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Vayikra Rabbah, the great midrash on the Book of Leviticus, is all about unlocking those secrets. It's about diving deep into the connections between verses that might seem, at fir...
It wasn't just a quick glance. The Torah tells us in (Leviticus 13:12) that the priest examines the afflicted individual in “the entire view of the eyes of the priest.” But what ex...
It's not just about skin disease. It's about something far deeper. Something that touches on the very fabric of our community and our souls. In Vayikra, Leviticus, we find the word...
Vayikra Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Leviticus, explores this very idea, using the strange and unsettling phenomenon of leprosy in ho...
Today, we’re going to dive into a fascinating passage from Vayikra Rabbah (Leviticus Rabbah) 20 that wrestles with this very problem. Our entry point is the Book of Leviticus, spec...
The passage opens with a quote from the Book of Job: “Does the eagle ascend at your directive?” (Job 39:27). Rabbi Yudan of Gaul uses this verse to ask a powerful question about Aa...
Take the story of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu. Their sudden, tragic deaths after offering "alien fire" before the Lord (Leviticus 10:1-2) is one of the most jarring moments in th...
The story centers around Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aaron, Moses' brother and the High Priest. These two weren’t just any ordinary guys. They were close to the top, practically J...
We find ourselves pondering this very question in Vayikra Rabbah 22, a section of the ancient Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary). It begins with a seemingly simple verse fr...
Vayikra Rabbah 22, a fascinating collection of stories and teachings, explores just that. It suggests that everything – from frogs to plants to even inanimate objects – can be inst...
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...
A code about purity, impurity, and the almost mystical ways we interact with the sacred. Well, today, let's unlock a tiny piece of that code, guided by the wisdom of our sages. Rab...
Take, for instance, the story in Vayikra Rabbah 31, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Leviticus. It focuses on Aaron, the High Priest, and his rol...
The ancient sages did, too. And they found wisdom in the balance. Rabbi Tanhum ben Rabbi Hiyya, a wise teacher of old, opened his heart with a verse from Ecclesiastes (7:14): “On a...
The ancient rabbis certainly thought so when reflecting on the history of Israel. Vayikra Rabbah, a midrash – a collection of rabbinic teachings – on the Book of Leviticus, explore...
We often think of life itself, perhaps, or the beauty of nature. But according to Jewish tradition, some gifts are so profound, so foundational, that they shape our very existence....
Our sages, zichronam livracha, may their memory be a blessing, were extremely careful to distance themselves from any notion that the Almighty needed His creations or relied on the...
It’s a question that's occupied mystics for centuries, and one that leads us into some pretty fascinating corners of Kabbalah. , shall we? We begin with the words of Moses himself,...
Seems a little... roundabout, doesn't it? That’s exactly the kind of thing that got the Rabbis thinking, and us too! What’s really going on behind those words? Why not just say, "H...
It’s a question that’s nagged at theologians and storytellers for centuries. Why does Moses, in the book of Genesis, specifically call out the serpent as being the craftiest of the...
Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher who lived in Egypt during the Roman era, did just that. He delved deep into the Torah, seeking hidden wisdom and allegorical interpretatio...
It’s a question that's captivated humanity for millennia, and the answers are as varied as the stars in the sky. Today, we're diving into a fascinating corner of this exploration, ...
Take the writings attributed to Philo of Alexandria, for example. Now, there’s some debate about whether these are actually from Philo himself, but the collection known as “The Mid...
What is written prior to the episode in which Moses was keeping the flock? Many things are designated for certain purposes even before they are introduced into the world.14This is ...
Another comment upon the verse And the Lord said to Aaron: “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses” (Exod. 4:27). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: O that thou wer...
And the Lord spoke unto Moses (Exod. 7:19). Scripture says elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Surely oppression turneth a wise man into a fool; and a gift destroyeth the understa...
And the Lord said unto Moses: “See, I have set thee in God’s stead to Pharaoh” (Exod. 7:1). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Lift up your heads, O ye gates, an...
See, I have set thee in God’s stead to Pharaoh (Exod. 7:1). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: The wicked Pharaoh boasts that he is a god. Make him realize that he is an i...
When Pharaoh shall speak unto you (Exod. 7:9). Scripture states (elsewhere in reference to this verse): Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are...
And the Lord said unto Moses: “Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh from the water” (Exod. 8:16). Why did Pharaoh go to the waters early in the mor...
And the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying (Exod. 12:1). Is it not a fact that He spoke only to Moses? Why, then, does the Scripture say unto Moses and Aa...
And it came to pass in the middle of the night, that the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt (Exod. 12:29). The Creator of the night divided the night precisely. The ...
And Moses took the bones of Joseph (Exod. 13:19). How did Moses know where Joseph’s grave was to be found? They say that only Serah the daughter of Asher had survived from that gen...
And you see horse and chariot (Deuteronomy 20:1): And it is stated (Exodus 15:19), "For when the horse of Pharaoh." And why did it not state, "horses and riders?" Rather [it is] be...
Jewish tradition is full of stories that suggest it does. And one of the most fascinating, and perhaps surprising, examples comes from the story of the Rechabites. These weren't Is...
The Mekhilta draws a precise set of parallels between the Egyptian oppression of Israel and the punishment that God inflicted at the Red Sea, showing that every detail of the destr...
The Israelites, fresh out of Egypt and wandering in the desert, definitely knew that feeling. We find ourselves in Bamidbar (Numbers), specifically chapter 11, verse 18. The people...
Like you’re sitting there, head spinning, wondering, “What did I even DO?” Well, the Torah, in its infinite wisdom, actually gives us some pretty clear guidance on this very issue....
The place was called Shittim, and the Targum explains the name: it derives from shetutha, meaning foolishness and depravity. The Targum's version of (Numbers 25) describes Moabite ...
Chapter 9 They [the Israelites]--the entire congregation--came to the wilderness of Tzin in the first month, and the nation settled there, and Miriam died there and was buried ther...
The sages would not allow a girl to do as she wanted or to expose herself before the man, who had become lovesick and very ill in consequence. Licentiousness was not to be encourag...
He commanded them, saying; “Thus shall you say unto my lord Esau” (Gen. 32:5). R. Judah the son of Simon began the discussion with the verse: As a troubled fountain, and a corrupte...
(Numb. 20:23-24:) “Then the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron on Mount Hor […], ‘Aaron will be gathered113Although this verb is commonly understood as a jussive, LET AARON BE GAT...
(Numb. 25:7:) “When Phinehas [ben Eleazar ben Aaron the priest] saw.” But did they all not see it?100Numb. R. 20:25. And is it not written (in vs. 6), “before the eyes of Moses and...
The Temple Scroll does something no other Dead Sea Scroll attempts—it rewrites biblical law. And one of its most striking revisions concerns the Israelite king. (Deuteronomy 17:14-...
Near the end of the Thanksgiving Hymns collection comes a poem that captures the theology of the Qumran community in its purest form. The speaker—whether the Teacher of Righteousne...
The climax of the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice arrives in the twelfth and thirteenth songs, when the text finally reaches the inner sanctum of the heavenly Temple—and encounters ...
When the voice stopped speaking, Abraham looked in every direction. No one. No breath of a man anywhere. His spirit was seized with terror. His soul fled from him. He became like a...
