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It’s a very human experience, and something our Sages grappled with constantly. Let me tell you a story from the Sifrei Devarim that captures this perfectly. Once upon a time, Rabb...
The story of Rabbi Akiva and the fox on Mount Scopus perfectly captures that feeling. Imagine this: a group of scholars is making their way to Jerusalem. As they reach Mount Scopus...
We find a fascinating puzzle in the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy) regarding the location of the Temple. One verse (Deuteronomy 12:14) seems to say the Temple should be built "in th...
Our ancestors certainly did. Deuteronomy, the book of Devarim in Hebrew, is full of practical instructions for how the Israelites were meant to live in the land. And tucked away in...
Jewish tradition grapples with this idea, especially when it comes to idolatry. It's not a casual topic. It strikes at the very core of our relationship with the Divine. The Sifrei...
But trust me, there's some fascinating reasoning hidden in there. to a passage from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, and see how th...
The core of this passage revolves around the first tithe, the ma'aser rishon. This was a portion of the harvest given to the Levites, the tribe dedicated to serving in the Temple. ...
Let's take a peek into one such dance, found in the Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy. The passage focuses on the firstborn – the bec...
The verse in Deuteronomy (16:4) is pretty clear: "And there shall not be seen unto you leaven in all of your border for seven days." Seems straightforward. No chametz for you! But ...
We know it was magnificent, awe-inspiring. But beyond the gold and the grandeur, there were specific guidelines, etched in tradition, about what could – and couldn't – be within it...
You might be surprised. Forget the crown jewels and the royal chef. According to one fascinating interpretation in Sifrei Devarim 161, it's a scroll. Specifically, a megillah, a sc...
The Sifrei Devarim, a halakhic midrash on the Book of Deuteronomy, highlights how the Torah often presents us with seemingly opposing directives in a single breath. It's as if the ...
Let's talk about dogs. Yes, dogs. And lambs. And… well, let’s just say it involves transactions that aren’t exactly kosher, in the most literal sense. In Sifrei Devarim, a collecti...
We all have. But what happens when that promise is to the Almighty? What kind of weight does that hold? The passage opens with a powerful statement: "What issues from your lips"—a ...
Our tradition has some surprisingly direct advice about that. to a passage from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early rabbinic legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy. We'...
In the Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early rabbinic legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, Rabbi Yehudah gives us a fascinating mnemonic device for remembering the ten...
But within those intricate instructions, there’s a beautiful core of responsibility and community. to a small but fascinating corner of that world, found in the ancient text, Sifre...
The Torah touches on this, not directly, but in subtle glimpses. Let’s look at how the death of Aaron, the High Priest, is described, and what Moses thought of it. We find this ide...
The Torah, our guide to navigating life's complexities, doesn't shy away from these tough questions. And in the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), we find a particularly striking examp...
According to tradition, the answer is a resounding "no." There's a fascinating story in Sifrei Devarim that sheds light on this very idea. It all begins with a question from Agniti...
Promises to ourselves, to others, maybe even to the Divine. But following through? That's the real test. The Sifrei Devarim, a legal midrash on the Book of Deuteronomy, shares a fa...
It’s a question that whispers of divine favor, of a unique connection between a tribe and the Shechinah, the Divine Presence. But why Benjamin? The Sifrei Devarim, a legal Midrash ...
And, surprisingly, it's a concept we find echoed even in the most sacred of texts when describing the relationship between God and the tribes of Israel. Sifrei Devarim 352 paints u...
R. SIMEON SAID: THERE ARE THREE CROWNS: THE CROWN OF THE TORAH, THE CROWN OF THE PRIESTHOOD, AND THE CROWN OF ROYALTY; BUT THE CROWN OF A GOOD NAME EXCELS THEM ALL.1Aboth 4:17 (Son...
The incense altar, the half-shekel tax, and the anointing oil in (Exodus 30:1-38) all receive remarkable expansions in the Targum Jonathan. What the Hebrew text presents as ritual ...
