718 related texts · 10 related myths · Page 3 of 15
In the Temple of Jerusalem, the most fragrant service of the day was the burning of the ketoret, the compound incense of eleven spices that rose in a thin column from the golden al...
Once the camels had finished drinking, all ten of them, every last swallow, the servant reached into his pack and took out jewelry. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 24:22) refuse...
After the brothers threw Joseph into the pit, they sat down to eat. Then they looked up and saw a caravan. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 37:25) gives the caravan an unexpected...
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...
Before the altar of the Mishkan could receive Israel's offerings, it had to be made holy itself. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (an Aramaic paraphrase whose expansions preserve tannaitic a...
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 climax of the consecration chapter is not a ritual instruction. It is a declaration, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan gives it a weight the plain Hebrew only hints at: the sons of Is...
What happened to all those half-shekels? Targum Pseudo-Jonathan follows the Torah's answer: Moses was to gather the silver of the ransom from the sons of Israel and apply it to the...
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...
The fool vents all his spirit, and the wise will soothe it, restraining it” (Proverbs 29:11). “The fool vents all his spirit” – this is Aḥashverosh; “and the wise will soothe it, k...
Midrash Tehillim turns to Did Moses Serve as a Priest Before Aaron. It’s a fascinating idea, isn’t it? To picture Moses, not just as the lawgiver and prophet, but also performing t...
Sometimes, it's in those very details that we uncover profound insights into Jewish law and tradition. to one such detail from Sifrei Bamidbar, a fascinating work of halakhic (lega...
The verse states, "And the sons of Aaron the Cohanim (priests) shall blow on the trumpets." Now, the Sifrei Bamidbar, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Numbers, ...
Judges is often remembered as these impartial figures, robed and removed, but Jewish tradition explores the nitty-gritty of who sits on the beth din (court of law) and what makes t...
Sifrei Devarim is one of those rabbinic texts where a single phrase can unlock a whole structure of Jewish law. Section 156 is a short passage, but packed with insights into how Je...
Robert of Sicily. Wickerhauser, p. 167. Ring. Badder, Badische Sagen, No. 405. Comestor, 1, III. Eisenmenger I, 351 ff. Gervasius, ed. Lieb- recht, p. 8 and note 12, p. 77. Gesta R...
The Rabbis paint a scene where the Holy One, blessed be He, instructs Moses to appoint a High Priest. Moses, naturally, wants to know the specifics: "Master of the universe, from w...
Our starting point is the verse "This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2). But Shemot Rabbah, in its characteristic way, finds a connection to (Micah 6:4): "I sent Moses, Aaron, ...
Shemot Rabbah, that incredible collection of Midrashim (rabbinic interpretive commentary) (interpretive stories) on the Book of Exodus, offers a fascinating insight into just this ...
It all starts with the verse: “Take Aaron, and his sons with him, and the vestments, and the anointing oil, and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams, and the basket of un...
A whole tractate of Midrash can grow out of three words, and Vayikra Rabbah 26 proves it. It all starts with a simple phrase: "Speak to the priests." But as is so often the case in...
And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron: “This is the ordinance of the passover” (Exod. 12:43). There are chapters of the Torah in which a general statement is made at the beginning...
Ben Sira, in his wisdom, reminds us of the immense task Aaron undertook. He says, "And who, in his nobility, his heart, atoned for the children of Israel." Aaron atoned. Think abou...
Letter of Aristeas turns to The Silent Reverence of Priests at Their Duties. One of the most fascinating accounts we have comes from the Letter of Aristeas, a pseudepigraphical tex...
The opening song of the Sabbath Sacrifice cycle establishes a structure that would influence Jewish mysticism for centuries: seven heavenly sanctuaries, each governed by an angelic...
Zerubbabel won the riddle contest, but when King Darius offered him any reward up to half the kingdom, he asked for something no treasure could buy. According to the Chronicles of ...
Legends of the Jews turns to Moses and Aaron Confront Pharaoh Face to Face. Two representatives of the enslaved children of Israel, standing before the most powerful man in the wor...
The familiar version gives us about Aaron's rod turning into a serpent. But the why behind that miracle is According to Legends of the Jews, that amazing collection of rabbinic sto...
That impatience, that void, can lead us down some unexpected paths. The story of the Golden Calf is a prime example. The Israelites, fresh out of Egypt, were camped at the foot of ...
The Talmud, in Tractate Chullin 60b, quotes God as saying, "Dead things come before Me and leave Me imbued with life." Powerful. But what does it really mean? The Sages, in their i...
Legends of the Jews turns to The Golden Calf of Aaron. Moses must have been pleased to hear that the High Priest would come from his own tribe, the tribe of Levi. But his joy surel...
Take the story of Aaron and his sons, for example. Before they could even begin their sacred service, they had to retreat for seven days. A week of… what exactly? Preparation, yes....
You might assume that after all that hard work, the position was practically his. But that's not quite how it worked. God, in a moment filled with divine intention, says to Moses, ...
When Moses approached Aaron with the news that God wanted him to be the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, Aaron wasn't exactly ecstatic. He pointed out, "What! Thou hadst all the labor...
The people of Israel are ready to begin their worship. Aaron, brother of Moses, is chosen to be the first High Priest. This is his moment! He should be filled with pride and joy. B...
That feeling, that heavy weight of responsibility, might give you just a glimpse of what Aaron, the High Priest, must have felt on that momentous day of the Tabernacle's consecrati...
The Torah tells us about such a moment in the life of Aaron, the High Priest, after the devastating death of his sons, Nadav and Avihu. The scene: Aaron’s sons, in their zeal, offe...
His sons, Nadav and Avihu, have died. The Torah tells us they offered "strange fire" before the Lord (Leviticus 10:1-2) and were consumed. Can you picture the anguish? The disbelie...
Take, for instance, the story of Aaron, Moses, and Aaron’s surviving sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, after the tragic deaths of Nadab and Abihu. Remember Nadab and Abihu? They were cons...
Aaron, the High Priest, brother of Moses. We find ourselves at a somber moment: Aaron has just lost his two sons. A devastating blow. But something remarkable happens. Instead of r...
His sons, in a moment of unauthorized zeal, offered "alien fire" before the Lord and were consumed. A devastating blow. How could joy ever return? Yet, according to Legends of the ...
Twelve days of celebration, twelve days of dedication… and Aaron's tribe, the Levites? Nowhere to be seen. According to Legends of the Jews, Aaron was deeply troubled. "Woe is me!"...
The story goes that after God addressed Aaron and Miriam, they started interrupting Him! Can you imagine? It's a bold move. But what's even more fascinating is God's response. Rath...
Moses, desperate, remembers a secret he learned during his time on Mount Sinai, when he ascended to receive the Torah. It's a pretty wild story, actually. Each angel he encountered...
Take, for instance, this tale from Legends of the Jews, that incredible compilation by Louis Ginzberg. It paints a vivid picture of a moment of utter devastation, a scene ripped st...
Take Aaron, for example. After the tragic episode of the Golden Calf – a moment where Aaron, sadly, wasn't entirely blameless – God initially decreed that all four of Aaron's sons ...
That was life for some of the Israelites in the desert, and let me tell you, their patience was wearing thin. The story comes to us from Ginzberg's classic Legends of the Jews, a c...
The Legends of the Jews, that incredible collection of stories and expansions on the biblical narrative compiled by Louis Ginzberg, recounts just such a moment. We find Moses facin...
