998 related texts · 2 related myths · Page 5 of 21
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov taught that the pursuit of honor is a spiritual trap, and the only escape is through silence in the face of humiliation. When a person chases honor, they n...
There exists a soul in every generation through whom Torah insights are revealed to the world. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov describes this soul as one burdened with suffering: "Bread w...
The Baal Shem Tov treats heartache as a symptom, not a verdict. In Keter Shem Tov 1:16:1, suffering of the heart reveals an illness of the soul. The illness is diminished awareness...
Ben Sira turns to Joshua Raised His Javelin Against the City. Ben Sira, in his wisdom, certainly did. He paints a picture of Joshua in chapter 46 that's nothing short of awe-inspir...
Ben Sira, in his wisdom, offers us a glimpse into the very heart of David's reign. "And he went against the Philistine foe, and to this day shattered their horn." It's a powerful i...
The heroine of our story, Judith, had something to say about that. We find ourselves in the Book of Judith, a story set during a time of great crisis for the Jewish people. The Ass...
Besieged by the overwhelming Assyrian army, their water supply cut off, they were desperate. They were ready to give up. That's where Judith steps in, a woman of strength, faith, a...
Book of Judith turns to Judith Walks Into the Enemy Camp With Courage. Judith, remember, is the brave widow from Bethulia who's taken it upon herself to save her people from the As...
Not as a dry, academic exercise, but as a genuine inquiry into the human spirit. The scene comes to us from the Letter of Aristeas, an ancient text that purports to describe how th...
Rabbi Joshua ben Levi was walking on the road when he met the prophet Elijah. "Would you like to see the gates of Gehinnom (the place of spiritual purification after death)?" Elija...
Legends of the Jews turns to Songs of the Angels. Imagine, if you will, an angel – a celestial guide – entrusted with the soul even before it enters the earthly realm. According to...
A reader can picture Moses as the ultimate authority figure, standing atop Mount Sinai. But what about the practicalities of his rule? The elders certainly held a position of respe...
You remember the story. Moses sends twelve spies, one from each tribe, to check out the land God promised them. When they return, ten of them are terrified. Giants! Fortified citie...
In Jewish tradition, the battles against Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, loom incredibly large. The sages even equated these triumphs to the monumental victory over Pharao...
It wasn't exactly smooth sailing, let me tell you. According to Legends of the Jews, the moment was ripe with miracles, all designed to solidify Joshua's authority in the eyes of t...
Even after the setback at Ai, the Israelites were a force to be reckoned with, inspiring dread in the hearts of the Canaanite peoples. That's where the story of the Gibeonites come...
The Israelite army, led by Joshua, is locked in a fierce struggle. It’s Friday, and the weight of the approaching Shabbat, the Sabbath, hangs heavy in the air. Joshua knows that fo...
That feeling – that primal need to praise – it's woven deep into the fabric of Jewish tradition. It’s a feeling that echoes through the ages, finding its voice in the words The wei...
Legends of the Jews turns to Trial of Joshua. Then there's the hope for the future, the desire for lasting peace: "Thus shall all Thine enemies perish, O Lord, and the wicked shall...
The story, as recounted in Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, tells us that this ominous message arrived right before Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, a time meant for celebration and rej...
The familiar story is this: – the Exodus, the wandering in the desert, and finally, the moment to claim their inheritance. But it wasn’t just a simple walk in the park. There were ...
It wasn't just a matter of drawing lines on a map. It was, according to tradition, a divinely orchestrated process, a fascinating blend of the practical and the miraculous. After s...
Even way back when Joshua was dividing up the land, right after the Israelites entered the Promised Land, there were concerns about balancing individual rights with the needs of th...
After 28 years of leading them through war and peace, Joshua, the successor to Moses, passed away. According to Legends of the Jews, a monumental work compiled by Rabbi Louis Ginzb...
It's not a decision to take lightly. So, they turn to God for guidance. And the answer they receive is… well, it’s pretty interesting. God basically says, “If your hearts are pure,...
