23 texts
Ben Sira, that wise sage from way back when, would tell you that’s a dangerous game indeed. He cuts right to the heart of things: "For mercy and anger are with him; And his displea...
She's a Jewish widow, her city of Bethulia is under siege by the Assyrian army, and things look… bleak. But Judith? She’s not one to back down from a challenge. Now, remember, the ...
That’s precisely where Tobiyyah finds himself in the Book of Tobit. He needs to journey to Media – a long and perilous trip – to retrieve money owed to his father. But who will gui...
The Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating ancient text, gives us some clues. It recounts the story of how the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek – the Septuagint – but tucked away ...
Dan, seventh son of Jacob, born of Bilhah, called his family together in the hundred and twenty-fifth year of his life. He had proved something in his heart through his entire exis...
Let me tell you a story that'll make your blood boil – a classic Sodom tale of deception, greed, and just plain audaciousness. Imagine you're traveling through the ancient world, w...
It’s a story of family betrayal, simmering rage, and, ultimately, a hard-won path to self-control. The drama unfolds like this: the brothers are out tending the flocks. Joseph, the...
Let’s talk about Balaam and Balak, two figures from the Torah whose story is a masterclass in the art of near-misses and thwarted curses. The next morning, after their initial fail...
Or perhaps, an unshakeable faith. Our story begins with Elijah, a figure who embodies that very spirit. We find him first appearing during the reign of King Ahab, a period marked b...
Yeah, you heard me right. to the Idra Zuta, a section of the Zohar, the central text of Kabbalah. This is heady stuff, dealing with the most esoteric realms of Jewish mysticism. We...
The Torah states a blunt exclusion about the Paschal lamb: "No stranger may eat of it." The Mekhilta explains who "stranger" includes, and the answer is broader than it first appea...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael presents a teaching about the direct connection between Israel's obedience and God's wrath, expressed through two contrasting verses that form a perfe...
The Mekhilta identifies another future-tense verb in the Song at the Sea. It is not written "You have sent forth Your wrath" — as if God's anger were already spent — but "You will ...
A certain philosopher asked R. Gamliel: It is written in your Torah "for the L–rd your G–d is a wrathful G–d." Now is there power in idolatry to arouse wrath (in G–d)? One here is ...
Abraham called himself a stranger. (Genesis 23:4): "A stranger and a sojourner am I with you." David called himself a stranger. (Psalms 119:19): "I am a stranger in the land." And ...
"and the stranger": This refers to a ger toshav (a "sojourning stranger [one who shuns idolatry and observes the seven Noachide laws]). But perhaps it refers to a ger tzedek (a "ri...
King David did. And his feelings echo across the millennia to us. (Psalm 119:19) says, "I am a stranger in the land; do not hide your commandments from me." It’s a powerful line, f...
Like you’re sitting there, head spinning, wondering, “What did I even DO?” Well, the Torah, in its infinite wisdom, actually gives us some pretty clear guidance on this very issue....
The Torah, in the book of Numbers (Bamidbar), hints at a very similar situation involving Pinchas, a figure known for his zealousness. So, who was Pinchas and why was his lineage u...
We all know the story: Moses, after leading the Israelites for forty long years, is denied entry into the Promised Land. But have you ever stopped to consider the intensity of that...
"And the waters will came back and cover the chariot and the horsemen" (Exodus 14:26) And even Par'oh, according to Rabi Yehuda, as it says "the chariots of Phar'oh and his army" (...
... [When] a man goes to honor the rulers, he goes full and returns empty. But the Holy One, blessed be He, is not like this. Rather we go to him empty and we return full, as it is...
“This day, the ladies of Persia and Media, who have heard of the queen’s deed, will tell it to all the king’s princes, and there will be no end [kedaiy] of humiliation and wrath” (...
