712 related texts · 8 related myths · Page 15 of 15
A reader can read the Torah as a collection of individual stories, but the rabbis of old saw something more: echoes, parallels, and meaningful connections woven throughout the gene...
Our ancestors certainly did. And in Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, we find a beautiful explanation of why Moses chose the stars as a...
In (Deuteronomy 31:14), God says to Moses, "Behold, your days are approaching to die; summon Joshua, and stand in the Tent of Meeting and I will command him." This verse, "Behold, ...
It sounds almost unbelievable, doesn't it? Yet, according to Devarim Rabbah, this is precisely the monumental struggle Moses faced at the end of his life. Rabbi Yoḥanan tells us th...
We look back with nostalgia, imagining that the giants of the past held all the answers. But Jewish tradition challenges that very notion. The idea that each generation has its own...
Kohelet Rabbah turns to The Heart's Many Roles According to the Sages. The ancient rabbis certainly pondered this. In Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on th...
That fear, that nagging doubt, echoes in the ancient words of Kohelet Rabbah, a rabbinic commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastes. It grapples with the seeming unfairness of life, th...
Ecclesiastes has a way of naming the ache of a miserable life in language so spare it stops you cold. The rabbis of Kohelet Rabbah zeroed in on (Ecclesiastes 5:16): "In addition, a...
It all starts with a verse from Ecclesiastes (12:11): "The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails well fastened are the collectors of wisdom; they are given from one shep...
What exactly does that mean, "He made houses for them?" This teaching presents two perspectives, attributed to Rav and Levi. One suggests that God rewarded the midwives with priest...
Shemot Rabbah turns to Moses Gathers the Elders With a Secret Sign. Why the elders? Shemot Rabbah emphasizes the vital role elders play in upholding Israel. It draws a parallel to ...
The ancient rabbis certainly knew the feeling, and they used vivid imagery to describe the Israelites' escape from Egypt. It wasn't just a political liberation; it was a soul's lib...
The story starts with a grumble. "The entire congregation of the children of Israel complained" (Exodus 16:2). They were wandering in the desert, fresh out of Egypt, and their port...
Shemot Rabbah turns to Manna as Bread from Heaven Earned Through Torah. Here's a question: Why did the Israelites sing praises over the well but not over the manna? Seems a bit unf...
The Israelites certainly did. In the book of Exodus, right after the incredible miracle of being freed from Egypt, they find themselves wandering in the desert, thirsty and complai...
The book of Exodus, specifically 22:27, lays down a firm rule: "You shall not curse judges, [and a prince among your people you shall not revile]." Seems straightforward. But Rabbi...
Jewish tradition teaches us that healing often comes from the very source of our pain. The Shemot Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, explores ...
We see it used for anointing, for lighting, for cooking. but what's the deeper symbolism? to a fascinating exploration from Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpret...
Shir HaShirim Rabbah 9, a section of the rabbinic commentary on the Song of Songs, and it’s not always what you’d expect. The verse under discussion is "I have likened you, my love...
Beautiful. But what does that imagery evoke? Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) collection (meaning a collection of interpretations and stories) f...
Ever catch a whiff of something amazing and wonder, "What is that?" Our senses are powerful doorways to memory and meaning. And in ancient Jewish tradition, few things were as powe...
That’s how I feel diving into the pages of Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of Rabbinic interpretations of the Song of Songs. a fascinating passage from section 5. It's a window ...
In the beautiful, multi-layered world of Jewish interpretation, this verse opens up into a world of meaning far beyond the literal. Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a classic midrashic (rabbi...
What are we supposed to do while How do we find our way? Rabbi Yosei HaGelili offers a beautiful answer, reading into the very same verse: "My dove, in the clefts of the rock… Show...
We start with a verse: “Emerge, daughters of Zion, and gaze at King Solomon, at the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, and on the day of the rejoici...
Sometimes, the answer lies not in the present, but in the deep echoes of the past, in the merit of our ancestors. to a fascinating exploration of this idea, as seen through the len...
Take the story of the letter yod, that smallest of Hebrew letters, shaped like a tiny flame. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa, in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, tells us that when Sarai’s name was ...
Vayikra Rabbah turns to Zion's Transgression. We find a fascinating passage in Vayikra Rabbah, a midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) collection focusing on the Book of Lev...
The book of Job asks, "Who set wisdom batuḥot?" (Job 38:36). The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Vayikra Rabbah, explores this, asking, what even is batuḥo...
Vayikra Rabbah turns to The Wall Between God and Israel That Sin Built. The text then jumps to the prophet Amos (7:7): "Behold, the Lord standing beside a level [anakh] wall." What...
An Athenian came to Jerusalem and encountered a certain child. He gave him coins and said to him: ‘Go bring me figs and grapes.’ He said to him: ‘Well done, you with your coins and...
“Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and her wretchedness, all her delights that she had from the days of old; with the fall of her people into the hand of the adver...
“Jerusalem has committed a sin, therefore she has become a pariah. All who honored her demean her because they have seen her nakedness. She, too, sighed and turned back” (Lamentati...
“Turn away, impure, they called to them. Turn away, turn away, do not touch, because they were loathsome, and also wandering; they said among the nations: They will not continue to...
“Also, Vashti the queen made a women’s banquet in the royal palace of King Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:9). Rabbi Yehuda son of Rabbi Simon began: “My people, its oppressors are babes an...
How do we know what's real, especially when it comes to something as immense as the Divine? How do we stay on the path, the derech, when so many voices clamor for our attention? Th...
And Jacob sat in the land (Gen. 37:1). Whenever Scripture uses the expression and he sat (also translated “and he dwelt”), it connotes misfortune: And Israel sat in the land of Egy...
(Lev. 8:2:) “Take Aaron and his sons.” This text is related (to Prov. 20:7), “The one who walks in his integrity is righteous; blessed are his children after him.” This refers to A...
(Lev. 19:23:) “Now when you come into the land and plant any tree for food.” This text is related (to Zech. 8:11-12), “But now [I will not treat the remnant of this people] as in t...
Another interpretation (of Deut. 3:23), “I besought [the Lord].” This text is related (to Is. 30:19), “Indeed, O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall surely weep no ...
