4,108 texts · Page 80 of 86
“He stripped His shrine like a garden; He destroyed His place of assembly. The Lord caused festival and Shabbat (the Sabbath) to be forgotten in Zion and He scorned king and priest...
“Arise, cry out at night, at the beginning of the watches, pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him for the life of your infants, who a...
“Who is it who said and it occurred, if the Lord did not command it?” (Lamentations 3:37).“Who is it who said and it occurred, if the Lord did not command it?” – who did command? H...
“All our enemies have opened their mouth against us” (Lamentations 3:46).“[All our enemies] have opened [patzu] their mouth against us” – why does peh come before ayin?74The verses...
“Return us to You, Lord, and we will return; renew our days as of old” (Lamentations 5:21).“Return us to You, Lord, and we will return.” The congregation of Israel said before the ...
“On his royal throne” – Rabbi Kohen (a priest) in the name of Rabbi Azarya: “On his royal throne [kisse malkhuto (Sovereignty)],” malkhuto is written [without the vav]. He sought t...
Rabbi Ḥiyya had a gentile friend in Ashna, who prepared a feast for him, during which he served him everything that had been created in the six days of Creation. He said to him: ‘W...
“On a floor of alabaster, marble, mother-of-pearl, and onyx.” Rav Naḥman said: Come and see what the comfort of that wicked one was like. His house was paved with precious stones a...
“Those close to him” (Esther 1:14) – they brought the calamity close to themselves. “Karshena” – who was appointed over the vetch3A plant used as animal feed. [karshinin]; “Shetar”...
Rabbi Azarya began: “Do not see wine in its redness, for one who sets his eye on the cup will walk the straight path” (Proverbs 23:31). Rabbi Azarya said: “Do not see wine in its r...
“Was [haya] [a Judean man in the Shushan citadel]….” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Everyone about whom “haya” is stated, it is he at the beginning and it is he at the end.9 He was righteous ...
“In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Aḥashverosh, he had cast a pur, that is, the lot, before Haman for each day and for each month, to the tw...
“Esther said, to respond to Mordekhai” (Esther 4:15). She said to him: “Go, assemble all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast on my behalf; do not eat and do not drink for...
“The king said to her: What troubles you, Queen Esther, and what is your request… Esther said: If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet… The king sa...
That is what is written: “Say to God: How awesome are Your works” (Psalms 66:3). How terrifying are Your wonders. [Those slated to be] killed, kill those who would be their killers...
From the very first moment of creation, God assigned every major figure in history a specific role. Esther Rabbah preserves a remarkable list, attributed to Rabbi Berekhya, that re...
The rabbis of Esther Rabbah made a stunning claim: every time the Hebrew word vayhi ("it was") appears in the Torah, it signals disaster. Rabbi Tanhuma, Rabbi Berekhya, and Rabbi H...
Usually, it's not something we relish. In fact, Genesis tells us, "It is not good for man to be alone" (Gen. 2:18). But what about God? Think about this: before anything existed, b...
Jewish tradition offers some truly fascinating perspectives on creation, and one that particularly intrigues me is the idea that God didn't just make things. He consulted with them...
A bit like trying to imagine the edge of the universe. Jewish tradition grapples with these kinds of mind-bending questions all the time, especially when we talk about the creation...
We tell ourselves stories, grand narratives to explain our origins, to make sense of the chaos. And sometimes, those stories take the most unexpected turns. to one of those stories...
We often think of the act of creation as a singular event, a cosmic poof and then… nothing. But what if the story isn't quite that simple? What if creation is less of a noun and mo...
We read in Genesis that God spoke and creation happened. But what if there were… helpers? What if the story is a bit more layered, a bit more collaborative? There's a fascinating m...
There was a blueprint, a guide, an artisan involved: The Torah. Yes, the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, the very text we read and study, was, according to some tr...
Maybe that feeling is a tiny glimpse into the ultimate truth: that everything is sacred. Philo, the 1st-century Jewish philosopher from Alexandria, certainly thought so. He envisio...
It’s easy to get lost in the immensity of it all. How do we even begin to understand, let alone connect with, the Infinite? One of the big questions that comes up in Kabbalistic th...
It’s like trying to grasp the trunk of a massive, ancient tree, its branches reaching so high you can barely see the top. It’s... well, it’s complicated. I recently came across som...
It’s a question that has echoes through Jewish tradition, and one that comes up in a fascinating discussion about bowing down, prostration, and the very nature of God’s glory. The ...
This isn't just some dusty historical document. This is a raw, unfiltered response to someone wrestling with complex ideas about God, the universe, and the role of Jewish tradition...
Remember how we talked last time about the "Wars of God," those intellectual battles fought over the proper approach to divine wisdom? Well, buckle up, because the debate rages on!...
It’s powerful stuff, and not everyone agrees on how much we should explore it. We see this tension reflected in the words of the sage Yair, who seems hesitant to delve too deeply i...
How do we know what's real, especially when it comes to something as immense as the Divine? How do we stay on the path, the derech, when so many voices clamor for our attention? Th...
It starts with a pretty bold statement: the wisdom of even the greatest Kabbalists – masters of the mystical tradition of Kabbalah – shouldn't outweigh the authority of the ancient...
Jewish tradition is vast, an ocean of wisdom passed down through generations. But what happens when we encounter teachings that seem to clash, or interpretations that feel…off? Tra...
Someone is being called out for criticizing the act of diligently seeking to understand the sacred texts. The response is sharp: "Who gave you the authority to seek and investigate...
We call Him by names like YHWH and Adonai, and our sages, may their memory be a blessing, refer to Him as HaKadosh Baruch Hu, "The Holy One, Blessed be He." But what does it all me...
Throughout Jewish history, there have been moments of tension between established teachings and emerging ideas. One such point of contention revolves around the Kabbalah (Jewish My...
It’s a question that’s occupied mystics and scholars for centuries. And some of the most fascinating answers can be found within the rich tapestry of Jewish esoteric thought. to a ...
Jewish mysticism offers us a glimpse, a whisper of understanding, and some of the most fascinating insights come from the Zohar, the foundational text of Kabbalah. And within the Z...
The Zohar, that foundational text of Kabbalah, opens up some fascinating perspectives on this. In section 4, verse 22, Rabbi Shimon dives into the meaning of the verse, "See now th...
It seems straightforward, but like peering into the deepest ocean, the deeper we go, the more layers of meaning we find. The Zohar, in (Genesis 1:1), dives right into this mystery....
Tales abound of subtle changes, deliberate alterations made for reasons far deeper than simple translation. One such story, laden with intrigue and divine intervention, revolves ar...
Our sages, zichronam livracha, may their memory be a blessing, were extremely careful to distance themselves from any notion that the Almighty needed His creations or relied on the...
It’s a question that’s plagued theologians and spiritual seekers for centuries. Are we addressing the Infinite, the unknowable source of all creation? Or is there… something more? ...
It's a system that has been unfolding for centuries, really taking root around the start of the sixth millennium – that's roughly the 13th century CE. It all started with a handful...
This is a tricky concept, one that's tripped up even seasoned students of Kabbalah. We're diving deep into the nature of the Divine, grappling with ideas about creation, generation...
Maybe you enthusiastically shouted "Amen!" a few too many times, or perhaps you lingered a little too long on the "Modim" (we give thanks) during the Amidah. Turns out, there's a s...
Jewish mystical tradition, specifically Kabbalah, wrestles with this very question. And it takes us to some truly mind-bending places. : if God is eternal, and God is the source of...
