3,636 related texts · Page 32 of 76
"And Moses took out the people to meet God" (Exodus 19:17) — and Rabbi Yossi recalls how Rabbi Yehudah used to interpret the verse from (Deuteronomy 33:2): "And he said: The Lord c...
"Moses spoke and God answered him with a voice" (Exodus 19:19). Rabbi Eliezer asks: what does this verse actually tell us? The answer reveals something remarkable about how the Ten...
(Exodus, Ibid. 16) "And they said to Moses: Speak, you, with us, and we will hear, (and let G–d not speak with us, lest we die.") We are hereby apprised that they lacked the streng...
(Ibid.) "And Moses entered into the mist": This (his closeness to the L–rd) was a function of his humility, viz. (Numbers 12:3) "And the man Moses was extremely humble, etc." Scrip...
When Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, the Torah records that "Moses entered into the mist, where God was" (Exodus 20:21). The Mekhilta reveals that this approach to...
But still, let his blood be spilled from other limbs (and not through "the sword" [i.e., decapitation])! It is, therefore, written (in respect to eglah arufah [the "heifer of the b...
(Exodus 21:20) specifies that the master strikes his bondservant "with a rod." The Mekhilta asks: does this mean the master is liable regardless of what kind of rod he used? Even a...
(Exodus 35:1) "And Moses assembled, etc." What is the intent of this section? From (Ibid. 25:8) "and they shall make for Me a sanctuary," I might think both on a weekday and on the...
Rabbi Yonathan asked: what is the purpose of specifying "You shall not light a fire" when the Torah already prohibits all labor on the Sabbath? If all thirty-nine categories of lab...
According to one tradition, Moses spent forty days and nights in this heavenly yeshiva before receiving the Torah. During this time, he learned all 613 commandments and all the sec...
The story of Moses on Mount Sinai offers a profound glimpse into this mystery, showing us not just what to pray, but how. The Book of Exodus tells us that Moses ascended Mount Sina...
We find him in the book of Exodus (3:1-6), a shepherd tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, a priest in Midian. One ordinary day, Moses leads the sheep to Horeb, also kno...
We all know the triumphant tale of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea, escaping Pharaoh's clutches. But what about the Egyptians swallowed by the waves? It turns out, Jewish tradi...
That’s hardcore. What's the secret? Well, Jewish tradition offers a fascinating explanation. It wasn’t just about toughing it out. It goes much deeper. The Makhon Siftei Tzaddik (a...
The passage from (Proverbs 1:22-33) kicks things off: "'How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?'... 'and fools hate knowledge.'" The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive com...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers a fascinating perspective. It points to the tribe of Levi, specifically those who resisted ...
This particular passage, Midrash Tehillim 4, starts by talking about the dedication of a psalm: "To the conductor with musical instruments." But it's not just about the music itsel...
Isn't it fascinating how language can be so fluid, so open to interpretation? The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) starts with a rather stark statement: "Speak differentl...
King David knew that feeling. Midrash Tehillim, an ancient collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers a glimpse into David's heart, revealing a profound sense of h...
This feeling isn’t new. King David wrestled with it, too. Midrash Tehillim, a beautiful collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, gives us a glimpse into his struggle, a...
The ancient texts offer some pretty fascinating clues, particularly in how they describe the transformation that comes with repentance. Take Midrash Tehillim, for example, a collec...
The Midrash Tehillim, an ancient collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, grapples with this very question. Specifically, it reflects on (Psalm 26:5), "I hate the congr...
to one particularly powerful passage, a meditation on (Psalm 27:1), "The Lord is my light and my help; whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; whom should I drea...
The verse that kicks it all off is from (Psalm 71:1): "In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge. Let me never be put to shame." But the midrash, the interpretive story, doesn't just tak...
to a passage from Midrash Tehillim 36 that speaks directly to this feeling. The verse we're focusing on is a prayer: "Draw your kindness towards your devotees." Simple enough. But ...
The Midrash Tehillim, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, wrestles with this very idea. Rabbi Yitzchak points to (Deuteronomy 33:27), which ...
And wouldn't you know it, our tradition has some fascinating perspectives on this very issue, especially when it comes to our relationship with the Divine. to a passage from Midras...
According to Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Psalms, there are five key elements that can bring about Israel's – and perhaps our own – salvation...
The ancient Israelites felt that way too. And in Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic commentaries on the Book of Psalms, we find a powerful message about how they found sola...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, uses Psalm 146 to explore this very idea. It begins with the powerful statement: "The Lord opens t...
Jewish tradition, in its beautiful complexity, actually has something to say about that feeling – about being an outcast, and even more surprisingly, about the possibility of retur...
The Torah tells us about the 10th plague, the death of the firstborn in Egypt, and the Exodus that followed. But the details… they’re fascinating. Rabbi Shimon Ben Yochai, a toweri...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, for those unfamiliar, is a fascinating early medieval text, a midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), that weaves together biblical narrative, legend, a...
He wasn't just some figurehead in the ancient Israelite camp. He was a tzaddik, a righteous soul, who actively sought out harmony. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medie...
And if we look into the ancient texts, we find some pretty amazing answers. to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval text that retells and expands upon biblical narr...
Jewish tradition is full of stories of righteous individuals who, facing persecution, chose to flee. And often, it was the very act of fleeing that led them to salvation and a deep...
We often focus on the almost-sacrifice, the angel's intervention, the ram that appears in the nick of time (Genesis 22). But what became of that ram after its offering? Rabbi Chani...
We find him, as Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (Chapter 40) tells us, leading his flock. Not just anywhere, mind you, but all the way to Horeb. That's right, Mount Sinai, also known as Hor...
It's more than just a divine special effect. It's a symbol, layered with meaning, hinting at the complex relationship between Israel and the world. : fire and thorns. Not exactly a...
We have this image of the tablets, the commandments, the booming voice… but the tradition holds so much more. It wasn’t just a simple transaction. It was a profound, transformative...
Let’s talk about Moses. We all know Moses. The guy who led the Israelites out of Egypt, parted the Red Sea, received the Torah on Mount Sinai. A towering figure of faith and leader...
But why from darkness? Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating text of Jewish lore, gives us a glimpse into this mystery. The text points out that when it comes to Moses, the Torah s...
Moses, our leader, does exactly what God tells him to do. "Stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it," (Ex. 14:16). Simple enough. Except… it doesn't work. As Pirkei DeRab...
The desperation, the cruelty… it’s almost too much to bear. But what if I told you that Jewish tradition offers a surprising, even comforting, twist on that horrific decree? Accord...
to a fascinating moment from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, specifically chapter 42, where Moses himself is in conversation with the Holy One, blessed be He. The Israelites are on the cus...
The ancient Israelites certainly did. They came to Moses with a real head-scratcher. "Moses!" they asked, according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval midrash ...
But what if there's more to the story than we usually hear? to a fascinating piece of Jewish lore found in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, chapter 45, which offers a unique perspective. Th...
That's the situation Moses faced in a powerful story found in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (chapter 45). The story opens with a terrifying decree: God, in his anger, sends not one, but f...
