2,285 related texts · Page 4 of 48
We're looking at a verse that mentions "your gifts." According to Sifrei Devarim 72, these "gifts" refer to todah, thank-offerings, and shelamim, peace-offerings. Okay, but what's ...
The Sifrei Devarim (literally "Books of Deuteronomy," a collection of early rabbinic legal interpretations), in section 77, delves into the specifics of responsibility for consecra...
We're looking at a passage that wrestles with the details of the Pesach (Passover) sacrifice – the Passover offering. The text begins by pointing out that the verse "and you shall ...
Jewish law sometimes deals with similar dilemmas, where doing one good thing might unintentionally lead to a less-than-ideal outcome. Today, let's talk about the Pesach (Passover) ...
Sometimes, buried in the details of ritual and law, are surprisingly relevant insights into justice and fairness. Let's take a little journey into the Sifrei Devarim, a collection ...
It's woven into so much of Jewish tradition, and today, we're going to explore one small but significant thread: the bikkurim. What are bikkurim? The word itself means "first fruit...
Buried in Leviticus 22's rules about blemished offerings, the Targum Jonathan inserts one of the most beautiful passages in all of Targumic literature—a theology of sacrifice roote...
An heathen heard of the honour paid to the high priest and he wished to become a Jew. Shammai refused him saying that it was ridiculous for him to pretend to become high priest. Hi...
The Assembly of Israel in exile cries out: "See, O Lord, the distress I am in! My heart is in anguish; outside the sword deals death; inside, the plague" (Lamentations 1:20). There...
The story of Cain and Abel, right at the beginning of Genesis, gives us a clue, but also raises some fascinating questions about sacrifice itself. "Cain brought an offering of the ...
It wasn't just a knee-jerk reaction of gratitude. According to Bereshit Rabbah, the ancient midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic (interpretive) text on Genesis, there was s...
We all know the story: God commands Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. Abraham, with unwavering faith, prepares to fulfill this divine decree. "They came to the place tha...
Jewish tradition is just teeming with those kinds of moments. Take Jacob, for instance, as he's about to head down to Egypt to reunite with his son Joseph. The Torah tells us, "Isr...
It centers around the verse: "He slaughtered feast-offerings to the God of his father Isaac" (Genesis 46:1). Why Isaac? Why not Abraham, the patriarch of them all? Rabbi Yehoshua b...
It centers on the verse: "And the fire of the altar shall be kept burning in it" (Leviticus 6:2). Now, Rabbi Pinchas makes a subtle but profound observation. He points out that the...
It’s a question that’s been pondered for centuries! And believe it or not, the ancient rabbis had some thoughts on the matter. to Vayikra Rabbah, specifically chapter 8, a fascinat...
A visitor from Athens arrived in Jerusalem with a trick question, certain he could stump the local priests. According to Eikhah Rabbah, a midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)...
“The Lord forsook His altar, cursed His Temple; He gave into the hand of the enemy the walls of its palaces. They raised their voice in the House of the Lord, like a day of festiva...
The Book of Jubilees, a text not found in the Hebrew Bible but considered sacred by some, gives us a peek behind the curtain, fleshing out stories we think we know. And one of thos...
The Torah specifies that the Passover offering must come "from the lambs and from the goats" (Exodus 12:5). Does this mean both species are required together, or can either one suf...
Variantly: "awesome in praise": The measure of flesh and blood—A man's awe is more upon those who are distant from him than upon those who are near him. Not so, the Holy One Blesse...
The Mekhilta interprets the verse "There He made for them statute and judgment" by asking what these two terms — statute and judgment — actually refer to. The first opinion identif...
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...
(Exodus 21:2) "If you buy a Hebrew man-servant": Scripture here speaks of one sold by beth-din (to pay for what he has stolen), in which instance he serves both the father and the ...
Rebbi (Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi) offers a dramatically different reading of the three marital obligations listed in (Exodus 21:10). Where Rabbi Yoshiyah identified "she'eirah" as food ...
The Torah states in (Exodus 21:12): "If one strikes a man." The language is specific — "a man." The Mekhilta immediately asks the obvious question: does this mean the law only appl...
But perhaps the common element between them is that they are dignitaries, and it is their eminence that accounts for this, wherefore you are exhorted against cursing them—as oppose...
Beloved are the strangers, for by every epithet that Israel is called, the strangers are called. Israelites are called "servants," as it is written (Leviticus 25:55) "For unto Me t...
(Exodus 22:24) begins: "Im you lend money to My people." The word "im" typically means "if" — suggesting optionality. But Rabbi Yishmael taught that this is one of the rare cases w...
"Seven days shall it be with its mother" — the Torah requires a first-born animal to remain with its mother for seven days before it can be given to a Kohen (a priest). But the Mek...
“How has gold tarnished, the fine gold changed? The sacred stones are spilled at the head of every street” (Lamentations 4:1).“How has gold tarnished [yuam]?” Rabbi Shmuel said: Ho...
“Many days” – days of suffering, and similarly: “It was during those many days…the children of Israel sighed due to the work, and they cried out, and their plea rose to God from th...
The Book of Ben Sira, a treasure trove of wisdom literature, gives us a glimpse into this very idea, specifically through the lens of the priesthood. It speaks of one called to "mi...
The voice came again. Twice it called his name: "Abraham, Abraham!" "Here I am." "It is I. Fear not, for I am before the worlds, a mighty God who has created the light of the world...
Isaac was twenty-five years old when his father took him up the mountain to die. He didn't resist. According to Josephus, this is what makes the Akedah (עקידה), the Binding of Isaa...
The Torah commands: "And the priest shall burn wood upon it every morning" (Leviticus 6:5), referring to the daily kindling of fire on the altar. The Mekhilta immediately asks: why...
Take blood, for example. We're told quite explicitly in (Deuteronomy 12:23), "Only the blood you shall not eat." Sounds straightforward. But in the world of Jewish law, nothing is ...
Take the sacrifices described in the Torah. Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the book of Leviticus, sees them not just as offerings, but as embodiments of our ...
The Book of Jubilees, a text bubbling with detail about the early days of humankind and covenants with God, offers a fascinating glimpse. In the 15th chapter, we find Abraham – sti...
Our scene unfolds in a small town in Judea, under the oppressive rule of the Seleucid Empire. King Antiochus IV Epiphanes has decreed that everyone must abandon their ancestral tra...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael presents a step in a larger legal argument about why meat cooked in milk is forbidden to eat. The passage uses a technique called refutation — counter...
Midrash Tehillim, a fascinating collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers some intriguing insights. It delves into the meaning behind Psalm 20, verse 4: "Remember...
It's more than just a nice sentiment. It's absolutely fundamental. In fact, Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin, quoting Rabbi Levi, makes a powerful statement: "Great is peace, for all bles...
It's easy to skim over those parts of the Torah, but hidden inside are fascinating insights into the heart of Jewish practice. to a small verse in Bamidbar, the Book of Numbers, an...
This ritual, detailed in Numbers 19, is all about purification, and this passage zeroes in on the specific rules surrounding the heifer itself and its ashes. The text starts with a...
Sometimes, it's not about the specific law itself, but about how we understand the entire system. one example from Sifrei Devarim 74, a commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, to se...
It's more than just tossing something into the collection plate; it's about intention, quality, and… well, let's just say, no mixing and matching! The book of Devarim, Deuteronomy,...
The Targum Jonathan opens Leviticus 6 with a line that does not exist in the Hebrew Bible: the burnt offering "is brought to make atonement for the thoughts of the heart." Standard...
