936 related texts · Page 14 of 20
(Exodus 16:35) "And the children of Israel ate the manna for forty years": R. Yehoshua says: for forty days they ate the manna after the death of Moses. How so? Moses died on the s...
Rabbi Eliezer Hamodai calculated exactly how long the manna lasted after the death of Moses: seventy days. Not a rough estimate — a precise count, worked out from the calendar itse...
How seriously should a student revere a teacher? The Mekhilta answers with a statement that sounds almost blasphemous: the fear of one's teacher is to be equated with the fear of H...
When Amalek attacked the Israelites at Rephidim—the first nation to wage war against the newly freed slaves—Moses turned to his student Joshua with a command (Exodus 17:9): "Choose...
Before the battle against Amalek, Moses made a declaration: "Tomorrow I shall stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand" (Exodus 17:9). But what did he mean by "tom...
During the battle against Amalek, Moses stood on a hilltop with his arms raised, channeling divine power to the Israelite warriors below. But holding your arms up for hours is grue...
(Exodus 17:14) "And the L–rd said to Moses: Write this as a remembrance in the book and place it in the ears of Joshua": The early elders said: So is it with all the generations. T...
Rabbi Eliezer Hamodai taught that Moses was one of four great tzaddik (a righteous person)im (the righteous) — righteous people — to whom God gave a subtle hint about the future. T...
Moses stood before God and made one final, desperate plea. The decree had been issued — Moses would not enter the Promised Land. But Moses, ever persistent in prayer, tried to nego...
Before Moses died, God took him to the summit of Mount Nebo and showed him the entirety of the Promised Land — every region, every valley, every corner of the territory his people ...
R. Eliezer says: Yithro heard the splitting of the sea and came (to join Israel). For the splitting of the sea was heard from one end of the world to the other, viz. (Joshua 5:1) "...
Three things were given conditionally: Eretz Yisrael, the Temple, and the kingdom of the house of David, but not the Torah scroll and the covenant of Aaron, which were not given co...
When God offered the Torah to the Israelites at Mount Sinai, the entire nation responded with one of the most remarkable declarations in all of Scripture. As the Mekhilta explains,...
How many judges does it take to decide a monetary dispute in Jewish law? The Mekhilta traces the answer to a single passage in (Exodus 22:7-8), where the word "elohim" — meaning ju...
Moses certainly did. In the book of Exodus (33:18-23), we find Moses pleading with God, "Oh, let me behold Your presence!" It's a raw, human moment. Can you imagine the courage, th...
The ancient rabbis certainly understood that feeling. They knew that the divine, in all its glory, could be both awe-inspiring and, frankly, terrifying. And sometimes, a good story...
Jewish tradition offers a beautiful and powerful image: they're gathered by an angel named Sandalphon and transformed into crowns for God. Every word, every intention, every heartf...
We all know the triumphant tale of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea, escaping Pharaoh's clutches. But what about the Egyptians swallowed by the waves? It turns out, Jewish tradi...
And according to Midrash Mishlei, a collection of insightful commentaries on the Book of Proverbs, even animals know to avoid it! We find this idea in the midrash on (Proverbs 1:17...
Oh no, it’s right out in the open, making a joyful noise! (Proverbs 1:20) tells us, "Wisdom calls aloud in the street." But what does that mean? The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive ...
Even Moses, leading the Israelites out of Egypt, felt that way. He looked at the nations surrounding them, nations far more numerous, and thought, "These nations are more numerous ...
This particular passage, Midrash Tehillim 4, starts by talking about the dedication of a psalm: "To the conductor with musical instruments." But it's not just about the music itsel...
The Psalms, those ancient songs of King David, knew all about that feeling. And the Rabbis, centuries later, unpacked those feelings in their own special way, through midrash (rabb...
That’s a question that echoes through the ages, a yearning found right at the beginning of Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms. It begins with t...
Rabbi Simon, in the ancient collection of homiletic interpretations known as Midrash Tehillim, sheds light on this very idea. He suggests that simply reciting poetry doesn't make o...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers a fascinating glimpse into this divine-human "battle" during the Exodus. It's not just abou...
It's no wonder that the Psalmist David, gazing up at that same sky millennia ago, wrote, "The heavens declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1). But what does that declaration actuall...
Isn't it funny how sometimes we just know something is valuable, but we can't quite put our finger on why? That’s kind of the question posed at the beginning of Midrash Tehillim 19...
The Midrash Tehillim, an ancient collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, grapples with this very question. Specifically, it reflects on (Psalm 26:5), "I hate the congr...
The ancient rabbis grappled with this too. And they found a beautiful answer in a seemingly simple verse from Job: “Who preceded Me, that I should repay?” (Job 41:3). This verse, e...
We're looking at Midrash Tehillim 45, and it all starts with lilies. The verse in question is (Psalm 45:1): "To the conductor over the white lilies, a wise song of friendship." But...
A melody, some words, and suddenly…connection. But what if I told you that some songs are so potent, so deeply resonant, that even the greatest figures in history were eager to hea...
Turns out, our tradition has a lot to say about that. The book of Proverbs (26:26) reminds us, "His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the ...
It might sound audacious, but our tradition actually suggests there are times when the "lower court" – that's us, down here – and the Holy One, blessed be He, are in a bit of a… di...
We often think of praise as loud, exuberant, filled with song and dance. But what about the silence? What kind of praise is that? (Psalm 65:1-2) gives us a clue: “For the conductor...
The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) begins with the verse, "To the conductor, a song of praise. Shout to God, all the earth, sing the glory of His name." It beautifully ...
Jewish tradition has a powerful answer: God's mercy is inexhaustible. It’s a concept beautifully explored in Midrash Tehillim 67, a commentary on the Psalms. The passage opens with...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, dives deep into this verse, taking us on a journey through moments of profound transformation and ...
It’s a very human feeling. And it’s a feeling that resonates deeply within the words of the Midrash Tehillim, specifically in its commentary on Psalm 79. , shall we? The Midrash (r...
Take (Psalm 81:2), for example: "Raise a song, strike the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp." But then it continues, "Sound the shofar at the New Moon, at the full moon for ...
A prayer attributed to Moshe, the man of God. It’s a powerful opening, immediately grounding us in the foundational narrative of the Jewish people: "Before the mountains were born,...
Think of it as a secret decoder ring for understanding the deeper layers of King David's timeless songs. Today, we're diving into a fascinating little nugget from Midrash Tehillim,...
Take Psalm 103, for example. It’s a song of praise, a declaration of divine forgiveness and goodness. But Midrash Tehillim, an ancient collection of interpretations on the Book of ...
The Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, delves into this very question as it unpacks Psalm 119. It focuses on the verse, "Let the wicked be ash...
And they wrestled with those feelings in their writings, seeking solace and understanding. to a passage from Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms...
It’s a very human feeling, and it’s one that resonates powerfully in a story told in Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Psalms. Psalm 122, "A...
Psalm 133 captures that perfectly, and the Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic commentaries on the Book of Psalms, beautifully unpacks its meaning. The psalm itself begins, ...
Our tradition teaches that even then, sacred work continues. Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, sheds light on Psalm 134, "A Song of Ascents: ...
