1,715 related texts · Page 17 of 36
"Do that your nakedness not be revealed upon it": Upon it (the altar) you may not take broad strides, but you may in the sanctuary and in the holy of holies. For it would follow (o...
"Covenant" is written of Israel, viz. (Genesis 17:13) "And My covenant (i.e., circumcision) shall be in your flesh." And it is also written of strangers, viz. (Isaiah 56:4) "and th...
(Exodus 22:28) "Your fullness and your dema (terumah) you shall not delay": "Your fullness"—bikkurim (first-fruits, which are taken from fully ripened grain). "you shall not delay"...
"They shall not appear before Me empty-handed" — the Torah requires that the pilgrims who come to the Temple on the three festivals must bring something. But what? The Mekhilta say...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael records a sharp legal debate about the prohibition against cooking meat and milk together. The rabbis use a technique called kal va-chomer — reasoning...
The story I want to share with you comes from the Talmud and it’s about Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha, the High Priest, and a truly extraordinary encounter. Imagine this: Rabbi Ishmael ...
Jewish tradition has a powerful way of describing this feeling: the wandering of the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence). The Shekhinah, often translated as "divine presence," is under...
It's a powerful, heartbreaking moment in our history. But what if I told you that in their darkest hour, God chose to share their pain, to literally go into exile with them? There'...
Specifically, the scapegoat for Azazel. The book of Leviticus (16:5-10) describes a fascinating, and frankly bizarre, ritual performed by Aaron, the High Priest, on Yom Kippur, the...
It all comes down to water… and a really old cavern. Let's journey back to the time when the Temple in Jerusalem stood in all its glory. During Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, a ...
For forty long years, as they wandered, they had a constant companion: a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. The Torah tells us, in (Exodus 13:21), "And Yahweh w...
(Proverbs 23:5) speaks to this feeling, saying, "When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings." But what does this really mean? One fascinating...
We often picture them as these serene, obedient beings, but some ancient texts paint a different picture. A picture where angels actually… argue with God. That's exactly what we fi...
That’s a question that echoes through the ages, a yearning found right at the beginning of Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms. It begins with t...
And down below? The Israelites, impatient, scared, and feeling abandoned, decide to build themselves a new god – a golden calf. Talk about a betrayal. The Midrash (rabbinic interpr...
It’s a question that’s occupied thinkers for millennia, and Midrash Tehillim – a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms – offers some fascinating insights. To...
just one example, straight from Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic commentaries on the Book of Psalms. We're diving into Psalm 76, verse 2: "His tabernacle was in Shalem, a...
The world is full of injustice, arrogance, things that make you want to scream. Does God feel that too? And if so, what does He do with it? Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbin...
Midrash Tehillim 90 dives deep into this very question, contrasting empty rituals with the power of sincere prayer, particularly through the examples of Moses, David, Jeremiah, and...
That feeling…that’s almost the heart of the story of Hallelujah. But what is Hallelujah, really? It's more than just a word; it's an expression, a moment in time. Midrash Tehillim,...
Midrash, the art of interpreting scripture, often shines a spotlight on just that: the unsung heroes and the hidden connections within the text. to a passage from Midrash Tehillim,...
Psalm 133 captures that perfectly, and the Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic commentaries on the Book of Psalms, beautifully unpacks its meaning. The psalm itself begins, ...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating ancient text, gives us a glimpse. It tells us that when He speaks westward, His voice resonates between the Cherubim – those powerful angelic ...
He wasn't just some figurehead in the ancient Israelite camp. He was a tzaddik, a righteous soul, who actively sought out harmony. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medie...
It’s a story we all know, but sometimes the details – the why behind the drama – get lost. Let’s pull back the curtain a little, shall we? The book of Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fas...
We all know the story of Cain and Abel, their offerings, and the tragic outcome. But what if there was more to it than just a simple case of sibling rivalry? Rabbi Joshua ben Ḳorch...
We often focus on the almost-sacrifice, the angel's intervention, the ram that appears in the nick of time (Genesis 22). But what became of that ram after its offering? Rabbi Chani...
The story, as we find it in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 41, is quite fascinating. God, ready to proclaim the Torah, tells Moses to go down to the Israelite camp. "Go down, charge the pe...
It wasn't exactly a quiet retreat for the Israelites down below, that's for sure! According to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of stories and interpretations, thin...
The ancient texts are full of these brushes with oblivion, and the forces, both divine and human, that intervene. to a fascinating passage from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a collection...
to a fascinating moment between Moses and the Holy One, blessed be He, from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, chapter 46. The scene is intense. The Israelites have committed the grave sin of...
But let’s zoom in on that very first encounter, the one that set the whole thing in motion. It begins with Moses and Aaron, standing before Pharaoh, delivering a message that must ...
The Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of rabbinic commentary on the Bible, in section 869 on Nach (the books of Prophets and Writings), brings up a fascinating idea about the verse "Th...
It deals with a rather specific scenario: what happens when someone steals from a convert to Judaism, a ger, and then that convert dies? The verse in question is Bamidbar 5:8: "And...
It deals with the rules surrounding a Nazir – a Nazirite. What exactly is a Nazirite? A person who takes a vow to abstain from certain things, most notably wine, cutting their hair...
It's easy to skim over those parts of the Torah, but hidden inside are fascinating insights into the heart of Jewish practice. to a small verse in Bamidbar, the Book of Numbers, an...
It's there, meticulously detailed, if you know where to look. Today, let's unpack a small but fascinating corner of it from Sifrei Bamidbar, a legal midrash on the Book of Numbers....
It describes the offerings brought by the leaders of Israel: "And the chiefs of Israel presented (their offerings)." Now, who were these chiefs? Were they just some random people a...
And it happened to King David himself, involving none other than the Ark of the Covenant. We find ourselves in Bamidbar (Numbers 7:9), where the Torah is describing the gifts given...
Sometimes, digging into the details reveals a surprisingly beautiful logic. a little puzzle from the Book of Numbers – Bamidbar – and see what we can uncover. Our focus is on the L...
The passage focuses on a seemingly redundant verse, Bamidbar (Numbers) 9:4: "And Moses spoke to the children of Israel to offer the Pesach (Passover)" – the Passover sacrifice. The...
Our ancestors certainly did. Today we're diving into a fascinating story from Sifrei Bamidbar, a legal commentary on the Book of Numbers, that grapples with just that feeling of ex...
Our little puzzle comes from Sifrei Bamidbar 73, focusing on a seemingly minor detail in the book of Numbers (Bamidbar). It's about the trumpets, the chatzotzrot, and who gathers w...
The verse states, "And the sons of Aaron the Cohanim (priests) shall blow on the trumpets." Now, the Sifrei Bamidbar, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Numbers, ...
Our jumping-off point is a verse from Numbers (Bamidbar) 10:10: "And on the day of your rejoicing and on your appointed times you shall sound the trumpets." Seems straightforward. ...
This week, we're diving into a tiny, but potent, moment in the book of Bamidbar (Numbers), specifically chapter 12, verse 2, where we get a glimpse into the simmering frustrations ...
The passage opens with a rather startling image: "And the L-rd said suddenly." R. Shimon b. Menassia points out that Moses himself was frightened by the word "suddenly" earlier in ...
Take the mitzvah of challah, the portion of dough we separate as an offering. We find it in Bamidbar, the Book of Numbers, chapter 15. But a close look at verses 20 and 21 reveals ...
