3,287 related texts · Page 31 of 69
The ancient rabbis wrestled with those feelings too, and they found comfort and meaning in unexpected places – even in the rain. Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations o...
Midrash Tehillim, in its exploration of Psalm 128 – "Praiseworthy is the one who fears the Lord" – throws us a curveball. Rabbi Chayya bar Abba, quoting Ulla, makes a startling cla...
The mystics did, and they connected it directly to the Divine. : how do we respond to new beginnings? With joy, with song, with dance! And according to the Midrash Tehillim, a coll...
The text opens with a verse from Isaiah (44:26): "[God] confirmeth the word of His servant, and performeth the counsel of His messengers; that saith of Jerusalem: 'She shall be inh...
We read in Exodus (12:29) that God struck down “all the firstborn” of Egypt. But what does "all" really mean? The Pesikta DeRav Kahana, a collection of rabbinic teachings, delves i...
They're…complicated, to say the least. : Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob, Joseph and his brothers. Talk about a mixed bag! So, when the Song of Songs (8:1) says, "...
The ancient Jewish sages understood that feeling intimately. They saw it reflected in the verses of Psalms, and wove those verses into tales of hope and resilience. It starts with ...
Jewish tradition is full of stories that remind us that endings can be far more significant than beginnings. Take the tale of Jacob's vision at Bethel, for instance, a moment forev...
Maybe the story of Jacob's journey to Haran can shed some light. According to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating text filled with aggadic expansions of biblical narratives, Jaco...
Tonight, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, specifically chapter 35, that does just that. It centers on Jacob, later known as Israel, and a pivota...
Jacob certainly did. We find him waking up, not with a stretch and a yawn, but in sheer terror. Why? Because of a dream, of course. A dream of a ladder stretching to the heavens, a...
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...
Our ancestor Jacob knew that feeling well. He was a man on the run, with a destiny he couldn’t fully grasp. Let's rewind a bit. Jacob, fleeing from his brother Esau's wrath, finds ...
This ancient text, a treasure trove of Jewish legend and lore, offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives of our ancestors. Here, the verse from (Proverbs 4:12), "When thou goest,...
The sages pondered this question deeply, and stories like this one from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (chapter 36) offer a glimpse into the intricate workings of Providence. Rab Huna tell...
Let’s turn the pages of Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, specifically chapter 36, and immerse ourselves in the story of Jacob, Rachel, and a wedding that’s more than just a wedding. Jacob, ...
Take the story of Laban, Jacob, Leah, and Rachel, for instance. It's a family drama, yes, but also a window into ancient customs and divine compassion. We read in Pirkei DeRabbi El...
We all know the story: Jacob, preparing to face his estranged brother Esau, finds himself grappling with a mysterious figure in the dead of night. The Torah tells us "a man" wrestl...
Our ancestor Jacob had that experience, big time, at the ford of the Jabbok (יַבֹּק), a river mentioned in Genesis. The story, as told in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (chapter 37), a fas...
to a fascinating passage from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, specifically chapter 37, that wrestles with this very issue, focusing on the complex relationship between Jacob and Esau. The ...
It paints a picture of a final transaction, a division of inheritance, that has echoes even today. The story goes that Esau took all that his father, Isaac, had left. But then – an...
We all know the story: jealous brothers, a colorful coat, a treacherous sale. But sometimes, the details we gloss over hold the most fascinating secrets. to one particular version ...
Jewish tradition grapples with that idea in some pretty profound ways, and the story of Joseph and his brothers is a perfect example. We all know the story: Joseph, the favored son...
Our tradition tells us stories of those who did just that. It speaks of three individuals who triumphed over their passions before God: Joseph, Boaz, and Paltê, son of Laish. Each ...
Not just any rod, but the rod. A rod created in the twilight of creation itself, before the first Shabbat (the Sabbath). Rabbi Levi, a sage from the Talmudic period, tells us its s...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating work of aggadic literature, gives us a glimpse, a chilling, visceral snapshot of their suffering. Rabbi Akiva, a towering figure in Jewish tra...
Our guide here is Sifrei Bamidbar, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Numbers. It wrestles with a verse in Numbers (8:25): "And from the age of fifty he shall ret...
It’s a question that’s resonated throughout Jewish history, and the answer, surprisingly, is all about perspective. Our tradition teaches us that the way we count time is intimatel...
Our ancestors certainly did. Today we're diving into a fascinating story from Sifrei Bamidbar, a legal commentary on the Book of Numbers, that grapples with just that feeling of ex...
It can be surprisingly complicated! Today, we're diving deep into a seemingly simple question: Who exactly was Moses' father-in-law? Was it Chovav, or Reuel, or maybe someone else ...
Take Yitro, Moses' father-in-law. He gave Moses invaluable advice on leadership, and his descendants, well, their story is In the Book of Numbers, Bamidbar, chapter 10, verse 32, M...
In the Book of Bamidbar (Numbers 19:1-2), we read: "And the L-rd spoke to Aaron and to Moses saying: This is the statute of the Torah, which the L-rd has commanded, saying: Speak t...
We often think of ritual purity as a key aspect of their service, but sometimes a story comes along that truly shocks us into understanding just how far they would go. Sifrei Bamid...
It turns out, this isn't just good manners – it might be ancient wisdom! The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early Jewish legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, teaches ...
Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretations on the book of Deuteronomy, gives us some fascinating perspectives on just that. When the Torah says "to give to them," who ex...
The verse we're looking at is (Deuteronomy 1:16): "And I charged your judges at that time, saying..." What follows is a commentary that really gets to the heart of leadership and c...
It offers a fascinating glimpse into how our sages grappled with the complexities of applying Torah law in everyday situations. The text begins with a seemingly simple phrase: "amo...
Our tradition teaches us that prayer, or tefillah, has a rich tapestry of expressions, each a unique pathway to connecting with the Divine. The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of lega...
It's so central to Jewish prayer, so foundational to our understanding of G-d, that we might sometimes take it for granted. But the rabbis of old saw so much depth and meaning pack...
Our tradition certainly understands that feeling. And it finds a powerful voice in the prayer of Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes. We find this prayer tucked away in Sifrei D...
The ancient text Sifrei Devarim offers a beautiful, almost poetic, explanation. It's all about how the land drinks, how it's sustained, and what that reveals about our relationship...
Jewish tradition tackles this head-on, and a fascinating passage in Sifrei Devarim, a legal midrash on the book of Deuteronomy, offers some pretty profound answers. The verse we're...
We get glimpses in stories, in histories… but sometimes, the real nitty-gritty details lie in the legal texts. to one such passage from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interp...
The book of Deuteronomy, or Devarim in Hebrew, offers a potent reminder. Specifically, Sifrei Devarim 191 draws our attention to the verse: "Do not fear them, for the L-rd your G-d...
Specifically, we're looking at Sifrei Devarim 196. It deals with exemptions from military service – a topic that’s always relevant, isn't it? The passage starts with a seemingly si...
That feeling, that pervasive sense of collective responsibility, echoes powerfully in a passage from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronom...
It deals with the laws of the bechor, the firstborn son, and who exactly qualifies for this special status. The passage opens with the phrase, "And they bear him sons." Simple enou...
The ancient text Sifrei Devarim, a commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, delves into just that. It all centers around a specific verse, a prohibition against kidnapping found in (...
