4,108 texts · Page 72 of 86
We all know about Moses, about the plagues, about the parting of the Red Sea. But what about the women who defied a king's cruel decree and saved countless Israelite babies? The To...
The Torah tells us that Pharaoh, increasingly paranoid about the growing Israelite population, ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill all newborn baby boys (Exodus 1:16). But the midw...
The Torah tells us, "The woman conceived and bore a son; she saw that he was good and she hid him for three months" (Exodus 2:2). But what lies beneath that simple verse? The ancie...
We all know the basics: baby Moses in a basket, found by Pharaoh's daughter. But what if I told you there's a whole world of interpretation swirling around just a few verses? to on...
Take this one from (Exodus 2:6), describing Pharaoh’s daughter discovering the infant Moses adrift in the Nile: "She opened it and saw the child [yeled], and behold, a boy [na’ar] ...
Like a well, for instance. It's more than just a source of water; it’s often a meeting place, a place of destiny. Our sages point this out in Shemot Rabbah, noting how the well is ...
It all centers around Moses, and a rather interesting agreement he makes with Jethro (also known as Yitro), his future father-in-law. Remember, Moses has just fled Egypt after, sha...
In fact, they wrestled with it in their interpretations of the book of Exodus, specifically (Exodus 2:25): "God saw the children of Israel, and God knew." What did God see? What di...
Where is God, exactly? Is He up in the heavens, completely removed from our earthly struggles? Or is He still somehow… here? The book of Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic int...
It might seem like just a simple Hebrew word meaning "was," but in the world of Jewish thought, it can unlock hidden meanings, destinies, and connections. Shemot Rabbah, a collecti...
“An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed” (Exodus 3:2). ...
In the story of Moses, that moment is captured in a single, powerful scene – the burning bush. The book of Exodus tells us (3:3) that Moses said, "I will turn now, and see this gre...
Our story begins in (Exodus 3:7): “The Lord said: I have seen My people’s affliction that is in Egypt, and I have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, as I know their p...
We find ourselves in (Exodus 3:8), where God tells Moses, "I have come down to deliver them from the hand of Egypt and to take them up from that land to a good and expansive land, ...
That's the situation Moses found himself in. In (Exodus 3:11), Moses cries out to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should take the children of Israel out of ...
It all starts with that pivotal moment when Moses encounters God at the burning bush. Remember the verse? "God said to Moses, 'I will be what I will be,' and He said, 'So shall you...
The passage we're looking at begins with God instructing Moses: "Go and gather the elders of Israel, and say to them: The Lord, the God of your fathers, God of Abraham, of Isaac, a...
To that, drawing from the ancient wisdom of Shemot Rabbah, a classic rabbinic commentary on the Book of Exodus. In (Exodus 3:20), God says, "I will extend My hand, and smite Egypt ...
Turns out, Moses did. And, according to the Shemot Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, it didn't go unnoticed. The story begins, as we k...
It's often because the Rabbis, in their infinite wisdom, saw connections we might miss. Take the story of Moses at the burning bush in Exodus, chapter 4. God gives him three signs ...
That feeling isn't exactly new. In fact, we see it playing out in one of the most pivotal moments in the Torah: Moses's reluctance to answer God's call. It all unfolds in the book ...
The ancient rabbis saw that struggle playing out in the life of Moses, as he stood on the cusp of his world-changing mission. The book of Exodus (4:18) tells us, "Moses went and re...
The Torah touches on this very human act in some surprising ways. We find a fascinating exploration of brotherly love, and the significance of a kiss, in Shemot Rabbah, a collectio...
The book of Exodus tells us that God spoke, but the how… that’s where the Jewish tradition gets truly wondrous. Our exploration starts with a seemingly simple verse: “The Lord said...
We all know the story, but Shemot Rabbah, a classic collection of midrashim (rabbinic interpretive commentary) – interpretations and expansions – on the Book of Exodus, offers a fa...
It wasn't pretty. And it certainly wasn't subtle. Our story picks up right after Moses and Aaron deliver their fateful message: "Let my people go!" (Exodus 5:1). Pharaoh, predictab...
It’s a moment of raw honesty from Moses himself. The story begins after Moses relays God's message to Pharaoh – the one demanding freedom for the Israelites. Instead of freedom, Ph...
Our sages explored this very human tendency in fascinating ways, especially when looking at the stories of Solomon and Moses. Our journey begins with a verse from Exodus (6:2-3): “...
Even Moses, the great lawgiver, felt that way. Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, offers us a fascinating glimpse into a moment where Mo...
This very human experience echoes in the ancient texts, specifically in a powerful passage from Shemot Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. The ...
The ancient rabbis certainly thought words held immense power, for good and for ill. to a fascinating interpretation of a verse in Exodus, as explored in Shemot Rabbah, a compilati...
Jewish tradition has some pretty strong opinions on that. And, spoiler alert: it doesn't end well. Shemot Rabbah, a classic collection of Midrash (interpretive stories) on the Book...
It's all there in the book of Exodus, chapter 7, verse 9: "When Pharaoh will speak to you, saying: Provide a wonder for you; then you shall say to Aaron: Take your staff, and cast ...
It wasn't just random chaos, you know. There's a deeply considered, almost… merciful… method to the madness. The Book of Exodus (7:16-17) sets the stage: "You shall say to him: The...
It's easy to see them as just divine punishment, but Jewish tradition often digs deeper, searching for layers of meaning. one fascinating idea from Shemot Rabbah, a classic collect...
The Torah tells us, "The magicians of Egypt did so with their spells; and Pharaoh's heart hardened, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had spoken” (Exodus 7:22). But what does "...
(Besides driving us crazy, of course!) Well, Jewish tradition has a fascinating answer, one that goes all the way back to the plagues in Egypt. The Book of Exodus recounts God's co...
We often focus on the what – the frogs, the locusts, the darkness – but sometimes miss the deeper meaning. to one of the more… amphibious plagues and see what the ancient rabbis ha...
In the book of Exodus, we read, "The Lord said to Moses: Extend your hand toward the heavens, and there will be hail throughout the land of Egypt…" (Exodus 9:22). It seems straight...
The Book of Exodus tells us, "Moses extended his staff toward the heavens and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the ground, and the Lord rained hail upon the lan...
It’s a question that our sages grappled with, and the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) in Shemot Rabbah offers a fascinating perspective, connecting it to the story of th...
"Moses extended his hand toward the heavens, and there was a thick darkness in the entire land of Egypt for three days. They did not see one another, and no one rose from his place...
It's easy to see them as simply divine punishments, but Jewish tradition often delves deeper, searching for layers of meaning and nuance. Let's look at the plague of darkness, as e...
The Israelites certainly did in Egypt. But even in the darkest of times, hope can blossom. And it often arrives in unexpected ways. Our story begins, as so many do, with a word fro...
You might think it's all divinely ordained, etched in stone... but the answer, according to some fascinating interpretations, is a little more nuanced, a little more… us. Shemot Ra...
The ancient Rabbis felt that way about the Exodus, the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt. And they found echoes of that feeling in the most unexpected places, even in the Son...
It's not just dry recitation – it's a story of resilience, faith, and the enduring bond between God and the Jewish people. to a fascinating passage from Shemot Rabbah 15, a collect...
Our story today comes from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. Specifically, we're diving into section 15, which grapples with the meanin...
