2,344 related texts · Page 25 of 49
Jewish tradition is full of these details, and each one is packed with meaning. to a seemingly simple phrase from Sifrei Devarim 129: "sheep and cattle." It seems straightforward e...
We often think of judges as these impartial figures, robed and removed, but Jewish tradition delves into the nitty-gritty of who sits on the beth din (court of law) and what makes ...
Specifically, we're looking at section 156. It's a short passage, but packed with insights into how Jewish law was understood and adapted. The text starts with the phrase, "or to t...
It all starts with a verse in Devarim (Deuteronomy 18:1): "There shall not be to the Cohanim, the Levi'im, the entire tribe of Levi, a portion and an inheritance with Israel." Okay...
We often think of inheritance in terms of land, possessions, things we can hold in our hands. But what if your inheritance was something… else? Something more sacred? to a fascinat...
We often think of land, money, possessions. But what about inheriting something far more profound? Sifrei Devarim 165 offers a glimpse into a different kind of inheritance, one tha...
The passage centers around (Deuteronomy 18:6), dealing with the rights and roles of the Levites. Now, who were the Levites? They were members of the tribe of Levi, designated for s...
The Torah, in the book of Deuteronomy, or Devarim in Hebrew, grapples with this very question. Specifically, Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretations on Deuteronomy, d...
The core of the discussion revolves around a complex scenario: a woman is divorced (receives a get) from her husband, but as part of the divorce agreement, a condition is set – let...
Ever hear a law and think, "Wow, that's… specific?" Well, buckle up, because we're about to dive into one of those laws from the Torah. It’s a concept called yibum, or levirate mar...
Today, we're diving into one of those intriguing corners of Jewish law, specifically a passage from Sifrei Devarim 288. It’s all about brothers, inheritance, and a rather complex s...
Now, what happens when one of them passes away, leaving behind a wife but no children? Traditionally, Jewish law provides a specific path, one designed to both care for the widow a...
Today, we're going to untangle a particularly fascinating knot from Sifrei Devarim 288, dealing with the laws of yibum and chalitzah – levirate marriage and its alternative. So, wh...
The goal? To continue the deceased brother's lineage. But what happens if things get complicated? What if the brother isn't exactly… careful in his intentions? The Sifrei Devarim, ...
We're talking about yibum, often translated as levirate marriage. It's a fascinating, and sometimes perplexing, practice outlined in the Book of Deuteronomy (Sefer Devarim). Imagin...
The ones that govern life, death, and... well, levirate marriage? It's a mouthful, I know. But stick with me, because even in ancient texts, there are surprisingly human stories hi...
Sometimes, diving into the nitty-gritty of old texts reveals surprisingly human stories and concerns. Let's take a peek at a passage from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal inte...
It’s a question that echoes through Jewish law, and today we're going to peek into one very specific corner of it. We're diving into a passage from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of ...
We find it in Sifrei Devarim 290, part of the legal commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy. The passage deals with a very specific situation: a man who refuses to go through with a ...
We're talking about chalitzah (חליצה), the ceremony of the shoe. But not just any shoe. This ritual, detailed in Deuteronomy, comes into play when a man dies childless, leaving his...
Jewish tradition understands that feeling, especially when it comes to family obligations. Today, we're diving into a fascinating corner of Jewish law, a ritual known as chalitzah,...
Our tradition has some surprisingly direct advice about that. to a passage from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early rabbinic legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy. We'...
The Torah itself understands this yearning, this constant state of being in-between. Let's look at a seemingly simple phrase from the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), "and he went do...
The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, offers a fascinating glimpse into this idea. It starts with the simple phrase: "And you shall ...
Specifically, (Deuteronomy 26:12). It’s a short verse, but it’s packed with meaning: "then you shall give to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow." Sounds simple, do...
Just a torrent of information, and you're struggling to hold onto even a drop. But what if there's a better way? Sifrei Devarim, a commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, offers us ...
The Torah touches on this, not directly, but in subtle glimpses. Let’s look at how the death of Aaron, the High Priest, is described, and what Moses thought of it. We find this ide...
The verse references Shimon, one of Jacob's sons, and it says, "His (Shimon's) hands did battle for him." This echoes a passage from Genesis (Bereshith 34:25), "And there took, two...
The standard Torah tells us that Jacob traveled to Beersheba and offered sacrifices before heading down to Egypt. But Targum Jonathan, the ancient Aramaic translation dating to the...
The Targum Jonathan on (Exodus 13) contains one of the most startling cross-references in all of ancient Aramaic translation. It identifies the famous dry bones from (Ezekiel 37) a...
The collection of materials for the Tabernacle in (Exodus 35:1-35) is, in the Hebrew Bible, a straightforward account of voluntary giving. The Targum Jonathan inserts miracles that...
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...
In the standard Hebrew text, God takes the Levites instead of Israel's firstborn sons. The Targum Jonathan adds details that transform this administrative swap into a high-stakes t...
The Targum Jonathan transforms the consecration of the Levites from a brief ritual into an elaborate purification involving specific quantities of water, a razor over every inch of...
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 first-fruits ceremony in (Deuteronomy 26) is beautiful in the Torah. Targum Jonathan makes it lavish. Where the Hebrew says simply to bring produce in a basket, the Targum adds...
The Torah's promise of return from exile in (Deuteronomy 30) is hopeful. Targum Jonathan makes it messianic. Where the Hebrew says God will gather the scattered, the Targum says: "...
From Ephraim, who wrote in Amalek after you, Benjamin (Judges 5:14). May our Rabbis teach us what a person should say when he reads the Book of Esther. The Talmud teaches us that o...
At the end of days, God will host a banquet for the righteous, and the main course will be the Leviathan. According to Bava Batra 74b, this is not metaphor. The Sages described the...
The Talmud in Tractate Avodah Zarah says that every afternoon, God plays with Leviathan—the colossal sea creature described in (Job 41:1) and (Psalms 104:26). The fourth quarter of...
The Hebrew Bible calls Moses "the man of God" (Deuteronomy 33:1). Targum Onkelos adds one word: "the prophet of God." Moses is not merely a man who belongs to God. He is a prophet—...
The Hebrew Bible says Moses died "by the mouth of God" (Deuteronomy 34:5). Ancient tradition interprets this as death by a divine kiss—the gentlest possible departure from life. Ta...
Rabbi Judah HaNasi needed to send a teacher to the town of Simonia. The community there required a sage who could teach Torah, render legal decisions, and guide the people. He chos...
Rabbi Ishmael ben Jose was making his way to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage when a Samaritan stopped him on the road. The Samaritans — who lived on and around Mount Gerizim and claimed ...
The Leviathan — the great sea creature that God created on the fifth day — was so enormous that the sages struggled to find words adequate to describe it. The Talmud (Bava Batra 74...
Abraham ibn Ezra and Yehuda Halevi were two of the greatest Jewish minds of medieval Spain — but their partnership was as unlikely as it was legendary. Ibn Ezra was a wandering poe...
Joshua v. Levi & Prophet Elijah. Pesikta, f. 36 a. Nissim, f. 4 b. Maase Hashem, f. 41a to 43 a. Eliah Cohen, Meil Se- daka §439. Heilperin, Seder Hado- rot, s. v. Joshua b. Levi. ...
"Behemoth" denotes the hippopotamus, though the Biblical description contains mythical elements suggesting these were not ordinary animals. The creatures appear in Job xl, where be...
