2,458 texts in Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg)
Enoch, as we find in Legends of the Jews, wasn't just any guy. He lived in a time when, according to Rabbi Ishmael (as told by Enoch himself!), humanity had really messed things up...
Methuselah. Yes, that Methuselah, the guy famous for living almost a thousand years. But there's so much more to his story than just longevity. According to the legends, he wasn't ...
Today's story? It centers around the birth of a very, very special child – Noah. Yes, that Noah, of ark fame. Before the floods, before the animals two-by-two, there was his birth....
Legends of the Jews turns to Birth of Methuselah. It all begins with Lamech, Methuselah's son, and the birth of his own son. Something about this child, this newborn, stirred a dee...
Legends of the Jews turns to Why Noah Had Two Names. The name Noah wasn't the only one he went by. According to Legends of the Jews, a monumental compilation of Jewish folklore by ...
The earth itself was rebelling. That "wheat being sown, yet oats would sprout and grow." A frustrating, chaotic agricultural landscape. It’s a powerful image of disharmony, isn't i...
Before we get to the ark and the flood, let's rewind a bit. According to Legends of the Jews, a collection of stories compiled by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, Noah’s arrival on the scene ...
The familiar telling remembers angels as these purely good, ethereal beings. But what happens when angels, shall we say, misbehave? The story of Azazel and Shemhazai is one of thos...
The ancient tales whisper of such a secret, and of the angels who coveted earthly delights, with consequences that echo through the stars. Angels, beings of pure light and spirit, ...
Legends of the Jews turns to Shemhazai and the Angels of Azazel. Shemhazai and Azazel, as Legends of the Jews recounts, weren't deterred from, shall we say, fraternizing with the d...
Legends of the Jews turns to Hiwwa's Vision. Shemhazai wasn't just any angel gone rogue. He was a pretty big deal, and his kids, well, they had some serious prophetic dreams, as we...
We've heard tales of Watchers, haven't we? The ones who dared to defy the divine. One such story revolves around Shemhazai. He, along with others, rebelled and descended to Earth. ...
You might already know the story of Cain and Abel, one of the first and most tragic tales in the Torah. But the narrative doesn’t end there. The Legends of the Jews recounts how th...
While the Torah gives us hints, it's in the later Jewish traditions, the stories whispered from generation to generation, that we really start to get a sense of just how wild thing...
It wasn't just one thing, of course. But according to our sages, two sins in particular stand out when describing the generation that was ultimately destroyed: unchastity and greed...
That’s essentially Noah's predicament in the lead-up to the Flood. In Legends of the Jews, even after God decided, with a heavy heart, that the world had become too corrupt to cont...
The story of Noah's flood, as told in Genesis, isn’t just about a big storm. It’s about the ultimate second chance... or rather, the chances before the ultimate one. And the incred...
It wasn't just about fitting a pair of every animal; according to tradition, it had to accommodate spirits as well. Only the fish were exempt from needing a berth. So how did he ma...
The stories tell us it wasn't just a simple "get out!" It was a complex struggle, a cosmic battle, and a search for redemption. Samael (the angel of death), often identified as the...
The story is actually far more intriguing, and it all starts with Adam. In Legends of the Jews, upon Adam's death, a certain holy book mysteriously vanished. Where did it go? What ...
Not just any book. According to Legends of the Jews, that incredible compilation by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, this was a sapphire book, encased in gold! Think of the bling! More import...
The sheer chaos! It’s a story that’s been told and retold for generations, and while The familiar picture has Noah rounding up creatures two-by-two, the Jewish tradition offers som...
The sky, once a comforting blue, now a swirling canvas of grey, pregnant with a deluge unlike anything humanity had ever witnessed. The first drops fall, fat and heavy, then a torr...
What Happened to the Sinners Left Behind in the Flood is the question behind this passage from Legends of the Jews. The Legends of the Jews says retold by Louis Ginzberg, these wer...
Even as the world was collapsing around them, some people doubled down on their wickedness. Can you imagine? As the water began to gush forth from the very earth – the springs burs...
The familiar picture has him building, gathering animals, maybe arguing with his neighbors. But what about his personal life? It turns out, there's a story there, too, a very human...
It wasn't just about finding a male and female of each species. According to tradition, moral character played a surprising role. The entire world was drowning in wickedness. Noah ...
The familiar story is this: the flood, the animals two-by-two, a new beginning. But what about the creatures that almost didn't make it? Or the ones that hitched a ride in the most...
The familiar story is this: the flood, the animals two-by-two… but imagine the sheer logistics! It wasn't just about getting them all on board. It was about keeping them alive, and...
Legends of the Jews turns to Noah's Terrifying Ride on the Raging Floodwaters. The Zohar, that cornerstone of Jewish mystical thought, hints at the sheer chaos. The ark, meant to b...
The story of Noah's Flood isn’t just about rain, is it? It’s about a total upheaval, a cosmic reset. So, where did all that water come from? Well, according to some fascinating int...
The familiar story centers on Noah, but the traditional accounts, particularly outside of the Bible itself, paint a picture far more vivid than you might imagine. In Legends of the...
The Bible itself gives us some clues, but the full picture? It's painted in vibrant detail in the Legends of the Jews, Louis Ginzberg's masterful compilation of rabbinic lore. The ...
The familiar picture has it as a peaceful, almost idyllic scene. But Tensions would be high. Well, the legends tell us it wasn't always smooth sailing. Take the story of the raven....
The story goes way back, all the way back to Noah and the ark. after the flood, Noah needed to know if the waters had receded. So, naturally, he sent out a raven. Now, ravens are k...
The stench, the noise, the sheer claustrophobia of it all! You'd think the moment the floodwaters receded, he'd be the first one off the boat. But no. The story, as recounted in Le...
Ginzberg, in Legends of the Jews, tells us that Noah wept bitterly at the sight of the destruction. He turned to God, saying, "O Lord of the world! Thou art called the Merciful, an...
The familiar story is this: the animals, the flood, the rainbow. But what about the after the flood? What was Noah thinking, feeling? Did he get everything. Well, according to some...
Noah, his family, and all the animals are finally stepping off the ark, blinking in the sunlight, the world utterly transformed. The very first thing Noah does? He builds an altar....
Jewish tradition sees that rainbow, the bow in the cloud, as a very specific promise. A promise from God. The Torah tells us that after the great flood, God set His bow – the rainb...
Think about Noah for a second. The flood survivor, the righteous man who saved humanity and all the animals. In many ways, he was considered pious, a paragon of virtue. But accordi...
It involves Noah, freshly off the ark, and a very persuasive Satan. Noah, according to this legend found in Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg, decides to plant a vineyard. A no...
Take Noah, the righteous man who saved humanity from the flood. You’d think he’d be on a pretty straight path after that whole ordeal. But nope. The story takes a turn, and it invo...
The Torah portion of Noah certainly gives us food for thought on that subject. It's a story of survival, new beginnings..and a rather unfortunate curse. The familiar version gives ...
He’s a figure shrouded in a bit of… well, let's call it unfortunate circumstances. Canaan, grandson of Noah, didn't exactly have an easy go of things. According to the ancient text...
The familiar story is this: Noah gets a little too happy with the grape juice after the flood, and..well, let's just say he wasn't dressed for the occasion. His son Ham sees him th...
Sometimes, the answer lies in the smallest of actions, the purest of intentions. Think about Noah. After the flood, things weren’t exactly smooth sailing. There’s that infamous epi...
The familiar telling remembers Shem, Ham, and Japheth, but what were their lives really like after they stepped off the ark? The blessing Noah bestowed upon them speaks volumes. It...
