9,687 related texts · Page 26 of 202
Our story kicks off during a turbulent time. Shalmaneser, King of Assyria, has just kicked the bucket, and his son, Sennacherib, takes the throne. Now, this wasn't just a changing ...
We're diving into the Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating text that offers a glimpse into the world of Hellenistic Judaism. Imagine you're an advisor to a powerful king, and you're t...
But there’s also another set of treasures that had a similar effect: the vessels created for the Temple in Jerusalem during the time of the Second Temple. And the Letter of Aristea...
You're soaring through the air, or sailing on a vast ocean, only to snap awake and realize it was all in your head. The Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating text from the Hellenistic ...
It's more than just latkes and dreidels. It's a story of courage, faith, and a miraculous victory against all odds. But where do we really get the details of that story? We all kno...
Jewish tradition understands that feeling. Deeply. And it offers a lifeline. It's a lifeline we find in unexpected places – like the apocryphal Prayer of Manasseh. This short, powe...
That feeling of being utterly unworthy... it's a human experience that echoes through centuries, and finds a powerful voice in a short, potent prayer attributed to a very unlikely ...
The Book of Maccabees I gives us a stark glimpse. Imagine this: a decree echoes across the land, reaching every corner of the kingdom. Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Seleucid king, is...
The story in the First Book of Maccabees, Chapter 2, throws us right into the heart of that question, and it's a tough one. We're talking about a time of intense religious persecut...
Specifically, let's look at Judah Maccabee himself. After the death of his father, Mattathias, the mantle of leadership fell upon Judah. And as we read in the Book of Maccabees I, ...
Judah Maccabee and his small band of fighters certainly did. The Book of Maccabees I tells us that the Seleucid Empire, with its vast army, was bearing down on them, threatening to...
That’s the scene unfolding before us in the Book of Maccabees I, Chapter 6. We're not talking about a ragtag bunch of rebels anymore. The Seleucid army, a force to be reckoned with...
We're picking up the story with Jonathan, one of the famed Maccabee brothers, fresh off some victories and shrewd negotiations. Imagine the scene: King Alexander, recognizing Jonat...
He was always navigating treacherous political waters, trying to secure the best future for his people. Our story today focuses on just that precarious balancing act. Remember, Jon...
Tryphon, that treacherous viper, sends his armies – footmen and horsemen – swarming into Galilee and the great plain. Their mission? To utterly destroy every last one of Jonathan's...
The Second Book of Maccabees tells a harrowing, yet inspiring, story of faith and resistance. It recounts the persecution of Jews under the rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a Seleuc...
It all revolves around the story of a mother and her seven sons, who faced unimaginable torment at the hands of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes. He was determined to force them to aban...
That’s what happens when I think about the story tucked away in the Second Book of Maccabees. We find ourselves in a moment of intense persecution. The Seleucid Empire, under Antio...
After Abram's bold declaration against idol worship (in the previous chapter), King Nimrod isn't too pleased. According to the Book of Jasher, Nimrod had Abram thrown into prison f...
We all know the story from Genesis 34: how Jacob's daughter Dinah is defiled by Shechem, son of Hamor, and how Simeon and Levi exact a brutal revenge, slaughtering all the men of t...
Every other Dead Sea Scroll was written on parchment or papyrus. The Copper Scroll (Megillat HaNechoshet, מגילת הנחושת) was inscribed on sheets of pure copper, rolled up and hidden...
Rabbi Joshua ben Levi wanted to see Gehinnom (the place of spiritual purification after death). The Messiah refused. "It is not fitting for the righteous to see it," he said, "for ...
The builders of the Tower of Babel were not just confused. They were transformed. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle translated by Moses Gast...
Why did God Himself attend to the burial of Moses? Because of what Moses had done decades earlier in Egypt, when everyone else was busy loading up silver and gold for the exodus. W...
God placed seven planets in the firmament and gave each one a distinct personality. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle compiled by Jerahmeel ...
Isaiah son of Amos saw all five kinds of punishment in Gehinnom (the place of spiritual purification after death). According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew c...
After Daniel walked out of the lions' den unharmed, the king returned with him to the palace and issued an extraordinary declaration. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12...
Daniel had grown old. He came before the king one last time and asked permission to go home. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle translated by...
Seven brothers and their mother were seized and brought before King Antiochus. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle preserved by Moses Gaster i...
After Antiochus Eupator fell to Demetrius son of Seleucus, a new threat emerged—and this time it came from a Jewish traitor. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-centur...
The stone god fell on its face. That was the beginning of everything. Abraham worked in his father's idol shop. Every day he carved gods out of stone and wood and metal for Terah, ...
The angel turned back to Abraham. "Know from this moment that the Eternal One has chosen you. Be of good courage and use this authority, as far as I bid you, against him who slande...
God answered Abraham's question about evil with a revelation about the nations. He was angered at them on account of Abraham's descendants, the people who would be separated after ...
But paradise had a shadow. The two angels led Enoch to the northern side of the third heaven, and everything changed. The fragrance vanished. The light died. What he saw next was t...
The parade of demons continued. One by one the thirty-six spirits of the zodiac stepped forward before Solomon's throne, each confessing the disease it inflicts and the angel whose...
The city was already dead. It just hadn't fallen yet. In the twenty-fifth year of King Jeconiah's reign over Judah, the word of God came to Baruch son of Neriah — the faithful scri...
There's a story about a rabbi, Rabbi Hayim ben Attar, known as the Or ha-Hayim (אור החיים), "the light of life," after his famous biblical commentary. He lived in Jerusalem and had...
The story goes that Nimrod, a powerful and wicked king, grew furious with Abraham (who was, of course, not called Abraham yet at this point in the narrative—but we'll call him that...
Jewish tradition, particularly the aggadah – the storytelling tradition – doesn't shy away from these questions. to a fascinating tale from Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg), about Ab...
But imagine the weight of a vow to the Almighty, left unfulfilled. According to Legends of the Jews, as retold by Ginzberg, Jacob found himself in just such a predicament. He'd mad...
As we read in Legends of the Jews, a masterful retelling of Jewish lore by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, Joseph began to reap the rewards for his unwavering commitment to virtue. It's a po...
Her story takes a dramatic turn in Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg, and it involves treachery, divine intervention, and a whole lot of pebbles! Imagine this: Asenath, surroun...
As Joseph lay on his deathbed, he made his brethren swear a solemn oath. He didn't just ask it of them, but instructed them to have their sons swear it too: when God would finally ...
Today, we get a glimpse into such a moment, as we explore the final words of Judah, son of Jacob, before his death. According to Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg, these were Judah's...
The story of the Israelite enslavement in Egypt is one of those. It's a stark reminder of human cruelty, but also a testament to resilience and faith. And at the heart of it is a t...
Pharaoh has decreed that all Hebrew baby boys must be killed. What's a mother to do? As Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg) tells us, she takes matters into her own hands. She builds an...
According to Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg, as the time approached for the Israelites' redemption from Egyptian slavery, a dilemma arose. They hadn't accumulated enough goo...
Why? Because it wasn’t just the day that saw the separation of the waters above from the waters below – a division in what had previously been perfect unity. It was also, according...
