourishes. But in Jewish tradition, these dots – called nekudot – are anything but accidental. They're whispers, secr...
What exactly is Pesach Sheni, the "Second Passover"? The Book of Numbers, Bamidbar in Hebrew, addresses this very question. Chapter 9, verse 12 tells us that those who were unable ...
Sifrei Bamidbar treats tzitzit as more than decorative threads. The question is who is obligated to wear them, and why Rabbi Shimon exempts women from this time-bound commandment. ...
It can be a real head-scratcher.It’s all about water – not just any water, but "the waters of sprinkling," used to purify someone who has become ritually impure, or tamei. The vers...
The very first verse throws us a curveball: "These are the words which Moses spoke..." (Deuteronomy 1:1). But wait a minute. Didn't Moses write the entire Torah? As it says later i...
