936 related texts · Page 8 of 20
The Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of rabbinic teachings on the Bible, sheds light on this very question, drawing from (Psalm 87:1-2): "Of the sons of Korah, a song with musical acc...
Today, we're going to explore a passage from the Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of rabbinic literature that sheds light on a particular verse about cities of refuge. The passage we'...
That’s how Joshua, Moses’ successor, felt when Moses died. Imagine the weight of that grief, the sheer absence of a leader, a teacher, a friend. But according to Sifrei Devarim, Go...
It turns out Moses felt the same way as he prepared to leave the Israelites. He needed someone – or something – to vouch for the covenant, to make sure no one could later claim the...
The ancient rabbis grappled with this feeling too, and they found ways to understand it through the lens of Torah. We find a powerful example of this in Sifrei Devarim, a collectio...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Sifrei Devarim 352, which explores this concept through the story of the tribe of Benjamin and a mysterious plot of land in Jeri...
"Zohar Chadash": It consists of some esoteric Torah teachings (letters), verses, and Mishnaic teachings with a concealed Midrash on the Torah and the Song of Songs, as well as some...
"Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) Chazit": It is also called "Aggadat Chazit", and it is a comprehensive midrash on the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes. These midrashim be...
...It is written (Ps. 119:62) At midnight do I constantly rise to give thanks unto Thee. Did David rise at midnight? Behold! He arose at the beginning of the night, for it is said,...
"I will assemble Jacob, all of you; I will bring together the remnant of Israel" (Micah 2:12). The end of Aggadat Bereshit's prophetic arc arrives here: not the death of Jacob, not...
It might seem like a minor detail, but according to Jewish tradition, it reveals something profound about God's love for His people. The text we're diving into today comes from Bam...
Today, we're diving into Bamidbar Rabbah 11, a section of a Midrash, a collection of rabbinic commentaries on the Book of Numbers, and we'll find some surprising and hopeful insigh...
But what if the answer wasn’t a cold, scientific explanation, but a beautiful, poetic description hidden within our sacred texts? The Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teac...
It all starts with a verse from the Song of Songs (3:11): "Go out and gaze, daughters of Zion, at King Solomon, at the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wed...
But from that small verse, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) launches into a fascinating exploration of Judah, the tribe of lions, fiery furnaces, and ultimately, God'...
The Torah portion Naso, particularly in Bamidbar Rabbah 13, delves into this very concept, using the offerings of the princes as a springboard. It's a fascinating exploration of Is...
It's all about how we access, understand, and apply the teachings of Torah. The passage opens with a verse from Ecclesiastes (12:11): “The words of the wise are like goads, and lik...
to a fascinating passage from Bamidbar Rabbah 14, a Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), or interpretation, on the Book of Numbers, that explores this very tension. The pass...
It all begins with the tzitzit (fringes) on a garment. The Torah tells us, "They shall make for themselves a fringe [tzitzit]" (Numbers 15:38). Now, Korah, ever the instigator, see...
Our stories are woven into our lineage, and sometimes, those threads get tangled. to a fascinating passage from Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of N...
But in Jewish tradition, there are moments where even MOSES, our greatest prophet, seems to do just that. to one of those fascinating instances from Bamidbar Rabbah 19. The verse w...
This is the complex and very human story bubbling beneath the surface of (Numbers 27:17), "that the congregation of the Lord will not be like a flock that has no shepherd." It's a ...
Rabbi Simon, quoting Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, shares something fascinating about the letters mem, nun, tzadi, peh, and kaf. You know, those letters that have different forms depend...
The verse in Genesis (6:14) states: "Craft for you an ark of cypress wood; you shall craft the ark with compartments, and you shall coat it within and without with pitch." Now, Rab...
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven." We all know the famous line from Ecclesiastes (3:1). But have you ever stopped to consider just how m...
Our guide? None other than Bereshit Rabbah 93, a treasure trove of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis. Specifically, we're looking at the moment Judah "approached" (va...
The story starts with a quote from (Genesis 49:5): "Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of villainy are their heritage." But what does it really mean? Bereshit Rabbah, an ancient...
It's easy to read the Torah as a collection of individual stories, but the rabbis of old saw something more: echoes, parallels, and meaningful connections woven throughout the gene...
The book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, opens with the simple phrase, "These are the words…" And immediately, the ancient interpreters of our tradition, the rabbis of the Midrash (rabbin...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the book of Deuteronomy, opens up this very question for us. It begins with the verse, "This is the blessing," and then delves...
It sounds almost unbelievable, doesn't it? Yet, according to Devarim Rabbah, this is precisely the monumental struggle Moses faced at the end of his life. Rabbi Yoḥanan tells us th...
You're dropped right into the action, and you wonder, "Wait, shouldn't this have been explained earlier?" Well, the ancient rabbis grappled with a similar feeling about the Book of...
Kohelet, the book of Ecclesiastes traditionally attributed to Solomon, wrestles with just that. And Kohelet Rabbah, the rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, digs even deeper. Let's...
Jewish tradition grapples with this question, especially when it comes to the timing of pivotal moments in our history. And sometimes, the answers are more surprising than you'd ex...
The verse from Ecclesiastes (3:16) sets the stage: “Moreover, I have seen, under the sun, in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of justice there is wickedn...
But what does it really mean? Kohelet Rabbah, a rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, dives right in. It suggests that "the rebuke of a wise man" refers to those who deliver homilie...
“An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed” (Exodus 3:2). ...
The passage we're looking at begins with God instructing Moses: "Go and gather the elders of Israel, and say to them: The Lord, the God of your fathers, God of Abraham, of Isaac, a...
The Torah touches on this very human act in some surprising ways. We find a fascinating exploration of brotherly love, and the significance of a kiss, in Shemot Rabbah, a collectio...
It's all there in the book of Exodus, chapter 7, verse 9: "When Pharaoh will speak to you, saying: Provide a wonder for you; then you shall say to Aaron: Take your staff, and cast ...
And they found a surprising way to express it. In Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, we find a fascinating reading of the verse, "Then M...
The passage begins by linking the manna, that miraculous bread from heaven, to a verse in Proverbs (9:5): "Come, partake of my bread, and drink of the wine I have mixed." What's th...
It wasn't just about aesthetics or availability. According to Shemot Rabbah, it was a symbolic statement about history, power, and ultimately, redemption. We read in (Exodus 25:3),...
It reveals a surprising strategy employed by the righteous when approaching the Divine. The text opens with the curious phrase "write for yourself," and then it proposes that the r...
Jewish tradition is full of that – layers upon layers of interpretation, waiting to be uncovered. Today, we're diving into Shemot Rabbah, specifically section 52, which takes a ver...
In fact, the Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Song of Songs, dives deep into its meaning and context, revealing some pretty surprising ideas. L...
Today, we're diving into the heart of one of the most beloved, and sometimes debated, books in the Jewish tradition: Song of Songs, or as it's known in Hebrew, Shir HaShirim. We're...
Ever read Song of Songs and wondered, "Where on earth did this passionate love poem even come from?" It's a question that's occupied Jewish thought for centuries, and the Rabbis of...
