2,006 related texts · 10 related myths · Page 42 of 42
Sometimes, seemingly simple rules contain entire worlds of disagreement. Take the laws of slaughter, for instance. What seems like a straightforward process opens up a fascinating ...
Vayikra Rabbah, a Midrash (rabbinic commentary) on the Book of Leviticus, explores this very idea in a fascinating way. It starts with the seemingly simple phrase, "You shall be ho...
Vayikra Rabbah turns to Zion's Transgression. We find a fascinating passage in Vayikra Rabbah, a midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) collection focusing on the Book of Lev...
It all starts with a verse from the Song of Songs (5:15): “His calves [shokav] are pillars of marble [amudei shesh].” What do calves and marble pillars have to do with… well, anyth...
Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Leviticus, illuminates this very connection. When Leviticus speaks of offering "a bull, or a sheep, or a goa...
Vayikra Rabbah turns to Land — Abraham at the Dawn of Creation. What exactly is the omer? It's a ritual offering of barley, brought to the Temple in Jerusalem on the second day of ...
King David certainly did. In Vayikra Rabbah 30, we find a fascinating exploration of just that – David's quest for the "way of life" and "abundant joy," as he puts it in (Psalm 16:...
Take Sukkot (the Festival of Tabernacles), for example, the Feast of Tabernacles, a joyous holiday where we dwell in temporary shelters, remembering our ancestors' journey through ...
It all hinges on a seemingly simple phrase. It comes from Vayikra Rabbah 30, a fascinating section of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary). Midrash, by the way, is a meth...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. They saw the world as a delicate balance, and they understood that even seemingly small acts of injustice could have enormous consequences. In Vay...
“The greatly crowded city,” Rabbi Shmuel taught: There were twenty-four thoroughfares in Jerusalem, each and every thoroughfare had twenty-four streets, each and every street had t...
“See, Lord, and look to whom You have done this. Shall women eat their fruit, the infants of their nurturing? Shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the Temple of the Lord?” ...
There was an incident involving Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya, who went to the great city of Rome. They said to him: ‘There is a certain child in prison in disgrace.’10The Romans were...
“It was due to the sins of her prophets, the iniquities of her priests, who shed the blood of the righteous in her midst” (Lamentations 4:13).“It was due to the sins of her prophet...
“The crown of our head has fallen; woe to us, for we have sinned” (Lamentations 5:16).“The crown of our head has fallen.” Rabbi Yirmeya of Shavshav took an olive branch crown and t...
The question at hand: how could the Israelites, knowing the honor due to God, prostrate themselves before something that was created? Isn't that, well, a bit too close to idolatry?...
Kissing is often remembered as a sign of affection, love, or respect. But in ancient times, it could also be a form of worship. Strange. The Bible itself gives us a glimpse into th...
The Torah, in the story of Cain and Abel, grapples with this very question. (Genesis 4:4) tells us that God respected Abel and his offering, but not Cain and his. But what's the me...
Philo of Alexandria was a Jewish philosopher who lived way back in the first century. He tried to bridge the gap between Greek philosophy and Jewish tradition, and his writings off...
Midrash Tanchuma turns to The Center Of The World. Wait, there's one more layer. Before the Ark stands the Foundation Stone, and the entire world, according to tradition, was found...
The very concept of the Temple in Jerusalem, that sacred place, was envisioned at the dawn of creation itself. As Howard Schwartz recounts in Tree of Souls, God, in His infinite wi...
And Dinah, the daughter of Leah, went out (Gen. 34:1). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: All honor to the king’s daughter within the palace (Ps. 45:14). R. Yosé...
Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not uncovered thereon (Exod. 20:23). A logical conclusion may be derived from these words. If in regard to ...
And thou shalt overlay it with brass (Exod. 27:2). R. Judah the son of Shalum stated: Moses had said to the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, You told me to make an ...
In the tent of meeting, without the veil (Exod. 27:21). In case you are inclined to assert that He required the light, the menorah was placed before the curtain near the ark, outsi...
And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying: “See, I have called by name Bezalel” (Exod. 31:1). Solomon said: Whatsoever cometh into being, the name thereof was given long ago, and it is...
See, he hath called by name Bezalel (Exod. 35:30). Observe what He did for Bezalel. The Holy One, blessed be He, instilled wisdom in his heart, as it is said: And he hath filled hi...
These are the accounts of the Tabernacle (Exod. 38:21). Scripture states elsewhere: A faithful man shall abound with blessings; but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be unp...
These are the accounts of the tabernacle (Exod. 38:21). Scripture states elsewhere: Thou hast also delivered Me from the contentions of My people (II Sam. 22:44), and it is written...
And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses (Exod. 39:32). It is written elsewhere in reference to the verse: He withdraweth not His eyes from the righteous; but with kings upon the...
Another interpretation (of Lev. 7:11), “This is the law of the sacrifice for peace offerings.” This text is related (to Ps. 85:9), “Let me hear what God, the Lord, will speak; for ...
(Lev. 8:3:) “And assemble the whole congregation.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, “Pay him honor in front of all Israel, in order that they may see him today when he e...
R. Judan of Gallia opened (with (Job 39:2)7), “Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes its nest on high?” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Aaron. “At your comm...
"And it was on the day that Moses had finished to erect the tabernacle" (Numbers 7:1). Our rabbis taught (Avot 1:2),"On three things the world stands: On the Torah, on the service ...
"And it was on the day that Moses had finished" (Numbers 7:1). Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said, "The Holy One, blessed be He, made conditions with Israel before they left Egypt, that ...
(Numb. 7:1:) “So it came to pass on the day that Moses had finished.” R. Johanan said, “What is the meaning of ‘on the day that [Moses] had finished (rt. klh)?’ [Finished is] a wor...
(Numb. 7:1:) “So it came to pass on the day that Moses had finished.” R. Judah bar Simon said, “On the day that the Tabernacle was erected, Moses entered and heard a majestic voice...
(Numb. 7:1:) “So it came to pass on the day that Moses had finished.” R. Berekhyah the Priest Berabbi said,101Similarly Numb. R. 12:2. “Before the Tabernacle was erected, when Isra...
