3,636 related texts · Page 17 of 76
It wasn't always a simple, smooth affair, as we learn in the fascinating accounts woven into the tapestry of Jewish legend. Imagine the scene: Moses, nearing the end of his life, i...
Jewish tradition paints a vivid picture of his ascent to Mount Nebo, a place shrouded in significance. But here's a curious detail: this single mountain, according to some accounts...
What would you ask? Well, according to Ginzberg’s Legends of the Jews, Moses wasn’t just curious about any old thing. He wanted to know about the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple. N...
The ancient texts offer some pretty wild imagery. The Legends of the Jews, that incredible compilation of rabbinic lore gathered by Louis Ginzberg, paints a vivid picture. It tells...
The rabbis certainly debated it, comparing and contrasting the merits of our most revered patriarchs and prophets. And wouldn't you know it, the discussions could get a little… spi...
It's a powerful image, isn't it? A promise from God, as recounted in Legends of the Jews, that "Thou that didst lead My children in this world, shalt also lead them in the future w...
And what he hears… saves him from death! The story goes that he heeded the advice of a rooster, and by doing so, he managed to cheat fate. We don't know the details of the advice, ...
It's easy to think of him as a simple puppet, but the ancient texts paint a more complex picture. According to Legends of the Jews, Haman’s hateful words found fertile ground in th...
to a bit of ancient Egypt as seen through the eyes of Flavius Josephus, the first-century Romano-Jewish scholar, as he confronts some pretty wild accusations leveled against the Je...
Our story comes to us, indirectly, from Flavius Josephus, the 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian. In his work Against Apion, Josephus is defending Judaism against its detractors. ...
Sometimes, digging into the past brings up unexpected things... and uncomfortable questions. Today, we're wading into one of those uncomfortable corners, a place where ancient bias...
It concerns Moses, the ultimate liberator, and some truly wild accusations leveled against him. Now, Josephus, in his work Against Apion, addresses these very claims, specifically ...
Our guide for this adventure is Flavius Josephus, the first-century Romano-Jewish scholar and historian, and the story comes from his work, Against Apion. This book is essentially ...
Ever get the feeling someone's telling stories about you, and they're just... not true? That's kind of the situation the Jewish historian Josephus found himself in during the first...
God declared His secret name to Moses at the burning bush—and then Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, refused to write it down. "It is not lawful for me to say any more,...
At Sinai, the Israelites experienced the overwhelming presence of HaShem. But what did they actually see? Moses, in his wisdom, warns the Israelites, “And guard your souls very muc...
We find echoes of this struggle even in the most mystical corners of Jewish thought. The Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah, a profoundly esoteric text, delves into the very roots of souls an...
And it all comes into play in the mystical concept of Arich Anpin. Now, Arich Anpin, often translated as "Long Face" or "Vast Countenance," represents divine patience and forbearan...
Jewish tradition offers a powerful image for understanding this struggle, and a path towards liberation. It all revolves around the idea of "fifty gates of freedom." Where does thi...
Jewish mysticism speaks of gates like these – spiritual barriers that seem impenetrable. But what if the key wasn't strength or knowledge, but something far more vulnerable? The Ti...
And it's all tied to music. The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar delves deep into the mystical significance of the Hebrew letters and the sounds they create, revealing layers of m...
The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, that mystical, poetic expansion of the Zohar, paints a picture of just that scene, a constant stream of souls seeking entry, seeking voice. I...
It's like a cosmic code, waiting to be unlocked.It's a passage that plays with letters, numbers, and the very essence of the Torah itself. Are you ready? The passage focuses on the...
We all know the story: the Israelites are thirsty, Moses is frustrated, and God commands him to speak to a rock to bring forth water. Instead, in a moment of anger and doubt, Moses...
It begins with a pretty stark claim: when the actions of the people of Israel became corrupt, a new king arose over Egypt – Pharaoh. Sound familiar? But here's where it gets really...
The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a foundational text of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), reads the story of Jonah – Jonah swallowed by the great fish – as a metaphor for the soul...
Jewish mystical tradition speaks to this very tension, and it offers a path through it. to a fascinating passage from the Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, specifically Tikkun 109...
The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a mystical expansion on the Zohar itself, gives us a glimpse into just that – a cosmic tapestry woven with the threads of our festivals. In T...
(Exodus 12:7) "And they shall take from the blood": I might think either by hand or by vessel; it is, therefore, written (Ibid. 22) "And you shall dip it in the blood which is in t...
"and the L–rd will skip over the blood": Now does this not follow a fortiori, viz.: If of the blood (on the door) of the Pesach (Passover) of Egypt, the less "formidable," which ob...
"from the first-born of Pharaoh sitting on his throne": Scripture hereby apprises us that Pharaoh (himself) was a first-born, (the throne passing in succession to the first-born). ...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, examines a verse that seems to state the obvious: "And the children of Israel did as Moses had bid them" (Exodus 12:35). The rabbis a...
God spoke to Moses with a command that sounds absolute: "Sanctify unto Me every first-born" (Exodus 13:1-2). Every first-born — of humans, of animals, of everything that opens the ...
Moses commanded the people: "Remember this day when you went out of Egypt" (Exodus 13:3). The Mekhilta notices that this verse, taken alone, refers to the daytime — "this day." The...
(Exodus 14:1-2) "And the L–rd said to Moses, saying: Speak to the children of Israel that they return and encamp": R. Shimon b. Yochai says: Wherever it is written "saying and tell...
In the past, Pharaoh's servants said to him (Exodus 10:7) "How long will this one be a stumbling block to us?" and now (Ibid. 14:5) "What is this that we did in sending Israel away...
The Mekhilta offers a second interpretation of the phrase "and Pharaoh pressed ahead," this time focusing on the terrifying speed of the Egyptian pursuit. Pharaoh did not merely ch...
With the Egyptian army bearing down and the Red Sea blocking their path, the Israelites succumbed to terror. It was Moses who stepped forward and spoke the words that steadied an e...
Rabbi Eliezer preserves a stunning exchange between God and Moses at the shore of the Red Sea. The Israelites were trapped — the sea raging before them, the Egyptian army closing b...
(Exodus 14:21) "And Moses stretched his hand over the sea": and the sea resisted—whereupon Moses commanded it to split in the name of the Holy One Blessed be He; but it continued t...
Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the Torah says "the sea returned towards morning to its eithano" (Exodus 14:27). That final word — eithano — becomes the subject of...
(Exodus 15:4) "the chariots of Pharaoh and his host": "As one measures, so is it meted out to him." They (the Egyptians [i.e., Pharaoh]) said (Ibid. 5:2) "Who is the L–rd that I sh...
"The foe (Pharaoh) said": And he did not know what he was saying, viz. (Mishlei 16:1) "To a man are the musings of his heart, but to the L–rd is the meaning of the tongue." (He sai...
The Mekhilta notices something unusual about the verse "And Moses made Israel journey from the Red Sea" (Exodus 15:22). Rabbi Yehoshua points out that this particular journey was i...
When God responded to the Israelites' hunger in the wilderness, He used a single Hebrew word that two rabbis read in completely different ways. (Exodus 16:4) records God telling Mo...
Moses gave the Israelites a simple instruction in (Exodus 16:19): do not leave any manna over until morning. What happened next exposed a fault line running through the entire nati...
Moses spoke three words that carried immense weight: "Eat it today" (Exodus 16:25). He said it not once but three times in the same verse. "Eat it today, for it is Sabbath today. T...
Moses responded to Israel's complaints with a question that reframed the entire conflict: "Why would you quarrel with me? Why would you try the Lord?" (Exodus 17:2). He was telling...
