4,614 related texts · Page 22 of 97
The passage centers around Jacob's blessing to his son Judah: "Judah, you shall your brothers acknowledge; your hand will be at the nape of your enemies; your father’s sons will pr...
It all goes back to Jacob's blessings to his sons on his deathbed, a scene fraught with emotion and anticipation. And within that scene, the blessing to Judah stands out, packed wi...
We find ourselves in Bereshit Rabbah, a treasure trove of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, wrestling with Jacob's final blessings to his sons. And when he gets to D...
That's the situation Moses found himself in. In (Exodus 3:11), Moses cries out to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should take the children of Israel out of ...
The Israelites are trapped. The sea is before them, Pharaoh's army is closing in from behind. Panic is in the air. They cry out to God, as we read in (Exodus 14:10): "The children ...
We know the story: the Israelites trapped, the Egyptians bearing down, then – miraculously – the waters split, a path appears, and they escape to freedom. But what about the unseen...
We start with the verse, "When a person presents a meal offering to the Lord" (Leviticus 2:1). But the Rabbis cleverly link this to (Psalm 22:24): "Those who fear the Lord, praise ...
to a fascinating passage from Vayikra Rabbah, a Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), or interpretive commentary, on the Book of Leviticus, that touches upon this very issue....
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 ...
It's not just about the animals themselves; it's about the patriarchs, about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the profound legacy they left behind. Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of ra...
Vayikra Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Leviticus, delves into this very question, challenging us to examine our motivations and the imp...
It’s a question the rabbis grappled with, and in Vayikra Rabbah 36, we find some fascinating—and differing—answers. The text explores just how long the merit, the z’chus, of the pa...
And the two angels came to Sodom (Gen. 19:1). May it please our master to teach us the number of death penalties the Beth Din (the court of seventy-one members) was empowered to im...
And the two angels came to Sodom (Gen. 19:1). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore, He was turned to be th...
And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying … “He cometh to meet thee with four hundred men” (Gen. 32:7). Thereupon, Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed (ibid., v. 8). Why...
And Dinah, the daughter of Leah, went out to see (Gen. 34:1). Was she not also Jacob’s daughter? Indeed, but Scripture associates her name with that of her mother. Leah’s daughter ...
42:1). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: Happy is He whose help is the God of Jacob (Ps. 146:5). Why does this verse say the God of Jacob and not “the God of A...
Then Judah came near (Gen. 44:18). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: My son, if thou art become a surety for thy neighbor, if thou hast struck thy hands for a s...
And it came to pass after these things (Gen. 48:1). Scripture states in response to this verse: For such as are blessed of Him shall inherit the land; and they that are cursed of H...
18:1). Scripture says elsewhere: Thine own friend and thy father’s friend forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity; better is a neighbor that is ...
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants (Exod. 32:13). May our masters teach us: Until what time may the morning prayers be recited? Thus our masters teach us that the mo...
(Lev. 1:1:) “Then [the Lord] called unto Moses [and spoke unto him].” This text is related (to Ps. 103:20), “Bless the Lord, O His messengers,1Mal’akhaw. Throughout this section of...
(Lev. 19:2:) “You shall be holy.” R. Pinhas bar Hama the Priest said that R. Reuben said, “What is the meaning of that which is written (in Ezek. 3:12), ‘and I heard after me?’14Th...
(Numb. 16:1:) “[Korah who is] the son of Izhar [who is] the son of Kohath [who is] the son of Levi betook himself.” But there is not written "the son of Jacob" [or] "the son of Isr...
R. Levi opened [his discourse] (with Ps. 9:6), “You have rebuked the nations; you have destroyed the wicked one”: “You have rebuked the nations.” This refers to Amalek, of which it...
"And Sarah's lifetime was one hundred years and twenty years and seven years" (Genesis 23:1). Rashi offers his famous comment: at one hundred she was like twenty (free from sin), a...
What made Eli the priest live so long? The midrash gives a simple answer: Torah study. "Fortunate is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of ...
Hannah vowed at Shiloh — if God gives her a son, she will give him back (1 Samuel 1:11). Rabbi Berachiah used this verse to address four theological objections that people raise ag...
Take the story of Joseph and his brothers in Egypt. In (Genesis 47:2), we read, "From among his brothers he took five men, and he presented them before Pharaoh." Okay, seems simple...
When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel according to their number (Exod. 30:12).14Pesikta de Rav Kahana, Shekalim, p. 156. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Ta...
(Deut. 2:2-4:) “Then the Lord spoke unto me, saying, ‘You have had enough of going about this mountain; turn north. Now charge the people, saying, “You are passing through the terr...
The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text from around the 2nd century BCE, speaks to that very feeling. It paints a picture of a future where the people stray from the path, and the...
We find it in the Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text that retells and expands upon stories from Genesis. (It’s considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, by the way, ...
Remember the story of Joseph, sold into slavery in Egypt? He rises through the ranks, becomes a powerful official, and then… his brothers, unknowingly, come to him seeking grain du...
We're diving into the Book of Jubilees, specifically chapter 46. Now, the Book of Jubilees isn't part of the standard Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, that you'd find in most synagogues. ...
It's considered apocryphal by some, pseudepigraphal by others (meaning, falsely attributed to a biblical figure), but no matter what you call it, it's a fascinating window into a w...
The kind of idea that fuels revolutions and inspires hope. That very concept is at the heart of a fascinating passage in the First Book of Maccabees. We're talking about a time of ...
Not according to some powerful Jewish legends! They paint a picture of a world created specifically for us, for the people of Israel. It’s a pretty bold claim, isn't it?According t...
We find ourselves deep in the narrative of Joseph and his brothers, a tale filled with sibling rivalry, deception, and eventual reconciliation. Joseph, now a powerful figure in Egy...
The story of Joseph and his brothers, oh, it's dripping with that feeling. It's a tale of sibling rivalry, betrayal, and ultimately, reconciliation – a story that resonates even to...
That’s the kind of scene we’re diving into today, ripped straight from the heart of the Joseph story. Think about Judah. He’s standing there, facing the impossible: returning to hi...
And that’s where the Legends of the Jews, compiled by Louis Ginzberg, comes in. It’s a treasure trove of stories, expanding on the biblical narrative in ways that are both fascinat...
Jewish tradition certainly thinks so. And when it comes to the Tribes of Israel, their names aren't just labels, they're prophecies, whispers of a future redemption woven into the ...
Jewish tradition wrestles with this question constantly, and few stories illustrate the tension better than the legendary origins of MOSES. Imagine this: the 21st of Nisan. A seemi...
Like the universe is asking you to do something impossibly huge, and all you can think is, "Who, me?" That's precisely where Moses found himself. Imagine the scene: Moses, tending ...
Pharaoh, after enduring plague after plague, is finally starting to buckle. He's ready to let the people go – men, women, children, the whole shebang! But, of course, there’s a cat...
Jewish tradition has some fascinating answers, and they often involve celestial dramas playing out behind the scenes. Take the story of the Exodus, the moment when the Israelites w...
The Israelites, after witnessing incredible plagues and finally being released from Pharaoh's grip, found themselves trapped between the sea and the pursuing Egyptian army. Talk ab...
