4,614 related texts · Page 84 of 97
R. Elazar Homadai says: in a land of foreign (gods, i.e., idolatry). Moses said: Since the whole world serves idolatry, I will serve Him who spoke and brought the (whole) world int...
(Exodus 18:4) "and the name of the second, 'Eliezer,' for (Moses said: 'The G–d of (Elokei) my father was my help (ezri), and He saved me from the 'sword of Pharaoh.'" R. Yehoshua ...
The Mekhilta extends its analysis of conditional versus unconditional covenants to two more foundational gifts: the Torah scroll and the priesthood of Aaron. Whence is it derived t...
(Ibid. 4) "You shall not make for yourself an idol (lit., "a carving")": I might think that he may not make one that projects but he may make one that is flat. It is, therefore, wr...
(Devarim 5:26) "Would that this heart of theirs (were in them to fear Me and to keep all of My mitzvot (commandments)h all of the days so that it be good for them and for their chi...
Rabbi Yishmael read the commandment against idolatry with a scope that went far beyond golden calves and carved statues. When the Torah says "You shall not make unto Me gods of sil...
R. Yitzchak says: Even a man who intends to smite one and smites another is not liable—until he makes it clear that it is this man that he wishes to smite, as it is written (Devari...
R. Yitzchak says: "an eye for an eye": I understand this to mean that whether or not he intends (to blind him), he pays only money. And, indeed, Scripture limits one who intends to...
"if the thief is found, he pays double": A thief (one who steals by stealth) pays kefel, but not a robber (one who steals openly). Why did Scripture see fit to be more severe with ...
Jewish tradition is rich with visions of the future, of the Olam Ha-Ba, the World to Come. And some of those visions are, well, breathtaking. Imagine this: a day when the very thro...
We often think of God as formless, beyond human comprehension, but our tradition is full of rich, imaginative descriptions. And one of the most striking is the image of God wearing...
Where is God? Have you ever stopped to truly consider that question? It seems simple, almost childlike. But the deeper you delve, the more mysterious it becomes. The mystics of our...
Jewish tradition dares to imagine a God who weeps. And perhaps nowhere is that more powerfully depicted than in the legends surrounding the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. ...
The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem – twice – is one of the most profound traumas in Jewish history. It’s not just about losing a building; it’s about losing a connection, a...
Jewish tradition offers a powerful, heart-wrenching image: Mother Zion. The image of Mother Zion comes from a deep well of sorrow and longing, born from the exiles and devastations...
This is the story we're diving into today: the mourning over the Shekhinah, the divine feminine presence, after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. It’s a powerful myth, on...
But what if I told you that, according to Jewish tradition, there is a way, a glimpse, perhaps, of the Divine Presence – the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence)? The Shekhinah, a Hebre...
According to Jewish tradition, He's not exactly kicking back with a cosmic cup of coffee. Nope. He's been busy making matches. That's right, God is the ultimate shadkhan—a matchmak...
Okay, it's not exactly a fashion question, but it's a fascinating way to think about the beginning of everything. According to Jewish tradition, the very first thing created wasn't...
The story goes that when God desired to create the world, He turned to Rahab, who was the angel or prince of the sea. God commanded Rahab to "Open your mouth and swallow all the wa...
The Torah gives us a beautiful, evocative image: "Such is the story of heaven and earth when they were created. When the Lord God made earth and heaven—when no shrub of the field w...
Jewish tradition offers a fascinating, almost dizzying glimpse into that unimaginable period. We know that on each of the first five days of Creation, God brought forth a multitude...
Before rings, before awkward toasts, before even human parents... what did that look like? Well, buckle up, because the story of Adam and Eve's wedding is more lavish and awe-inspi...
I'm not talking about a vampire, or some immortal god... I'm talking about the Phoenix. Jewish tradition paints a fascinating picture, one where the Phoenix isn't just another pret...
Jewish mystical tradition offers a stunning image: a ceaseless cycle of angelic creation, service, and dissolution, all fueled by a river of fire. Not just any fire, but the Rigyon...
We’re talking about the hayyot (חַיּוֹת), the “living creatures,” also sometimes called the heavenly creatures. These aren't your average angels. According to the lore, they're som...
Jewish tradition offers a beautiful, mystical answer: the Guf, the Treasury of Souls. Also known as the Chamber of Creation, it’s the ultimate waiting room. Imagine a place brimmin...
But according to ancient Jewish mystical traditions, this journey, often called "descending to the Merkavah (the Divine Chariot)" – the divine chariot – is fraught with peril. And ...
Jewish tradition, while often speaking of seven heavens, hints at something even beyond that: an eighth heaven, a realm of ultimate mystery. Now, we’re pretty familiar with the con...
The most common tradition identifies Metatron as the angel who was once Enoch, the mortal man who "walked with God" (Genesis 5:24) and was transformed into the mightiest angel in h...
They say he was so strikingly handsome, he resembled an angel. And his story, well, it begins a bit like a fairy tale. His parents, had longed for a child for many, many years. His...
We often imagine them rising up, floating on wings of hope and sincerity. But what if something—or someone—tried to block them? That’s precisely what happened, according to a fasci...
Jewish tradition has a lot to say on the matter, and some of it is Let's talk about the fate of the soul, particularly what happens to those who, well, weren't so righteous in life...
Jewish tradition has a place for them, a place of purification and, yes, punishment called Gehenna. It's not exactly hell, but it's definitely not a pleasant resort. But who's in c...
It’s not a job many would apply for, but Jewish tradition tells us there is someone – an angel, in fact – tasked with this grim responsibility. His name is Samriel, and he's the ga...
We spend so much time thinking about life, about the “now,” that the “what comes next” can feel like a distant, almost abstract question. But Jewish tradition offers some pretty vi...
Many believe the answer is Hebrew. It's a pretty powerful idea. That the very letters we use to write down these words are echoes of something ancient, something divine. A primordi...
Where was the Torah before it was given to Moses? Have you ever wondered about that? It's a question that dives right into the heart of Jewish mythology. Because if the Torah is so...
We often think of it as a moment of pure revelation, of divine gift-giving. But some ancient stories paint a picture far more…intense. A picture of near annihilation and miraculous...
They weren't just any ordinary slabs of rock. According to Jewish tradition, they were something truly extraordinary, imbued with a divine spark. The Zohar, that foundational text ...
Jewish tradition tells us that when someone is truly immersed in Torah study, something extraordinary happens. Take the story of Rabbi Yonathan ben Uziel. It’s said that when he de...
We often think about them as a time for personal reflection, a chance to atone for our mistakes. But the tradition paints a far grander picture, one involving cosmic judgment and t...
Genesis tells us God spent six days creating the world. But what happened after that? The Book of Genesis tells us that God rested on the seventh day, but there's more to the story...
According to the Or Zaru'a and Geonica, the angels each have six wings, one for every day of the week, and each day they chant a unique song to God. A celestial choir, if you will!...
In Jewish tradition, Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, is one of those days. It's a day of fasting and mourning, remembering immense loss and tragedy throughout our history. But where d...
We all know the story: Jacob, fleeing his father-in-law Laban, takes his wives and children and makes a run for it. But the book of Genesis (31:34) throws a curveball: "Rachel, mea...
There's a story, a rather incredible one, about a rabbi who supposedly did just that. It all revolves around Rabbi Judah Loew, also known as the Maharal of Prague. This was a truly...
It all begins with Abraham. God Himself entrusted him with a profound secret, "the secret of the mystery of the Redeemer," as Howard Schwartz puts it in Tree of Souls. A heavy burd...
