127 related texts · 12 related myths · Page 3 of 3
Fire that blazes with purpose, either as a sign of God's favor or His… well, let's just say, His displeasure. Fire is powerful, transformative. It can create and destroy. And in Je...
The familiar picture has Moses as this towering figure, the man who spoke to God face-to-face and led an entire nation to freedom. But even the greatest leaders have moments of pro...
A tale from Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg, a collection that draws from the vast ocean of Jewish tradition. It's a story of idolatry, defiance, and divine intervention. It revolv...
The Jewish tradition has some pretty incredible answers. In Legends of the Jews, when the Jews returned to Jerusalem under Ezra's leadership to rebuild the Temple, they faced a sig...
David never went to war without consulting God first. According to Josephus in Antiquities of the Jews, this was the defining principle of his military career. And when the Philist...
Before God chose the land of Israel as His special territory, every land on earth was equally suitable for divine speech. Prophecy could happen anywhere. But once Israel was chosen...
(Exodus 20:22) instructs: "Do not build them gazith." The Mekhilta explains that "gazith" means "gezuzoth", hewn stones, specifically stones upon which iron tools have been used. A...
Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Nehemiah suggest a fundamental principle: punishment, at its core, is unproductive. It doesn't bear good fruit. Goodness, on the other hand, does generate mo...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating and imaginative work of Jewish literature, tells us that on the fifth day, God commanded the waters to bring forth all kinds of winged fowl, b...
It feels like the Bible just breezes through it: animals, done! But, of course, there's so much more to the story when you start digging. The scene. According to Pirkei DeRabbi Eli...
This text isn't just a dusty historical record. It's a vibrant window into how our ancestors understood their relationship with God, and with each other. It focuses on Abraham, our...
A fascinating and somewhat enigmatic text of Jewish tradition, fire isn't just fire. It’s something… else. Rabbi Judah paints a vivid picture, one that starts with a fiery descent....
It wasn’t always straightforward. Sometimes, they engaged in incredibly intricate, almost mind-bending debates, using logic, analogy, and even divine revelation to arrive at their ...
It wasn't just a one-day event. According to Sifrei Bamidbar, the book of Numbers, the seven days leading up to the dedication were a whirlwind of activity. Every single morning fo...
Our ancestors certainly did. The story begins in (Numbers 9:6): "And there were men who were unclean by the body of a man, and they could not offer the Pesach (Passover) [Passover ...
Our source today is Sifrei Bamidbar, and it unveils a remarkable array of gifts bestowed upon the Cohanim – the priests. These include terumah (the priestly offering), terumath ma'...
The word atzeret (עצרת) appears in Bamidbar, or the Book of Numbers (29:35), in the context of Shmini Atzeret, the "eighth day" that follows the seven days of Sukkot, the Festival ...
On the eighth day of consecration, the first of Nisan, Aaron was about to offer his first sacrifice as high priest. Then he froze. The Targum Jonathan says he "saw at the corner of...
Numbers 7 is the longest chapter in the Torah, listing identical offerings from twelve tribal princes across twelve days. It is famously repetitive. The Targum Jonathan rescues it ...
Written but not Read "For rather Amnon" (II Samuel 13:33) is written, because at first Jonadab son of Shim'ah said "for Amnon alone has died," for the truth of the matter that Amno...
One small Hebrew word, kalot, "completed", carries an entire wedding, an entire exorcism, and the steadying of the whole world. In Pesikta de-Rav Kahana 1:5, the sages pry open (Nu...
It’s a story rich with symbolism, divine presence, and, In Bamidbar Rabbah, 13, it all began on the 23rd of Adar, and culminated on the first of Nisan. Rabbi Yosei tells us that fo...
The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Bamidbar Rabbah 15, tells us that crafting the menorah was uniquely challenging for Moses. More so than any other objec...
Shemot Rabbah, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Exodus, recounts a fascinating episode. It begins with the verse, "This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2), referri...
Almost immediately, we're whisked away to a completely different topic: cheese. Specifically, the cheese of the gentiles. The Mishnah (the earliest code of rabbinic law) in Avoda Z...
Vayikra Rabbah turns to The Soul That Sins Without Knowledge. Ravina bar Avina offers a rather intimate example. Imagine a woman whose menstrual cycle is like clockwork, always arr...
The ancient rabbis certainly did! They saw profound symbolism woven into every thread, especially when it came to the garments of the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest. the High Priest ...
The rabbis of old grappled with this question, especially concerning the laws around building altars for sacrifice outside the designated Temple in Jerusalem. This wasn't some free...
“Let us search and examine our ways, and return to the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands to God in the heavens” (Lamentations 3:40–41).“Let us search and examine our wa...
He sacrifices some animals. End of story. But what if there was a deeper meaning hidden within those verses? That's what the Midrash of Philo explores when it asks about (Genesis 8...
And thou shalt command the children of Israel (Exod. 27:20). May it please our masters to teach us: At what age must an infant be circumcised? So do our masters teach us: An infant...
