1,204 related texts · Page 11 of 26
The Vayikra Rabbah, a fascinating midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic collection on the Book of Leviticus, explores this very idea. It opens with the verse "If you follow ...
It sounds radical, I know. According to some accounts, God bestowed immense honor upon Moses, gifting him dominion over the entire earth, the seas, the rivers – all the elements th...
Yes, kissing! We often think of kissing as a sign of affection, love, or respect. But in ancient times, it could also be a form of worship. Strange. The Bible itself gives us a gli...
Oy vey! Have we, in our zeal for hidden wisdom, inadvertently stumbled into idolatry? It's a question that weighs heavily, especially when considering the influence of the Zohar an...
The Tree of Souls tells us that these souls resided in the Garden of Eden, up above. And get this: they were all present at the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai! How do we know t...
And there's one particular story that throws this idea into sharp relief: the Giving of the Torah. Now, picture this: At the very beginning, when the Creator shaped the cosmos, the...
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 ...
In the third month (Exod. 19:1). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright, He is a shield to them that walk in integrity (Prov...
And the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace (Exod. 19:18). What furnace? Perhaps it is comparable to this furnace? Therefore Scripture says: And the mountain burned wi...
And God spoke (Exod. 20:1). May it please our master to teach us: What things have their reward in the world-to-come? Thus do our masters teach us: These are the things whose inter...
Another explanation of the verse: And God spoke (Exod. 20:1). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: Then did He see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and s...
I am the Lord thy God (Exod. 20:1). May it please our master to teach us: If a fire breaks out in a house in which there is a scroll of the Torah and other books, may their owner s...
Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not uncovered thereon (Exod. 20:23). A logical conclusion may be derived from these words. If in regard to ...
And it came to pass, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai … Moses knew not that the skin of his face sent forth beams (Exod. 34:29). Why did Moses merit the beams of glory? Our sa...
(Numb. 1:1:) “Then the Lord spoke unto Moses in the Sinai desert, in the tent of meeting.” Before the tent of meeting was set up, He spoke with him in the bush, as stated (in Exod....
Another interpretation (of Numb. 2:2), “Each with his standard, under the banners.” This text is related (to Cant. 2:4), “He brought me unto the banquet house, [and His standard (d...
(Numb. 7:1:) “So it came to pass on the day that Moses had finished.” R. Berekhyah the Priest Berabbi said,101Similarly Numb. R. 12:2. “Before the Tabernacle was erected, when Isra...
Another interpretation: "See I, etc," (Deuteronomy 11:26). This is that which the verse stated (Lamentations 3:38), "Is it not at the word of the Most High, that weal and woe befal...
One fascinating, if somewhat enigmatic, text that attempts to answer this very question is the Book of Jubilees. Jubilees, a Jewish work of the Second Temple period, offers a uniqu...
The Book of Jasher, an ancient Hebrew text referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13 and (2 Samuel 1:1)8), fills in some of those gaps. It's like a behind-the-scenes look at the...
The sun beats down, and the horizon shimmers with heat. But our journey isn't just a physical one; it's a journey into the heart of Jewish tradition. We're heading to a very specia...
Moses certainly did. Imagine this: God asks you to go on a little errand. No biggie. But before you can even answer, God gives you a sneak peek – not just of the future, but of the...
"What! Is our sorrow not great enough, burdened as we are by those who have suffered in Egypt from the very beginning? Must you add more to the land?" Can you imagine Aaron saying ...
It’s not just a coincidence. Jewish tradition loves patterns, and the number three seems to be deeply woven into the fabric of our story, connecting the Torah, the people of Israel...
He addressed them with words that still resonate today. He said: "God gave you the Torah and wrought marvels for you." It wasn’t just about receiving the law; it was about being ch...
The story, as retold by Ginzberg in Legends of the Jews, introduces us to this angel, a being named Hadarniel. This angel, it's said, towers over his brethren, exceeding them by si...
The story of the Golden Calf is a cornerstone of the Torah, a moment of profound betrayal after the incredible miracle of the Exodus. But according to the legends, Moses himself bo...
We all know the story: the Ten Commandments, the Golden Calf... but what about the moments in between? The feelings, the doubts, the sheer weight of responsibility? According to Gi...
His sons, Nadav and Avihu, have died. The Torah tells us they offered "strange fire" before the Lord (Leviticus 10:1-2) and were consumed. Can you picture the anguish? The disbelie...
That's the situation Korah and his followers found themselves in, and boy, were they vocal about it! Fueled by fiery rhetoric, Korah's band of rebels confronted Moses and Aaron, th...
It's not just good manners; it's deeply rooted in our tradition. : before asking for something big, wouldn't you acknowledge the power and greatness of the one you're asking? That'...
The mystics of the Kabbalah saw that same energy, that same divine voice, echoing throughout creation. And they sought to understand what it was saying. In the Tikkun (spiritual re...
The Mekhilta, the halakhic midrash on Exodus from the tannaitic period, continues its investigation of a recurring biblical formula: when Scripture says God "has spoken," where exa...
R. Elazar ben R. Yossi Haglili found a disturbing paradox buried in a single verse from Psalms. The verse reads (Psalms 81:8): "In distress you called and I rescued you. I answered...
It draws a powerful parallel between water and Torah, showing how both are essential for life, growth, and well-being. The midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) begins by refe...
The blast of the shofar, that ancient ram's horn, isn't just some ritualistic noise. It’s a call to action, a reminder, and, if we listen closely, a whisper from the Divine. Midras...
It’s an idea that pulses with life throughout Jewish tradition, a concept that goes far beyond just melody. to Midrash Tehillim, specifically Midrash Tehillim 149, and see what it ...
Jewish tradition certainly has stories like that, moments where knowledge transcends mere information and becomes something almost…divine. Let’s turn to the Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer,...
Chapter 41 gives us a glimpse into a rather… unique sales pitch, shall we say. Rabbi Tarphon recounts a scene where the Holy One, blessed be He, doesn't just give the Torah, but ac...
According to this tradition, the voice of the first commandment wasn't just a sound. It was an event. A cataclysm. "The heavens and earth quaked," the text tells us. The natural wo...
The ancient text of Sifrei Devarim, a commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, grapples with this very question, and it's a surprisingly potent message for us today. There's a powerf...
But who exactly is being told to do this counting? Is it the beth-din, the Jewish court, maybe acting on behalf of the community? That's where the Sifrei Devarim, a collection of e...
We read the words, we imagine the scene... but can we truly grasp the awe, the terror, the sheer overwhelming experience of receiving the Torah? Sifrei Devarim, a collection of ear...
The ancient texts suggest a far more compelling narrative.It opens with the verse, "And he said: The L-rd came from Sinai." But the rabbis of old saw much more in those words. They...
R. ḤANINA B. DOSA SAID: HE WHOSE FEAR OF SIN COMES BEFORE HIS WISDOM, HIS WISDOM SHALL ENDURE; [BUT HE WHOSE WISDOM COMES BEFORE HIS FEAR OF SIN, HIS WISDOM SHALL NOT ENDURE,] as i...
Their answer is both clever and chilling: The wilderness of Sinai was where they received their death sentence. How could that be? The key, it seems, lies in (Exodus 24:11): “Again...
We know, according to tradition, that God created the world in six days. But what about since then? The Talmudic sages pondered this very question. In Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection...
Rabbi Simon, quoting Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, shares something fascinating about the letters mem, nun, tzadi, peh, and kaf. You know, those letters that have different forms depend...
