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It's easy to see him as just a sneaky snake, but Jewish tradition, especially in the writings we call midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), often sees things on a deeper, sym...
Did you ever stop to wonder… did that serpent in the Garden of Eden actually talk? I mean, really talk? It's a question that’s been wrestled with for millennia. (Genesis 3:2) simpl...
The story in Genesis, as we all know, tells of a serpent who tempts the woman, leading to the eating of the forbidden fruit and the expulsion from paradise. But the ancient sages w...
Why on earth did the serpent twist God's words to Eve, claiming, "God has said, 'You shall not eat of every tree in the Garden'" (Genesis 3:1)? God actually said, "You may freely e...
The kind of things that make you pause and think, "Wait, did that really happen that way?" Let's zoom in on the story of the Garden of Eden, specifically that fateful moment when t...
Get ready, because the answer might surprise you. Our source today is "The Midrash of Philo," a fascinating, often overlooked text. Here, we find a unique take on the serpent in th...
That’s the feeling at the heart of a fascinating question posed about the story of Adam and Eve: What does it really mean when the Torah tells us, "Because they knew that they were...
Turns out, there's more to it than just a quick wardrobe fix. Our sages saw layers of meaning woven into that very first act of covering up. In The Midrash of Philo, we find a fasc...
And it's a question that dances at the heart of a fascinating passage from the Midrash of Philo. Philo, a Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria in the first century CE, grappl...
We often focus on the sin, the temptation, the immediate consequences. But what about their reaction? How did they feel, and how did they act immediately after? There's a curious d...
Especially when we’re talking about THE CREATOR of the universe! to a tiny, but profound, little corner of Jewish thought to explore this. We're going to look at a question posed i...
That feeling isn't exactly new. to a fascinating interpretation of a very famous moment: God calling out to Adam after he ate from the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. We a...
But did you ever notice something strange about how they pointed those fingers? The man, Adam, he's quick to say, "The woman gave me of the tree, and I did eat." He throws Eve righ...
But in Jewish tradition, nothing is ever just simple. There's always a deeper layer, a hidden meaning waiting to be uncovered. So, why this order? The Midrash of Philo, a collectio...
Sometimes, it's not just about what happened, but when it happened. And that order can be brimming with meaning. Take the story of the Garden of Eden. We all know the tale: the ser...
He suggests we look beyond the literal. Philo sees the serpent not just as a snake, but as an allegory – an emblem of desire itself. The serpent "creeps upon his breast and upon hi...
That internal struggle... it's been a topic of contemplation for millennia. And interestingly, sometimes it's been explored through the lens of gender. Now, I know what you might b...
The verse that phrase alludes to, of course, comes from (Genesis 3:19), part of the consequences faced by Adam after eating from the Tree of Knowledge. God tells him, "Till you ret...
It’s such a simple act, naming, but in that moment, Adam isn't just labeling. He’s making a profound statement. Why that name? Why "Life"? (Genesis 3:20) tells us, "Adam called his...
The ancient Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria grappled with this very question. Philo, living in the 1st century CE, sought to reconcile Jewish scripture with Greek philosophy...
But why? What was the point of this divine bouncer? That's the question the Midrash of Philo 24 wrestles with. Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), by the way, is a method o...
Take the image of the cherubim, those powerful, enigmatic beings guarding the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve were expelled. What do they really represent? Philo, a Jewish philos...
Philo, a Jewish philosopher living in Alexandria in the first century CE, grappled with this idea. He saw that virtue, that inner goodness, could actually make someone "older" in a...
The Midrash of Philo – and when we say Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), we're talking about a way of interpreting scripture that fills in the gaps, making the stories sp...
Philo, in his writings, believed that understanding “right division” – what we might call proper order – is key to understanding… well, everything. He argued that right division an...
The Torah, in its infinite wisdom, speaks to that very human experience. Consider the loaded question in (Genesis 4:8), after Cain has just slain his brother Abel. God confronts hi...
We get a glimpse into the story of the very first murder in the Torah, but the text leaves so much unsaid. What drove Cain to such a horrific act? Was it simply jealousy over God f...
Ancient Jewish wisdom grapples with this very struggle, this internal conflict that defines the human experience. And sometimes, it gets Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher w...
It turns out, that feeling might be older than you think. to a fascinating piece of ancient Jewish thought that wrestles with just that—the heavy inheritance of sin. We're going to...
The Torah tells us Adam and Eve then had another son, Seth, but it doesn't delve too deeply into his significance. But Jewish tradition, ever eager to fill in the gaps, certainly d...
We read about Adam and Eve having another son, Seth, and suddenly, he's the one carrying the torch, the one from whom humanity will descend. What gives? The Midrash of Philo, a fas...
The ones that make you stop and say, "Wait, what exactly does that mean?" I was pondering just such a detail the other day, specifically about Enoch. You know, the one who "walked ...
Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher living in Roman Egypt, certainly thought so. He delved into the numerical symbolism of the Torah, seeking hidden meanings within the seemi...
Day and night, up and down... Does it ever feel like there's a deeper meaning to it all?Stick with me, it’s more profound than it sounds. The passage starts by pointing out the obv...
And in the Midrash of Philo, we find a fascinating take on fate, divine justice, and the reasons behind catastrophic events like, say, the Flood. Philo addresses those who argue ag...
It's not about bloodlines or earthly possessions, according to Philo. It's something far more profound. Philo, in his Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), tackles this very ...
Philo, deeply influenced by both Greek philosophy and Jewish tradition, offers a unique perspective. He sees the number seven as "clean," a virgin number, untouched and complete. I...
Take the story of Noah and the Ark. We all know the basic plot: God sends a flood, Noah builds an ark, and saves his family and the animals. But what about the deeper meaning? What...
Like when Noah is safely tucked away in the ark, the Torah tells us, "And the Lord shut him in, closing the doors of the ark" (Genesis 7:16). Okay, so God closed the door. Makes se...
The Torah tells us, in (Genesis 7:19), about the flood: “And the water overflowed fifteen cubits above all the highest mountains.” Simple enough on the surface. But if we dig a lit...
We often skim past the stark pronouncements in the Torah, like "And all flesh capable of motion perished" (Genesis 7:21), without truly grasping the implications. But what exactly ...
The ancient stories of the flood, like the one starring Noah, resonate so deeply because they speak to that very human experience. We all know the story: God saw wickedness and sen...
And that's precisely the question posed in The Midrash of Philo, a collection of interpretations and expansions on the Torah attributed to Philo of Alexandria, the great Jewish phi...
It's more than just annoying; some ancient wisdom traditions see it as a dangerous imbalance, a distortion of the very self. Philo, a Jewish philosopher living in Alexandria in the...
And they weren't afraid to ask the tough questions. Take this one, for example, posed in The Midrash of Philo: Why does the Torah specifically mention that God remembered Noah, the...
Take the story of Noah and the Ark. (Genesis 8:1) says, "God remembered Noah, and the beasts, and the cattle…" Beasts before cattle? What's going on here? Philo, the 1st-century Je...
Philo, a Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria in the first century CE, delved into these questions. He wrote extensively on the Torah, often offering allegorical interpretati...
We all know the big picture: flood, animals two-by-two, dove with an olive branch. But what about the timing? Specifically, why did Noah wait a full forty days after the mountainto...
