Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer

508 texts in Midrash Aggadah

Open Door of Return

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 51:6

It seems so constant, so familiar. But Jewish tradition, specifically in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of stories and interpretations, offers a surprising, even ...

RepentanceHoly LandSacrifice

The Future Temple That God Himself Will Build

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 51:7

Our tradition certainly does. It’s filled with prophecies and visions of a future so bright, it’s almost hard to imagine. One of the most evocative of these visions concerns the Te...

CreationTempleShabbat

The New Moon That Reconnects Heaven and Earth

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 51:8

It's more than just checking the calendar. According to ancient tradition, there was a time when the connection between the earthly and heavenly realms was so clear, so palpable, t...

CreationHeavenPrayerHoly Land

Ezekiel's Promise That Something Truly New Will Come

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 51:10

But is that really true? Is there no hope for renewal, for something truly new to break through? According to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating text of Jewish legend and lore, ...

TemplePrayerHoly Land

The Dead Will Rise and the Torah Will Heal the World

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 51:11

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of Jewish stories and interpretations, gives us a glimpse of just such a miraculous future. It speaks of a time when even the most ...

MosesTorahMiraclesHoly Land

Ezekiel's Breathtaking Vision of the Third Temple

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 51:12

We get glimpses, whispers, hints throughout our tradition. And sometimes, just sometimes, we get a description so vivid, so lush, that you can almost smell the fruit hanging heavy ...

TempleHealingDivine justiceAdam & Eve

Ezekiel in Jewish Tradition

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 51:13

Sounds like something out of a fairy tale. Well, according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (chapter 51, to be exact), such a place exists, or at least, the potential for it does. The tex...

TorahHealingAdam & EveMiracles

Chaldees — Abraham at the Dawn of Creation

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 52:1

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, an ancient Jewish text, speaks of seven such wonders. Not the kind you find on a travel brochure, but events that shook the foundations of belief. We're tal...

CreationPatriarchsDaniel

The Miracle of Sarah's Pregnancy at Age Ninety

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 52:2

Today, let's talk about a detail tucked away in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval text filled with stories and interpretations expanding on the Torah. Specifical...

CreationNoah & FloodPatriarchsMatriarchs

Nimrod Among the Fathers

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 52:3

Our tradition wrestles with this too, offering some pretty powerful imagery to explain it. Consider this from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval text filled with ...

PatriarchsMatriarchsHumorSymbolism

Abraham Invented Gray Hair - Aging Before the Patriarch

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 52:5

It might surprise you to learn that, according to one tradition, it wasn't always this way. Imagine a world where everyone's hair stayed the same color their whole lives. A world w...

CreationPatriarchsMiracles

How Sneezing Once Meant Instant Death Before Jacob Prayed

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 52:6

It's more than just good manners. It's a whisper echoing from a very, very old story. A story about Jacob, and a world without sickness as we know it. According to Pirkei DeRabbi E...

CreationPatriarchsJosephJob

Coat of Many Colors

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 52:7

It’s easy to gloss over it, but let's really consider it for a moment. Imagine the scene: millions of people, fleeing for their lives, trapped between an advancing army and a vast,...

CreationJosephMiraclesHoly Land

Faith of Joshua

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 52:8

They faithfully rose and set, marking the days, months, and years. But according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early collection of Biblical stories and legends, all that...

CreationAdam & EveJosephMiracles

King Hezekiah's Prayer That Reversed His Death Sentence

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 52:9

According to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating text compiling stories and interpretations of the Torah, there was a time when sickness was a one-way street. From the moment cre...

CreationProphecyMiraclesExile

Hezekiah's Mistake That Led to the Babylonian Exile

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 52:10

The story comes from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating and often imaginative collection of midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic stories. The scene opens with messengers...

Noah & FloodTorahTempleExile

Adam and the Torah of Slander

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 53:1

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating and somewhat enigmatic work of Jewish literature, dedicates a section to this very topic, emphasizing its gravity. It states, unequivocally, t...

Adam & EveTorahMysticismRepentance

Rabban Gamaliel in the Days of Moses

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 53:2

The ancient Israelites certainly did. And sometimes, their reactions… well, let's just say they weren't always their finest moments. We find a particularly vivid example of this in...

MosesHoly LandFireHeresy

Aaron and Creation of Fire

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 53:3

According to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating and somewhat enigmatic text of Jewish tradition, fire isn't just fire. It’s something… else. Rabbi Judah paints a vivid picture, ...

CreationHeavenMosesTemple

Miriam and the Lawgiver of Cushite

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 53:5

Like just when you think you've made it, something... shifts? Jewish tradition has a way of acknowledging that final, often fiery, transition. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating...

MosesWomen of the BibleDivine justiceFire

Written and Oral Law of Cushite

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 53:6

Who are they?" Well, the Cushites were an ancient people from the region of Cush, generally understood to be in modern-day Sudan and Ethiopia. They were often depicted as having da...

TorahHoly LandShabbat

David and the Torah of Joab

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 53:8

It's never just about the surface story. Take this passage from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, chapter 53, a fascinating text that retells and expands upon biblical narratives. It wrestle...

King DavidTorahWisdom

Absalom — Adam and the Fires of Gehenna

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 53:9

The notion that certain individuals, blessed (or cursed) with similar attributes, might share a similar fate. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, an ancient Jewish text, presents a rather stri...

Hell/GehennaAdam & EveKing David

David Prays to Save Absalom's Soul from Gehinnom

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 53:10

The ancient text Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of stories and interpretations, gives us a glimpse into just that possibility. It tells a powerful, almost unbelie...

Hell/GehennaKing DavidPrayerDeath

When God Descended to Earth Because of Miriam's Well

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 54:1

It’s a recurring theme in our tradition, and each instance carries a powerful lesson.This isn't a physical descent, mind you, but a drawing near, a manifestation of the Divine pres...

MosesTempleMysticismHoly Land

Miriam and the Patriarchs

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 54:2

It sounds gross, I know, but stay with me. There’s a fascinating passage in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (chapter 54) that throws light on the number seven and its significance in Jewish...

PatriarchsMosesTorahHoly Land

Israel Rebelled Again and God's Patience Wore Thin

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 54:3

Our ancestors in the wilderness did the same thing, and, according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, it didn't go so well. The story goes that the Israelites, fresh out of Egypt, started ...

HeavenAdam & EveJosephMoses

Abraham and the First Humans

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 54:5

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating collection of early Jewish stories and interpretations, grapples with just that. Chapter 54 gives us some intriguing food for thought. It's a ...

Adam & EvePatriarchsSolomonPrayer