2,006 related texts · 10 related myths · Page 39 of 42
The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan opens one of the most astonishing passages in the entire exodus tradition. "Ye have seen what I did to the Mizraee; and how I bare you upon the clouds as...
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus (Exodus 23:15) sets the pilgrimage: The feast of unleavened cakes thou shalt keep. Seven days thou art to eat unleavened bread, as I have instructe...
The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 28:20) closes the breastplate's geography with the fourth row: chrysolite, onyx, and jasper, engraved with Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. The ...
Most translations of (Exodus 28:39) describe the weaving of the tunic and leave it there. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan refuses that minimalism. Each garment atones for something spec...
The Torah says God would meet Israel at the door of the Tent of Meeting. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan hears that verse and adds one carefully chosen word: Memra. Not simply, "I will meet...
The incense was not simply mixed. It was beaten. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan records the instruction: after the spices were compounded, Moses was to beat them small, ground fine. And so...
Where did the onyx stones for the high priest's ephod come from? The Torah does not say. But Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 35:27) tells one of the strangest mineral-supply stor...
The Tabernacle needed more than materials. It needed people who could work them, weave, embroider, sew, carve, cast, and then show others how to do the same. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan...
The Tabernacle project had a project manager, and his name was Bezalel. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 36:2) describes the moment Moses formally assembled the team: Mosheh calle...
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 40:8) takes a simple instruction, set up the court around the tabernacle and hang a curtain at its gate. And turns it into one of the most strikin...
There is a quiet moment in the construction of the Tabernacle that the text almost hurries past. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 40:21) captures it: Moses brought the ark into th...
(Job 23:3) is one of the rawest lines in the Hebrew Bible. "Oh that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His abode." Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Bereshit 13:1 reads this...
A man met the teacher on the road and tried to split Sinai in half. Written Torah, yes. Mishnah, no. Scripture came from God, he said, but the oral teaching did not. Tanna DeBei El...
Ahasuerus did not display ordinary treasure at his feast. He displayed the plunder of the Temple. Targum Sheni on (Esther 1:4) reads the king's "riches of his glorious kingdom" as ...
He jolted awake and said, "In truth, the Glory of the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence) dwells in this place, and I did not know it!" Then, shaken, "How awesome is this place!" (Gen....
It's a lesson in humility and the power of inner space. The Book of Numbers, Bamidbar in Hebrew, opens with the famous line: "The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai." B...
In the book of Numbers, Bamidbar, we find a census being taken. But there's a twist. "However, the tribe of Levi you shall not count" (Numbers 1:49). Why this exclusion? Bamidbar R...
It's about divine engagement. The verse that sparks this thought is from (Numbers 3:1): "And these are the generations of Aaron and Moses on the day that God spoke to Moses on Moun...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to God Settles Individuals in a House After Creation. In Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers, we find a fascinating dis...
They're not mistakes. They're breadcrumbs, little hints that something deeper is going on beneath the surface of the text. And they invite us to pause, to question, to explore the ...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to David in Heaven. "On the table of showbread they shall spread a cloth of sky-blue wool, and place upon it the bowls, and the saucers, and the supports, and...
Our story comes from Bamidbar Rabbah, a Midrash on the Book of Numbers. It focuses on a seemingly simple verse: "But do this for them, and they will live, and will not die upon the...
It was a meticulously orchestrated operation, each family of Levites having a specific, divinely appointed task. to some of the details, as revealed in Bamidbar Rabbah 6. One of th...
The Torah tells us in (Numbers 4:29), “The sons of Merari, by their families, by their patrilineal house, you shall count them.” Now, it first appears all Levites were treated equa...
It's in those little quirks that readers often find hidden depths. Take the census of the Levites in the Book of Numbers, Bamidbar, for example. Specifically, Bamidbar Rabbah 6 shi...
The Torah, in its infinite wisdom, touches upon this very feeling when describing the Levites. We find in (Numbers 3:46), "All the counted, whom Moses and Aaron and the princes of ...
It might seem harsh At first, The verse that sparks this discussion is from (Numbers 5:2): "Command the children of Israel, and they shall send out from the camp every leper and ev...
It's almost like a cosmic nudge, inviting us to dig a little deeper. Consider the juxtaposition of the laws concerning lepers right before the section detailing the duties of the L...
In fact, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Bamidbar Rabbah 8, goes so far as to suggest that God has an especially strong love for gerim, or proselytes –...
It turns out, even ancient texts confront these questions, offering surprising insights into universal ethics. to Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically section 8. This isn't your typical d...
Especially when we explore the curious case of the sotah – the suspected adulteress – in Numbers chapter 5. It’s a wild ride, full of ritual, suspicion, and a whole lot of barley f...
The Torah (Numbers 5:17) instructs the priest to take "sacred water in an earthenware vessel, and from the dirt that is on the floor of the Tabernacle.place it into the water." But...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Rabbi Akiva at the Temple. So, what's going on here? After the woman drinks the bitter water, the priest then sacrifices her offering. This order is derive...
The verse sets the scene: "The man shall bring his wife to the priest, and he shall bring her offering on her behalf, one-tenth of an ephah of barley flour; he shall not pour oil u...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Rabbi Shimon on Drinking the Bitter Waters in Order. The verse we're unpacking is (Numbers 5:24): "He shall give the woman to drink the water of bitterness...
What does it all mean? , drawing on the tradition of Jewish tradition to unravel this mystery. The Torah tells us, "The priest shall write these curses in a scroll, and erase it in...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to The Law of Jealousy Leaps to a Cosmic Perspective. The passage starts with a verse about the law of jealousy, specifically concerning a woman suspected of ...
This Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), or interpretive commentary on the Book of Numbers, opens with a verse about the nazir, someone who takes a vow to abstain from cert...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to The Nazirite's Vow and What 'Besides What He Can Afford' Means. The text centers around (Numbers 6:21), which states: “This is the law of the nazirite who ...
Rabbi Shemaya poses a profound question: Why is the impure nazir, someone who took a vow of separation but then became ritually impure, offered leniency in the form of turtledoves ...
The tradition turns to Bamidbar Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Numbers. In Bamidbar Rabbah 12, we find a powerful idea presented by Rab...
Our starting point is a verse from the Book of Numbers (7:12), kicking off the offerings brought by the tribal leaders: "The one who presented..." But this simple phrase sparks a m...
the dedication offerings brought by the princes of the tribes. "On the third day, prince of the children of Zebulun, Eliav son of Ḥelon" (Numbers 7:24). Why, the Rabbis ask, is the...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to When Solomon's Temple Doors Refused to Open for the Ark. The scene: Solomon, the wisest of men, has built the magnificent Temple in Jerusalem. He's ready t...
Avidan son of Gidoni brings Benjamin's offering, and Bamidbar Rabbah finds Rachel, dawn, and creation folded into the gift. The Torah tells us, "On the ninth day, prince of the chi...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Sacred Service. The verse seems to repeat information we already know. So, why is it there? What's it trying to tell us? The Rabbis, masters of textual int...
In Bamidbar Rabbah – that’s a collection of rabbinic teachings connected to the Book of Numbers – there's a fascinating passage about how God commanded Moses to gather seventy men....
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Footsteps of Messiah. What's so special about this offering? The Rabbis in Bamidbar Rabbah see something truly profound. God, blessed be He, is essentially...