The completion of all the Tabernacle's furnishings and garments in (Exodus 39:1-43) should feel repetitive. The craftsmen were building exactly what God commanded. But the Targum J...
The final chapter of Exodus (Exodus 40:1-38) is, in the Hebrew Bible, the moment God's Presence fills the completed Tabernacle. The Targum Jonathan turns this moment into a prophet...
The Targum's version of (Numbers 23) reveals Bileam's inner strategy. When he looked at Israel, "he knew that strange worship was among them, and rejoiced in his heart." He spotted...
“He does the will of those who fear Him…” (Tehillim 145:19) Meaning that Gd does not annul his prayers and gives him what he requests. This refers to David, of whom it is written “...
“For you have not yet come…” (Devarim 12:9) this was said in order to permit private altars between the ‘resting place’ and the ‘inheritance’, because the resting place refers to S...
Lapidot - Rabbi Itzchak from the House of Rabi Ami: because she made the wicks for the Tabernacle. And she sat under the date palm - Rabbi Shimon be Avshalom: because of yichud. An...
And they have built the shrines of Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom: Our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said that even though all the houses of idolatry were in Jerusalem,...
Story of Eldad the Danite, Narrative B In the name of the LORD God of Israel, blessed be His name, of our God the King, King of kings, Who chose Israel from among all nations and g...
Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) Levanat HaSapir is a midrash on the Torah in the style of kabbalah, in Aramaic like the Zohar. It is not extant before us today. The Yuha...
"Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) Ezra": Mentioned in the introduction of Rabbi Tam ben Yehiya to the Book of Josippon, and he states there: "Indeed, Joseph [ben Gurion] ...
Berachoth: Chapter One From what time on may we read the Sh'm'a of the evening? "From the time the priests enter to eat their Terumah until the end of the first watch," said R. Eli...
A disciple recited before R. Jochanan: "Whoever occupies himself with the study of the Torah and with the practice of loving kindness and (Ib. b.) buries his children [during his l...
Come, listen. The proselyte Beluria asked Rabban Gamaliel: "It is written in your Torah (Deut. 17) The Lord who forgiveth no persons and taketh no bribe; and it is also written (Nu...
The Jews being prevented by decree from studying, Pappos met R. Akiba who had defied that decree. Rebuked by Pappos Akiba replied: “A fox on the shore of the sea saw some fish hidi...
A Matrona asked R. Eleazar: "Why for the one sin of worshipping the golden calf were they punished with three kinds of death ?” He refused to answer a woman, but explained to his p...
Proklos b. Filoslos asks R. Gamliel why does not God destroy the idols. The Rabbi replies "If a man calls a dog by the name of his father, will the father be angry with the son or ...
When the Roman siege tightened around Jerusalem, starvation became a weapon more terrible than any sword. Doeg ben Josef was a man of means — he offered a full measure of gold for ...
Short note of the destruction of Bet-Tur through the axle of the waggon. They used to plant trees on the birth of a child and afterwards used them at its wedding. These were once c...
Eliezer b. Hyrkanos went to Jerusalem to study whilst his father and brothers fled with their goods from the attack of the Roman soldiers. He starved and was discovered by R. Johan...
When the Roman legions surrounded Jerusalem and cut off every supply route, the famine inside the walls became unspeakable. People chewed leather. They ate grass from between the s...
In a year of terrible drought, Nakdimon ben Gorion — one of the three wealthiest men in Jerusalem — approached a Roman official and made a desperate bargain. He borrowed twelve wel...
"The righteous will give thanks to Your name; the upright will dwell in Your presence" (Psalm 140:14). The rabbis noticed something beautiful in this promise — God does not judge I...
In Jewish mysticism, there's a powerful story about exactly that – the story of the Shekhinah, the divine feminine presence, and her long journey to find a home. The kabbalists, th...
