3,200 related texts · Page 58 of 67
Dreams occupied a unique space in Jewish tradition—neither fully trusted nor fully dismissed, they hovered between divine communication and meaningless noise. The Talmud devotes ex...
The Hebrew word mazal (מזל) originally meant "constellation" or "star." Only gradually did it shift to mean "luck"—and the journey of that word tells the story of Jewish astrology ...
(Exodus 12:6) "And it shall be to you for a keeping": Why does the taking of the Pesach (Passover) precede its slaughtering by four days? R. Matia b. Charash says: It is written (E...
The night of the tenth plague was unlike anything Egypt had ever witnessed. Every firstborn in the land — from the heir of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the cap...
The Torah describes the Exodus with the phrase "I took out your hosts." The Mekhilta asks a question that might seem obvious but carries deep theological weight: whose hosts are be...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, takes up a question about the Israelites' first stop after leaving Egypt: a place called Succoth. "And they traveled from Rameses to ...
When the Israelites finally left Egypt, they did not leave empty-handed. The Torah describes them departing with "flocks and herds, a great crush of cattle" — a staggering processi...
R. Eliezer says: On it they were redeemed; but they are destined to be redeemed only on Tishrei, as it is written (Psalms 81:4) "Blow the shofar (of redemption) on the month (of Ti...
The name of Yitzchak was not changed, for he was thus (originally) called by the Holy One Blessed be He. There are three who were named by the Holy One Blessed be He—Yitzchak, Shlo...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael records a teaching by Rabbi Yitzchak about the precise placement of tefillin, the leather boxes containing Torah passages that Jewish men bind to thei...
The Torah records a remarkable exchange in (Genesis 10:15): "And Canaan begot Tziddon, his first-born, and Cheth." Generations later, the sons of Cheth — the Hittites — encountered...
(Exodus 13:19) "And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him": This apprises us of the wisdom and saintliness of Moses. All of Israel were occupying themselves with the spoils (of E...
The Mekhilta completes its tracing of prayer through the three patriarchs by turning to Jacob. The Torah says that Jacob "vayifga in the place and he spent the night there, for the...
Variantly: "Stand ready to see the salvation of the L–rd": They: When? Moses: Tomorrow. They: Moses our teacher we do not have the strength to wait. At that time Moses prayed and t...
Rabbi Yehudah ben Betheirah offered a teaching that collapses the distance between God's promise and its fulfillment at the Red Sea. God told Moses: "I have already fulfilled My pr...
An analogy: A dove, fleeing a hawk, enters a king's palace, whereupon the king opens the eastern window for her, whence she escapes. The hawk, following, the king closes all the wi...
Pappus and Rabbi Akiva clashed again, this time over one of the most enigmatic verses in Genesis. After Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge, God said: "Behold, the man has become l...
Great is the faith wherein Israel believed in Him who spoke and brought the world into being; for in reward for Israel's belief in the L–rd, the Shechinah reposed upon them and the...
Rabbi Meir takes the tradition further than either Rabbi Yossi or Rebbi. Even fetuses in their mothers' wombs, he declares, opened their mouths and chanted song before God at the R...
And all who help Israel, help, as it were, the Holy One Blessed be He, viz. (Judges 5:23) "Curse Meroz, said the angel of the L–rd. Curse bitterly its dwellers. For they came not t...
Rabbi Yossi Haglili makes one of the most poignant observations in all of rabbinic literature. When Israel stood at the Red Sea and sang, they used the future tense: "The Lord will...
Rabbi Yitzchak posed a deceptively simple question about one of the most famous promises in the Torah. In (Exodus 15:26), God tells the Israelites that if they follow His commandme...
Rabbi Yossi and Rabbi Shimon used a vivid and startling metaphor to describe how the Israelites ate in the wilderness. They said Israel "stuffed themselves like horses" when the ma...
The Mekhilta completes its trilogy of faith-based miracles with the blood of the Passover lamb. God told the Israelites to slaughter a lamb and place its blood on their doorposts, ...
