998 related texts · 2 related myths · Page 3 of 21
As Legends of the Jews tells us, Joshua's grief was profound. He tore his clothes, a traditional sign of mourning, and cried out, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and t...
The story of Joshua preparing to conquer Jericho, as told in Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg), throws us headfirst into that shadowy world. Before a single soldier marched, Joshua ne...
All sorts of momentous events piled up on a single day. This was the very day the Israelites crossed the Jordan River. Can you picture it? After forty years of wandering, they fina...
He went straight to the top, appealing to God Himself. Why? What went wrong? But God wouldn't answer. Why the divine silence? It wasn't just some cosmic mood swing. the verse says,...
The Gibeonites were a Canaanite group who cleverly tricked Joshua into making a covenant with them. They knew the Israelites were conquering the land, and so they pretended to be t...
The story of Joshua and the Gibeonites is a powerful lesson in just that. Joshua, successor to Moses, found himself in a bit of a quandary. He'd made an alliance with the Gibeonite...
She wasn't done. This time, she wanted her story, the story of her courage and her people’s deliverance, enshrined within the Holy Scriptures. The sages hesitated. Big time. Adding...
A person trapped on a low spiritual level might assume that deep Torah understanding is beyond their reach. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov says the opposite is true: the pathway from the...
With the Egyptian army bearing down and the Red Sea blocking their path, the Israelites succumbed to terror. It was Moses who stepped forward and spoke the words that steadied an e...
The Song of the Sea declares: "The Lord is my strength and my song" (Exodus 15:2). The Mekhilta explores what "my strength" actually means, and discovers that this single phrase ca...
Viz. (Song of Songs 3: "I had almost passed them (Moses and Aaron) by, when I found Him whom my soul loved. I held onto Him and did not let go of Him until I had brought Him to the...
Israel was not the only nation that broke into song at the Red Sea. According to the Mekhilta, all the peoples of the world joined in. The destruction of Pharaoh and his army sent ...
The Mekhilta presents two sharply different readings of the verse "And the people caviled against Moses, saying: What shall we drink?" Rabbi Yehoshua takes the generous view: the p...
Joshua as a great leader, a warrior, a successor to Moses is familiar. But what if his origins were shrouded in a myth mirroring some of the most famous stories in history? In Hibb...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, opens up a fascinating window into this very question. It uses a beautiful image – the "rose of Sh...
Some verses in the Psalms sound simple until you stack them against each other. The Midrash grapples with one such verse: "Ask of me and I will give you the nations." Seems straigh...
Midrash Tehillim turns to Nebuchadnezzar and the Angels of Songs. The passage begins with a rather curious reference to King Solomon and a line from the Song of Songs (8:4): "I adj...
Sometimes, the answers lie hidden in the stories we tell. to a passage from Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms. This particular midrash (rabbin...
Midrash Tehillim turns to The Lord Is My Shepherd and I Shall Not Want. Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, unlocks layers of meaning ...
Midrash Tehillim, a fascinating collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, asks a compelling question: "Another man, who is he?" And the answer it provides points us dire...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of Rabbinic commentaries on the Book of Psalms, dives deep into this idea, exploring how the voices of the righteous resonate with the Divine. "The r...
Today's story from Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Psalms, is all about how seemingly small acts of courage and confession can have enormo...
The story of Joseph in Egypt resonates so deeply because it touches on this universal human experience. And Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book o...
Midrash Tehillim turns to When the Jordan River Parted for Joshua and Israel. The text pointedly asks, "What is the value of the Jordan, and what does it matter to him? Were people...
That feeling of a long, hard journey – that's exactly what's captured in the Psalm of Ascents. But it's not just about the struggle; it's about the song that rises with each step. ...
Midrash Tehillim turns to Isaiah's Song. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) makes a fascinating point using the analogy of a kingdom. Who praises the king first? It's t...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer turns to Joshua — The Ark of the Covenant. The story, as we find it in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, chapter 38, begins with Joshua in anguish. He tears his clothe...
Our tradition teaches us it's something far more profound, something deeply connected to the well-being of the people. We find a fascinating insight in Sifrei Bamidbar, a collectio...
The Torah, our guide to life, gives us a glimpse in the book of Bamidbar (Numbers) when Moses is tasked with selecting his successor. It’s more than just picking someone competent;...
Sifrei Devarim turns to Joshua and the Ark. Then comes the phrase, "from before you." What does that even mean? Here, the Sifrei Devarim offers a beautiful image of gradual progres...
You might be surprised. Forget the crown jewels and the royal chef. According to one fascinating interpretation in Sifrei Devarim 161, it's a scroll. Specifically, a megillah, a sc...
Sifrei Devarim turns to Nations Depicted as Livestock in Moses's Song. The "cream of the herd," These are the ones at the top, the leaders, the ones calling the shots. Makes sense....
A powerful, and frankly, a little scary verse from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretations on the book of Deuteronomy. Specifically, The verse (Deuteronomy 32:23) Now...
When a human king celebrates a special occasion, like a wedding, he shares his wealth and joy. But Sifrei Devarim, in its commentary on (Deuteronomy 33:2), challenges this very hum...
A scribe’s nightmare? Perhaps. A treasure trove of textual insights? Absolutely! According to Sifrei Devarim 356, that's exactly what happened. And the differences weren't major pl...
They tell us of Moses' death. But… wait a minute. How could Moses himself have written about his own demise? It's a question that's puzzled Jewish scholars for centuries. The Sifre...
There's a fascinating idea tucked away in Sifrei Devarim that illuminates this. It says, regarding the Israelites following Moses's command, "and they did as the L-rd had commanded...
JOSHUA B. PERAḤIAH AND NITTAI THE ARBELITE RECEIVED THE TRADITION FROM THE PRECEDING. JOSHUA B. PERAḤIAH SAID: PROVIDE YOURSELF WITH A TEACHER, AND GET YOURSELF A COMPANION, AND JU...
The Hebrew Bible records Moses and the Israelites singing a triumphant song after the sea closes over the Egyptians (Exodus 15). Targum Onkelos transforms this victory hymn into so...
When they went out of Egypt, they broke out in song, as it is written: ‘then Moses and the children of Israel sang the song’ (Exodus 15:1); and when Israel went out of Jerusalem th...
Idra Raba and Idra Zuta: Two compilations from the Zohar, the first in the portion of Naso and the second in the portion of Ha'azinu. The term "Idra" in Greek means a gathering or ...
Story of Eldad the Danite, Narrative B In the name of the LORD God of Israel, blessed be His name, of our God the King, King of kings, Who chose Israel from among all nations and g...
The deeds of Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi [from the Sefer Ma'asiot of Rabbi Nissim Ga'on; Beit Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)] Rabbi Joshua ben Levi discovered something so ...
In conclusion: Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin (Riv"l) in his book 'Yehoshafat' (page 59) says in the name of Rigevo that the Yalkut brings teachings on the verse 'All my bones shall sa...
The Emperor asked Rabbi Joshua whether the dead came to life and being dust, how could dust live ? The daughter of the Emperor replied: “There are two makers of things in our place...
A Matrona asked Rabbi Joshua what God has been doing since Creation. The reply was: “He pairs people.” The Ma- trona then ordered a number of male slaves to marry female slaves, th...
In the dark years of Roman persecution, when teaching Torah was a crime punishable by death, two students of Rabbi Joshua went into hiding. They disguised themselves and moved care...
After two full years in prison, Pharaoh dreamed (Genesis 41:1). The midrash reads this through Psalm 73: "As an endless dream, the Lord despised their form." God does not reveal Hi...
