1,204 related texts · Page 24 of 26
The Hebrew Bible says the "sons of God" saw that human women were beautiful, and took wives from among them (Genesis 6:2). That's all it says. The Targum Jonathan rewrites the scen...
The standard book of Exodus says an angel appeared to Moses in the burning bush. The Targum Jonathan, an ancient Aramaic translation composed in the land of Israel, names that ange...
Exodus chapter 6 is mostly genealogy—the kind of passage readers skim. The Targum Jonathan turns it into a minefield of hidden revelations. The chapter opens with God revealing the...
The plague of hail in Exodus chapter 9 comes with a warning: anyone who fears God's word should bring their livestock inside. The Hebrew Bible says some of Pharaoh's servants feare...
The standard Exodus text says God promised one final plague against Egypt. The Targum Jonathan transforms this announcement into something far more personal and humiliating for Pha...
The covenant ceremony at Sinai in (Exodus 24) is solemn in the Hebrew Bible. The Targum Jonathan turns it into a visionary experience with one of the most haunting images in all of...
Transporting the Tabernacle was the most dangerous job in ancient Israel. The Targum Jonathan makes clear that one wrong glance at the sacred vessels meant death by divine fire. Wh...
The Hebrew Bible mentions a cloud over the Tabernacle. The Targum Jonathan turns it into a sentient navigation system—a pillar of divine fire and glory that dictated every movement...
The standard text of (Deuteronomy 1) opens with Moses speaking to Israel "beyond the Jordan." But the Targum Jonathan, an ancient Aramaic translation composed between the 1st and 4...
The unsolved murder ritual in (Deuteronomy 21) is already strange in the Torah—elders break a heifer's neck in a barren valley. Targum Jonathan makes it stranger and more spectacul...
"And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year..." (Numbers 1:1).1Guggen...
Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said t...
In ten articles the world was created, and what is meant to be said, and in one article he could recover, but heal the wicked who destroy the world created in ten sayings and give ...
Who wrote the Hebrew Bible? The Talmud in Bava Batra 14b provides a complete accounting, attributing every book to a specific author. Moses wrote his own book—the Torah—and also th...
Pharaoh's daughter did not accidentally find Moses. According to Sotah 12b, she came to the river to immerse herself—not for bathing, but to wash away the spiritual impurity of her...
The death of Moses is the most devastating scene in the Torah—and the Talmud in Sotah 13b expands it into something almost unbearable. Moses pleaded with God not to let him die. He...
What does God do all day? The Talmud in Tractate Avodah Zarah takes this question seriously. The rabbis laid out a detailed twelve-hour schedule. During the first three hours, God ...
The Hebrew Bible says God "descended to see the city and the tower" of Babel (Genesis 11:5). Targum Onkelos will not allow that reading. God does not descend. Instead, "God became ...
The Hebrew Bible says Moses came to "the mountain of God" at Horeb (Exodus 3:1). Targum Onkelos specifies: "the mountain on which the Glory of God was revealed." The mountain is no...
Deborah the prophetess did something no other judge in Israel had done — she held court outdoors, beneath a palm tree. The Yalkut Shimoni on Nach explains exactly why, and the reas...
Pirkei Avot, also known as "Ethics of the Fathers," is one of the most widely studied texts in all of Jewish literature — and one of the most unusual tractates in the Talmud. Unlik...
Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) Read-but-not-Written I) But [the children of] Benjamin would not yield (Judges 20:13). The word the children of is missing, for they did ...
A non-Jew once asked Rabban Gamliel a question that seemed simple but concealed a philosophical trap. "Your God," he said, "is supposedly the master of the entire universe. He crea...
Someone once asked Rabbi Akiva a question that seemed simple but carried enormous weight: "How great is the value of the Torah?" Rabbi Akiva did not hesitate. "Each word of the Tor...
Bride & Angel of Death. Tobit. Tanh. Deut. Haazinu. Midr. Decalogue, No. VII, 3 b. Ben Atar, No. I, Eliah Cohen. Meil Se- daka 434, reprinted B. H. V, p. 152—154. Farhi, O. P. I, f...
Abimelech ruled over Israel for three years (Judges 9:22). Aggadat Bereshit uses this strange opening — about a king in the book of Judges — to arrive at the first murder. The path...
David lifts his eyes to the mountains and prays — "A song of ascents" — and God answers him through a text he might not have expected: Moses's blessing of Judah. "And this is the b...
After two full years in prison, Pharaoh dreamed (Genesis 41:1). The midrash reads this through Psalm 73: "As an endless dream, the Lord despised their form." God does not reveal Hi...
We tend to picture Him as all-powerful, which He is, but the ancient texts sometimes paint a more… visceral picture. A picture of YAHWEH, the Warrior God. Think about the Exodus st...
Jewish tradition has a way of blowing your mind with concepts like that – especially when we delve into stories like the Exodus and the Binding of Isaac. Imagine this: the Israelit...
The verse we're focusing on is from the Book of Numbers (3:17): "These [eleh] were the sons of Levi by their names…" Now, Rabbi Abbahu makes a crucial observation about the word el...
That holiest of objects, containing the tablets of the Ten Commandments. Now, you might assume everyone always knew exactly how it was supposed to be handled. But, as we learn from...
It’s a question that resonates throughout Jewish tradition, and one that the Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers, tackles head-on. The passag...
The story of the Israelites and their encounter with the daughters of Moab is a stark reminder. It's a tale of temptation, idolatry, and the devastating consequences of losing sigh...
When the Torah says, “Command the children of Israel, and say to them: For you are coming to the land of Canaan; this will be the land that will fall to you as an inheritance” (Num...
It’s a question that pulls us into the heart of Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. We begin with the verse: "God said: Let the water ...
The verse says, "The children of the great men [benei haelohim] saw the daughters of man, that they were fair, and they took for themselves wives, from whomever they chose." Simple...
Today, let’s delve into a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a classical rabbinic commentary on the Book of Genesis, that explores just that. The passage opens with a quote ...
It all starts with a verse from Exodus, "You shall make for Me an altar of earth…[I will come to you and I will bless you]" (Exodus 20:21). Rabbi Yitzḥak takes this to heart. He im...
The story, of course, is from (Genesis 19:9). Lot, Abraham's nephew, has welcomed two angelic guests into his home. The men of Sodom, consumed by lust and cruelty, surround the hou...
We know the story: God commands Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. Abraham, unflinchingly faithful, prepares to follow through. But at the last moment, an angel intervene...
The Torah tells us that Abraham was old, zaken (Genesis 24:1). But the rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah 59 ask, what does that really signify? The rabbis dig deep, finding layers of meani...
The verse in (Genesis 25:22) tells us "The children were agitated within her, and she said: If this is so, why do I exist? She went to inquire of the Lord." But what exactly does "...
The scene is set: Jacob, disguised as his brother Esau, deceives his aging and blind father Isaac to receive the blessing meant for the firstborn. The Torah tells us, "He came to h...
The text presents a fascinating idea: that the speaker's life and experience lend weight to their words. It's not just what you say, but who you are that matters. Imagine someone e...
The verse we're looking at is from (Deuteronomy 1:11): "May the Lord, God of your fathers, add to you one thousand times as you are, and He will bless you, as He spoke to you." Sou...
Devarim Rabbah, in its unique way, uses a verse from Deuteronomy as a springboard to delve into just that. The verse in question is (Deuteronomy 4:39): "You shall know this day and...
It all starts with the verse from Deuteronomy, "You shall know this day, and restore to your heart" (Deuteronomy 4:39). Rabbi Meir interprets this in a fascinating way. He suggests...
