3,287 related texts · Page 17 of 69
It begins with a pretty stark claim: when the actions of the people of Israel became corrupt, a new king arose over Egypt – Pharaoh. Sound familiar? But here's where it gets really...
Jewish mysticism, particularly in the Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, uses the image of a giant fish to explore just that feeling. The Tikkunei Zohar, a companion volume to the ...
"Jacob settled in the land where his father sojourned" (Genesis 37:1). Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev opens his commentary on the Joseph story by explaining why Jacob lived in a...
"He blessed them on that day, saying: may God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh" (Genesis 48:20). Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev uses Jacob's blessing to explain a peculiar tea...
"And Jacob sent messengers ahead of him" (Genesis 32:4). On the surface, Jacob is preparing to meet his brother Esau. Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk, reading Parashat Vayishlach, sees...
"And Jacob settled in the land where his father dwelled" (Genesis 37:1). Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk opens his commentary on Parashat Vayeshev not with Joseph's coat or his brother...
(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...
Joseph made his brothers swear a solemn oath, and the Mekhilta records the exact logic behind his request. He said to them: "My father went down to Egypt of his own free will, and ...
The Mekhilta cites Jacob's blessing to Joseph — "I have given you an additional portion over your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Emori with my sword and with my bow" (...
The Torah gives us one of the most powerful and mysterious stories of just such a struggle: Jacob wrestling with the angel. The scene is set. Jacob, alone after sending his family ...
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...
Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), that beautiful, expansive form of Jewish storytelling, loves to shine a light on those very people. It teases out their virtues, amplifi...
Specifically, we're looking at Midrash Tehillim 42. It's a plea, a challenge, almost a demand, directed at God. The speaker in this Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) begin...
Our sages certainly did. The Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, dives deep into this very question. Specifically, it wrestles with (Psalm 78:4...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, dives right into that question when it grapples with the plagues visited upon Egypt. Specifically...
That tension, that push-and-pull, it's something our ancestors wrestled with too. And wouldn't you know it, the ancient wisdom of the Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretati...
That image, that feeling of utter powerlessness, resonates deeply in Jewish tradition. Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, uses it to describe ...
We often hear the story, but sometimes the sheer impossibility of it all gets lost. Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, gives us some ...
We all know the story: Moses raises his staff, the waters part, and the Israelites walk through on dry land to escape Pharaoh. But Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), that ...
The ancient rabbis certainly did, and they poured those feelings, along with their hopes and fears, into their interpretations of scripture. to one such interpretation found in Mid...
The book Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of Jewish legends and interpretations, touches on this very idea. It speaks of kings whose influence stretched to the very...
The ancient text Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a collection of stories and interpretations of the Hebrew Bible, gives us a glimpse into just such a moment. Specifically, it focuses on Ab...
Rabbi Judah paints a vivid picture. He tells us that Isaac, when blessing Jacob, bestowed upon him ten distinct blessings. Now, these weren't just any blessings. They were specific...
We find this tale in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of stories and interpretations from the early Middle Ages. It paints a vivid picture: Jacob arrives at a well....
It’s a fascinating story that takes us from the biblical Jacob to the very Throne of Glory, with a little help from the angel Michael. According to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascin...
The story in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer paints a pretty vivid picture. Imagine the scene: Jacob, with his sons, grandsons, wives, the whole shebang, journeys to Kirjath Arba, wanting t...
We all know the story of Joseph, the coat of many colors, and his rise to power. But what about the nitty-gritty details of how he saved an entire nation from starvation? Rabbi Tan...
The Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating and somewhat enigmatic work of aggadic literature, offers a glimpse into that pivotal moment. It paints a picture of the Torah's power, li...
The Jewish tradition is full of surprising answers, and today we're diving into one of the most unexpected: the story of Pharaoh's repentance. Now, when we think of Pharaoh, images...
Our story comes from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating text that weaves together biblical narrative, aggadic embellishments, and moral lessons. Today we're looking at Chapter 4...
One place they did this was in Seder Olam Zutta, a later, shorter version of the Seder Olam Rabbah, a 2nd-century CE rabbinic text that attempts to chronicle history from creation ...
The passage begins with a seemingly innocuous statement: "And Solomon became allied by marriage to Pharaoh king of Egypt..." (Melachim I 3:1). But this simple line opens a floodgat...
The Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of rabbinic commentary on the Bible, in section 869 on Nach (the books of Prophets and Writings), brings up a fascinating idea about the verse "Th...
She relentlessly pursued him, but he resisted. But the Yalkut Shimoni, that incredible compilation of Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic interpretations, gives us a glimp...
It seems the Israelites did just that after their exodus from Egypt. In the book of Bamidbar (Numbers), chapter 11, verse 5, we hear them complaining, "We remember the fish that we...
Why all this talk of "going up"? It's not just poetic license. The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early rabbinic legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, points to a fasc...
According to Sifrei Devarim, before Jacob's passing, he gathered his sons. But it wasn’t just a sentimental family reunion. First, he rebuked them, each individually, and then he a...
Let me tell you, they were masters of textual jujitsu, turning verses inside out to reveal hidden meanings. And sometimes, they got into arguments that sound, well, a little… stran...
It’s not just a history lesson; it’s about contrast. About understanding what makes the Promised Land so, well, promising. But what exactly is the comparison trying to tell us? The...
But like so many things in Jewish tradition, the answer, or rather the layers of answers, are richer and more meaningful than you might expect. R. Shimon, in Sifrei Devarim, tells ...
It's all about rejoicing – simchah – and how it manifests on various holidays. The passage highlights three types of offerings or celebrations: re'iah, chagigah, and simchah. A re'...
It’s a topic loaded with history, law, and fascinating interpretations. ! The passage we're looking at comes from Sifrei Devarim (217), a legal midrash on the book of Deuteronomy. ...
It uses the phrase "on the way" from Deuteronomy to describe precisely such a time: "at the time of your being tossed about." Imagine the Israelites wandering in the desert, facing...
Take the story of Amalek. It’s a name that echoes through Jewish history, a symbol of unprovoked hatred and aggression. We're commanded in Devarim (Deuteronomy) 25:17 to remember w...
But Jacob? He wrestled with angels, dreamed of ladders, and somehow became the linchpin of the entire Israelite story. What’s the deal? Well, Sifrei Devarim 312 – a passage from Si...
It's more than just a feeling. Our tradition teaches us it's literally built on the border between two tribal territories: Benjamin and Judah. But how can that be? We read in Genes...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Sifrei Devarim 352, which explores this concept through the story of the tribe of Benjamin and a mysterious plot of land in Jeri...
The story of Jacob's ladder in Genesis 28 is one of the most famous visions in all of scripture—a ladder reaching to heaven, angels ascending and descending. But the Targum Jonatha...
