998 related texts · 2 related myths · Page 18 of 21
After the battle ended, God gave Moses a strange commandment: not to celebrate, but to write. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan reads it this way: "Write this memorial in the book of the ...
After the Amalek battle, Moses built an altar. But the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves the name he carved into it with surprising precision: "The Word of the Lord is my banner; fo...
(Exodus 28:1) names the first family of Jewish priests. Aharon, brother of Moses, is brought near with his four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Elazar, and Itamar. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan p...
The Hebrew Torah commands Israel to keep the Sabbath. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan adds three words that change the flavor entirely: Israel shall keep the Sabbath "to perform the delight...
As Moses descended the mountain, Joshua heard the noise of the camp and could not interpret it. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves Moses's reply in words of unsettling clarity: "It i...
Exodus 40 ends with a single line of deep significance. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan renders (Exodus 40:33) simply: Moses reared up the court around the tabernacle and the altar, set the...
A picture of the Heavenly Court. It's a pretty amazing concept, isn't it? The idea that even God, in all God's glory, doesn't act in a vacuum. Where does this idea come from? Well,...
The familiar story is this: Abraham and Sarah, finally blessed with a child in their old age. But what if there was more to the story than meets the eye? What if, as some ancient t...
In Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers, we find a fascinating discussion sparked by the verse "it will be that instead…" from (Hosea 2:1). Th...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to The Overlooked Devotion of the Gershonite Levites. Our story comes from Bamidbar Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book o...
It’s why the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Bamidbar Rabbah 13, dwells on his name, his lineage, and his pivotal role. The passage begins by asking a simp...
It’s like a beautiful song with a simple melody, but underneath, there's a complex harmony of hidden meanings and connections. The source turns to just such a passage from Bamidbar...
Jewish tradition teaches that there's a profound spiritual power in gathering together, a power that even resonates in the heavens. But is any gathering automatically holy? The Mid...
In Bamidbar Rabbah – that’s a collection of rabbinic teachings connected to the Book of Numbers – there's a fascinating passage about how God commanded Moses to gather seventy men....
The verse from Proverbs (26:6) sets the stage: “One who sends things by the hand of a fool cuts off his feet and drinks rancor.” Ouch. But here's the puzzle: were the spies really ...
It’s a story found within Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Numbers. The scene is set: Moses has sent out spies to scout the Land of Israel. ...
In this week's portion, we encounter the rebellion of Koraḥ, a story that's not just about one disgruntled guy, but about the very foundations of leadership and faith. "Koraḥ assem...
That's kind of what's going on in this fascinating passage from Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Numbers. The verse in question is from (Num...
The Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers, illuminates this very question. It tells us that the well, a miraculous source of water that accompa...
Bamidbar Rabbah turns to Birth of Bilam. Why, they ask, does the angel need to hide on this narrow path? Why not just confront Bilam directly? It seems a bit… sneaky. But the text ...
The first reading, it seems straightforward. But as we delve deeper, guided by the wisdom of our sages in Bamidbar Rabbah, we uncover fascinating interpretations. The very repetiti...
It sounds shocking, I know. The story starts with a curious discovery. In Rabbi Meir's personal Torah scroll, a peculiar reading was found in the verse “And, behold, it was very [m...
The Torah tells us, "The Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of hide, and clothed them" (Genesis 3:21). Simple enough. But as always, the rabbis of the Midrash (rabbin...
The Torah tells us in (Genesis 17:5), "Your name will no longer be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations." Seems But...
It's right there in (Genesis 17:17): "Abraham fell upon his face, and he laughed. He said in his heart: Shall a child be born to one who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, ...
The three angels, disguised as men, are visiting Abraham, and they ask him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" He replies, "Behold, in the tent.” Simple enough. But here’s the thing: in s...
The story of Abraham pleading with God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah is more than just a negotiation; it’s a glimpse into the very nature of divine justice and collective responsibil...
” But why did he leave? Bereshit Rabbah 52 doesn’t shy away from the gritty details. It suggests Abraham turned away because of the stench, not a literal one, but "the foul atmosph...
The Torah tells us that Abraham was old, zaken (Genesis 24:1). But the rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah 59 ask, what does that really signify? The rabbis dig deep, finding layers of meani...
Our story begins with the verse: "It was after the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son, and Isaac lived beside Be’er Laḥai Ro’i" (Genesis 25:11). Be’er Laḥai Ro’i, meaning ...
Jewish tradition, in its beautiful and often poetic way, offers a compelling answer: the people of Israel. to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic i...
The rabbis of Bereshit Rabbah, an ancient and profound commentary on the Book of Genesis, don't just take things at face value. They see echoes, connections, and hidden meanings wo...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Pharaoh Rejoices When Joseph's Brothers Arrive. The verse in (Genesis 45:16) tells us, "The news was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying: Joseph's brothers ha...
It's even woven into the very fabric of the Torah. we read in (Genesis 47:28), "Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Jonah — Zebulun at the Dawn of Creation. The verse in question is (Genesis 49:13): "Zebulun will dwell at the shore of seas, and he will be a shore for shi...
The story begins with the tribes of Reuben and Gad. As Israel was in the process of conquering and dividing the land, these tribes, as the midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary...
She was celebrated as a prophetess, a leader, a woman of immense faith. The book of Exodus (15:20) tells us, “Miriam the prophetess took a timbrel…” and led the women in joyous son...
Water, wine, honey… it's a veritable feast of metaphors! But what's the meaning behind it all? Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the book of Deuteronomy, explor...
In (Deuteronomy 31:14), God says to Moses, "Behold, your days are approaching to die; summon Joshua, and stand in the Tent of Meeting and I will command him." This verse, "Behold, ...
"What was is what will be," it says, "and what was done is what will be done; and there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Is that really true? Are we just doomed to...
That’s a feeling woven deep into the tradition of Jewish tradition, a feeling the rabbis grappled with intensely. how they expressed it. The story begins with the passing of Ḥiyya ...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, as it's known in Hebrew, grapples with this very feeling. "I said: Wisdom is better than courage, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, ...
The familiar version gives us about Moses, about the plagues, about the parting of the Red Sea. But what about the women who defied a king's cruel decree and saved countless Israel...
In the book of Exodus, specifically (Exodus 3:19), God tells Moses, "And I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, except by a mighty hand.” It's a pretty direct warning. ...
In the Book of Exodus, we read, "The foremen of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, saying: Why have you not fulfilled your appointed...
It’s a story about courage, about challenging the status quo, and about showing the world that what they worship is nothing more than an illusion. The verse in question is, "draw, ...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. to a fascinating interpretation from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Exodus. It all begins with a seemingly simple...
Specifically, What does "song" mean here? According to this Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), it's not necessarily a happy tune. Instead, "song" can refer to disaster, to...
