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Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of Rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, explores this very human experience with the verse, "There is an evil that I have seen under t...
“An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed” (Exodus 3:2). ...
The Shemot Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, offers a breathtakingly intimate perspective on that pivotal moment. Specifically, Shemot...
Today's story comes from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. It's a powerful reflection on God's role in the Exodus, and really, in all o...
Jewish tradition says a resounding "YES!" And one of the most beautiful examples of this is found in the stories surrounding the manna, that miraculous bread from heaven that susta...
We all know the story, but the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), those ancient interpreters of scripture, delve into the details, revealing layers of meanin...
The book of Exodus and the sages of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) explore this very idea. In (Exodus 32:7), we read, "The Lord spoke to Moses: Go descend; for your...
Today, we’re diving into a fascinating interpretation of a verse from the Song of Songs – Shir HaShirim – that explores just this idea: the contrast between foul odor and sweet fra...
In Shir HaShirim Rabbah 7, the Rabbis unpack a seemingly simple verse – (Song of Songs 2:7): “I administer an oath to you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles, and by the hinds...
Forget the sanitized Sunday school version. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), that incredible collection of rabbinic interpretations, offers a glimpse into a world of...
It's filled with poetic imagery, and today we're going to delve into just one verse, (Song of Songs 4:4): "Your neck is like the tower of David, built magnificently. One thousand b...
The very first verse of the Book of Leviticus – Vayikra in Hebrew – begins with God calling out to Moses. It seems straightforward enough. But the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic i...
In Jewish tradition, this tension between joy and sorrow, celebration and mourning, is a constant theme. And it's beautifully, if somberly, explored in Vayikra Rabbah, specifically...
It's a tale of desperation, disobedience, and the dark consequences that follow when we turn away from the divine. The story begins with a pointed question: what comes before this ...
“Those close to him” (Esther 1:14) – they brought the calamity close to themselves. “Karshena” – who was appointed over the vetch3A plant used as animal feed. [karshinin]; “Shetar”...
And it came to pass after these words that God did prove Abraham (Gen. 22:1). What words were spoken? Ishmael had said to Isaac: I am superior to you, for I underwent circumcision ...
And the Lord went before them (Exod. 13:21). Just as a man treats other men, so is he treated. Because Abraham escorted the ministering angels, as it is said: And Abraham went with...
Behold, I send an angel before thee (Exod. 23:20). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: For He will give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways (...
(Numb. 22:20:) “Then God came unto Balaam at night.” This text is related (to Exod. 12:42), “That was for the Lord a night of vigil.” All miracles which were done for Israel and wh...
The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text from around the second century BCE, offers a glimpse into just that. It paints a picture of a world teeming with angels, a world where the ...
to a fascinating, and frankly, slightly scandalous passage from the Book of Jubilees, a text that expands on the stories we find in Genesis. This particular passage, Jubilees 41, p...
That’s the feeling you get reading the story of Tamar and Judah in the Book of Jubilees. Remember Judah? One of Jacob’s sons, a key figure in the story of Joseph and his coat of ma...
We're diving into a tiny moment from the Book of Jubilees, chapter 42. It's a snippet that speaks volumes about fear, famine, and foresight – a story nestled within the larger saga...
That’s the scene we find ourselves in with Joseph and his brothers in the Book of Jubilees, chapter 43. It's a powerful moment, dripping with the weight of years, deception, and ul...
It’s one of the most powerful scenes in the entire Torah, isn't it?The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text considered apocryphal by some, offers a slightly different, expanded ver...
We all know the broad strokes: slavery in Egypt, Moses leading his people to freedom, the parting of the Red Sea. But sometimes, the details get lost in the grandeur. The Book of J...
We all know about the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and the giving of the Ten Commandments. But what about the details that fill in the cracks, the "behind-the-scenes" momen...
to a fascinating, and sometimes surprising, peek into the origins of Passover and Shabbat, as seen through the lens of a text called the Book of Jubilees. The Book of Jubilees, som...
That’s the story of Judith. And in this moment, as we find her in the Book of Judith, she's just finished pouring out her heart to God, a plea not just for herself, but for her ent...
The Book of Maccabees I tells us a brutal tale of betrayal. Jonathan, Simon’s brother and a leader of the Maccabean revolt, was murdered by the treacherous Tryphon near Bascama. Im...
Following the pestilence, God instructs Moses and Elazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to take a census. A head count of the entire Israelite community, specifically those twenty y...
At nearly nine meters long, the Temple Scroll (Megillat HaMikdash, מגילת המקדש) is the longest of all the Dead Sea Scrolls. Found in Cave 11, it may date from the late 2nd century ...
The betrayal came from within. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle preserved by Moses Gaster in 1899, a man named Simeon from the tribe of Ben...
God told Abraham to look beneath his feet at the firmaments and understand the creation that was foreshadowed in the expanse, the creatures existing upon it, and the age prepared a...
"Many have been created, but few shall be saved." With those words ringing in his ears, Ezra launched into the most daring prayer in all of Jewish apocalyptic literature — a prayer...
Issachar, fifth son of Jacob and Leah, called his sons together and said: "Hearken, my children, to Issachar your father. Give ear to the words of him who is beloved of the Lord." ...
Zebulun, sixth son of Jacob and Leah, was dying in his hundred and fourteenth year, two years after Joseph. He gathered his sons and said: "I am not conscious that I have sinned al...
Dan, seventh son of Jacob, born of Bilhah, called his family together in the hundred and twenty-fifth year of his life. He had proved something in his heart through his entire exis...
Gad, ninth son of Jacob, born of Zilpah, spoke to his sons in the hundred and twenty-fifth year of his life. He had been valiant in keeping the flocks, guarding them at night. When...
Joseph, eleventh son of Jacob, beloved of Rachel, was about to die. He called his sons and brethren together and spoke. "My brethren and my children, hearken to Joseph the beloved ...
Forget the Pinterest boards and the seating charts – imagine a celebration orchestrated by God Himself! It’s a thought, isn't it? The Legends of the Jews, that amazing collection o...
Forget the Friday night dinners we know and love. Imagine the cosmic version, the original blueprint laid out in the heavens! The Legends of the Jews gives us a glimpse, a peek beh...
Jewish tradition offers some truly fascinating, and sometimes unsettling, answers. to a few… We've heard tales of fallen angels, haven't we? The ones who dared to defy the divine. ...
In the stories surrounding Joseph, the son of Jacob, we find just that kind of mystical insight woven into the narrative. Remember the story? Joseph, sold into slavery in Egypt by ...
Remember, Joseph, now a powerful figure in Egypt, has finally revealed himself to his brothers, the same brothers who sold him into slavery years ago. It's a dramatic reunion fille...
Your family's survival hangs in the balance. What would you say? What would you do? That’s the tension at the heart of a powerful moment in the Joseph story, as retold in Ginzberg'...
But imagine the tables being turned... Imagine you holding all the cards, knowing the truth while others are desperately trying to keep up a charade. That’s the kind of tension we ...
Tension? You could cut it with a knife. And Judah, ever the fiery one, is ready to rumble. His anger flares. “The fire of Shechem burneth in my heart,” he declares, “now will I bur...
