2,248 related texts · Page 32 of 47
Rabbi Levi, in Vayikra Rabbah (Leviticus Rabbah) 15, cuts right to the heart of it. He teaches that blessed actions – acts of kindness, of justice, of integrity – bring blessing ri...
Take the sacrifices described in the Torah. Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the book of Leviticus, sees them not just as offerings, but as embodiments of our ...
It's not just about the animals themselves; it's about the patriarchs, about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the profound legacy they left behind. Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of ra...
Vayikra Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Leviticus, delves into this very question, challenging us to examine our motivations and the imp...
It’s a question the rabbis grappled with, and in Vayikra Rabbah 36, we find some fascinating—and differing—answers. The text explores just how long the merit, the z’chus, of the pa...
“He severed in his enflamed wrath all the horn of Israel; He retracted His right hand from before the enemy. He burned in Jacob like flaming fire, consuming all around” (Lamentatio...
“Our skin burns like an oven due to fear of famine” (Lamentations 5:10).“Our skin burns like an oven.” Two amora’im, one said: Like those sun-withered dates; and one said: Like an ...
Another matter: “After these matters, King Aḥashverosh promoted Haman” – there were calculations there. Who calculated? Rabbi Yehuda said: Haman calculated. He said: If Esther is a...
Rabbi Levi said: Accursed are the wicked who are engaged in evil counsel against Israel, and each one of them counsels in his way and says: ‘My counsel is better than your counsel....
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...
Sometimes, the deepest truths are hidden in plain sight, masked by complexity or sheer volume of information. This is something the author of The Wars of God seems to anticipate. R...
Jewish tradition speaks of such moments as revelations of the Shekhinah (שכינה), the Divine Presence. But what exactly does that mean? And what does it look like? Sometimes, it see...
to this a bit. The esteemed Rabbi Tam, of blessed memory, as we learn, was deeply troubled by these developments. He saw these new approaches to Kabbalah as a breach, a violation o...
Jewish mysticism offers us a glimpse, a whisper of understanding, and some of the most fascinating insights come from the Zohar, the foundational text of Kabbalah. And within the Z...
They often hold some of the biggest secrets. Take the story of Cain and Abel. We all know the basics: brothers, offerings, jealousy, tragedy. But have you ever noticed a subtle dif...
We often think of blessings as straightforward – good health, wealth, maybe a loving family. But what if there's a deeper layer to unpack? What if the blessings themselves aren’t e...
And God remembered Noah (Gen. 8:1). May it please our master to teach us the benediction recited upon witnessing a rainbow. Thus did our masters teach us: Upon seeing a rainbow, on...
And Abraham took another wife (Gen. 25:1). May our master teach us: How many times should one pray each day? R. Samuel the son of Nahman declared: Since there are three periods in ...
And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son (Gen. 25:19). May it please our master to teach us why peace-offerings (sacrifices) were instituted?1There are three kinds of ...
These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begot Isaac (Gen. 25:9). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Children’s children are the crown of old m...
And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba (Gen. 28:10). May it please our master to teach us where a man who has unintentionally taken the life of another man may take refuge. Thus do our...
And Jacob went out (Gen. 28:10). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: For He will give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways (Ps. 91:11). R. M...
And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night (Gen. 31:24). This is one of the occasions on which the Holy One, blessed be He, contaminated the purity of His divine glo...
I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now. and I have oxen, and asses and flocks, and manservants and maid-servants (Gen. 32:5–6). He was telling Esau: “Though I have lived...
He commanded them, saying; “Thus shall you say unto my lord Esau” (Gen. 32:5). R. Judah the son of Simon began the discussion with the verse: As a troubled fountain, and a corrupte...
And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying … “He cometh to meet thee with four hundred men” (Gen. 32:7). Thereupon, Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed (ibid., v. 8). Why...
42:1). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: Happy is He whose help is the God of Jacob (Ps. 146:5). Why does this verse say the God of Jacob and not “the God of A...
And God Almighty give you mercy before the man (Gen. 43:14). May it please our master to teach us the number of times a man must pray each day. Thus did our masters teach us: A man...
And the time drew near that Israel must die (Gen. 47:29). It is stated in Scripture in reference to this verse: For we are strangers before Thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers...
And it came to pass after these things, that one said to Joseph: “Benold, thy father is sick” (Gen. 48:1). May it please our master to teach us whether a benediction may be recited...
And it came to pass after these things (Gen. 48:1). Scripture states in response to this verse: For such as are blessed of Him shall inherit the land; and they that are cursed of H...
And Jacob called unto his sons (Gen. 49:1). May it please our master to teach us whether the one who leads the congregation in prayer may respond “Amen” after the priests. Thus did...
And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel (Exod. 4:29). He told them: The Holy One, blessed be He, has said: I have surely remembered ...
And God spoke unto Moses, and said unto him: “I am the Lord; and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob” (Exod. 6:2). May our masters teach us the punishment that is i...
And the children of Israel lifted up their eyes … and they were sore afraid (Exod. 14:10). They resorted to the practices of their fathers. It is written of Abraham: And he called ...
And this is the offering which ye shall take of them: gold, silver, and brass; and blue and purple and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair; and rams’ skins dyed red, etc. (Exo...
(Numb. 34:1–2:) “Then the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, ‘Command the Children of Israel [and say unto them], “When you come into the Land of Canaan, [this is the land]....”’” [“Th...
It has some pretty strong words for those of us prone to envy. "In the eye of a fool," Ben Sira tells us, "his portion is small; but he that taketh his neighbour's portion wasteth ...
Incense fills the air, music swells, and then Simon the High Priest appears. He's just completed the sacred service, and the sight is so breathtaking, so imbued with holiness, that...
The story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob, and the subsequent actions of her brothers, Simeon and Levi, certainly feels that way. It's a tale of honor, betrayal, and swift, brutal just...
We're diving into a tiny moment from the Book of Jubilees, chapter 42. It's a snippet that speaks volumes about fear, famine, and foresight – a story nestled within the larger saga...
We find it in the Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text that retells and expands upon stories from Genesis. (It’s considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, by the way, ...
That tension, that feeling of unease even amidst blessing, it's woven right into the fabric of the story of Joseph and his brothers. And in the Book of Jubilees, a retelling of Gen...
That’s the scene we find ourselves in with Joseph and his brothers in the Book of Jubilees, chapter 43. It's a powerful moment, dripping with the weight of years, deception, and ul...
Reuben, firstborn son of Jacob and Leah, lay dying in the hundred and twenty-fifth year of his life. Two years had passed since Joseph fell asleep forever. Now Reuben's own sons ga...
Benjamin, twelfth and last son of Jacob, born of Rachel, had lived a hundred and twenty-five years. He kissed his sons and began to speak. "As Isaac was born to Abraham in his old ...
The Torah focuses on Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, on Joseph and his brothers. But the world didn't stop spinning just because the Israelites were having family drama. According to Gi...
That’s a glimpse into the trials of Joseph. The story of Joseph, as told in the Torah, is already But the rabbinic tradition, the wellspring of Jewish interpretation and storytelli...
