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And thus do we find with our fathers, that when they stood on Mount Sinai, they sought to steal the Higher Mind, as it is written (Exodus 24:7) "Everything that the L–rd has spoken...
Beloved are the strangers — the converts to Judaism. The Mekhilta emphasizes how many times the Torah exhorts Israel to treat them well. "And a stranger you shall not afflict" (Exo...
The Mekhilta addresses one of the most dramatic scenarios in ancient Jewish jurisprudence: a capital case in which the court is perfectly deadlocked. Eleven judges vote to acquit. ...
The Torah commands that animals must rest on the Sabbath, just as humans do. But the Mekhilta raises a sharp question about what "rest" actually means for an animal. The answer rev...
The prophet declares in (II Kings 21:12): "Thus said the L-rd, the God of Israel." The Mekhilta stops on this phrase and asks a question that seems almost impertinent. Is God only ...
It wasn't always this way, you know. Jewish tradition offers some pretty amazing stories about the creation of the heavens, stories filled with divine power and a touch of… well, c...
Jewish tradition has a place for them, a sort of spiritual purification chamber we call Gehenna. But the story doesn't end there, not by a long shot. What's truly fascinating is wh...
It’s a question that’s echoed through millennia, and Jewish tradition offers some truly remarkable answers. We all know the story: a baby, hidden in a basket, floating down the riv...
It all begins with Abraham. God Himself entrusted him with a profound secret, "the secret of the mystery of the Redeemer," as Howard Schwartz puts it in Tree of Souls. A heavy burd...
We hear their names, perhaps a small story or two, and then...silence. But sometimes, just sometimes, the silence breaks and a legend blossoms. Take Serah bat Asher, for example. W...
But according to some traditions, he was pretty special. : after the tragedy with Cain, Adam needed a son who truly reflected his own essence. (Genesis 5:3) tells us that Adam bego...
It’s a question that’s captivated Jewish thinkers for centuries. And Jewish tradition actually gives us a glimpse, a stunning vision of just such an encounter. Imagine this: it's t...
Instead, it sees these tiny creatures as symbols – powerful metaphors for…empires. Yes, empires! Buckle up. First, we have the ant: "Ants are a folk without power, and yet they pre...
It all starts with the verse, "A Psalm of David." But it quickly spirals into something far grander. The midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) dives deep, exploring the very s...
King David knew that feeling. He poured his heart into the Psalms, and within those verses, the ancient rabbis found layers upon layers of meaning – not just for David, but for all...
But imagine that betrayal playing out on a national, even cosmic, scale. That's the drama we find ourselves plunged into in Midrash Tehillim 11, a fascinating exploration of Psalm ...
Rabbi Judah bar Simon, in Midrash Tehillim, offers a fascinating perspective. He suggests that while we often loathe our professions, God doesn't hate His. Why? Because "the Lord i...
The ancient rabbis felt that way too. And they wrestled with that feeling in their interpretations of the Psalms, particularly in Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletic interp...
The ancient rabbis wrestled with fear too. They found layers of meaning in the words of Psalm 14, specifically the phrase, "There they feared with fear...there was no fear." (Psalm...
This feeling isn’t new. King David wrestled with it, too. Midrash Tehillim, a beautiful collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, gives us a glimpse into his struggle, a...
What would you see? Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers us a glimpse into that moment, a moment of sheer, terrifying awe. It’s ...
Today, we're diving into one of those fascinating tales, a legend surrounding Judah, one of Jacob's sons, and a rather dramatic encounter with Esau. The passage we're exploring com...
The mystics of old knew that feeling, and they had something profound to say about it, especially when it comes to finding our place in the world and our connection to something bi...
Even Moses, the great lawgiver himself, felt that way. In Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, we find a fascinating glimpse into Moses...
The Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, grapples with this very issue. It opens with the verse, "Trust in the Lord and do good" (Psalm...
It’s a primal fear, and it's something King David grappled with intensely, as we see in this passage from Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletic interpretations on the Book of...
You're not alone. It seems to be a deeply human thing, this turning to the Divine in moments of crisis. But is that… okay? Is it somehow "less than" if we only remember to call out...
King David certainly knew that feeling. And the ancient rabbis, through the lens of Midrash Tehillim (a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms), explored this very hum...
The ancient sages certainly did. a fascinating passage from Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Psalms, specifically Psalm 87, and see where i...
Our tradition is filled with such moments, and one of the most powerful surrounds Jacob's famous dream. We find it in the book of Genesis, where Jacob, fleeing from his brother Esa...
We know Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, received the Torah, and guided them through the wilderness. But did you know some traditions suggest he also served as High Priest? I...
It turns out, King David himself might have felt the same way. Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Psalms, delves into the complexities of Psa...
We all know the story: Moses, the Israelites, the desperate flight from Egypt... But the details? Oh, the Rabbis have some thoughts. The book of Psalms (Tehillim) is a constant sou...
That feeling is captured beautifully in a passage from Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms. It focuses on Psalm 118, and it paints a pi...
But what does that even mean? The Midrash, a collection of rabbinic teachings that interpret the Bible, uses stories to unpack these verses. And this particular Midrash offers a fa...
The Book of Lamentations, a raw and mournful lament over the destruction of Jerusalem, grapples with this very feeling. It asks, in a voice thick with sorrow: "What shall I testify...
We often think of grand gestures, sacrifices, or elaborate rituals. But what if I told you it’s something far simpler, something each of us carries within us every single day? Pirk...
It’s a story we all know, but sometimes the details – the why behind the drama – get lost. Let’s pull back the curtain a little, shall we? The book of Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fas...
It elaborates on the biblical narrative, filling in gaps and offering a unique perspective on familiar stories. Rabbi Zadok tells us that for twelve long months, all creatures grea...
It must have been overwhelming, the weight of a destroyed world, the responsibility of rebuilding it all. Well, according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of sto...
Our tradition has some fascinating, and sometimes unsettling, answers. Let's talk about Nimrod. Rabbi Akiba, a giant of the Talmudic era, pulls no punches when he describes Nimrod'...
The Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating ancient Jewish text that retells and expands upon biblical narratives, offers a compelling example through the story of Lot. We all know L...
And Jewish tradition offers a stunning, almost unbelievable, answer. We all know the story of Jacob's dream. Fleeing his brother Esau, he rests his head on a pile of stones and dre...
Yeah, the Israelites knew that feeling all too well. We find ourselves in the Book of Exodus, chapter 17. The Israelites have escaped Egypt, they’ve crossed the Red Sea, and they’r...
The Israelites, fresh from the Exodus, experienced just that, according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of stories and interpretations of Jewish tradition. Rabb...
The story of the Midianites in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, chapter 47, really dives into that urgency. It's a fascinating, and at times, unsettling account of revenge and its consequen...
We know the basic plot: Haman, the wicked advisor, plots to destroy the Jews, but Esther, the Jewish queen, bravely intervenes and saves her people. But the Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer,...
According to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating text compiling stories and interpretations of the Torah, there was a time when sickness was a one-way street. From the moment cre...
