486 related texts · 8 related myths · Page 6 of 11
Pharaoh sends his own invitation. "Take your father and the men of your house, and come to me, and I will give you the best of what is desirable in the land of Mizraim, and you sha...
The Tabernacle needed more than materials. It needed people who could work them, weave, embroider, sew, carve, cast, and then show others how to do the same. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan...
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 39:37) describes the menorah and its lamps, but adds a line the Hebrew never says aloud. The lamps, the meturgeman tells us, were ordained to corr...
Og did not fit inside the ark. That is the whole problem. The world was drowning, the animals were lining up before Noah, and the giant who would later become king of Bashan stood ...
“The Lord accomplished what He devised: He implemented His statement that He commanded from the days of old; He destroyed and had no compassion. He caused the enemy to rejoice over...
“It is the Lord’s kindnesses that have not ceased, for His mercies have not ended” (Lamentations 3:22).“It is the Lord’s kindnesses that have not ceased” – Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish ...
“You are covered with wrath and have pursued us; You have killed, did not have compassion. You have covered Yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass. You have rendered us f...
Are they just habits, or something more profound? Well, the Letter of Aristeas, an ancient text describing the translation of the Torah into Greek, touches on just that. It offers ...
Legends of the Jews turns to Moses Pleads for Mercy to Overcome Divine Justice. He continues, reminding God of a fundamental truth: "Thou Thyself didst tell me when I asked Thee ho...
There’s far more to it than meets the eye. The Ramchal, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, in his work Asarah Perakim, peels back the layers of meaning, revealing a profound connection be...
This is not just about the physical objects; it's about the flow of divine energy they represent. The passage speaks of YESSOD d’ABBA, a foundational aspect of the divine masculine...
It all boils down to understanding the true meaning of echad – one. The familiar version gives us that God is one. The Shema, our central declaration of faith, proclaims, "Hear, O ...
Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah locates some of creation's deepest secrets on the forehead and in the eyes of Adam Kadmon, the primordial blueprint that precedes physical humanity. What do...
Jewish mysticism, especially the Zohar, wrestles with this very feeling. And in Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar 49, we find a particularly beautiful and intricate image of how th...
Every morning, observant Jews bind a small leather box to their forehead. And on that box is a single embossed letter. The shin (ש) on the head tefillin isn't just decoration. Acco...
The Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar, a deep dive into the mysteries of the Zohar itself, offers some fascinating insights. It talks about the "rites of sanctification" – those mo...
Our journey begins with the Sh'ma, that quintessential Jewish declaration: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One" (Deut. 6:4). The Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar te...
The mystical tradition of Kabbalah offers some incredible insights into how to make our prayers truly resonate – how to make them a conduit for something powerful. The passage begi...
They had a very specific solution, deeply rooted in love, connection, and the very structure of the Shm’a, that central Jewish prayer. The Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar, a late...
Rabbi Eliezer agreed that the tefillin (leather phylacteries worn during prayer) belong on the upper arm rather than the palm, but he arrived at the conclusion through entirely dif...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael records a direct question from Rabbi Yitzchak: where exactly does the tefillin go? The Torah commands "on your hand" (Exodus 13:16), which could be re...
The verse (Exodus 13:9) states, "And it shall be to you as a sign upon your hand and as a memorial between your eyes." The Mekhilta derived from the sequence of this verse a precis...
How often must a person inspect their tefillin (leather phylacteries worn during prayer) to make sure the scrolls inside are still intact? The Mekhilta derives the answer through a...
Ever stop to think about the power of "one?" It's a seemingly simple concept, a single digit, but in Jewish tradition, it resonates with profound meaning, echoing through the cosmo...
Those are tefillin, also known as phylacteries. They’re deeply meaningful, filled with ancient texts, and the way we put them on is steeped in tradition. But have you ever stopped ...
Sifrei Devarim turns to Cities of Refuge for the Accidental Manslayer. These weren't just any cities. They were specifically designated places, offering protection to someone who h...
Someone accidentally causes another person’s death. A tragedy, no doubt. But what happens next? What does justice look like? The Book of Deuteronomy, or Devarim in Hebrew, lays out...
The Torah's rule against cross-dressing in (Deuteronomy 22:5) is brief and absolute. Targum Jonathan rewrites it entirely, replacing the general prohibition with something specific...
How does R. Eliezer arrive at these conclusions? Does he apply the signs to the beginning or to the end of each watch? If he applies his signs to the beginning of each watch, then ...
Rav Hisda was one of the leading sages of Babylonian Jewry in the third century, and in his prime he was also one of the wealthiest. One day, late in life, after his fortunes had c...
The story of Abraham burying Sarah in the book of Genesis, specifically as explored in Bereshit Rabbah 58, really brings that feeling to life. "Abraham arose from before his dead, ...
Shir HaShirim Rabbah turns to Yehoyakhin and the King. Rabbi Berekhya suggests a beautiful interpretation: the "seal upon your heart" is the recitation of the Shema, that central J...
It centers around the verse, "the one who dwells in the gardens, companions listen" (Song of Songs 8:13). Now, who are these companions, and what gardens are we talking about? The ...
And the Lord said unto Abram: “Get thee out of thy country” (Gen. 12:1). May it please our master to teach us whether an Israelite is permitted to take upon himself the yoke of the...
The book tells us it contains the secret history of how time is divided – days, weeks, years, and especially those big jubilees, those 50-year cycles. It’s all laid out as a divine...
The familiar story is this: Moses goes up the mountain, gets the Ten Commandments, and comes back down. But what if there was more to the story? What if the Bible we know is just a...
Book of Jasher turns to Moses and Mount Sinai's Transgression. The story picks up right after the Israelites leave Rephidim. They arrive in the Sinai wilderness in the third month ...
The Jewish tradition offers a fascinating answer, one beautifully illustrated in the story of Moses, the great lawgiver. Before he led the Israelites out of Egypt, before the burni...
The stories surrounding Moses, our great leader and prophet, offer glimpses into just such an experience. It's more than just receiving the Ten Commandments; it's about a complete ...
The guy who parted the Red Sea, received the Ten Commandments. But even Moses had his moments of doubt. There’s this fascinating passage in Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg, t...
There’s a story about the moment the Israelites received the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. Remember, they were initially in direct communication with GOD. And when they heard th...
The familiar story is this: the Ten Commandments, the Golden Calf.. but what about the moments in between? The feelings, the doubts, the sheer weight of responsibility? The Ginzber...
I'm talking about Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The sages tell us Yom Kippur is so vital that even in the messianic future, when all other holidays fade away, this one will rem...
The story of the second set of tablets, the Luchot, is a powerful reminder of divine patience and the enduring bond between God and the Jewish people. It all starts with the afterm...
Take, for instance, the blessings and offerings associated with the tribes of Israel. They're not just historical details; they're packed with symbolism, reflecting the unique role...
A story that begins with a broken Sabbath and ends with a tangible reminder woven into the very fabric of our lives. The Legends of the Jews tells us that there was once a man who ...
The one who led the Israelites out of Egypt, received the Ten Commandments…even he had moments where he had to turn to a higher power for guidance. The Legends of the Jews, that in...
He pleaded with God, a conversation recorded in Legends of the Jews and drawn from various Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) sources, begging for just a little longer to...
