3,050 related texts · Page 53 of 64
The Book of Deuteronomy, Sefer Devarim, explores just that. In (Deuteronomy 32:9), we read, "For the portion of the L-rd is His people." This verse sparks a fascinating midrash, a ...
One particularly evocative image is that of an eagle, caring for its young. This imagery appears in Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)...
Specifically, we're looking at the verse saying "and there will not be with him a strange god." Now, on the surface, this seems pretty straightforward: no idolatry. And one interpr...
Like maybe you're getting a little... complacent? Jewish tradition has a way of reminding us that even in times of plenty, we need to stay vigilant. There's a fascinating little pa...
The verse we're looking at is about how "your fathers had not dreaded them" (lo se'arum). Now, on the surface, that might seem straightforward. But the rabbis, with their penchant ...
Jewish tradition understands this feeling on a cosmic scale. Sifrei Devarim, a collection of teachings and interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, explores this very idea in a ...
The passage begins by referencing God bestowing the word "hacheil" upon us. The text then connects this to the first of the Ten Commandments, "I am the L-rd, your G-d" (Shemot 20:2...
It talks about being "mezei with hunger and embattled by reshef." What does that even mean? The text interprets "mezei with hunger" as being so desperately hungry that you’re pract...
The ancient text of Sifrei Devarim, a commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, uses just such a feeling to illustrate a terrifying point. The passage we're looking at grapples with t...
We read phrases like "the sword of the Lord," but... swords don't literally belong to God. And they certainly don't eat flesh! So, what's going on when we read, as we do in Sifrei ...
The book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, in the Sifrei Devarim, hints at a pretty profound and maybe unsettling answer: yes, it kind of does. The text speaks of exacting a price "for the ...
Our tradition understands that truly absorbing wisdom takes more than just passively hearing. It demands our full attention – heart, mind, and soul. The book of Devarim (Deuteronom...
The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal midrash on the book of Deuteronomy, poses a fascinating question about a seemingly simple phrase: "before his death." It appears in the co...
The ancient texts suggest a far more compelling narrative.It opens with the verse, "And he said: The L-rd came from Sinai." But the rabbis of old saw much more in those words. They...
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...
Jewish tradition has a powerful message for those moments: you are never truly alone. The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)im on the ...
The Torah tells us that God showed him "the entire land" (Deuteronomy 34:1). But what exactly does "the entire land" mean? The ancient rabbis grappled with this question, and their...
The Book of Deuteronomy, or Sifrei Devarim in Hebrew, actually delves a little deeper. It's not just a geographical overview; it's like a vision through time. Consider the verse "A...
It's not just about giving orders. There's a fascinating idea tucked away in Sifrei Devarim that illuminates this. It says, regarding the Israelites following Moses's command, "and...
Bileam tried one last trick before delivering his final oracle. According to the Targum's version of (Numbers 24), he "set his face toward the wilderness, to recall to memory the w...
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...
When will the Messiah come? According to Sanhedrin 97a, the Talmud presents a seven-year countdown—and then immediately undermines it. The Sages taught: in the Sabbatical cycle dur...
The Talmud in Sanhedrin 98b records a startling range of opinions about the suffering that will precede the Messiah—and whether it can be avoided. Rabbi Elazar's students asked him...
Rabbi Simlai made one of the most ambitious claims in the entire Talmud. He said: 613 commandments were given to Moses at Sinai—365 prohibitions corresponding to the days of the so...
Jacob's deathbed blessings (Genesis 49) are among the most obscure passages in the Torah. Targum Onkelos does not merely translate them—he decodes them, turning cryptic poetry into...
The Hebrew Bible records Moses making the most audacious request in Scripture: "Show me Your glory" (Exodus 33:18). Targum Onkelos renders the response with his most careful theolo...
The Hebrew Bible commands: "Hear, O Israel! God is our Lord, God is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4). Targum Onkelos translates the Shema—Judaism's central declaration of faith—with perfect ...
As I live, declares the Lord God, I will reign over you with a strong hand, etc., and with overflowing fury: It is taught—we do not have less than ten [verses about God's] kingship...
And he will be like a planted tree: Rabbi Yose expounded, "To what is the matter similar? To a man that was walking in an arid land and his soul was dismayed with thirst. He [then]...
3 The Staff of Your Strength G-d shall send forth from Zion. Which staff is this? This is the staff of Jacob about which it is said: "Because with my staff I crossed this Jordan." ...
When Israel went out of Egypt, Moses said ‘the mountains skipped like rams’(Psalms 114:4); And when Israel went out of Jerusalem, Jeremiah said 'I look at the mountains, they are q...
On the last day of his life, Moses did something no prophet had ever done — he dressed his successor in public, with his own hands. He commanded that a golden throne be brought, al...
Pirkei Avot, also known as "Ethics of the Fathers," is one of the most widely studied texts in all of Jewish literature — and one of the most unusual tractates in the Talmud. Unlik...
Idra Raba and Idra Zuta: Two compilations from the Zohar, the first in the portion of Naso and the second in the portion of Ha'azinu. The term "Idra" in Greek means a gathering or ...
Story of Eldad the Danite, Narrative B In the name of the LORD God of Israel, blessed be His name, of our God the King, King of kings, Who chose Israel from among all nations and g...
"Book of Trust": This book is attributed to Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira. Rabbi Hai Gaon (a renowned Jewish sage) mentioned it in his book "The Unity", and it was also referenced by th...
"Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) Vayisu": It is based on the verse "They journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were around them, and they did not pur...
The deeds of Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi [from the Sefer Ma'asiot of Rabbi Nissim Ga'on; Beit Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)] Rabbi Joshua ben Levi discovered something so ...
Legend from "Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) Eicha Rabati" [From "Beit Akeid Haggadot" Part 1, 37] God said to Jeremiah, "Go to Anathoth," for as long as Jeremiah was in...
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...
We are taught that R. Jose says: "once upon a time I was walking on a road and I entered one of the ruins of Jerusalem to pray. Elijah, blessed be his memory! came and watched me a...
Furthermore, said R. Levi b. Chama, in the name of Resh Lakish : "What is meant by the passage (Ex. 24:12) And I will give thee the tablets of stone, with the law and the Commandme...
Rabbi Akiba laughed when everyone else wept — and his laughter changed the course of Jewish faith. The first time was in Rome. Rabbi Akiba and his colleagues walked through the str...
The death of Rabbi Eliezer the Great was one of the most poignant moments in the entire Talmud. The sage who had been excommunicated by his own colleagues — placed under a ban beca...
Moses stood apart from every other prophet who ever lived. The rabbis taught that while other prophets saw God through clouded glass, Moses alone saw through a clear lens — an unob...
A young boy discovered that he could understand the language of birds. When sparrows chattered on the rooftops, he heard gossip. When ravens called from the treetops, he heard warn...
Plural word of unknown derivation used in the Hebrew Bible to denote the primitive Semitic house-gods whose cult had been handed down to historical times from the earlier period of...
Leah was hated — or unloved, depending on the translation, but the Hebrew is harsh — and God saw it (Genesis 29:31). This is where Aggadat Bereshit begins: with the divine attentio...