It happens to the best of us, and even to some of the greatest Rabbis in Jewish lore. Take the story of Rabbi Joshua, for example. The familiar version gives us the prophet Elijah....
Joshua inherited an impossible job, replace the greatest prophet in history and lead a nation of former slaves into enemy territory. According to Josephus, he did not hesitate for ...
The moment Joshua and Eleazar the high priest died, Israel began to unravel. Josephus does not soften this. The generation that had conquered Canaan gave way to one that could not ...
It all boils down to two fundamental characteristics: hester panim, the "concealment of the countenance," and gilui panim, the "illumination of the countenance." Think of it like t...
It’s a powerful moment, filled with anticipation and a touch of melancholy. The Idra Zuta, meaning "the Lesser Assembly," is a section of the Zohar, the central text of Kabbalah, J...
The mystics have pondered that feeling for centuries. They've looked into the silence and asked, "What's really there?" And sometimes, the answers they found are… unsettling. to a ...
Idra Zuta turns to Rabbi Shimon's Mystical Vision at the Assembly. The setting? A mystical gathering, a moment of profound revelation. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, a central figure in ...
That’s kind of how the Kabbalah feels sometimes. Especially when we start diving into texts like the Idra Zuta. The Idra Zuta, which literally means "The Lesser Assembly," is a sec...
Idra Zuta turns to The Lesser Holy Assembly and Its Grand Vision. The Idra Zuta, meaning "The Lesser Holy Assembly," is a central text within the Zohar, the foundational work of Je...
It sounds wild, I know, but bear with me. The Idra Zuta gets intensely detailed about the beard of God. Yes, you read that right. But before you picture a divine lumberjack, unders...
One little piece, Tikkun (spiritual repair) 54, and see what secrets we can uncover. We start with a verse from Song of Songs (7:6): "Your head is upon you like Carmel." Now, The f...
Tikkunei Zohar turns to Song of Songs and the Devotion of Heaven. In Tikkunei Zohar, when we bend the knee, we do so at "Blessed," represented by the Hebrew letters Y-A-Q-D-V-N-Q-Y...
It describes how souls exit, perhaps having completed their earthly task, their spiritual mission. And then, immediately, others are there, knocking, pleading: "Adonai, sefatai tif...
Jewish mystical tradition certainly thinks so. to a passage from the Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar, a central text of Kabbalah. It takes a seemingly simple line – "the curves o...
It's there, woven into the verses, hidden in plain sight for those who know how to look. Take the Song of Songs, for instance. "A locked garden is my sister, my bride, a locked wav...
The Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar, a later expansion on the core teachings of the Zohar, offers a powerful, almost visceral, image. It uses fragrant spices and, well, let's jus...
The Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar, that mystical expansion on the Zohar, uses a powerful metaphor to describe the relationship between us and the Shekhinah, the divine feminine...
You're not alone. Our tradition beautifully captures this bittersweet feeling, this yearning for the Divine presence that seems so palpable on Shabbat (the Sabbath) and then, all t...
Tikkunei Zohar turns to Praise of the Body in Song of Songs Mysticism. This particular passage is all about "the praise of the body," or in the Aramaic, sh’vacha d’gufa. Intriguing...
Happy is the Jew, the Kabbalists say, who can prepare for Shabbat a complete set of garments that he wears only then. A coat, a belt, a pair of shoes, a hat, all different from the...
Knesset Yisrael is asleep, but her heart is awake. In Zohar, Ha'Azinu 1, Rabbi Judah reads Song of Songs as Israel speaking from the edge of loss. "I was asleep, but my heart was a...
Rabbi Nathan offered a striking interpretation of the erotic poetry of Song of Songs that transformed it into a lesson about the sanctity of marriage. When the verse says "a locked...
The Mekhilta asks a practical question about Passover night in Egypt that reveals something extraordinary about how communal sacrifice works. The Torah commands, "The entire assemb...
