712 related texts · 8 related myths · Page 14 of 15
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 14:6) adds a single parenthetical that rewrites a whole people's identity: the Choraee (dwellers in caverns) who were in the high mountains of Ge...
Gad chose land east of the Jordan. The Hebrew blessing in (Genesis 49:19) puns on the name, gad sounds like gedud, a raiding band. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan expands the pun into a bat...
"And He said, Approach not hither, take the shoe from thy feet, for the place on which thou standest is a holy place; and upon it thou art to receive the Law, to teach it to the so...
After the Amalek battle, Moses built an altar. But the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves the name he carved into it with surprising precision: "The Word of the Lord is my banner; fo...
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus (Exodus 23:16) names two festivals without naming them by their later names: the feast of the harvest first-fruits of the work thou didst sow in th...
When Moses saw the camp dancing around the calf, the Torah says he saw that "the people were naked." What kind of nakedness? Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, the Aramaic paraphrase of the T...
The Jewish year moves with the grain. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 34:22) marks two hinges of that turning wheel: the feast of weeks at the first of the wheat harvest, and the...
The Torah's cryptic warning not to boil a kid in its mother's milk (Exodus 34:26) becomes, in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, something much more expansive. And much more alarming. The Tar...
What would you ask for? The tradition says as his time drew near, Moses made one final, powerful request of God. It wasn't for more life, or for comfort, or even for himself at all...
Our tradition teaches us that the world itself was once like that, a desolate and empty space, until something truly remarkable happened. Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic ...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to God's Promise to Abraham Echoed in the Desert Census. Abraham, bless his heart, wasn't so sure. He pointed out to God, "Master of the universe, everything ...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to The Demographic Puzzle of Levites Versus Firstborn. So, the children of Israel are wandering in the desert, and God instructs Moses to count two groups: th...
It’s a midrash, a rabbinic interpretation, on a verse from the Book of Numbers – Bamidbar in Hebrew, which gives the whole book its name. The verse in question mentions "the tribe ...
It's almost like a cosmic nudge, inviting us to dig a little deeper. Consider the juxtaposition of the laws concerning lepers right before the section detailing the duties of the L...
Our sages teach that each word carries a world of meaning. Take the word tzav (צו), for instance. What does it really mean when God commands? In the beginning of Parashat Tzav, in ...
The Torah portion Naso, particularly in Bamidbar Rabbah 13, explores this very concept, using the offerings of the princes as a springboard. It's a fascinating exploration of Israe...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Manasseh's Prince and the Tension of Obeying the King. The Midrash clarifies that respecting authority is crucial. After all, we read in (Deuteronomy 17:15...
Does a name shape destiny? Does it reflect character? Or is it just… a label? The book of Numbers, Bamidbar in Hebrew, gives us a lot to chew on in that regard. Specifically, Bamid...
Even in the Bible, the order in which things are presented can tell a whole story. Take the story of the spies sent by Moses to scout out the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, bef...
The rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) ask a pointed question: why did the spies, when reporting back about the land of Israel, single out Amalek first? What ...
The scene is set in (Numbers 14:1): “The entire congregation raised and sounded their voice and the people wept that night.” It sounds dramatic, doesn't it? But what was behind all...
In the book of Numbers, we find Moses doing just that, wrestling with God over the fate of the Israelites. It’s a moment of incredible intensity, revealing a deep and complex relat...
It wasn't just about following the rules, but about heart and intention. to a fascinating passage from Bamidbar Rabbah 17 and see what we can uncover. Rabbi Tanhuma bar Abba, quoti...
The story of Moses and the rebellion of Korah, Datan, and Aviram in the Book of Numbers gives us a powerful example. The Torah tells us, “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Speak to...
Who was Korah? We find him in the Book of Numbers, leading a rebellion against Moses and Aaron. He challenged their authority, questioning why they held such power. A dangerous mov...
In Jewish tradition, we find striking examples of this idea, particularly in the story of Korah and his rebellion against Moses and Aaron. Our story comes from Bamidbar Rabbah, a M...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Moses's Transgression of Kora. The story starts with the rebellion of Koraḥ against Moses, a challenge to Moses’s leadership and Aaron’s priesthood. Rememb...
This week, The scene is set in (Numbers 20:14). The Israelites, after decades of wandering, are trying to pass through Edom. Moses sends messengers, saying, "So said your brother I...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Og in David's Court. Israel wasn't looking for a fight. They sent messengers to Siḥon, just as they had to the king of Edom, asking for safe passage. "Plea...
Why the darkness? " This links back to (Exodus 12:42), which describes the night of the Exodus from Egypt as "a night of vigilance of the Lord…it is this night…for all the children...
We chase it, toil for it, sail across oceans for it... but is all that effort actually the thing that makes us rich? Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book...
Consider the verse in Numbers: "This will be the land that will fall [tipol] to you as an inheritance." (Numbers 34:2). "Fall?" the Rabbis asked. Does land just fall? Isn't it writ...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Moses and the Ark of Land. Our source for this journey is Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) teachings on the Bo...
The discussion kicks off with Rabbi Simon, who makes a rather bold claim: that in three key places in the Torah, the word huḥal isn't just neutral. It’s actually "an expression of ...
Our sages certainly did. to a fascinating exploration from Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 42, where they dissect the phrase "vayhi bimei" (וַיְהִי בִּמֵי), "it was in the da...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Kedorlaomer's Transgression. It sounds straightforward. But the rabbis, masters of close reading, saw more than meets the eye. The verse kicks off a discus...
The Torah is full of such moments, and the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) are masters at unearthing the layers of meaning. The source turns to Bereshit Ra...
It says, "Abram was ninety-nine years old, and the Lord appeared to Abram; He said to him: I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be faultless.” Ninety-nine years old. It’s never t...
What does it mean to approach God? That's precisely what the Rabbis confront in Bereshit Rabbah 49. The text opens with that powerful line from Genesis, "Abraham approached, and he...
The verse But the rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) weren't just interested in the visual. They wanted to understand the why behind the what. The Midrash beg...
It might be more surprising – and down-to-earth – than you think. Our text from Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, dives into...
Our story begins with the verse: "It was after the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son, and Isaac lived beside Be’er Laḥai Ro’i" (Genesis 25:11). Be’er Laḥai Ro’i, meaning ...
Jacob, our patriarch, certainly did. In (Genesis 32:11), after years of wandering and working, facing down tricksters and building a family, Jacob cries out, "I am unworthy of all ...
Our journey begins with a seemingly simple verse from (Genesis 42:5): "The sons of Israel came to acquire grain among [betokh] those who came, as the famine was in the land of Cana...
Our guide? None other than Bereshit Rabbah 93, a treasure trove of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis. Specifically, Now, that word "approached"… it's loaded. What kin...
Peel back the layers, and you'll find a fascinating pattern of interpretations woven by our sages. The Rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah 98, for example, don't just see a vineyard. They se...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Jonah — Zebulun at the Dawn of Creation. The verse in question is (Genesis 49:13): "Zebulun will dwell at the shore of seas, and he will be a shore for shi...
The story begins with the tribes of Reuben and Gad. As Israel was in the process of conquering and dividing the land, these tribes, as the midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary...
