718 related texts · 10 related myths · Page 11 of 15
From the very first moment of creation, God assigned every major figure in history a specific role. Esther Rabbah preserves a remarkable list, attributed to Rabbi Berekhya, that re...
Go into the wilderness to meet Moses (Exod. 4:27). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each ...
Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water (Exod. 7:14). Thus the Lord said: Through this (water) you shall cause him to know that I am the Lord. I will ...
In the third month (Exod. 19:1). Scripture says elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Have I not written unto thee excellent things (shilshom) of counsels and knowledge (Prov. 22:20...
And thou shalt command the children of Israel (Exod. 27:20). If the lamp which is not for the purpose of eating requires pure olive oil, should not the meal-offerings, which are fo...
(Lev. 1:1:) “Then [the Lord] called unto Moses.” This text is related (to Prov. 29:23), “One's pride will bring him low, but the low in spirit will obtain honor.” Whenever anyone p...
(Numb. 3:4:) “And they had no children.” R. Jacob bar Abin said in the name of R. Aha, “If they had had children, they would have taken precedence over Eleazar and Ithamar, since w...
(Lev. 21:1:) “Speak unto the priests.” This text is related (to Ps. 12:7), “The sayings of the Lord are pure sayings….” Everything [against] which the Holy One, blessed be He, warn...
(Numb. 16:1:) “Now Korah […] took.” [What] he took [was] his prayer shawl and he went to get counsel from his wife.11Numb. R. 18:4. When the Holy One, blessed be He, said (in Numb....
It paints a vivid picture of Abraham’s arrival and his immediate actions. Abraham, having journeyed from Ur of the Chaldees – a long and arduous trek, no doubt – finally sets foot ...
The altar is ready, the fire is burning, and the priests are preparing the offering. Jubilees says: "offer them all together on the altar of burnt-offering; it is a sweet savour be...
The Letter of Aristeas gives us a peek behind the curtain. It's a fascinating text, purporting to be from an official in the court of Ptolemy Philadelphus, telling the story of how...
Letter of Aristeas turns to Holy Temple at the Temple. This letter, a fascinating document from the Hellenistic period, purports to be written by a Greek official named Aristeas. H...
The Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating text attributed to an official in the court of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-247 BCE), gives us a glimpse into just such a scene. It describes,...
It's a story of courage, faith, and a miraculous victory against all odds. But where do we really get the details of that story? The familiar version gives us the basic story of Ha...
That feeling isn't new. It echoes across millennia, resonating with stories like the one we find in the Book of Maccabees. The scene: The Temple in Jerusalem, the very heart of Jew...
The Book of Maccabees I turns to Judas Maccabeus Receives the Torah. The story is a raw, visceral account of reclaiming sacred space. 1 Maccabees 4 tells us that Judas, after achie...
Gold, jewels, artifacts of unimaginable beauty. Where did they all go? Sometimes, the answer lies hidden in the stories we think we know. The tale in the First Book of Maccabees, a...
That feeling is at the heart of this passage from I Maccabees, Chapter 7. It’s a tense moment, a real clash of worlds. The scene is set with a villain, someone who should know bett...
It's actually a fascinating glimpse into the political and religious realities of the time. to a passage from the Book of Maccabees I, chapter 10, where we hear about a royal decre...
The Book of Maccabees I Chapter 14, offers a snapshot of his leadership and the relative peace he brought to the land. the land had been under Seleucid Greek rule, and the Temple i...
This one involves a king, a temple, and a whole lot of stones. We find ourselves in the story told in 2 Maccabees, specifically 2 Maccabees 1. Now, 2 Maccabees isn't actually in th...
Some feel ancient, etched in stone, while others… well, they have a specific, traceable origin. to one such story, connected to Ḥanukkah and the rededication of the Temple, but roo...
The story centers around Nehemiah, a pivotal figure in Jewish history, known for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. But this isn't about bricks and mortar. This is about rekindling...
That’s where we find ourselves in the Second Book of Maccabees. Imagine the scene: The Temple, once the very heart of Jewish life, is defiled. The people are oppressed. The future ...
The scene is set: the people have just finished pouring out their hearts in prayer, their voices rising in heartfelt supplication. And then, the priests begin to sing. Imagine the ...
It’s a longing, a hope so fervent it practically vibrates off the page. This ancient text, not included in the Tanakh but preserved in the Septuagint, gives us a glimpse into the h...
The War Scroll doesn't just predict a cosmic battle, it choreographs one. Columns 7 through 9 of the scroll lay out the most elaborate angelic military operation in all of Jewish l...
The Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (Shirot Olat HaShabbat (the Sabbath), שירות עולת השבת) may be the most alien-sounding texts in the Dead Sea Scrolls. And that is exactly the poin...
The quarrel between Korah and Moses began with a poor woman and her single ewe-lamb. She fed the lamb from her own bread and let it drink from her own cup. When she sheared its woo...
Darius summoned Daniel to test his wisdom and found him seven times wiser than any report had claimed. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle tra...
After Antiochus Eupator fell to Demetrius son of Seleucus, a new threat emerged. And this time it came from a Jewish traitor. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-centu...
As the time approached for the Israelites' redemption from Egyptian slavery, a dilemma arose. They hadn't accumulated enough good deeds to merit their freedom! So, what did God do?...
Hezekiah's wicked father, King Ahaz, tried to offer him as a sacrifice to Moloch. Imagine the horror! But Hezekiah's mother, in a desperate act of love, painted him with the blood ...
The story of Jacob and Esau, and their mother Rebekah's intervention, is a wild ride, full of trickery and profound implications. Jacob, was still hesitant about Rebekah's plan to ...
The story of Jacob at Beth-el is one of those moments. After receiving a profound revelation from God, what did Jacob do? He didn't just stand there awestruck. He acted. He set up ...
Take the blessing Jacob gave to his youngest son, Benjamin. It seems straightforward, but the Rabbis saw in it a glimpse into the future of the entire Israelite nation. Jacob, on h...
The man who spoke to God face-to-face, led the Israelites out of slavery, and received the Ten Commandments. Surely, he was perfect. Not quite. The story goes that when God first c...
Legend tells us that when King Josiah knew the Temple was about to be destroyed, he took decisive action. He concealed the Aron HaKodesh, the Holy Ark itself. But he didn't stop th...
The battlefield was set, the armies were engaged, but the real battle, according to Legends of the Jews, wasn't on the ground at all. It was happening on a nearby height, where Mos...
The Rechabites were not born Israelite, but the sages imagined them earning seats in the Sanhedrin. These weren't Israelites, not in the traditional sense. They were descendants of...
The familiar story is this: The Israelites, fresh out of Egypt, get impatient waiting for Moses on Mount Sinai. They demand a god they can see, and Aaron, in a moment of weakness, ...
It wasn't just a building; it was a story, a symbol, a living evidence of the covenant between God and Israel. Speaking of symbols, This wasn't just a place for offerings; it was a...
The story of Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, plunges right into that question. It's a tale filled with both tragedy and a strange kind of… merit? We find this story in Leviticu...
The princes of the tribes in the story of building the Mishkan (Tabernacle) knew that feeling all too well. In Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, when Moses called for do...
Legends of the Jews turns to Shabbat Before the Altar. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) tells us something astonishing. The gifts weren't just similar; they were iden...
As recounted in Legends of the Jews, along with the instruction to illuminate the Mishkan (the Sanctuary), came another: to celebrate the Shabbat (Sabbath) by kindling lights. God'...
The old stories, the aggadah, are full of fascinating hints. Take the way He kept track of the Israelites back in the desert. It's said that God, in His infinite love, insisted on ...
