270 texts in Midrash Rabbah
It’s a universal human experience. And it's something the ancient rabbis wrestled with too, as we see in Kohelet Rabbah, a fascinating commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastes. The v...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, has something to say about that. "A handful of tranquility is better than two handfuls of toil and herding wind" (Eccl...
The ancient sages grappled with that feeling too, and they left us some pretty intense imagery to describe it. Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, is a book all about...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it’s known in Hebrew, dives right into that feeling. One particular verse, (Ecclesiastes 4:8), really hits home: "There is one and not anoth...
It turns out, that feeling has deep roots in Jewish thought. We find it beautifully expressed in (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12): “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward fo...
Like there's a little angel on one shoulder and... well, something else on the other? Jewish tradition recognizes this internal struggle, personifying it in a fascinating way. to a...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet in Hebrew, speaks to this feeling with raw honesty. And the Rabbis, in their infinite wisdom, found layers of meaning within its verses, especi...
Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, certainly does. And Kohelet Rabbah, the rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, really digs into the layers of meaning within its ver...
And Kohelet Rabbah, the rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, really digs into that feeling. Our focus today is on a single verse, (Ecclesiastes 4:16): "There is no end to all the p...
It all starts with a verse from Ecclesiastes (4:17): “Guard your feet when you go to the house of God, and draw near to heed. This is better than fools giving an offering, as they ...
In fact, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Kohelet Rabbah, connects them to something much deeper: the consequences of our actions and, specifically, our...
It’s a topic explored further in the rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, Kohelet Rabbah, and it's a fascinating, and frankly, a little scary. The verse in question is (Ecclesiaste...
We all have. But in Jewish tradition, the words we speak – and the intentions behind them – carry immense weight. Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Bo...
It all starts with the verse from (Ecclesiastes 5:6): "So it is with a multitude of dreams and vanities and many words; rather, fear God.” The verse seems to be saying that too muc...
The Book of Ecclesiastes – or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew – grapples with this very feeling. It asks us: what do we do when we see injustice seemingly rewarded? Specifically, K...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, as it's known in Hebrew, wrestles with these very questions. And Kohelet Rabbah, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) that elaborate...
We often think of the Torah, the Five Books of Moses, as the core, the foundation. But what about all the rest? What about the details, the nuances, the things that seem to go beyo...
Like that perfect cup of coffee, or maybe... mitzvot (commandments)? That’s the question bubbling up from Kohelet Rabbah, a fascinating exploration of the book of Ecclesiastes. In ...
It's a reminder that divinity can work through anything. Kohelet Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, puts it this way: "The ad...
The ancient Rabbis certainly did. In Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, we find a series of stories, almost like little parables,...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, grapples with these very human feelings. It observes, "With the increase of good, those who consume it increase; what use is there for its own...
Jewish tradition has some fascinating, layered answers. to one, found in Kohelet Rabbah, a midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic (interpretive) commentary on the Book of Ecc...
"Sweet is the sleep of the laborer, whether he eats a little or a lot; but the satiety of the wealthy does not allow him to sleep" (Ecclesiastes 5:11). It's a powerful image, this ...
And it’s one that the ancient rabbis grappled with in the text of Kohelet Rabbah. Two rabbis, Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, offer contrasting perspectives. Rabbi Yehuda uses the ...
That’s a feeling woven deep into the tapestry of Jewish tradition, a feeling the rabbis grappled with intensely. how they expressed it. The story begins with the passing of Ḥiyya b...
The story begins with a loss. When Rabbi Bon ben Rabbi Ḥiyya passed away, Rabbi Zeira rose to eulogize him, choosing the verse: “Sweet is the sleep of the laborer.” (Ecclesiastes 5...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, wrestles with these kinds of paradoxes. And there’s one verse in particular that always gets me thinking: "There is a ...
Could I do more?" The sages certainly wrestled with that feeling, and they had some pretty strong opinions about what happens when we ignore it. The Book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohele...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet in Hebrew, wrestles with this very feeling. And Kohelet Rabbah, a rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, dives even deeper. It all starts with th...
The Book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, certainly does. And the ancient rabbis weren't afraid to grapple with that feeling either. Kohelet 5:15 laments, "This...
Specifically, they focused on the verse in (Ecclesiastes 5:16): "In addition, all his days, he eats in darkness, and has much anger, illness, and rage." What does it mean to live i...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet in Hebrew, grapples with these questions. One verse in particular catches our attention: "Behold what I have seen to be good: That it is fine t...
And believe it or not, the Book of Ecclesiastes – or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew – grapples with this too. Specifically, (Ecclesiastes 5:18) states: “Also any man to whom God h...
The Book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, certainly grapples with this very human feeling. And within Kohelet Rabbah, the rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, w...
King Solomon, wise beyond measure, certainly did. He saw an "evil under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 6:1), and it wasn't some grand, world-ending catastrophe, but something far more insi...
Kohelet, or Ecclesiastes, that sometimes-bleak but always-honest book of the Bible, wrestles with this feeling. Chapter 6, verse 2, hits hard: "A man to whom God gives wealth, asse...
And the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), in Kohelet Rabbah, take this even further, using stories and interpretations to unpack the weight of those feeling...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, certainly does. And the rabbis, in their insightful commentary Kohelet Rabbah, really dig into this sense of transience. Take this verse from ...
to a fascinating little parable found in Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic commentaries on the Book of Ecclesiastes. The verse in question is (Ecclesiastes 6:5): “He has als...
And the ancient rabbis, in Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on Ecclesiastes, really dig into this idea. The verse in question is (Ecclesiastes 6:6-7): “Were...
The Kohelet Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on Ecclesiastes, wrestles with this very question. It's not just about being smart; it’s about how knowledg...
That feeling of grasping at smoke...of the wind slipping through your fingers. Well, the ancient wisdom of Kohelet, or Ecclesiastes, speaks directly to this feeling. And Kohelet Ra...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, wrestles with these very feelings. One verse in particular, (Ecclesiastes 6:10), really gets to the heart of it: "What...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, wrestles with this feeling constantly. And the rabbinic commentary on it, Kohelet Rabbah, dives even deeper into the fleeting nature of, well,...
The Book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, wrestles with these very questions. It asks, "For who knows what is good for man in his life, all the days of his life of vanity, that he spen...
Kohelet, Ecclesiastes, throws us a curveball right from the start: "A good name is better than fine oil, and the day of death than the day of one's birth" (Ecclesiastes 7:1). Whoa....
to a fascinating discussion from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Ecclesiastes, about the appointment of Aaron as the High Priest. The Rabbis...
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, a prominent figure in the Zohar (the foundational text of Jewish mysticism), puts it this way: a good name is more beloved than the Ark of the Covenant itse...