R. Chanina b. Akiva says: "More beloved" was the seeing of our father Abraham than that of Moses. For Abraham was not caused to exert himself whereas Moses was. What is stated of A...
The phrase "until Dan" appears in the vision God granted Moses from Mount Pisgah (Deuteronomy 34:1). But the Mekhilta raises an obvious problem: at the time of Moses, the land had ...
The Mekhilta teaches that there are people in the Torah whose very names were diminished — literally shrunk — because of their actions. The prime example is Efron the Hittite, the ...
R. Yitzchak took the lesson about serving others and elevated it to cosmic proportions. If we want to find someone greater than both R. Gamliel and Abraham in the act of serving, h...
God made a statement to Israel that the Mekhilta reads as one of the most intimate promises in Scripture: "And you shall be unto Me." Not unto an angel. Not unto an intermediary. U...
R. Nathan says: Whence is it derived that the L–rd showed our father Abraham, Gehennom, the giving of the Torah and the splitting of the Red Sea? From (Genesis 15:17) "And it was, ...
(Ibid.) "And they stood from afar": outside of twelve mil (the distance of the Israelite encampment). We are hereby apprised that Israel receded twelve mil and returned twelve mil ...
(Devarim 5:26) "Would that this heart of theirs (were in them to fear Me and to keep all of My mitzvot (commandments)h all of the days so that it be good for them and for their chi...
Rabbi Yitzchak addresses a grammatical question in the verse about striking one's parents that has enormous legal consequences. The Torah states: "And if one strikes his father and...
Beloved are the strangers, for by every epithet that Israel is called, the strangers are called. Israelites are called "servants," as it is written (Leviticus 25:55) "For unto Me t...
Beloved are the converts, and the Mekhilta offers a stunning proof: God delayed Abraham's circumcision until the age of ninety-nine specifically to keep the door open for future co...
Jewish mystical tradition offers us some pretty imagery. We're talking about God's Throne of Glory – not just any chair, but a cosmic command center. A vision of ultimate authority...
Jewish tradition is rich with visions of the future, of the Olam Ha-Ba, the World to Come. And some of those visions are, well, breathtaking. Imagine this: a day when the very thro...
Where is God? Have you ever stopped to truly consider that question? It seems simple, almost childlike. But the deeper you delve, the more mysterious it becomes. The mystics of our...
The story I want to share with you comes from the Talmud and it’s about Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha, the High Priest, and a truly extraordinary encounter. Imagine this: Rabbi Ishmael ...
We, with our messy emotions and tear-streaked faces, tend to project a lot onto the Divine. But Jewish tradition actually gives us some incredibly vivid, even surreal, images of Go...
Jewish tradition dares to imagine a God who weeps. And perhaps nowhere is that more powerfully depicted than in the legends surrounding the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. ...
The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem – twice – is one of the most profound traumas in Jewish history. It’s not just about losing a building; it’s about losing a connection, a...
There was a time, a very dark time, when God Himself considered doing just that. Imagine the scene: The Temple in Jerusalem lies in ruins. The people of Israel are in exile, weepin...
According to Jewish tradition, He's not exactly kicking back with a cosmic cup of coffee. Nope. He's been busy making matches. That's right, God is the ultimate shadkhan—a matchmak...
Okay, it's not exactly a fashion question, but it's a fascinating way to think about the beginning of everything. According to Jewish tradition, the very first thing created wasn't...
The story goes that when God desired to create the world, He turned to Rahab, who was the angel or prince of the sea. God commanded Rahab to "Open your mouth and swallow all the wa...
Jewish tradition offers a fascinating, almost dizzying glimpse into that unimaginable period. We know that on each of the first five days of Creation, God brought forth a multitude...
According to one fascinating oral tradition, Adam's first wife wasn't quite the helpmate he expected. She was, shall we say, a little too clever, a little too strong for him. Can y...
