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Kohelet, or Ecclesiastes, grapples with these questions, and the rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Kohelet Rabbah, offer some pretty fascinatin...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, wrestles with these very questions. And one particular verse, (Ecclesiastes 3:5), has sparked some fascinating interpr...
Sometimes, the answer isn’t just in swords and shields. Sometimes, it's in something far more powerful: wisdom. Our story comes from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interp...
The Book of Exodus opens with a simple statement: "Joseph died, along with all his brothers and that entire generation" (Exodus 1:6). But this seemingly straightforward sentence ho...
It's like a beautiful tapestry, where each thread, each color, contributes to the overall picture. Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the commentary on Song of Songs, delves into this very idea...
That’s the kind of emotion pulsing through the Shir HaShirim, the Song of Songs. It’s a poem, an allegory, a mystery – and today, we're going to peek into one tiny, fascinating cor...
According to Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Song of Songs, Hugras was a Levite, part of the choir that served in the Temple. Now, the Levites...
Jewish tradition often uses metaphors to explore those pivotal moments, and today we're diving into one that uses lilies – yes, lilies! – to explain the power of Torah. We find thi...
We start with the verse, "When a person presents a meal offering to the Lord" (Leviticus 2:1). But the Rabbis cleverly link this to (Psalm 22:24): "Those who fear the Lord, praise ...
It's not just about skin disease. It's about something far deeper. Something that touches on the very fabric of our community and our souls. In Vayikra, Leviticus, we find the word...
It's not just about the animals themselves; it's about the patriarchs, about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the profound legacy they left behind. Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of ra...
“It was during the days of Aḥashverosh…” Rabbi Levi and the Rabbis, Rabbi Levi said: Aḥashverosh is Artaḥshasta. The Rabbis say: [He was called] Aḥashverosh, since anyone who remem...
“To do as every man desired.” The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘I do not fulfill the wishes of all My creatures, and you seek “to do as every man desired?”’ The way of the world is...
“Have the king appoint officials in all the provinces of his kingdom and they will gather every virgin young woman of fair appearance to the Shushan citadel, to the harem, to the c...
Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Levi: The Holy One blessed be He said to them, to Israel: You wept and said: “We have become orphans, fatherless” (Lamentations 5:3). By yo...
Another matter: “After these matters” – Rabbi Levi said: What the verse says: “When the wicked sprout like grass, and evildoers flourish” (Psalms 92:8); what is written at the end ...
And Abraham took another wife (Gen. 25:1). May our master teach us: How many times should one pray each day? R. Samuel the son of Nahman declared: Since there are three periods in ...
And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old (Gen. 27:1). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: Instead of thy fathers shall be thy sons, whom thou shalt make prin...
And Isaac trembled very exceedingly (Gen. 27:33). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: The fear of man bringeth a snare; but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord sh...
And Jacob went out (Gen. 28:10). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: For He will give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways (Ps. 91:11). R. M...
42:1). May it please our master to teach us the number of days during which a mourner is forbidden to work. Thus did our master teach us: A mourner is forbidden to work during the ...
42:1). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: Happy is He whose help is the God of Jacob (Ps. 146:5). Why does this verse say the God of Jacob and not “the God of A...
And Jacob called unto his sons (Gen. 49:1). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: He removeth the speech of men of trust, and taketh away the sense of the elders (J...
Another comment on This is it that their father spoke unto them. and he charged them, and said unto them: “I am to be gathered unto my people” (Gen. 49:28–29). He said to them: If ...
And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel (Exod. 4:29). He told them: The Holy One, blessed be He, has said: I have surely remembered ...
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants (Exod. 32:13). May our masters teach us: Until what time may the morning prayers be recited? Thus our masters teach us that the mo...
(Numb. 16:1:) “[Korah who is] the son of Izhar [who is] the son of Kohath [who is] the son of Levi betook himself.” But there is not written "the son of Jacob" [or] "the son of Isr...
The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text considered canonical by some but not included in the standard Hebrew Bible, takes us back to a time of literal hunger, a time when such fun...
Sefer haYashar, as it's known in Hebrew, is an ancient text referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13 and (2 Samuel 1:1)8), though the version we have today is likely a medieval...
There are so many fascinating texts that offer different perspectives and details on familiar narratives. Today, we're diving into a chapter from one of these books: the Book of Ja...
According to the Alphabet of Ben Sira, a strange and satirical medieval text composed between 700 and 1000 CE, three people in all of history were born without their parents having...
After Joshua died, Israel had no leader. The people asked God who should fight the Canaanites, and God told them to cast lots. The lot fell on Kenaz, from the tribe of Caleb, who b...
Haman wrote one of the most chilling documents in Jewish legend. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle translated by Moses Gaster in 1899, Haman...
Some believe that certain figures, especially the patriarch Abraham, never truly died. The idea of Abraham continuing to wander the world, making his presence known, is surprisingl...
According to tradition, on the second day, God brought forth four distinct creations: the firmament (rakia in Hebrew), hell, fire, and the angels. Now, the firmament isn't just the...
Before the third day, the earth was a watery expanse. Then, God commanded, "Let the waters be gathered together," and suddenly, mountains and hills burst forth, creating basins for...
According to Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, God revealed Himself to Abraham shortly after, to ease his conscience about the spilling of innocent blood, a scruple that caused him g...
His journey to Haran was no ordinary trip – it was, according to tradition, a day absolutely packed with divine intervention, a veritable whirlwind of the wondrous! Ginzberg, in hi...
His story doesn't end there. His descendants play a fascinating, sometimes unsettling, role in Jewish legend. , shall we? Apparently, the most righteous of Esau's sons was Eliphaz....
It’s a theme that runs deep in Jewish tradition, especially when it comes to our most righteous figures. According to Legends of the Jews, even Jacob, after years of hardship, thou...
That's the story of Joseph, whose relationship with his brothers is one of the most dramatic and heartbreaking in the Torah. It all started with Joseph's "talebearing," as Ginzberg...
Let’s talk about Joseph, and that infamous pit. The story begins with Jacob's sons, out tending their father's flocks near Shechem. They were gone a long time, and Jacob, naturally...
After the whole Joseph-selling fiasco, Jacob is understandably devastated. And who do the brothers blame? Judah, of course! They basically tell him, "This is ALL your fault!" Accor...
According to these accounts, Joseph's imprisonment wasn't just a random act of misfortune. It was, in a way, a consequence for speaking ill of his brothers before their father, Jac...
That feeling, that undercurrent of destiny, hums through the story of Joseph and his brothers. The famine wasn't just devastating Egypt. As Ginzberg recounts in Legends of the Jews...
They'd already made one harrowing trip to Egypt for food during a devastating famine. But now, the meager supplies they brought back were gone. The little children were crying, beg...
That's the situation Joseph finds himself in as the story in Genesis reaches its climax. We've seen Joseph rise to power in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. We've seen his br...
Today, we get a glimpse into such a moment, as we explore the final words of Judah, son of Jacob, before his death. According to Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg, these were Judah's...
