1,715 related texts · Page 31 of 36
This midrash, a kind of interpretive commentary, opens by linking David's words in Psalm 145 – "I will exalt you, my God the King" – to the prophet Isaiah's similar declaration in ...
The ancient text Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of stories and interpretations, suggests that there just might be. The text draws our attention to the fifth day. ...
It feels like the Bible just breezes through it: animals, done! But, of course, there's so much more to the story when you start digging. Imagine the scene. According to Pirkei DeR...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, an early collection of Biblical stories and interpretations, gives us a glimpse. It paints a picture of a God deeply invested in the well-being of this new ...
What do you do? Where do you turn? According to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval text, the sages responded with a beautiful, practical solution. They decreed th...
The Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of stories and interpretations from the early Middle Ages, gives us a glimpse. It tells us that Isaac was thirty-seven years ol...
We're talking about Abraham and Isaac on their journey to Mount Moriah, a story that echoes through millennia and still has the power to shake us. The scene is stark. Abraham, havi...
We read about the Akeidah, the Binding of Isaac, every year, but the details… they can be truly chilling. One of the most striking accounts comes from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fas...
Tonight, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, specifically chapter 35, that does just that. It centers on Jacob, later known as Israel, and a pivota...
We all know the story of the Exodus, of course. Moses, the pillar of cloud, the parting waters… But who was brave enough to actually take the first step into the unknown? According...
We all know it's a time of intense reflection, fasting, and prayer. But according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval text, there's a cosmic drama unfolding alo...
The story starts, as so many do, with a commandment. God tells Saul, the first king of Israel, to utterly destroy Amalek. Wipe them out. Erase their memory from under heaven. A pre...
The story comes from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating and often imaginative collection of midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic stories. The scene opens with messengers...
Sometimes, it springs from the most unexpected places. Take the story of Deborah, the prophetess and judge in the Book of Judges. We all know she led Israel to victory, but have yo...
The prophet Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) pulls no punches. He declares, in Yirmiyahu 32:31, that Jerusalem has aroused God's anger and wrath "since the day they built it until this day, to...
That feeling isn’t new. In fact, there's a beautiful passage in the Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 499 that speaks directly to this. It uses the image of extinguished candles to describe t...
Sometimes, the clues are hidden in plain sight, tucked away in unexpected places. Let's take a peek into the Yalkut Shimoni, a vast collection of rabbinic commentary on the Bible, ...
The Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of rabbinic teachings on the Bible, sheds light on this very question, drawing from (Psalm 87:1-2): "Of the sons of Korah, a song with musical acc...
It's more than just a nice sentiment. It's absolutely fundamental. In fact, Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin, quoting Rabbi Levi, makes a powerful statement: "Great is peace, for all bles...
As it says in the Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 788, "Do not deceive the land." Now, this might sound strange. How can we deceive the land? One interpretation offered is a straightforwar...
The passage begins with God speaking to Moses, commanding him to instruct the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone afflicted with tzara'at (often translated as leprosy, tho...
The verse in question comes from (Leviticus 17:15): "And every soul that eats neveilah (carcass) or treifah (what is "torn")… he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water…” Okay, p...
Today, we’re going to explore just a tiny piece of that world, focusing on a passage from Sifrei Bamidbar, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Numbers (Bamidbar in...
The bits that make you scratch your head and think, "Wait, what was that all about?" Well, today we're diving headfirst into one of those fascinatingly strange passages: the case o...
We find ourselves in the Book of Numbers, Sifrei Bamidbar, chapter 5, wrestling with the nuances of this ritual. Let's unpack it. Bamidbar 5:25 tells us, "And the Cohein shall take...
It wasn’t always straightforward. Sometimes, they engaged in incredibly intricate, almost mind-bending debates, using logic, analogy, and even divine revelation to arrive at their ...
The Torah tells us in Bamidbar (Numbers) 6:21, "This is the law of the Nazirite." Now, the Nazirite, or Nazir (נזיר), is someone who takes a special vow to abstain from wine, cut t...
Seems like a prime opportunity for spiritual growth. But Sifrei Bamidbar, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Numbers, pulls no punches. It points out a rather gla...
Jewish tradition understands that feeling, and, in a way, provides a "second chance" in the form of Pesach (Passover) Sheni. But what exactly is Pesach Sheni, the "Second Passover"...
It's fascinating to dig into the details and see what we can uncover. one small corner of that world, focusing on the rules around nesachim, or libations – the pouring out of wine ...
It’s a question that’s been wrestled with for centuries, and the answers are surprisingly nuanced. Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Sifrei Bamidbar, a collection...
It’s a fascinating topic, and today we're diving into a passage from Sifrei Bamidbar, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Numbers, that sheds light on just that. T...
It all starts with the verse, "All that opens the womb of all flesh" (Numbers 18:15). Right away, the text asks a crucial question: does this include animals? The answer, as often ...
That’s the fascinating idea we find in the book of Numbers, Bamidbar, specifically in verse 18:20. It says, "And the L-rd said to Aaron: In their land you will not inherit, and you...
In the Book of Bamidbar (Numbers 19:1-2), we read: "And the L-rd spoke to Aaron and to Moses saying: This is the statute of the Torah, which the L-rd has commanded, saying: Speak t...
The ancient rabbis grappled with this too, especially when it came to ritual purity. What happens when someone becomes ritually impure and doesn't take the necessary steps to purif...
This verse speaks of Phinehas (Pinchas), the grandson of Aaron, and the covenant G-d makes with him. It’s a verse packed with meaning, a testament to the enduring power of zealotry...
It all boils down to a delicate balance, a dance between the sacred and the serene. to a seemingly simple verse in Bamidbar, the Book of Numbers, to unpack this very idea. The vers...
The Torah tells us, "And in the beginnings of your months, you shall offer a burnt-offering to the L-rd" (Bamidbar 28:11). But what exactly is the purpose of this specific instruct...
We're looking at Bamidbar (Numbers) 28:14, which deals with the musaf offering, the "additional" offering brought on special days like the New Moon, Rosh Chodesh. The verse states,...
According to Bamidbar (Numbers) 28:31, “Unblemished shall they be for you, and their libations.” This isn’t just about offering something; it's about offering the best. The text dr...
The word atzeret (עצרת) appears in Bamidbar, or the Book of Numbers (29:35), in the context of Shmini Atzeret, the "eighth day" that follows the seven days of Sukkot, the Festival ...
But sometimes, digging into those nitty-gritty bits reveals surprising insights about how our ancestors thought about connecting with the Divine. Let's take a peek into a passage f...
It turns out, that idea is deeply rooted in Jewish tradition, as we find in Sifrei Bamidbar, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Numbers. Specifically, we're looki...
It's not just about the individual, but about the very land we inhabit. to a passage from Sifrei Bamidbar, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Numbers. It tackles ...
The ancient rabbis pondered this very human feeling, but they turned it on its head. What if, even in our darkest moments, in our deepest exiles, we are never truly alone? What if ...
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, a towering figure in Jewish mysticism, offers a stunning vision. He takes a verse from Psalms (16:11) – "sated (sova) with joys in Your presence" – and giv...
It offers a variant reading of a phrase, switching out "rav lach" (enough for you) with "harbeh lach" (there is much owing you). The text then suggests this is like telling a neigh...
