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What did Mordekhai say to someone who would say to him: “Why are you violating the king’s command?” (Esther 3:3) Rabbi Levi said: Mordekhai would say: ‘Moses our master cautioned u...
Our story begins with a question, a seeker looking for clarity on a crucial point of Jewish theology: How do we direct our service to God? The initial response, according to our te...
Take heed to thyself that thout speak not to Jacob either good or bad (Gen. 31:24). From this episode we learn that the merit acquired from labor may be helpful even when the influ...
And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying … “He cometh to meet thee with four hundred men” (Gen. 32:7). Thereupon, Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed (ibid., v. 8). Why...
And Dinah, the daughter of Leah, went out to see (Gen. 34:1). Was she not also Jacob’s daughter? Indeed, but Scripture associates her name with that of her mother. Leah’s daughter ...
And he sent Judah before him (Gen. 46:28). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: The envy also of Ephraim shall depart … Ephraim shall not envy Judah (Isa. 11:13)....
(Lev. 1:1:) “Then [the Lord] called unto Moses [and spoke unto him].” This text is related (to Ps. 103:20), “Bless the Lord, O His messengers,1Mal’akhaw. Throughout this section of...
We often think of him in the Garden of Eden, or perhaps being expelled from it. But Jewish tradition holds some truly fascinating ideas about his ultimate fate. One such idea, foun...
In fact, the Sabbath isn't just a terrestrial observance; it's a celestial one, too. Imagine this: right after creating the Sabbath, God gathers all the angels – the angels of the ...
Jewish tradition is rich with stories of dreams and visions, and the power they hold. One particularly striking tale, found in Tree of Souls by Howard Schwartz, tells of a dream th...
Jewish tradition offers some powerful and moving images of what happens to the souls of the righteous after death. And some of these images paint a picture of them continuing to fi...
He's in despair, naturally. Meanwhile, in a faraway land, Sarah, daughter of Reuel, is suffering her own torment. She’s been married seven times, but each husband has been killed b...
Our heroes, Tobiyyah and the angel Raphael (disguised as a human, of course), are on a journey. They arrive at Agbatauis (Ecbatana), and Raphael drops a bombshell. "My brother," he...
Seems like a happy occasion. But this isn't your typical "happily ever after" beginning. Sarah, poor thing, has been through the wringer. She's been married seven times before, and...
to a little story from the Book of Tobit that might just offer a glimpse. Our hero, Tobiyyah, has just married Sarah, a woman who, shall we say, had a complicated dating history. S...
The Aramaic Levi Document (ALD) is one of the oldest texts found among the Dead Sea Scrolls—parts of it may date to the 3rd century BCE, making it older than most of the books of t...
When Naphtali grew old and felt his strength fading, he gathered his children and gave them one final command. It was not about silver or gold. "I speak to you about a very easy ma...
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...
While the Israelites traveled through the wilderness, seven clouds of glory surrounded them on every side. One cloud went in front, one behind, two flanked them on each side, and o...
According to some accounts, Tzadkiel isn't just any celestial being. He's the one who lovingly clothes each soul arriving in Paradise with garments of incredible purity, woven by t...
It turns out, Abraham, the patriarch of monotheism, was no exception. His story isn't just about grand pronouncements from God; it's also about family drama, petty squabbles, and e...
According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, Abraham wasn't one to linger where things got… unpleasant. With Sodom a smoldering memory, and whispers about Lot's daught...
The story begins with Abraham, who, concerned about finding the right wife for his son Isaac, sends his trusted servant Eliezer on a mission to Haran. Eliezer is laden with gifts a...
His story doesn't end there. His descendants play a fascinating, sometimes unsettling, role in Jewish legend. , shall we? Apparently, the most righteous of Esau's sons was Eliphaz....
That's the story of Joseph, whose relationship with his brothers is one of the most dramatic and heartbreaking in the Torah. It all started with Joseph's "talebearing," as Ginzberg...
After the whole Joseph-selling fiasco, Jacob is understandably devastated. And who do the brothers blame? Judah, of course! They basically tell him, "This is ALL your fault!" Accor...
We all know the story of Joseph and his brothers. Sold into slavery in Egypt, he rises to prominence, eventually saving his family from famine. But let's rewind and look at the ver...
"Throw the stick up in the air," goes the saying, "it will always return to its original place." And perhaps that's how Zuleika, Potiphar's wife, felt about her growing desire for ...
Remember Joseph, the dreamer? He's now in Egypt, and things are about to get really interesting. But not without some resistance. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of th...
The story of Joseph in Egypt, as retold in Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg, offers us a powerful lesson in these very qualities. After years of hardship, Jacob and his family final...
It all starts with Jacob, also known as Israel, nearing the end of his life in Egypt. Asenath, Joseph's wife, notices Jacob's declining health. Knowing the power of a righteous man...
Today, we're going to delve into the final testament of Reuben, the eldest son. According to Legends of the Jews, a couple of years after Joseph's death, Reuben fell ill, sensing h...
The story, as told in Legends of the Jews, paints a vivid picture of divine encounters and a sacred calling. According to Ginzberg's retelling, when Levi knew his time was near, he...
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 Legends of the Jews, Louis Ginzberg's masterful compilation of rabbinic lore, gives us a fascinating glimpse into the deathbed confession of Dan, one of Jacob’s sons. It's a ra...
Today, we're going to talk about Job, a righteous man who, according to tradition, almost made it into the inner circle. The Book of Job, of course, tells the story of a man who su...
And according to tradition, the land wasn't exactly empty when Jacob's sons were destined to inherit it. No, no. It was provisionally granted to a whole host of Canaanite nations: ...
Remember, Eliezer had journeyed to Haran to find a suitable wife for Isaac. Now, his return was nothing short of miraculous. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) tells us...
Let’s talk about Abraham, a figure revered as a pillar of kindness and righteousness. The legends paint him as nearly unparalleled in his virtue. Now, the time was approaching for ...
It’s a story filled with angelic visits, tearful goodbyes, and a final, audacious request. According to Legends of the Jews, after Michael the archangel’s arrival, a joyous meal wa...
The tale goes like this: The archangel Michael himself descended, not in a flashy sports car, but in a chariot of the cherubim – those powerful, angelic beings. Can you imagine the...
We pick up the story with God, shall we say, not thrilled with Michael. Apparently, Michael did something that harmed God's "first-born son." Who is this "first-born son?" Well, in...
Remember him? One of Jacob's sons? According to Legends of the Jews, Michael, the archangel himself, took Levi up to heaven! Imagine that for a moment. A whirlwind trip to the cele...
Our ancestor Jacob certainly did. The Torah tells us that Jacob wrestled with an angel – a divine being – all night long (Genesis 32:25-30). But what really happened that night? Wh...
The stories we find in Jewish tradition certainly do. Take the tale of Esau and Jacob, for instance. It’s a story filled with sibling rivalry, deception, and, as we'll see, divine ...
We often focus on the heroes and villains, the miracles and the wars. But what about the everyday lives of these people, the grief and the small joys that shaped them? Let's turn o...
Take, for example, the story of Joseph and his brothers. We know about the coat, the jealousy, the slavery in Egypt… but what about their lives outside of that central drama? Inter...
We often think of the eldest as holding a special place, but Jewish tradition sometimes flips that script in fascinating ways. Let's look at the tale of Ephraim and Manasseh, the s...
