3,050 related texts · Page 29 of 64
“The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she found favor and grace in his eyes more than all the virgins. He set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen in place...
“In those days, Mordekhai was sitting at the king's gate; two of the king's officials, Bigtan and Teresh, among the doorkeepers, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Aḥashv...
“After these matters, King Aḥashverosh promoted Haman son of Hamedata the Agagite, and he raised him up and set his seat above all the princes who were with him” (Esther 3:1).“Afte...
Another matter: “After these matters, King Aḥashverosh promoted Haman” – there were calculations there. Who calculated? Rabbi Yehuda said: Haman calculated. He said: If Esther is a...
“All the king's servants who were at the king's gate bowed and prostrated themselves to Haman, for so had the king commanded concerning him; and Mordekhai would not bow and would n...
“When they [the king’s servants] spoke to him [Mordekhai] daily and he did not heed them, they told Haman, to see whether Mordekhai’s words would prevail; for he had told to them t...
What did Mordekhai say to someone who would say to him: “Why are you violating the king’s command?” (Esther 3:3) Rabbi Levi said: Mordekhai would say: ‘Moses our master cautioned u...
“Haman said to King Aḥashverosh: There is one people that is scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from every peo...
Another matter: “If it pleases the king, let it be written to eliminate them” (Esther 3:9) – He [Haman] said to him [the king]: ‘You should write to give me the pen,’17Give me lice...
“The king removed his ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, son of Hamedata the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews” (Esther 3:10).“The king removed his ring from his hand and gave i...
“The king said to Haman: The silver is given to you, and the people are yours to do with them as you see fit” (Esther 3:11).“The king said to Haman: The silver [hakesef] is given t...
“The king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and it was written in accordance with everything that Haman had commanded the king’s satraps, and the go...
“The couriers went out urgently by the king’s command, and the order was issued in the Shushan citadel; the king and Haman sat to drink, and the city of Shushan was confounded” (Es...
“Esther summoned Hatakh, one of the king’s chamberlains whom he had set before her, and commanded him to go to Mordekhai to know what this is and why this is” (Esther 4:5).“Esther ...
“The king said to her: What troubles you, Queen Esther, and what is your request… Esther said: If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet… The king sa...
“That night, the king’s sleep was disturbed; he said to bring the book of records, the chronicles, and they were read before the king” (Esther 6:1). “That night, the king’s sleep w...
“The king said: Who is in the court? Haman had come into the outer court of the king's palace, to tell the king to hang Mordekhai on the gibbet that he had prepared for him” (Esthe...
“Haman entered, and the king asked him: ‘What is to be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor?’ Haman said in his heart: Whom would the king delight to honor besides myself?...
“The king said to Haman: Hurry, take the garments and the horse; as you have said, do so to Mordekhai the Jew who sits at the king’s gate. Do not omit anything that you spoke of. H...
“Mordekhai returned to the king’s gate and Haman hastened home, mourning and covering his head” (Esther 6:12). Mordekhai returned to the king’s gate; [this phrase] teaches that he ...
Mordekhai returned to the king’s gate and Haman hastened home, mourning and covering his head” (Esther 6:12) – Mourning for his daughter, and covering his head because of what had ...
“The king rose in his fury from the wine banquet to the palace garden and Haman stood to plead for his life from Esther the queen, for he saw that the king has resolved to do him h...
“And Mordekhai went out from before the king in royal dress of blue and white wool, and a great gold crown, and a robe of fine linen and purple. The city of Shushan reveled and rej...
Rabbi Ḥiya Raba and Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta were walking in the valley of Arbel and they saw the breaking of the dawn’s light. Rabbi Ḥiya Raba said to Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta: So...
The prophet Amos described a man who fled from a lion, only to be attacked by a bear, and when he finally made it home and leaned against the wall, a snake bit him (Amos 5:19). The...
Ahasuerus was a hypocrite. Not in the casual sense of the word, but in the specific, devastating way that Esther Rabbah defines it: a ruler who kills his wife for his friend, and t...
It’s a question that’s been wrestled with for centuries in Jewish tradition. What if someone says Elijah himself appeared to them? According to some, that person might be peddling ...
Tales abound of subtle changes, deliberate alterations made for reasons far deeper than simple translation. One such story, laden with intrigue and divine intervention, revolves ar...
The Zohar, that mystical cornerstone of Kabbalah, gives us a glimpse into their inner world. In Parashat Bereshit, 34a, it speaks of God’s reign in layered terms: "The Lord is King...
We read it, we move on. But what if there's a whole universe of meaning packed into those few simple words? That's where midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) comes in. Midras...
And it's a question that dances at the heart of a fascinating passage from the Midrash of Philo. Philo, a Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria in the first century CE, grappl...
And in the Midrash of Philo, we find a fascinating take on fate, divine justice, and the reasons behind catastrophic events like, say, the Flood. Philo addresses those who argue ag...
The verse in question, from (Genesis 6:13), states that "all things which existed upon the earth shall be consumed." But why? The text grapples with this apparent injustice. One ex...
The Torah tells us plainly: "Enter thou and all thy house into the ark, because I have seen that thou art a just man before me in that generation" (Genesis 7:1). But why? What made...
The question centers around a powerful promise God makes to Abraham in (Genesis 17:6): "I will greatly increase thee, and set thee among the nations, and kings shall proceed from t...
If thou lend money to any of My people (Exod. 22:24). The prophet Jeremiah said: Refuse silver shall men call them (Jer. 6:30). You find that when Israel was exiled from Jerusalem,...
(Numb. 22:2:) “Now Balak [ben Zippor] saw (rt.: r'h).” This text is related (to Deut. 32:4), “The Rock, His work is perfect, because all His ways are justice.” As the Holy One, ble...
(Numb. 34:2:) “When you come into the land.” What is written above the matter (in Numb. 33:52)? “You shall dispossess all the inhabitants of the land from before you.” This text is...
(Zech. 13:8:) “’And it shall come to pass throughout all the land,’ says the Lord, ‘that two-thirds in it shall be cut off [and] die, but one-third shall remain in it.’” This is wh...
When you approach a town to attack it, [you shall offer it terms of peace]: See how great is the power of peace; as the Holy One, blessed be He, said to open with peace even to the...
Ben Sira, in his wisdom, gives us a glimpse into their lives. He reminds us that piety and significance aren't confined to kings and prophets. "He is busied with oxen, and leadeth ...
Chapter 44, a small but potent passage, is all about remembering those figures, those powerful personalities, who shaped the world we know. "Much honored portion of the Highest, an...
It's short, but it packs a punch. “In his life he did wonders, and in his death powerful deeds.” Who are we talking about here? Ben Sira doesn't explicitly say in this chapter, but...
It's almost like a prophetic warning echoing through the ages. This book, not included in the standard Hebrew Bible but considered canonical by some, dives deep into the potential ...
The Book of Jubilees, a text not included in the canonical Hebrew Bible but cherished by some, gives us glimpses into just that. It's like peeking behind the curtain of Genesis, of...
That’s kind of the vibe as we jump back into the Book of Judith. Remember Nebuchadnezzar? Still king, still convinced of his own divine status, and still not thrilled that some nat...
That feeling, that crushing weight of despair, is exactly where we find the Israelites in the Book of Judith. The Assyrian army, a seemingly endless sea of soldiers, tents, and cha...
The situation in besieged Bethulia is dire. The young children, their faces gaunt, have lost all hope. The women and young men, weakened beyond measure, are collapsing from thirst....
