2,651 related texts · 45 related myths · Page 55 of 56
It's like tossing a pebble into a pond, the ripples go far beyond what you can see. Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, explores this ver...
One perspective comes to us from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. In Shemot Rabbah 44, we find a powerful idea connected to the story ...
Where a promise seemed broken, and you just had to ask, "What now?" That's the kind of raw honesty we find in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of...
It reveals a surprising strategy employed by the righteous when approaching the Divine. " Now, don't misunderstand that word – it doesn't mean deception. Instead, it signifies a st...
They found ways to see even those challenging forces as a path towards the Divine. to a fascinating interpretation of a verse from Shir HaShirim, the Song of Songs, explored in Shi...
“How upright [yashiryan] are the ones You love?” (Shir HaShirim Rabbah 4). The answer? The patriarchs! They are the epitome of uprightness, of unwavering devotion. Rabbi Aivu goes ...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. They found answers, as they often did, in the beautiful poetry of the Song of Songs, or Shir HaShirim. Specifically, the verse, "Like a lily among...
It's filled with metaphors, and some of them are truly striking. Take this one: "Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon." What does that even mean? Well, the Rabbis of Shir HaShiri...
Some verses in the Song of Songs sound almost too tender for angels. And then the midrash shows you that angels were exactly who they were meant for. Take (Song of Songs 7:10): "Yo...
The Song of Songs, that most passionate and allegorical of biblical books, wrestles with that very feeling. to a fascinating interpretation from Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a classical m...
Vayikra Rabbah, a classical midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) text – meaning, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Torah – offers a fascinating perspective. I...
Vayikra Rabbah turns to Slaughtering the Bull to the North Before the Lord. The Sages in Vayikra Rabbah make a profound connection. They see these instructions as deeply intertwine...
We start with the verse, "When a person presents a meal offering to the Lord" (Leviticus 2:1). But the Rabbis cleverly link this to (Psalm 22:24): "Those who fear the Lord, praise ...
" (Job 34:29). What does it mean for God to "quiet"? The Midrash understands this as referring to a period of tranquility granted to the Ten Tribes of Israel. But was this tranquil...
The Torah tackles this very question, and the answer is surprisingly nuanced. We find a fascinating passage in Vayikra Rabbah 23, which explores (Leviticus 18:3): “You shall not ac...
It touches on themes of covenant, perfection, and even the very nature of blessing. to a fascinating passage from Vayikra Rabbah, a Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) tex...
Our ancestors felt it too. to a fascinating little piece from Vayikra Rabbah, a Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) collection that unpacks the book of Leviticus. This par...
Vayikra Rabbah opens a hard teaching about giving and withholding kindness, and the stakes begin with the poor at the door. The first example? None other than Abraham. Abraham as a...
It's a metaphor, a living, breathing symbol of the Jewish people themselves. We find this beautiful idea elaborated on in Vayikra Rabbah 36, a section of the Midrash (rabbinic inte...
In Vayikra Rabbah 37, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) explores this idea through a fascinating lens: vows. Specifically, it looks at instances where individuals made...
“Zion spread her hands, there was no comforter for her; the Lord has commanded for Jacob that her adversaries surround her. Jerusalem has become like a pariah among them” (Lamentat...
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 during the days of Aḥashverosh; that [hu] Aḥashverosh who reigned from India to Kush, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces” (Esther 1:1). Hu [appears] five [times] for ev...
What did Mordekhai say to someone who would say to him: “Why are you violating the king’s command?” (Esther 3:3) Rabbi Levi said: Mordekhai would say: ‘Moses our master cautioned u...
Rabbi Berekhya said: The Holy one blessed be He recorded the redemption of Israel in the Torah, as it is written: “If a stranger who is a resident among you shall prosper…” (Leviti...
The rabbis of Esther Rabbah made a stunning claim: every time the Hebrew word vayhi ("it was") appears in the Torah, it signals disaster. Rabbi Tanhuma, Rabbi Berekhya, and Rabbi H...
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?...
The Wars of God turns to Does the Zohar Hold Equal Authority With the Talmud. This isn't just a friendly disagreement; it's a full-blown intellectual battle. And at the heart of it...
Rabbi Chaim Vital, the principal disciple of the great Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria (known as the ARI) grappled with this very question. In his monumental work, Etz Chaim ("Tree of ...
Philo, in his exploration of Genesis, explores this very question. He points out that these five animals – the ox (represented by the heifer), the goat, the sheep (the ram), the tu...
He’s just received the earth-shattering news that he, in his old age, is going to have a son with Sarah. A son who will carry on the covenant with God. It's huge! But then comes th...
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 there was a famine in the land (Gen. 12:10) What is stated in Scripture prior to this verse? It is written: And the Lord said to Abraham: “Get thee.” Blessed be the name of the...
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel (Gen. 14:1). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: Through Thee do we push down our adversaries, through Thy name do we t...
And it came to pass after these words that God did prove Abraham (Gen. 22:1). What words were spoken? Ishmael had said to Isaac: I am superior to you, for I underwent circumcision ...
He dreamed, and behold, a ladder set upon the earth; and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it (Gen. 28:12). R. Samuel the s...
Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred (Gen. 31:3). What is written above concerning this? Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the he-goats which leap upon the fl...
And Dinah, the daughter of Leah, went out to see (Gen. 34:1). Was she not also Jacob’s daughter? Indeed, but Scripture associates her name with that of her mother. Leah’s daughter ...
And Jacob sat in the land (Gen. 37:1). Whenever Scripture uses the expression and he sat (also translated “and he dwelt”), it connotes misfortune: And Israel sat in the land of Egy...
42:1). May it please our master to teach us the number of days during which a mourner is forbidden to work. Thus did our master teach us: A mourner is forbidden to work during the ...
And Joseph made ready his chariot (Gen. 46:29). R. Yudan said in the name of R. Aibu: Two men were accorded more homage than any other men in all the world; they were Jethro and Ja...
And he sent Judah before him (Gen. 46:28). Jacob sent Judah before him to establish an academy wherein he might teach the Torah as he had previously done for the tribes. You know t...
Let my soul not come into their council (Gen. 49:6). This relates to when Zimri came and had intercourse with Cozbi. Let my soul not be mentioned in reference to them. And that is ...
This is it that their father spoke unto them and blessed them (Gen. 49:28). Scripture does not say “he blessed him” but rather he blessed them. Why is this so? Because he attribute...
Another comment on This is it that their father spoke unto them. and he charged them, and said unto them: “I am to be gathered unto my people” (Gen. 49:28–29). He said to them: If ...
1:1). The names of the Israelites were most appropriate for them. You find, in fact, that the Holy One, blessed be He, assigned their names to them. He gave Abraham a son, and He s...
18:1). Scripture says elsewhere: Thine own friend and thy father’s friend forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity; better is a neighbor that is ...
If thou lend money to any of My people (Exod. 22:24). Scripture states elsewhere: He that augmenteth his substance by interest and increase, gathereth it for Him that is gracious t...
