1,715 related texts · Page 19 of 36
A man was granted a wish — and what he wished for became the source of his downfall. The tale of the "Foolish Wish" is found in dozens of cultures, but the Jewish version carries a...
God is known in this world by bringing judgment upon those who need it. This is Aggadat Bereshit's uncomfortable claim: "The Lord is known for executing judgment; the wicked are en...
Today, let’s dive into one tiny, but fascinating corner of that history, exploring the origins of prayer times and blessings. Our story begins in the Book of Numbers, in Hebrew, Ba...
Specifically, Bamidbar Rabbah – a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers – gives us a vibrant picture. It tells us that each of the twelve tribes had its own uniqu...
It seems like such a simple detail, but the Torah dedicates a lot of space to describing the precise arrangement of the tribes around the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. And the Rabbis, n...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically Bamidbar Rabbah 2, which explores these very questions through the lens of ancient Israelite camp ...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically section 2, which gives us a peek into the lives of Aaron's sons, Elazar and Itamar, and their role...
It all starts with the verse, "Bring the tribe of Levi near and stand it before Aaron the priest, and they shall serve him" (Numbers 3:5–6). This is where our sages begin to unpack...
It all goes back to a fascinating swap, a divine exchange, that re-shaped the spiritual landscape of ancient Israel. We find the seeds of this story in Bamidbar Rabbah, specificall...
We're talking about the kind of details that, when you unpack them, reveal layers of meaning and connection to the very heart of Jewish tradition. to a passage from Bamidbar Rabbah...
It wasn't just about packing up a tent. It was about transporting the most sacred objects, ensuring their sanctity every step of the way. Today, we're diving into one small but fas...
It wasn't just about following instructions; it was about life and death. A fascinating passage in Bamidbar Rabbah 5 delves into the story of the sons of Kehat, whose job it was to...
Leprosy, for example, wasn't just a disease. According to some Jewish traditions, it could be a sign of something deeper, a consequence of wrongdoing. But what wrongdoing specifica...
Rabbi Yosei HaGelili, a sage known for his sharp insights, challenges us to consider just that. He points to a time when things were different for the Israelites, a time of purity ...
Take the curious case of the Sotah – the suspected adulteress – described in the Book of Numbers (Bamidbar). The verse we're focusing on comes from (Numbers 5:29): "This is the law...
We're diving into the ritual surrounding the sotah, the woman suspected of adultery. Specifically, we're looking at (Numbers 5:16-17), which details the priest's actions in this de...
to a fascinating passage from Bamidbar Rabbah 10, a midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic commentary on the Book of Numbers, specifically dealing with the laws of the nazir,...
Specifically, a nazir – a Nazirite. The passage we're looking at today comes from Bamidbar Rabbah 10, which is a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Numbers. It f...
It all starts with a verse from the Song of Songs (3:11): "Go out and gaze, daughters of Zion, at King Solomon, at the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wed...
Bamidbar Rabbah 12, a section of the classic midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic text, wrestles with this very question, using the construction of the Tabernacle – the mis...
to one of those metaphors, found in Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers. We begin with a beautiful verse from Numbers (24:5): "How goodly are...
But from that small verse, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) launches into a fascinating exploration of Judah, the tribe of lions, fiery furnaces, and ultimately, God'...
That’s exactly what happens in Bamidbar Rabbah 13, a Midrash on the Book of Numbers. It all starts with a single letter: a vav. The passage asks, "vekorban (a sacrificial offering)...
Specifically, we're looking at the offerings of Elyasaf son of Deuel, the prince of the tribe of Gad. "On the sixth day, prince of the children of Gad, Elyasaf son of Deuel" (Numbe...
It might sound like a stretch, but our sages saw profound links between generations, commandments, and even the offerings brought by the princes of Israel. The Book of Numbers, Bam...
We're diving into Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers. Specifically, we're looking at Chapter 14, which wrestles with a seemingly redundant v...
Strike a match, touch it to the wick, and boom – light. But in Jewish tradition, even something as seemingly mundane as lighting a lamp can be filled with profound meaning. Take, f...
We flip a switch and flood a room with light without a second thought. But millennia ago, kindling a flame was a precious act. So why did God command it in the Mishkan, the Taberna...
Bamidbar Rabbah, in section 15, tackles this very question, and the answers are surprisingly profound. "Toward the front of the candelabrum, the seven lamps shall illuminate," the ...
Remember him? He was the guy who led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) connects the "treacherous brother" – nifs...
In Jewish tradition, we find striking examples of this idea, particularly in the story of Korah and his rebellion against Moses and Aaron. Our story comes from Bamidbar Rabbah, a M...
Like good people suffer, and… well, you know the rest. That feeling isn't new. It’s a feeling that echoes through the ages, a question that’s been wrestled with in our texts for mi...
That's kind of what's going on in this fascinating passage from Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Numbers. The verse in question is from (Num...
"Aaron will be gathered to his people," God tells Moses, "for he will not come into the land that I have given to the children of Israel, because you defied My directive at the wat...
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...
The story hinges on a seemingly simple phrase from Deuteronomy: "Ascend to this Mount HaAvarim, Mount Nevo" (Deuteronomy 32:48–49). But the context, as Bamidbar Rabbah unfolds it, ...
We offer things up, whether it's time, effort, or, as in the ancient Israelite tradition, animal offerings. But to whom are we offering? And why? The book of Numbers, in chapter 28...
Our journey starts with a verse: "Say to them: This is the fire offering that you shall bring to the Lord: unblemished lambs in the first year, two each day, a continual burnt offe...
It's not about being stingy, but about creating a sense of progression, a journey. Believe it or not, we find a hint of this idea in the book of Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically in se...
In the ancient world, and even described in the Torah, there was a system in place to offer refuge. We're talking about the cities of refuge, places of sanctuary for those who unin...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. They grappled with questions of creation, divine presence, and the seeming paradoxes of faith. And sometimes, they used the most unexpected method...
It’s easy to imagine grand, sweeping transformations, but sometimes, the most profound miracles are about containing the uncontainable – about fitting more into less. That’s what o...
The sages of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), those brilliant interpreters of Jewish texts, grappled with this very question. In Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rab...
The story of Cain and Abel, as explored in Bereshit Rabbah, the ancient rabbinic commentary on Genesis, offers some pretty profound insights. We all know the basic story: Cain and ...
Our story begins with the verse, "This is the book of the descendants of Adam" (Genesis 5:1). But what does that really mean? Bereshit Rabbah 24 digs into this, offering some truly...
It wasn't just a knee-jerk reaction of gratitude. According to Bereshit Rabbah, the ancient midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic (interpretive) text on Genesis, there was s...
We're going to look at the story of the cities of Babel and Nineveh and what their fates reveal. Our journey starts with (Genesis 10:10): “The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, a...
It's not always the idyllic picture we might imagine. to a fascinating, and frankly, a bit uncomfortable, passage from Bereshit Rabbah 45, a Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commenta...
