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(Exodus 31:13) commands: "But My Sabbaths shall you keep." The Mekhilta asks what this verse adds to (Exodus 20:10): "You shall not perform any labor." If labor is already prohibit...
The Shabbat (the Sabbath) carries a responsibility that extends beyond rest. According to the Mekhilta, every person who observes the Sabbath becomes a witness. And the testimony t...
"For whoever does work upon it, that soul shall be cut off" — the Mekhilta specifies that this refers to "a complete work." The full prohibition applies only when a person complete...
What is the intent of (Exodus, Ibid. 150 "And the seventh day, a Sabbath of resting, holy to the L–rd"? From (Leviticus 23:4) "These are the festivals of the L–rd, callings of holi...
The Torah commands: "And the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath for their generations" (Exodus 31:16). The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael connects this ve...
(Exodus 35:3) commands: "You shall not light a fire in all of your dwellings" on the Sabbath. The Mekhilta connects this verse to a completely different discussion about the shemit...
Furthermore, it follows a fortiori, viz.: If on shemitah, transgression of which is liable to neither kareth (cutting-off) nor judicial death penalty, he rests from shemitah even t...
The Torah says "You may not light a fire in all of your dwellings" on the Sabbath. But what about executions ordered by a court? The judicial death penalty of burning requires fire...
The prophet Isaiah did. And his vision, described in the Book of Isaiah (6:1-8), has shaped Jewish understandings of God, heaven, and the very nature of holiness for millennia. Ima...
The prophet Daniel had such a dream. It's recorded in the Book of Daniel, and it's a vision that’s puzzled and inspired readers for centuries. "As I looked on," Daniel recounts, "t...
Jewish mystical tradition offers us some pretty imagery. We're talking about God's Throne of Glory – not just any chair, but a cosmic command center. A vision of ultimate authority...
Jewish tradition is rich with visions of the future, of the Olam Ha-Ba, the World to Come. And some of those visions are, well, breathtaking. Imagine this: a day when the very thro...
Jewish tradition offers a stunningly beautiful image: Our prayers, all of them, rise up and become a crown for God. The image comes to us from several sources, each adding its own ...
Jewish tradition has some fascinating, and surprisingly relatable, ideas. One captivating story, found in Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) Aleph Bet (5:8-9), suggests tha...
Where is God? Have you ever stopped to truly consider that question? It seems simple, almost childlike. But the deeper you delve, the more mysterious it becomes. The mystics of our...
Jewish tradition has a powerful and beautiful answer: the Ruah ha-Kodesh, the Holy Spirit. According to tradition, before the Throne of Glory, before angels, before even the stars ...
Jewish tradition speaks of such things. Specifically, it tells us about three keys. Not physical keys, of course, but metaphorical ones – representing ultimate control over the ver...
One of my favorite images is this: God carries everything beneath His arms. Not just a gentle embrace, but a sustaining act of holding. According to some mystical traditions, God's...
Jewish tradition, especially in the mystical and rabbinic realms, actually gives us some fascinating imagery about this. It suggests that God didn't just speak the world into exist...
Moses certainly did. In the book of Exodus (33:18-23), we find Moses pleading with God, "Oh, let me behold Your presence!" It's a raw, human moment. Can you imagine the courage, th...
The Torah actually grapples with this very question, and the answer, as you might expect, is layered and fascinating. : Moses, standing before the burning bush, is tasked with lead...
The story I want to share with you comes from the Talmud and it’s about Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha, the High Priest, and a truly extraordinary encounter. Imagine this: Rabbi Ishmael ...
Jewish tradition paints a picture of a voice so powerful, so overwhelming, that it's almost beyond comprehension. We're told that God saved His full voice for a pivotal moment in h...
It’s a question that’s haunted mystics and theologians for centuries. And while Jewish tradition generally holds that no one can see God and live, there are whispers and echoes in ...
The Torah, in its own way, grapples with this very question. We find ourselves in the Book of Exodus, a pivotal moment in the story of the Israelites. Moses is about to ascend Moun...
We pray to God. But…does God pray? And if so, to whom? The mystics have wrestled with these questions for centuries, and the answer, perhaps unsurprisingly, is layered and fascinat...
We often picture God as all-powerful, creating worlds and intervening in human affairs. But did you know there's a tradition that imagines God as… a Torah scholar? It’s true! The B...
We, with our messy emotions and tear-streaked faces, tend to project a lot onto the Divine. But Jewish tradition actually gives us some incredibly vivid, even surreal, images of Go...
Jewish tradition dares to imagine a God who weeps. And perhaps nowhere is that more powerfully depicted than in the legends surrounding the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. ...
There was a time, a very dark time, when God Himself considered doing just that. Imagine the scene: The Temple in Jerusalem lies in ruins. The people of Israel are in exile, weepin...
We often picture the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, guiding them, protecting them. But what if I told you there's a tradition that paints an even more inti...
They’ve journeyed far, and now, they're about to experience something beyond comprehension. Exodus 19 tells us that on the third day, as morning broke, the atmosphere crackled with...
Jewish tradition offers a powerful, heart-wrenching image: Mother Zion. The image of Mother Zion comes from a deep well of sorrow and longing, born from the exiles and devastations...
Jewish tradition has a powerful way of describing this feeling: the wandering of the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence). The Shekhinah, often translated as "divine presence," is under...
This is the story we're diving into today: the mourning over the Shekhinah, the divine feminine presence, after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. It’s a powerful myth, on...
There is a way, a glimpse, perhaps, of the Divine Presence – the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence)? The Shekhinah, a Hebrew word often translated as "dwelling" or "presence," represe...
In Jewish tradition, we have a name for that Divine Presence: the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence). And there's a place where the veil between worlds is said to be especially thin: ...
He's not exactly kicking back with a cosmic cup of coffee. Nope. He's been busy making matches. That's right, God is the ultimate shadkhan—a matchmaker. It's a powerful idea, isn't...
Bava Metzia 59b), a story about rabbinic authority and, surprisingly, God's good-natured acceptance of it. It all starts with a disagreement. Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, a renowned...
It might surprise you. Imagine all the angels gathered, a celestial court in session. They turn to the Master of the Universe himself and ask, "What day is Rosh ha-Shanah?" That's ...
It’s a question that has captivated Jewish thinkers for centuries. When God set about creating the world as we know it, what did God have to work with? The tradition tells us that ...
There's this fascinating, almost hushed tradition about five heavenly things, each brimming with immense power, currently...asleep. Imagine that – cosmic forces of unimaginable mag...
We all know the story from Genesis, about God speaking the world into existence. But what if there were other, older stories? Stories that paint an even more vivid and active pictu...
It's more than just a colorful arc in the sky. It's a promise, a symbol, and, according to some, a glimpse of something truly extraordinary. The most familiar story, of course, con...
In Judaism, there's a pretty firm foundation: God created the world precisely when He chose to. But that leads to a whole host of other questions, doesn't it? What was before that ...
Before the sun, the moon, the stars... What illuminated the very first moments of creation? Jewish tradition tells us that the first thing God created wasn't a physical object, but...
Okay, it's not exactly a fashion question, but it's a fascinating way to think about the beginning of everything. According to Jewish tradition, the very first thing created wasn't...
The Torah tells us, "Let there be light" (Gen. 1:3). But what was that light? Jewish tradition answers with something truly special: the primordial light. And it wasn't just any li...
