3,050 related texts · Page 11 of 64
“On each day, Mordekhai would walk before the courtyard of the harem, to find out how Esther was, and what would be done with her” (Esther 2:11). “On each day, Mordekhai would walk...
And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord (Exod. 4:29). Moses began to reveal to him everything that the Holy One, blessed be He, had told him, and that he was to go perform t...
(Numb. 35:11:) “Where a killer may flee who has taken a life by mistake.” “By mistake,” and not on purpose. If someone goes and kills on purpose, then says, “It was by mistake that...
Everything has a purpose. And that purpose has a purpose of its own, each one higher than the last. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov uses this insight to explain why you must judge every p...
The Romans wrapped Rabbi Chanina ben Teradion in a Torah scroll, piled bundles of vine branches around him, and set him on fire. To prolong his agony, they placed wet wool over his...
These are the ten questions that Rabbi Eliezer asked regarding the resurrection of the dead: The first one is - will God resurrect some of Israel or all of them? The answer is that...
That feeling, that raw, unfair sting, is at the heart of the story of Jacob and Esau, and the stolen blessing. The scene is set: Isaac, now old and with failing eyesight, calls for...
That’s the heart of the message we find in the Book of Ben Sira, a treasure trove of Jewish wisdom literature written in Hebrew sometime in the Second Temple period. to a few verse...
Ben Sira, a sage writing around the 2nd century BCE, offers us some timeless wisdom on how to do just that. His words, preserved in the book of Sirach (also known as Ecclesiasticus...
That’s the feeling I get when I read this small passage from the Book of Ben Sira. It's a book of wisdom literature, a mussar sefer if you will, offering ethical teachings from a s...
Not just any David, but the David. The shepherd boy who became a king, the poet who penned psalms that still resonate today. Ben Sira, in chapter 47, paints a vibrant portrait of t...
We’re going to dive into a passage from Ben Sira, a book of wisdom literature, that grapples with just that, focusing on none other than King Solomon. The passage isn’t exactly fla...
The passage we’re looking at today comes from chapter 6, and it's all about Noah and the flood. But it's not just a retelling of the familiar story. It's about marking time, about ...
We're diving into Sefer haYovelim, the Book of Jubilees, a text considered scripture by some, and a fascinating piece of Jewish history by all. Today, we're looking at chapter 13. ...
There's a whole world of fascinating Jewish texts just beyond the familiar narratives, filled with incredible details and alternative perspectives. Today, let's dip into one of tho...
We're talking about Abraham, and his son, Isaac. Specifically, when Isaac was weaned. Now, weaning might not seem like cause for a huge shindig today, but in ancient times, it was ...
That feeling, that connection, is at the heart of this passage from the Book of Jubilees. Jubilees, for those unfamiliar, is an ancient Jewish text that retells the stories of Gene...
But when you're talking about someone like Abraham, the father of monotheism, the grief takes on a whole new dimension. Let's turn to the Book of Jubilees, an ancient Jewish text t...
That feeling echoes through the lives of our ancestors, too, especially in the complicated family dynamics of Jacob. Today, let's dip into the Book of Jubilees, a fascinating, thou...
Our tale begins in the Book of Jubilees, a text that expands on the stories we find in Genesis. It's a fascinating, sometimes controversial, work that offers a unique perspective o...
The scene is set: the seven kings of the Amorites—ancient inhabitants of Canaan—are plotting against Jacob and his sons. They're lurking, hiding under trees, with less than noble i...
Like they got all the breaks, all the blessings, and you're just... there? That feeling, that raw, exposed nerve of sibling rivalry, it's ancient. And it echoes through the ages, e...
It expands on stories we already know from the Torah, filling in details and offering new perspectives. Here, we're looking at Chapter 37, and the drama is thick with sibling rival...
The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text considered canonical by some but excluded from the Hebrew Bible as we know it, gives us glimpses into that world. It’s a retelling of Genes...
The passage throws us right into a scene of political defiance. Nebuchadnezzar, feeling his power, sends out ambassadors, expecting everyone to fall in line. But the nations around...
That feeling is at the heart of the Book of Judith, a story of courage and faith that continues to resonate. We pick up our narrative with Holofernes, the general of the Assyrian a...
That’s the kind of pressure the people of Bethulia were under in the Book of Judith. Chapter 7 opens with a powerful display of faith. The people, facing impossible odds against th...
And in chapter 7, the pressure really starts to mount. Remember Holofernes? The arrogant general of the Assyrian army? He’s been laying siege to the city of Bethulia, and he's list...
The people of Bethulia certainly did. Their city was under siege, their water supply dwindling, and their morale...well, let's just say it wasn't great. But in the midst of this de...
The Book of Judith, a story nestled within the Apocrypha, is a whirlwind of bravery, faith, and a woman who's definitely not afraid to take matters into her own hands. We pick up t...
We’re in chapter 12 of the Book of Judith, and things are getting… interesting. Holofernes, captivated by Judith’s beauty and apparent wisdom, lays out a proposition. "And now you ...
Can't you feel the tension in the air? The Assyrian army, led by the fearsome Holofernes, has besieged the Jewish city of Bethulia. Hopelessness hangs heavy. But within the city wa...
Remember, Tobit, a righteous man living in exile in Nineveh, had been blinded. His misfortune leads to a painful exchange with his wife, Hannah. It all starts when Tobit, thinking ...
That's the backdrop to our story today, a story of liberation, wisdom, and a little bit of royal generosity. We're diving into the Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating text that purpo...
And it all starts with a letter. The Letter of Aristeas, as it's known, recounts the tale of how the Torah—the first five books of Moses—came to be translated into Greek. Now, the ...
Specifically, the Letter of Aristeas. This isn't a letter in the Bible, but a letter about the Bible – or rather, about its translation into Greek, which became known as the Septua...
Our story comes to us from the Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating historical text. Think of it as a first-hand account – or at least, a very cleverly written piece of ancient PR – d...
The Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating text attributed to an official in the court of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-247 BCE), gives us a glimpse into just such a scene. It describes,...
We're talking about a place that seemingly had it all. But here's the thing: All that prosperity attracted people from the countryside. Farmers, laborers, folks who knew the land. ...
It might surprise you. The Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating document from around the 2nd century BCE, gives us a glimpse into the mind of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the Greek ruler ...
This ancient text, purporting to be a letter from Aristeas, an official in Ptolemy's court, describes the remarkable story of how the Septuagint – the Greek translation of the Hebr...
Turns out, this question has been on people's minds for centuries. Let’s peek into the court of a king—specifically, a moment captured in the Letter of Aristeas. This ancient text,...
I'm talking about the Letter of Aristeas. It's an incredible text that purports to describe how the Septuagint, that famous Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, came to be. But t...
The ancient world wrestled with these questions too, and sometimes, we find their wisdom tucked away in unexpected places. Take the Letter of Aristeas, for example. It’s not exactl...
The story goes that a king, impressed by the wisdom of certain individuals, posed a crucial question: How could he possibly identify those who might be dealing treacherously with h...
The Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating ancient text, gives us a glimpse into that very question. Imagine being a king, surrounded by advisors, each vying for your attention. But ins...
The Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating ancient text, gives us some clues. It recounts the story of how the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek – the Septuagint – but tucked away ...
The Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating ancient text, gives us a glimpse into this very question through a series of dialogues at a royal banquet. Imagine being a fly on the wall, li...
