2,458 texts in Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg)
It wasn't just a quick anointing, you see. It was an entire week of living in the shadow of the Tabernacle, a period of seclusion from the everyday world, a real immersion into hol...
Right there, in front of everyone, Aaron and his sons were chosen, set apart for the holy task of serving as priests. Immediately following this ceremony, Aaron and his sons went i...
Take the story of Aaron and his sons, for example. Before they could even begin their sacred service, they had to retreat for seven days. A week of… what exactly? Preparation, yes....
You might assume that after all that hard work, the position was practically his. But that's not quite how it worked. God, in a moment filled with divine intention, says to Moses, ...
When Moses approached Aaron with the news that God wanted him to be the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, Aaron wasn't exactly ecstatic. He pointed out, "What! Thou hadst all the labor...
The people of Israel are ready to begin their worship. Aaron, brother of Moses, is chosen to be the first High Priest. This is his moment! He should be filled with pride and joy. B...
That feeling, that heavy weight of responsibility, might give you just a glimpse of what Aaron, the High Priest, must have felt on that momentous day of the Tabernacle's consecrati...
The ancient Israelites must have felt something like that when the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, was finally erected in the desert. But according to our tradition, it wasn't just a buil...
The Torah tells us Moses was unique, unparalleled in his closeness to the Divine. But what did that closeness feel like? How did it sound? Before the dedication of the Mishkan (מִש...
See, before the Mishkan was built, the world was apparently crawling with demons. Ginzberg, in Legends of the Jews, recounts how these spirits had free rein, wandering wherever the...
Jewish tradition has a name for that: the ayin hara, the evil eye. And according to some fascinating stories, the ancient Israelites were particularly vulnerable to it at pivotal m...
For Elisheba, the joy is amplified fivefold! As Ginzberg recounts in Legends of the Jews, luck seems to be showering blessings specifically on her. Her husband, Aaron, is the High ...
Take the story of Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, the High Priest. We encounter them in the book of Leviticus. They seem like pious individuals. But according to tradition, their e...
The story of Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, plunges right into that question. It's a tale filled with both tragedy and a strange kind of… merit? We find this story in Leviticu...
The Torah tells us about such a moment in the life of Aaron, the High Priest, after the devastating death of his sons, Nadav and Avihu. The scene: Aaron’s sons, in their zeal, offe...
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...
The Torah tells us that Nadab and Abihu, in their zeal, offered "strange fire" before the Lord and were consumed (Leviticus 10:1-2). A devastating blow, not only to their family bu...
Take, for instance, the story of Aaron, Moses, and Aaron’s surviving sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, after the tragic deaths of Nadab and Abihu. Remember Nadab and Abihu? They were cons...
The princes of the tribes in the story of building the Mishkan (Tabernacle) knew that feeling all too well. In Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, when Moses called for do...
The Israelites, wandering in the desert, carrying the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, with them. It wasn't exactly backpacking. There were heavy pieces involved. How did they manage it al...
The princes of the tribes of Israel certainly felt that way when it came time to dedicate the Mishkan (Tabernacle). In Ginzberg's retelling in, Legends of the Jews, these tribal le...
Our tale comes from Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, a treasure trove of stories expanding on what we find in the Bible. It tells us about the offerings brought by the princes of th...
The dedication of the Tabernacle in the desert is a great example. We read about the princes of each tribe bringing identical offerings (Numbers 7). But the Midrash (rabbinic inter...
It’s not always as simple as it seems. Take the dedication offerings in the desert, for example. The scene: the Tabernacle is complete, the tribes are eager to present their offeri...
They each had their own strengths, their own roles to play. And some, like the tribe of Zebulun, were particularly fascinating. The tradition says after Nahshon, the temporal king,...
Take the story of the offerings brought by the tribes of Israel in the desert. Each tribe, a unique thread in the tradition of the nation, brought their own special gifts to the Mi...
The sages certainly thought so. Let's consider Simeon, for instance. Just as Reuben stepped in to save Joseph's life, Simeon rose up to avenge his sister Dinah after the terrible e...
The offerings each tribe brought to the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, give us some fascinating clues. Take the tribe of Gad, for instance. Remember Simeon, sword in hand, battling to de...
Take the tribe of Ephraim, for example. Did you know they were granted a unique honor? The Torah tells us, and the sages elaborate, that God allowed the prince of Ephraim to make h...
When we look at the story of Joseph, the biblical hero, we find a fascinating answer. Joseph, sold into slavery in Egypt, faces temptation at every turn. But he remains steadfastly...
the sanctuary's placement – first in Shiloh, within Joseph's territory, and later in Jerusalem, within Benjamin's – meant that Benjamin's tribe and its sacrifices followed the patt...
In the Book of Genesis, Jacob, nearing the end of his life, bestows blessings upon his sons, the founders of the twelve tribes of Israel. When he blesses Dan, he likens him to Juda...
Take, for instance, the blessings and offerings associated with the tribes of Israel. They're not just historical details; they're packed with symbolism, reflecting the unique role...
Legends of the Jews turns to Naphtali's Offerings Honor the Patriarchs and Torah. Then comes a silver bowl, used for sprinkling blood. Its weight? Seventy shekels. Who lived to sev...
The tribal offerings at the Tabernacle look repetitive until Ginzberg lets them carry the whole history of the world. These weren't just offerings. According to the Legends of the ...
Take the gifts of the twelve princes, representing the twelve tribes of Israel, as described in the Torah (Numbers 7). A reader can skim over those lists of offerings – chargers of...
A reader can see them as just… well, sacrifices. But in the Jewish mystical tradition, everything has deeper significance, a symbolic echo connecting the earthly and the divine. Th...
Legends of the Jews turns to Shabbat Before the Altar. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) tells us something astonishing. The gifts weren't just similar; they were iden...
It plays out in a beautiful way in the story of Moses. In Ginzberg’s retelling in, Legends of the Jews, Moses, ever humble, believed his work was done once the Mishkan, the Taberna...
It wasn't just a party. It was so much more. The Mishkan, or Tabernacle, was the portable sanctuary the Israelites carried through the desert after the Exodus. A physical represent...
This tribe, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, held a special place. They were the ones dedicated to the sanctuary, the ones who served God in the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, and lat...
Originally, it was the firstborn sons who were meant to serve in the sanctuary. But, as Ginzberg tells us in Legends of the Jews, when the Israelites succumbed to idolatry and wors...
We picture this grand, awe-inspiring moment, but Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews paints a rather. different picture. After generations of brutal slavery in Egypt, the Israelites wer...
The laws surrounding leprosy, or tzara'at, were incredibly strict. While other forms of ritual impurity only kept people away from the sanctuary, those afflicted with leprosy were ...
It involves… a second chance Passover! The Israelites are in the desert, fresh out of Egypt. God is laying down the law, literally. Among the instructions is the commandment to cel...
Aaron, the High Priest, brother of Moses. We find ourselves at a somber moment: Aaron has just lost his two sons. A devastating blow. But something remarkable happens. Instead of r...
His sons, in a moment of unauthorized zeal, offered "alien fire" before the Lord and were consumed. A devastating blow. How could joy ever return? Yet, according to Legends of the ...
Twelve days of celebration, twelve days of dedication… and Aaron's tribe, the Levites? Nowhere to be seen. According to Legends of the Jews, Aaron was deeply troubled. "Woe is me!"...
