32 texts
The boy dragged the demon Ornias to the palace gates. The spirit stood there shuddering, trembling, crying out and offering silver and gold to anyone who would free him. But no one...
A winged dragon with the face and hands of a man rolled into Solomon's court. Its body was scaled like a serpent, but its limbs were human, and great wings folded against its back....
The parade of demons continued. One by one the thirty-six spirits of the zodiac stepped forward before Solomon's throne, each confessing the disease it inflicts and the angel whose...
Forget the sanitized Sunday school version. Some traditions paint a picture wilder than you might imagine. Imagine this: Abraham, having challenged the religious norms of his time,...
That’s a glimpse into the desperation Moses must have felt as his life was coming to an end. We all know Moses. The towering figure who led the Israelites out of Egypt, received th...
Her visit to King Solomon is one of the most famous encounters in all of history. But before she even met the wise king, there was an intriguing little prelude involving this Benai...
But desperation can drive people to do the unimaginable. And in the tumultuous story of Haman and Mordecai, we find exactly that: a man brought to his knees by circumstance, forced...
The ancient sages certainly did. They saw the constellations not just as pretty patterns, but as a cosmic script filled with meaning. And sometimes, that meaning wasn't so comforti...
We search for answers, not to diminish faith, but to deepen our understanding of the divine tapestry. The Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah, a Kabbalistic text, offers a fascinating perspect...
Sometimes, they're found in the most unexpected places. Like… a beard. I know, it sounds strange, but bear with me. We’re diving into the Idra Zuta, a profound text within the Zoha...
Specifically, the idea of mazal. The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a cornerstone of Kabbalistic literature, dives deep into these mysteries. And in the 50th Tikkun, we find a ...
Jewish mystical tradition suggests the answer is a resounding yes. The Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a central text of Kabbalah, delves into the intricate connections between ...
The ancient sages felt that too. And they saw a direct connection between the stars above and our daily bread. to a fascinating, and admittedly complex, passage from the Tikkun (sp...
Demons were not abstract theology for medieval Jews. They were a daily hazard requiring specific countermeasures, and Joshua Trachtenberg catalogued an elaborate system of protecti...
If demons crowded the dark spaces of medieval Jewish life, angels filled the light. Joshua Trachtenberg showed that Jewish angelology was not merely theological—it was operational....
The Hebrew word mazal (מזל) originally meant "constellation" or "star." Only gradually did it shift to mean "luck"—and the journey of that word tells the story of Jewish astrology ...
It wasn't always this way, you know. There's a fascinating story in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a collection of stories and interpretations from the Talmudic period, about a celestial ...
It's all about the Tekufot (תְּקוּפוֹת) – the beginnings of the seasons. Now, the text might seem a little dense at first glance, but bear with me. It's like unlocking a secret cod...
Ishmael, R. Elazar ben 'Arakh, R. Eliezer ben Hyrḳanos, and R. 'Aḳiba—a veritable dream team of Jewish scholars—all gathered together, deep in discussion about the Molad, the birth...
According to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval text, it all happened with incredible precision. Imagine the scene: the fourth day of creation, night is falling. ...
This fascinating work, often abbreviated as PDR El., is a collection of stories, legends, and interpretations of the Torah, all attributed to Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, a prominen...
Tradition tells us that Abraham faced not just a few challenges, but ten major trials throughout his life. Ten! Can you imagine? The Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, an early medieval colle...
The Yalkut Shimoni, a fascinating collection of rabbinic commentary on the entire Hebrew Bible, touches on this very moment in section 685 on Nach (the books of Prophets and Writin...
We often think of great scholars, perhaps, or those who dedicate their lives to prayer. But Jewish tradition sometimes surprises us. The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal inter...
The Hebrew Bible says Balaam saw "a star shall come from Jacob, and a scepter shall arise from Israel" (Numbers 24:17). Targum Onkelos renders this as: "A king has gone forth from ...
Berachoth: Chapter One From what time on may we read the Sh'm'a of the evening? "From the time the priests enter to eat their Terumah until the end of the first watch," said R. Eli...
The Talmud (Shabbat 156b) tells the story of a woman who consulted astrologers about her newborn son. They told her with certainty: "Your son will be a thief." She was devastated. ...
A group of pagan astrologers — men who read the stars and claimed to know the future — once came before a Jewish court. They had traveled from distant lands, driven by a question t...
We find ourselves in the time of Rabbi Ḥiyya Rabba, a prominent sage. Someone brings him a zargun, a starling. The question? Is it kosher? Is it okay to eat according to Jewish law...
These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begot Isaac (Gen. 25:19). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: The father of the righteous will greatly ...
Another interpretation (of Lev. 6:2), “Command Aaron.” What is the function of Aaron here? Israel was bringing offerings whereas Aaron is mentioned, and Scripture says here, “Comma...
(Deut. 7:12:) “And it shall come to pass if you heed [these statutes].” What is written above the matter (in Deut. 7:7)? “It is not because you are the most numerous of all the peo...
