3,050 related texts · Page 6 of 64
We know he gazed out at the promised land, the land he would never enter. But was that all? Jewish tradition paints a far more vivid and dramatic picture. The Sifrei Devarim, an an...
The Hebrew Bible tells us God remembered Sarah and she bore a son. The ancient Aramaic translators wanted to know more. They added a detail the Torah left out: God performed a mira...
The Targum Jonathan on (Deuteronomy 13) confronts one of the most dangerous problems in ancient Israelite religion: the prophet whose miracles actually work. The Hebrew text warns ...
"And a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets": This midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) is based on the verse, "And a certain woman of the wives of the sons...
Hiram, king of Tyre made seven artificial heavens placed on pillars of iron, first of glass, sun, moon and stars. Second of iron, with a lake of water in it; third of tin with prec...
The story of the false prophets Ahab ben Kolaya and Zidkia b. Maaseya. They went to the daughter of Nebuchad- nezar and by false prophecies tried to induce her to sin, The king kno...
King Solomon was an excellent chess player. He played with Benaya his general and always won. Once a noise in the street drew Solomon to the window. Benaya took a piece from the bo...
A man once caught stealing was ordered by the king to be hanged. On the way to the gallows he said to the governor that he knew a wonderful secret and it would be a pity to allow i...
Hiram, king of Tyre, was one of the most audacious men in all of scripture. God had given him wealth, beauty, and a lifespan that stretched across centuries — some sages say he liv...
Rabbi Beroka was walking through the marketplace with the prophet Elijah — who appeared to him in disguise, as he often did to the great sages — when Beroka asked a question that b...
We often think of it as pure power-grabbing, but the ancient texts suggest a more nuanced, almost heartbreaking, story of ambition, family, and perceived injustice. The Book of Num...
Our tradition has some fascinating things to say about that, especially when it comes to warfare and justice. to a curious little passage from Bamidbar Rabbah 19, which elaborates ...
According to the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), not at all. It's a question that comes to the fore when we delve into Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically chapter 20. The pas...
It's all about Bilam, the non-Jewish prophet, and his less-than-holy intentions. The story kicks off with God approaching Bilam and asking, "Who are these men with you?" (Numbers 2...
The scene opens with Balak, the king of Moab, terrified by the Israelites. He’s hired Bilam, a non-Jewish prophet known for the power of his blessings and curses, to, well, curse I...
God Himself steps in to clarify Pinḥas's lineage. But why now? What did God see that prompted this? The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Bamidbar Rabbah 21,...
The Torah is full of it, if we know where to look. Sometimes, the lessons we need aren't found in grand pronouncements, but in the behavior of animals. Bamidbar Rabbah 23, a sectio...
The ancient rabbis certainly thought it was possible. to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a classical collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, spec...
The ancient Rabbis certainly noticed it. They saw it woven into the very fabric of the Torah, these moments where authority seems to… loosen. Our story today comes from Bereshit Ra...
We often think of grand things – governments, economies, armies – but what if the foundations are more subtle, more... human? Our story today takes us into the heart of Jewish law,...
Jewish tradition certainly thinks so, especially when it comes to leadership and justice. The book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, is rich with instructions for how to live a righteous li...
It starts with a small city, a vulnerable one. “There was a small city,” the text says, and the rabbis interpret this city as none other than Egypt. “And few men in it” – these, re...
Kohelet Rabbah, the rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, offers a powerful image of what a synagogue, and the community within it, truly represents. It begins with the verse, "a sm...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, as it's known in Hebrew, grapples with this very feeling. "I said: Wisdom is better than courage, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, ...
It's easy to picture the pyramids, the scorching sun, and the relentless labor. But what about the small acts of defiance, the glimmers of hope that hinted at a future redemption? ...
Take this one from the Song of Songs, or Shir HaShirim: "Your hair is like a flock of goats" (Song of Songs 4:1). Goats? Hair? What’s that all about? Well, Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a ...
The text begins with a beautiful analogy, connecting the "vineyard" mentioned in Song of Songs to the Sanhedrin, the ancient Jewish high court. Why a vineyard? Because, as we learn...
Sometimes, a single verse can unlock a whole new world of understanding, linking tales and teachings in unexpected ways. to one of those connections, found in Vayikra Rabbah (Levit...
“When King [Aḥashverosh] was sitting [keshevet hamelekh].” Rabbi Yitzḥak said: The nations of the world do not sit securely. They objected: Is it not written: “When King [Aḥashvero...
“Who viewed the face of the king” – there were two families [who had permission] to appear before Rabbi Yehuda haNasi; that of Rabbi Hoshaya, and that of the household of Rabbi Yeh...
“Memukhan said before the king and the princes: It is not against the king alone that Vashti the queen has sinned; rather, it is against all the princes and all the peoples who are...
The text we're looking at grapples with just that. It starts with a pretty bold statement: the wisdom of even the greatest Kabbalists – masters of the mystical tradition of Kabbala...
It goes deep, friends. Really deep. We're talking about a system where, as the esteemed Kabbalist, the master of the Chamber of Blessing, of blessed memory, tells us, the court has...
Judges and officials (Deuteronomy 16:18): The judges need to be men of strength through good deeds. As this is what Moshe did: "And Moshe chose men of valor" (Exodus 18:25), in Tor...
Appoint for yourselves [in all of your gates] (Deuteronomy 16:18) You should appoint judges in all the gates; as courts convene twice a week in the cities, on Monday and on Thursda...
(Deut. 16:19:) “You shall not turn aside justice; you shall not show partiality.” [Here is] a warning for the prince not to place one suited to be low, high; and one suited to be h...
(Deut. 16:19, cont.:) “You shall not take a bribe.” When the judge sets his heart on a bribe, he becomes blind to justice and he is unable to judge [a case] honestly. R. Eliezer sa...
Another interpretation: "As these nations that you are about to dispossess, etc. but you not like this to you" (Deuteronomy 18:14). It is speaking about Avraham, as he saw through ...
When you go out to war and you see horse and chariot, a people more numerous than you (Deuteronomy 20:1): This is what is stated in the verse (Proverbs 21:31), "The horse is readie...
O my dove, in the cranny of the rocks (Song of Songs 2:14): This is that which is stated in the verse (Psalms 18:3), "The Lord is my rock and my fortress." Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat s...
When you go out to war, etc. (Deuteronomy 20:1): What is written above the matter? "And the judges shall make a thorough investigation" (Deuteronomy 19:18). From when the judges ex...
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...
You shall offer it terms of peace (Deuteronomy 20:10): Rabbi Levi said, "Moshe did three things and the Holy One, blessed be He, agreed with him. And these are them: It is written ...
"For the pool of passion is sin, and its spring will pour out filth." Ouch. It's not subtle, is it? Ben Sira uses the metaphor of a pool fed by a polluted spring to illustrate how ...
This tale, found in the book of Ben Sira (Sirach), one of the Deuterocanonical books, really brings home the power of faith and righteous action in the face of overwhelming odds. I...
The Book of Tobit, a beautiful and often overlooked story from the Apocrypha, tells of a righteous man living in exile in Nineveh. He's committed to burying the dead, a sacred act ...
It wasn't just about function; it was about honoring something bigger than themselves. Take, for instance, the description we find in the Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating text tha...
You might be surprised. It wasn't always about conquering new lands and building bigger empires. Sometimes, it was about something surprisingly… human. The Letter of Aristeas, a fa...
