2,614 related texts · 5 related myths · Page 2 of 55
It's actually connected to something quite profound. The book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, tells us, "and you shall rejoice." But it doesn't leave it there. The Sifrei Devarim, a colle...
The grain offering described in Leviticus 2 seems straightforward, flour, oil, frankincense, baked into cakes or wafers. But the Targum Jonathan adds a theological bombshell hidden...
The last of the priestly garments was the most private. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 28:43) explains that Aaron and his sons had to wear the fine linen undergarments, the ...
It wrestles with a seemingly simple question about the dedication of the altar in the Tabernacle. The passage focuses on the phrase "the first, and his offering." It’s from the Boo...
It might seem like a simple opening, but Jewish tradition finds layers of meaning even in the placement of God’s name in the very first verse. Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, a prominent f...
R. Yishmael says: What is written at the beginning, viz. (Leviticus 25:1-3) "And the L–rd spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying … then the land shall rest a Sabbath to the L–rd. Si...
"And if one strikes his father and his mother": This tells me only of (one who strikes both) his father and his mother. Whence do I derive (liability for one who strikes) his fathe...
(Exodus 21:17) states: "And if one curses his father and his mother, he shall be put to death." The Mekhilta asks why this verse is needed at all, since (Leviticus 20:9) already sa...
There's a story in the Torah, a rather unsettling one, about two brothers, Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, and it's been echoing through Jewish tradition for millennia. We find...
This verse, from Devarim (Deuteronomy) 12:11, is actually incredibly dense. It’s talking about a centralized place of worship, a concept that was revolutionary for its time. instea...
The Sages once captured the yetzer hara (יצר הרע), the evil inclination itself. According to Yoma 69b, they prayed for three days, and it was delivered into their hands. A fiery li...
Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) Sheni Ketuvim In the beginning God created etc. - To declare the might of the acts of creation to creatures, and to make it known to them...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Should a Father Sacrifice His Son for Redemption. The first reading, this verse seems to be about Meisha, the king of Moab. As we read in II (Kings 3:27), ...
All of those seven days that Moshe was occupied with the tabernacle, he was sprinkling the blood and incinerating the fats. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "What do you t...
The Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic commentaries on the Book of Psalms, explores this very idea. It begins with the verse, "I will offer You a sacrifice of thanksgiving....
It's really. Take, for instance, a seemingly straightforward verse about offerings in the Book of Numbers (Bamidbar). and see what the Sifrei Bamidbar, an ancient rabbinic commenta...
On the eighth day of consecration, the first of Nisan, Aaron was about to offer his first sacrifice as high priest. Then he froze. The Targum Jonathan says he "saw at the corner of...
The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan describes a remarkable scene: "Jethro took burnt offerings and holy sacrifices before the Lord, and Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat bread ...
The Passover sacrifice in the Temple had an exact choreography, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 34:25) preserves its two ironclad rules. First: you may not slaughter the korb...
It’s a truly bizarre episode, filled with sacred oaths, dissolved scrolls, and the threat of divine retribution. to one particular passage, Bamidbar Rabbah 9, and unpack some of it...
Consider the instructions for bringing a minchah, a meal offering, found in Leviticus. It might seem like a simple act, but the Rabbis find layers of meaning and insight within it....
R. Yossi b. R. Yehudah says: From half the altar northwards is regarded as north, and from half the altar southwards is regarded as south. And this tells me only that the north of ...
Rabbi Yishmael taught that the word "if" in the Torah generally means something is optional, except in three specific cases where "if" actually means "when," making the instruction...
A small but fascinating corner of it from Sifrei Bamidbar, a legal midrash on the Book of Numbers. At the end of their nezirut period, they bring offerings, including a peace offer...
"He shall dedicate to the Lord the days of his naziriteship" (Numbers 6:9). But it immediately sparks a question: how does the guilt offering (asham) associated with the Nazirite v...
“It was due to the sins of her prophets, the iniquities of her priests, who shed the blood of the righteous in her midst” (Lamentations 4:13).“It was due to the sins of her prophet...
It is written: “From people by Your hand, O Lord, from people from the world [meḥeled ], their portion is in life; Your hidden treasures will fill their bellies; their sons will be...
It might seem a bit arcane to us now, but these details were crucial to maintaining the sacred order. to a fascinating passage from Sifrei Devarim, specifically section 73 (referen...
When the righteous multiply in the world, good things multiply with them. This is Aggadat Bereshit's reading of "When the righteous are many, the people rejoice" (Proverbs 29:2). N...
Before Aaron's household held the priesthood, someone else did. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus (Exodus 24:5) preserves this little-known tradition: Mosheh sent the firstborn of t...
Between the altar of sacrifice and the Tent of Meeting stood a basin, not of gold, not of silver, but of bronze. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan names its purpose simply: the kiyor was for ...
The altar of burnt offering was the first thing anyone saw on approaching the Tabernacle. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 40:29) places it exactly there, at the gate, before the ...
(Numbers 6:14) lays it out: "He shall sacrifice his offering to the Lord: One unblemished lamb in its first year as a burnt offering, one unblemished ewe in its first year as a sin...
A reader can imagine the grand sweep of sacrifice, the smoke rising to the heavens, the priests in their sacred garments. But what about the minute details, the exact sequence of e...
In Vayikra Rabbah, a classic midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) text, midrash being a form of Jewish biblical interpretation, we find a powerful illustration of this very...
And thou shalt make the altar of acacia-wood (Exod. 27:1). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Tell them to erect an altar for burnt offerings so that it may atone for the ...
The story goes that the generation before the Great Flood, the one Noah survived, learned their wicked ways from none other than Azazel. He wasn't just teaching people to be naught...
Shimon b. Azzai says: What is the intent of "Veha'avarta"? From (Leviticus 27:32) "Whatever (beast) passes ('ya'avor') under the staff" (for tithing), I would think that an orphan,...
(Ibid. 20:8) "Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it": "Remember" and "Keep" (the Sabbath day to sanctify it [Devarim 5:12]) were both stated in one pronouncement. (Exodus 31:14) ...
A man who had mastered Scripture, studied the Mishnah, and served many scholars dropped dead in the middle of his life. His widow seized his tefillin (leather phylacteries worn dur...
The rabbis once overruled God. And God laughed. According to Bava Metzia 59b, the incident began with an argument about an oven. Rabbi Eliezer declared a certain oven ritually pure...
Rabbi Simlai made one of the most ambitious claims in the entire Talmud. He said: 613 commandments were given to Moses at Sinai, 365 prohibitions corresponding to the days of the s...
The author of Rav Pealim [Vilna Gaon] wrote about the Socher Tov of Midrash Tehillim and said: I found in the book, Ohel Yosef by Rabbi Yosef the Sefaradi on Parashat Vayikra, on t...
"Listen to Me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am He, I am the first, and I am the last as well" (Isaiah 48:12). God speaks with the full weight of eternity, before everythi...
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 14:20) preserves Shem-Malkizedek's blessing and the patriarch's response. Blessed be Eloha Ilaha, who hath made thine enemies as a shield which r...
When Rabbi Yosei of Milḥaya died, Rabbi Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish went up to perform an act of kindness136They went to participate in the funeral. and Rabbi Yitzḥak Pesaka went up w...
“Let all their wickedness come before You, and do to them as You did to me for all my transgressions, for my sighs are many and my heart is suffering” (Lamentations 1:22).“Let all ...
“For this our heart suffers; for these our eyes are dim” (Lamentations 5:17).“For this our heart suffers.” Rabbi Simlai said: The Holy One blessed be He gave great suffering to thi...
