3,200 related texts · Page 45 of 67
The Feast of the Garden of Eden [in Seder Rav Amram Gaon 13b, and Beit haMidrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) vol. 5, 45] In the future to come, the Holy Blessed One will rev...
Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) Chacham HaRazim" (The Sage of Secrets): A Midrash regarding angels and gematria (Jewish numerology). According to Stein Schneider, this i...
Nahum ish Gamzo, also called Nahum of Hamadi used to say, “Everything for the best.” Sent to the Emperor with presents, miracles happened. He came to a place where during the night...
When God gave the Torah at Mount Sinai, the scene was unlike anything the universe had ever witnessed. The entire nation of Israel stood at the base of the mountain, and when the v...
A star fell from heaven — and its fall marked the beginning of a corruption that would lead to the great Flood. The Midrash (Genesis Rabbah of Rabbi Moses HaDarshan, Midrash Abkhir...
God is known in this world by bringing judgment upon those who need it. This is Aggadat Bereshit's uncomfortable claim: "The Lord is known for executing judgment; the wicked are en...
That’s the kind of dream Jacob, later known as Israel, had as he fled from his brother Esau. It wasn't just a random jumble of images, but a direct encounter with the divine. The T...
You know the one – stretching all the way from earth to heaven, angels going up and down, up and down. He jolted awake and said, "In truth, the Glory of the Shekhinah (the Divine P...
It's not just geography; it’s woven into the very fabric of creation, a story about divine intention and a unique relationship. Imagine the world being divided, not along political...
Turns out, the rabbinic tradition has quite a bit to say about its motivations and character. The Torah tells us, "Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made and sent out t...
And believe it or not, our ancient texts have something profound to say about it. The Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic teachings on the...
Take the tale of Pharaoh and Sarah in Genesis. We know the basic outline: Abraham and Sarah enter Egypt, Abraham says Sarah is his sister, Pharaoh takes Sarah into his house, and t...
The verse in question? "He said: I will return to you at this time next year and, behold, a son for Sarah your wife. And Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, and it was...
The verse in question is (Genesis 18:15): "Sarah denied, saying: I did not laugh, for she was afraid. He said: No, but you did laugh.” It's a simple exchange. But Rabbi Yehuda ben ...
In Jewish tradition, we find moments like that too, and they often lead to powerful breakthroughs. Take the story of Abraham and Sarah in the land of Avimelekh. As the Book of Gene...
The Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), those ancient interpreters of scripture, certainly had some thoughts. to their fascinating explanations from Bereshit ...
In Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, specifically in section 63, we find a discussion around the verse, "The Lord said to her" (Genesis 25:23), ...
It centers on Jacob, later to be known as Israel, at a pivotal moment in his journey. The verse in question: "He encountered the place" (Genesis 28:11). The text tells us that Jaco...
Dreams have always held a special fascination, and Jewish tradition is no exception. Take the famous dream of Jacob in (Genesis 28:12): "He dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set on...
It’s a question that’s been pondered for centuries, and our tradition offers some fascinating insights. a passage from Bereshit Rabbah 74, which delves into the nature of prophecy ...
We pick up the story in (Genesis 32:4), where it says: "Jacob sent messengers." But before we get to that, (Genesis 32:3) tells us something crucial: "Jacob said, when he saw them:...
Rabbi Ḥama ben Rabbi Ḥanina suggests that Jacob wasn't wrestling just anyone; he was battling Esau’s guardian angel! Remember when Jacob says, "For therefore I have seen your face,...
to a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of Jacob's reunion with his brother Esau, years after their fraught parting. The story, as told in Bereshit Rabbah 78, isn't just about b...
This is a theme that echoes powerfully through Jewish tradition, and it's something we see vividly in the Devarim Rabbah. This particular passage delves into the profound consequen...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, that explores just that, through the lens o...
But (Ecclesiastes 4:3) dances with it: "Better than both of them is one who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil actions that are done under the sun." Now, Kohelet Rabbah, a...
And their story, as told in Shemot Rabbah, is a powerful reminder of resilience, faith, and the strength of community. Pharaoh, wasn't just content with enslaving the Israelites. H...
Specifically, we're looking at section 18, which explores the verse "it was at midnight" (Exodus 12:29) in the context of miracles, divine messengers, and God's intricate plans. Th...
We all know the story, but the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), those ancient interpreters of scripture, delve into the details, revealing layers of meanin...
And, well, the answer might surprise you. Rabbi Natan, in Shemot Rabbah, makes a pretty strong statement: justice is fitting for God precisely because He upholds it without showing...
It’s a question that takes us to the heart of Jewish thought, and to a fascinating passage in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. The pas...
The book of Exodus and the sages of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) explore this very idea. In (Exodus 32:7), we read, "The Lord spoke to Moses: Go descend; for your...
The ancient rabbis pondered such a moment, centered on our patriarch, Jacob, and a vision of a ladder reaching to the heavens. The scene is set in Genesis, where Jacob dreams of a ...
“Those close to him” (Esther 1:14) – they brought the calamity close to themselves. “Karshena” – who was appointed over the vetch3A plant used as animal feed. [karshinin]; “Shetar”...
It’s a question that has echoes through Jewish tradition, and one that comes up in a fascinating discussion about bowing down, prostration, and the very nature of God’s glory. The ...
He dreamed, and behold, a ladder set upon the earth; and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it (Gen. 28:12). R. Samuel the s...
He commanded them, saying; “Thus shall you say unto my lord Esau” (Gen. 32:5). R. Judah the son of Simon began the discussion with the verse: As a troubled fountain, and a corrupte...
Behold, I send an angel before thee (Exod. 23:20). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: For He will give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways (...
One fascinating, if somewhat enigmatic, text that attempts to answer this very question is the Book of Jubilees. Jubilees, a Jewish work of the Second Temple period, offers a uniqu...
It’s not just a vague "they went off and settled," but a detailed allocation. We find a fascinating, if somewhat cryptic, account in the Book of Jubilees. This ancient Jewish text,...
Sometimes, the answer is simpler – and more personal – than you might think. Take the story of Madai. We find him in the Book of Jubilees, hanging out in the land of Media, close t...
The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text considered canonical by some but excluded from the Hebrew Bible, gives us a glimpse. It paints a vivid picture of Terah, Abraham’s father, ...
Sometimes, it's in these tiny glimpses that we catch sight of the divine hand at work. Let's zoom in on a single verse from the Book of Jubilees. Now, the Book of Jubilees itself.....
We're talking about the Maccabean Revolt, a pivotal moment in Jewish history. The Jews were fighting for their religious freedom against the oppressive Seleucid Empire. It was a Da...
The Book of Jasher, an ancient Hebrew text referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13 and (2 Samuel 1:1)8), fills in some fascinating details. So, Terah, Avram's father, takes Av...
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had questions. Ben Sira had answers. And in the Alphabet of Ben Sira, a satirical medieval text composed between 700 and 1000 CE, no question was t...
The breaking point came at Mod'aith. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle preserved by Moses Gaster in 1899, after Antiochus departed for Maced...
Benjamin, twelfth and last son of Jacob, born of Rachel, had lived a hundred and twenty-five years. He kissed his sons and began to speak. "As Isaac was born to Abraham in his old ...
