3,813 related texts · Page 65 of 80
Our ancestors felt that way about the land itself. But how did they express that gratitude, and what were the specific rules around it? Today, we're diving into the ancient mitzvah...
They saw layers of connection, echoes of stories past, and whispers of divine intent in every word. Take, for instance, a passage from Sifrei Devarim, a legal midrash on the Book o...
We know he wasn't destined to cross the Jordan River, to set foot in that land flowing with milk and honey. But what did God show him in those final moments? The book of Sifrei Dev...
Genesis 40 tells a straightforward story: two prisoners dream, Joseph interprets, one lives, one dies. The Targum Jonathan transforms this episode into a prophetic vision of Israel...
Targum Jonathan takes the story of Jacob's settlement in Egypt and layers it with theological details the Torah never mentions—including an economic revolution, a hidden act of kin...
The splitting of the Red Sea is dramatic enough in the Hebrew Bible. The Targum Jonathan on (Exodus 14) turns it into something almost mythological, adding details about the Garden...
Nadab and Abihu, the two eldest sons of Aaron, offered unauthorized incense—and died. The Hebrew Bible says fire "came out from the Lord and consumed them" (Leviticus 10:2). The Ta...
Leviticus 24 tells the story of a man who blasphemed God's Name and was stoned. The Targum Jonathan turns this brief account into a full courtroom drama with backstory, legal philo...
The principle that a dream follows its interpretation is not an abstraction. The Talmud in Berakhot 55b demonstrates it through the life of Joseph—and through a hard rule about tim...
The tribe of Asher received its inheritance in a strip of land along the northern coast of the Land of Israel, and the blessing that Moses gave them proved spectacularly true: "Let...
A pagan philosopher once came to Rabban Gamliel with a question designed to embarrass him: "Your God claims to be the ruler of all creation, the master of the heavens and the earth...
Korah's riches were legendary — and his fall was proportional to his wealth. The Talmud (Pesahim 119a, Jerusalem Talmud Sanhedrin 10:1) and Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer describe a fortun...
Companion in Paradise. Taanit, f. 21b. Maase Buch No. 39. Ben Gorion II, p. 220, 354- cf. Bousset, Der ver- borg. Heilige, Archiv. f. Relig.Wiss. col. 21, p. iff. Conde Lucanor, ch...
A star fell from heaven — and its fall marked the beginning of a corruption that would lead to the great Flood. The Midrash (Genesis Rabbah of Rabbi Moses HaDarshan, Midrash Abkhir...
Metatron is the name of an angel found only in Jewish literature. Elisha b. Abuyah, seeing this angel in the heavens, believed there were "two powers" or divinities (Hag. 15a). Whe...
We find ourselves in the Book of Numbers, Bamidbar in Hebrew, specifically in the midst of the rebellion led by Korah. Now, Korah wasn't just some random disgruntled guy; he was a ...
We find it in Numbers chapter 16, when Korah and his followers challenge Moses and Aaron's leadership. The consequences? Let's just say they were…earth-shattering. "The earth opene...
No. The text from Bereshit Rabbah 19 offers some fascinating insights into this pivotal moment in the Garden of Eden. Rabbi Yudan, quoting Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Zakkai, and Rabbi Berek...
Like everyone's shouting, "Me! Me! It's all about me!" Well, the ancient rabbis felt that too, and they captured this human tendency in a beautiful, earthy parable found in Bereshi...
Our ancestors certainly did. This week, we're diving into Bereshit Rabbah 91, a section of the great Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic collection that unpacks the Book o...
That’s the story woven into the ancient commentary on the Song of Songs, Shir HaShirim Rabbah, and it centers on a woman named Elisheva. The verse "Who is this ascending…," from (S...
And he planted a vineyard (Gen. 9:20). Noah was one of four men who introduced four things. Noah introduced planting, as it is written: And he planted a vineyard; cursing when he s...
And it came to pass after these things (Gen. 48:1). What is written previously on this subject? And the time drew near that Israel must die, and he called his son Joseph (Gen. 47:2...
