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The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early rabbinic legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, points out this fascinating characteristic of the prophets. "And this is the bl...
Turns out, the Torah might have some surprising advice for us, hidden in the very last words Moses ever spoke to the Israelites. It’s in Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:2, part of Moses' ...
It’s a question that resonates through the ages, and the Sifrei Devarim, an ancient commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, offers a fascinating perspective. The text begins with th...
That feeling, that's what we're diving into today. We’re looking at a tiny phrase tucked away in Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)im ...
Is it just for a select few, a royal inheritance? Or is it for everyone? Sifrei Devarim, a fascinating commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, tackles this head-on. It begins by que...
The Torah, our guide to navigating life's complexities, doesn't shy away from these tough questions. And in the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), we find a particularly striking examp...
Promises to ourselves, to others, maybe even to the Divine. But following through? That's the real test. The Sifrei Devarim, a legal midrash on the Book of Deuteronomy, shares a fa...
How do we, bound by earthly limitations, even begin to fathom the celestial realm? The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early rabbinic legal interpretations on the Book of Deuterono...
It wasn't just a panoramic view of the Promised Land. According to our tradition, it was so much more. "From the plains of Moab," the text tells us. (Sifrei Devarim 357). But what'...
The Book of Deuteronomy, or Sifrei Devarim in Hebrew, actually delves a little deeper. It's not just a geographical overview; it's like a vision through time. Consider the verse "A...
We know he gazed out at the Promised Land, the land he would never enter. But the Torah tells us he saw more than just hills and valleys. He saw everything. But what everything, ex...
RABBAN JOḤANAN B. ZAKKAI RECEIVED THE TRADITION FROM HILLEL AND SHAMMAI.Hillel the Elder had eighty disciples:1Cf. the parallel passage in Suk. 28a (Sonc. ed., p. 123) and B.B. 134...
R. Ḥananiah, the deputy High Priest,1In Aboth 3:2 (Sonc. ed., p. 27) there is a different saying attributed to ‘R. Ḥanina, the deputy High Priest’, and in III, 5 (Sonc. ed., III, 5...
BEN ZOMA SAID: WHO IS WISE? HE THAT LEARNS FROM ALL MEN, AS IT IS STATED, FROM ALL MY TEACHERS HAVE I GOT UNDERSTANDING.1Ps. 119, 99, E.V., I have more understanding than all my te...
The opening verse of Deuteronomy lists a string of place names — "in the wilderness, in the Arabah, over against Suph, between Paran and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Di-zah...
The appointment of Bezalel and the commandment of Sabbath in (Exodus 31:1-18) culminate in one of the most extraordinary images in all of Targum Jonathan: the physical description ...
The second set of tablets in (Exodus 34:1-35) carries a weight the first set never had. These were carved by human hands, not divine ones. But the Targum Jonathan adds something to...
The final chapter of Exodus (Exodus 40:1-38) is, in the Hebrew Bible, the moment God's Presence fills the completed Tabernacle. The Targum Jonathan turns this moment into a prophet...
Leviticus 25 introduces the sabbatical year and the Jubilee. The Targum Jonathan addresses the most obvious objection: if the land rests every seventh year, what will people eat? G...
The standard census in the Book of Numbers is a dry headcount. But the Targum Jonathan transforms it into something far more dramatic, adding a theological reason for every exempti...
Numbers 7 is the longest chapter in the Torah, listing identical offerings from twelve tribal princes across twelve days. It is famously repetitive. The Targum Jonathan rescues it ...
Numbers 11 tells the story of Israel complaining about food in the wilderness. The Targum Jonathan adds a graven image in the camp of Dan, a wind that nearly destroyed the world, a...
The Hebrew Bible says Moses sent twelve spies into Canaan. The Targum Jonathan says he sent "keen-sighted men"—then reveals how spectacularly their vision failed them. Moses dispat...
