486 related texts · 8 related myths · Page 8 of 11
It's a poignant moment, and the book of Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, illuminates the depth of that experience. "You are crossing t...
The Torah tells us in (Exodus 19:8), "Moses reported the statement of the people to the Lord." According to Shemot Rabbah, this moment prompted God to want to give the Torah to the...
Take the story of the Golden Calf. According to Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, that single act changed everything. "Behold, I am sen...
Rabbi Abahu tells us that for all forty days Moses spent up on the mountain, he was studying Torah… and forgetting it just as quickly. Can you imagine the frustration? "Master of t...
Our tradition teaches that the Torah isn't just a book; it's a blueprint for creation, a manifestation of God's very being. And the luchot, the tablets upon which the Ten Commandme...
The apple tree in Shir HaShirim Rabbah is not decoration. It is Sinai in bloom. Rabbi Aḥa ben Rabbi Ze'eira notices the order of the tree: blossom first, leaves after. Israel, he s...
“And did not remember His footstool [hadom raglav],” Rabbi Ḥanina bar Yitzḥak said: The Holy One blessed be He does not remember that blood [hadam] that was between the legs of the...
Central to Judaism is the absolute oneness of God. It’s right there in the Shema, that foundational declaration: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:...
Maybe you enthusiastically shouted "Amen!" a few too many times, or perhaps you lingered a little too long on the "Modim" (we give thanks) during the Amidah. Turns out, there's a s...
This they shall give, everyone that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel (Exod. 30:13). Because they had sinned at the sixth hour,16Word-play reading the word boshet...
The Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar, a mystical commentary on the Zohar, that foundational text of Kabbalah, invites us into just that kind of treasure hunt. It urges us to look ...
(Ibid. 16) "And it shall be as a sign upon your hand, etc.": In four places, the mitzvah of tefillin (leather phylacteries worn during prayer) is mentioned: (Exodus 13:1-10) "Sanct...
After the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and watched the waters crash over the Egyptian army, they burst into song. But how exactly did they sing? The Torah says (Exodus 15:1) "And...
"and he shall bring him near to the door or to the door-post": The door is being compared to the door-post, viz. Just as a door-post stands in its place, so, the door must be stand...
One fascinating interpretation of Psalm 104 connects the birds of the sky to the nations of the world. But not in a peaceful, harmonious way. Instead, the midrash (rabbinic interpr...
When you start digging into Jewish law, you quickly discover that things are rarely that straightforward. Take this passage from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretatio...
And Isaac trembled exceedingly (Gen. 27:33). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them (Prov. ...
The familiar version gives us about the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and the giving of the Ten Commandments. But what about the details that fill in the cracks, the "behind...
The young Moses, raised in Pharaoh's court, becomes a student. But not just any student. According to Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg, teachers were brought in from all over to edu...
The story goes that Moses, up on Mount Sinai, wasn’t just getting the Ten Commandments. He was getting a download of, well, everything. The past, the present, and, crucially, the f...
By Louis Ginzberg, Moses, overwhelmed, turned to God in desperation. "O Lord of the world!" he cried, comparing himself to a careless shepherd who has led his flock to the edge of ...
Not just any breakfast, but manna, that heavenly food that sustained the Israelites in the desert for forty years. In Ginzberg’s retelling in, Legends of the Jews, life with manna ...
Like you're being held accountable for. everything? That's what the Earth felt at the Revelation at Sinai. According to Legends of the Jews, the Earth itself was terrified, convinc...
As retold by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, that’s pretty much what happened when the Ten Commandments were given. When the first commandment, Anochi Hashem Elokecha – "I am the Lord your G...
The familiar version gives us the Ten Commandments. But did you know that Jewish tradition actually elevates the honor due to parents to a level that, in some ways, surpasses even ...
The familiar story is this: Moses goes up Mount Sinai, gets the Ten Commandments, and the Israelites, left to their own devices, panic. But the story, as we find it in Legends of t...
Impatient, fearful, they construct a golden idol, a symbol of their own making. A betrayal that cuts deep. The immediate aftermath was devastating. According to Ginzberg's retellin...
The story begins with Moses, fresh from his encounter with God on Mount Sinai. He comes down with the Ten Commandments, radiating… literally. The Israelites, still reeling from the...
So, why this specific amount? The rabbis of old weren't just making things up as they went along. There's a reason woven into the very fabric of the story. According to rabbinic tr...
They stood at Sinai, heard the very voice of God thundering the Ten Commandments, including the absolute prohibition against idolatry… and then, a mere forty days later, they're pa...
He was the master craftsman chosen to bring the Tabernacle to life. A true artist, filled "with the spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kind...
It wasn’t just about golden walls and intricate carvings; according to tradition, miracles pulsed within its very structure. When the Cherubim, those powerful angelic beings, were ...
Legends of the Jews turns to Solomon Added Ten Candelabras but Moses's Came First. Why ten candelabras in total? Solomon, in his wisdom, chose the number ten to mirror the Ten Comm...
Legends of the Jews turns to Pillars of Fire and Cloud of Moses. The Talmud, specifically in Sifrei Bamidbar (Numbers) Piska 84, tells us that when God wanted Israel to move, the c...
You’ve stood at the foot of Mount Sinai, heard the very voice of God, and entered into a covenant promising to be His people. You’re practically glowing with spiritual energy…. Wel...
Moses knew something profound. He understood that, more than anything else, God valued mercy. Remember the story of the Golden Calf? When the Israelites went completely astray, Mos...
Legends of the Jews turns to Balaam Admits Israel Cannot Be Uprooted From the Earth. Balaam admitted, "I was in error when I believed Israel could be easily attacked, but now I kno...
Balak, the King of Moab, certainly believed in the power of place. And he was desperate. Balak had a problem: the Israelites. A massive, powerful nation camped right on his border....
King David knew Torah, but one boast about his knowledge brought punishment faster than he expected. The story goes that David, feeling pretty good about his grasp of Jewish law, r...
It wasn't about personal glory, or even about his own accomplishments. No, his thoughts were consumed by the future of the community he had shepherded for so long. He was thinking ...
It’s certainly on display as we approach the end of Moses' life in the book of Numbers. The story goes that God tells Moses he’s going to die soon, specifically after avenging the ...
The story of the Israelite soldiers after their victory over Midian, as told in Legends of the Jews, is something else entirely. These weren't your typical conquerors. They came ba...
Even Moses, the great lawgiver, the one who spoke face-to-face with God, reached such a point. The scene: Moses knows his time is near. He desperately wants to live, to continue le...
Here's a curious detail: this single mountain, according to some accounts, bore not one, but four names: Nebo, Abarim, Hor, and Pisgah. Why so many names for one place? Well, the L...
Being in his sandals, standing in the very presence of God. It's a question that has captivated Jewish scholars and storytellers for centuries. The Legends of the Jews, that incred...
Legends of the Jews turns to Moses's Prayer Shapes the Military Destiny of Judah. Moses, even as he shepherded the Israelites, was already praying for future generations. Specifica...
The story revolves around a famine in Israel, a famine attributed to King Saul's transgression against the Gibeonites. long ago, Joshua had made a pact with the Gibeonites, promisi...
It all comes down to light. Not just any light, but the ohr, the radiant light of God. The Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah, a Kabbalistic text whose name means "40 Gates of Wisdom," tells ...