Reuben, thou art My firstborn, My might and the first fruits of My strength; the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power. unstable as water, have not thou the excellency...
And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron: “This is the ordinance of the passover” (Exod. 12:43). There are chapters of the Torah in which a general statement is made at the beginning...
And Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur (Exod. 15:22). The wilderness of Shur is actually the wilderness of Kazab. They say that...
18:1). Some hear and lose (their reward), while others hear and are rewarded. Joash heard and lost (his reward), just as it is said: Then the king hearkened unto him (II Chron. 24:...
And he made the boards for the tabernacle of acacia-wood (Exod. 36:20). R. Tahlifa of Caesarea said: The Holy One, blessed be He, taught man correct behavior. If a man desired to b...
(Lev. 1:7:) “And the sons of Aaron the Priest shall put fire upon the altar, and they shall lay wood in order upon the fire.” (Tamid 2:3:) All of the trees are proper for [altar] f...
(Lev. 4:1–2:) “And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, … ‘When a soul sins [by mistake]….’” Let our master instruct us: Is it right for one to enter the Temple Mount with his staff ...
(Lev. 16:1:) “After the death of Aaron's two sons.” This text is related (to Eccl. 9:2), “Since everything [happens] to everyone, the same lot [falls] to the righteous and to the w...
(Numb. 2:2:) “Each with his standard, under the banners [for their fathers' houses….]” This text is related (to Cant. 6:10), “Who is this woman that shines through like the dawn, a...
(Numb. 16:15, cont.:) “And he said unto the Lord, ‘Pay no attention unto their meal offering.’” Do not accept them in repentance.32Numb. R. 18:10, cont. Scripture should have said,...
We often picture Moses on Mount Sinai, receiving the divine word directly from God. Forty days and forty nights of dictation. But what if I told you there's another story, a fascin...
The land was barren. A terrible famine gripped the region, forcing Abraham and Sarah to seek refuge in Egypt. They first tried Hebron, but the hunger was everywhere. So, they journ...
Our story comes from the wisdom of Ben Sira, also known as Ecclesiasticus, a book of wisdom literature. It’s part of the Jewish writings of the Second Temple period, writings that ...
Or Eliyahu, as he's known in Hebrew. He wasn't exactly known for his gentle touch. Ben Sira, in chapter 48, paints a picture of a man of intense zeal. “And he shattered their staff...
This ancient Jewish text, considered scripture by some but excluded from the standard biblical canon, paints a sweeping picture of history and destiny. And within its pages, we fin...
There's a whole world of fascinating detail in texts that didn't quite make it into the biblical canon. to one of them: the Book of Jubilees. Jubilees, sometimes called Lesser Gene...
Jubilees, for those unfamiliar, is a Jewish work of the Second Temple period. It retells the stories of Genesis and Exodus but with a unique theological slant and additional detail...
It's an ancient Jewish text, considered apocryphal by some, pseudepigraphal by others. Basically, it's an "outside book," a text that exists outside the traditionally accepted bibl...
Jubilees, for those unfamiliar, is an ancient Jewish text that retells the stories from Genesis and Exodus, but with some… shall we say, interesting additions. It's considered pseu...
The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text considered apocryphal by some, offers a peek behind the curtain. It presents itself as a revelation given to Moses on Mount Sinai by angels...
The scene is set. God is speaking, promising judgement upon the nation that will enslave Abraham's descendants. But it doesn’t end there. There’s a promise of liberation, a return ...
The Book of Jubilees, for those who aren't familiar, is an ancient Jewish text, considered part of the biblical apocrypha or pseudepigrapha – writings that hover around the edges o...
You know, the one with the coat of many colors. We often focus on his rise to power in Egypt, but let’s not forget the messy middle. The part where he's wrongly accused and finds h...
We find it in the Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text that retells and expands upon stories from Genesis. (It’s considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, by the way, ...
That tension, that feeling of unease even amidst blessing, it's woven right into the fabric of the story of Joseph and his brothers. And in the Book of Jubilees, a retelling of Gen...