Korah did not just challenge Moses. According to the Targum Jonathan, he manufactured a theological argument using the very fabric of his clothing, hid treasure he had looted from ...
The five daughters of Zelophehad—Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah—heard that the Promised Land would be divided only among males and immediately went to the court. The Targ...
The Targum's version of (Numbers 30) adds specific ages to the Torah's vow laws, transforming abstract principles into concrete legal thresholds. A male becomes bound by his vows a...
The tribes of Reuben and Gad had enormous herds, and when they saw the conquered territory east of the Jordan, they wanted to stay. The Targum's version of (Numbers 32) captures Mo...
The final chapter of Numbers in the Targum's version (Numbers 36) resolves a legal crisis that the daughters of Zelophehad had inadvertently created. The heads of the clan of Gilea...
The Blessing of Moses in (Deuteronomy 33) gets the full Targum treatment—every tribe's destiny expanded, every blessing loaded with specifics the Torah never mentions. It opens wit...
… it is written there “Behold the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You…” (Melachim I 8:27) and here it is written “…the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.” (Sh...
And the one who offered his sacrifice on the first day was Nachshon ben Aminadab of the tribe of Judah (Numbers 7:12). Our Rabbi, the one who offered the sacrifice to the altar, ta...
The Seder Olam reveals a pattern hidden in the calendar of sacred history: the most important events in Israel's story all cluster around one date — the fifteenth of Nisan. It bega...
On the seventh day after the Ten Commandments Moshe went up on the mountain, as it says "The Presence of the LORD abode on Mount Sinai, and the cloud hid it for six days..." (Shemo...
"And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year..." (Numbers 1:1).1Guggen...
"So the Egyptians enslaved the children of Israel with back breaking labor [b'farech]" (Ex. 1:13). R. Elazar says, "B'pe rach—with a soft mouth." R. Shmuel says, "B'frichah—With ri...
Another explanation: As she purified the entire house of her father like the blood of a bird (tzipor, used in purifying some impurities). Rabbi Yose bar Chaninah said, 'They sought...
The Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 392 makes a breathtaking claim about the two stone tablets that Moses received on Mount Sinai: they were not made from any earthly material. "The tablet...
When the Holy One came to give the Torah to Moshe, he said over the order of the Readings, the Mishna, the aggadah (non-legal rabbinic narrative) and the Talmud as it says "And God...
“Take the staff…” (Bamidbar 20:8) This is what the scripture says “The staff of your might the Lord will send from Zion…” (Psalms 110:2) This is the staff which was in the hand of ...
In ancient Israel, a person who killed someone by accident did not go free. Neither was he executed. He ran for his life to one of six cities of refuge, and the roads that led ther...
Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa and his wife lived in crushing poverty. Every Friday before Shabbat (the Sabbath), his wife would fire up the oven and throw in some kindling—not to bake bre...
The Hebrew Bible says Moses came to "the mountain of God" at Horeb (Exodus 3:1). Targum Onkelos specifies: "the mountain on which the Glory of God was revealed." The mountain is no...
The Hebrew Bible records Moses making the most audacious request in Scripture: "Show me Your glory" (Exodus 33:18). Targum Onkelos renders the response with his most careful theolo...
The Hebrew Bible says God opened the mouth of Balaam's donkey, and it spoke (Numbers 22:28). Targum Onkelos translates this miracle without flinching. The donkey talks. No metaphor...
...It is written, "The Lord established the earth with wisdom"—this is the Torah. The Torah, where was it and where will it be? Why is it called Torah? Because a teaching descended...
Pirkei Avot, also known as "Ethics of the Fathers," is one of the most widely studied texts in all of Jewish literature — and one of the most unusual tractates in the Talmud. Unlik...
Midrash HaGadol: Several manuscripts of this midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) are found in well-known libraries, and one belonged to Dr. Alexander Kohut, who used it in t...
"Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) Chazit": It is also called "Aggadat Chazit", and it is a comprehensive midrash on the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes. These midrashim be...
