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They tell us of Moses' death. But… wait a minute. How could Moses himself have written about his own demise? It's a question that's puzzled Jewish scholars for centuries. The Sifre...
The verse says that Moses, "the servant of the L-rd," died "by the word of the L-rd" (Deuteronomy 34:5). Seems simple enough. But the ancient rabbis saw layers of meaning here. The...
The answer, well, it's more mystical than you might imagine. The book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), the last book of the Torah, tells us, "And He buried him in the valley, in the land ...
It’s something the Sages of the Talmud were keenly aware of, and it pops up in the most unexpected places. Take the very end of Moses’ life. "And Moses was one hundred and twenty y...
It’s a question that's haunted humanity for, well, pretty much ever. And when we look to our sacred texts, sometimes we find the answers are…surprising. Take Moses, for example. We...
Our journey starts with the Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal commentaries on the Book of Deuteronomy. It asks a simple question about a seemingly simple phrase: "thirty days."...
It’s a question that’s echoed through generations, pondered in synagogues and around countless Shabbat (the Sabbath) tables. The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal midrashim (ra...
A man who had mastered Scripture, studied the Mishnah, and served many scholars dropped dead in the middle of his life. His widow seized his tefillin (leather phylacteries worn dur...
SIMON THE JUST WAS ONE OF THE LAST SURVIVORS OF THE GREAT ASSEMBLY. HE USED TO SAY: UPON THREE THINGS THE WORLD IS BASED: UPON THE TORAH, UPON THE TEMPLE SERVICE, AND UPON THE PRAC...
NITTAI1In V. this chapter begins with the name of Joshua b. Peraḥiah followed by that of Nittai the Arbelite. This is an obvious error since the former’s aphorism was the theme of ...
SHEMAIAH AND ABṬALYON RECEIVED THE TRADITION FROM THE PRECEDING. SHEMAIAH SAID: LOVE WORK AND HATE PUBLIC OFFICE, AND BECOME NOT KNOWN TO THE RULING POWER.LOVE WORK. What does this...
R. DOSA B. HARKINAS SAID: MORNING SLEEP, AND MIDDAY WINE, [AND CHILDREN’S TALK, AND SITTING IN THE MEETING-HOUSES OF THE IGNORANT] DRIVE A MAN OUT OF THE WORLD.MORNING SLEEP—what d...
Elisha b. ’Abuya said: 1This chapter is devoted entirely to the teachings of Elisha b. ’Abuyah, a great scholar of the second century C.E. and teacher of R. Meir, who entered too d...
Ben ‘Azzai said: He whose mind is at ease because of his learning,1The knowledge which he acquired did not make him overbearing, but confirms him in his faith and helps him to live...
R. ‘Aḳiba said: A fence1The ‘fence’ is here taken in the sense of a safeguard or an aid to. With this paragraph, cf. Aboth 3:17. to honour is [the avoidance of] jesting,2That this ...
R. SIMEON B. ELEAZAR SAID IN THE NAME OF R. MEIR: DO NOT APPEASE YOUR FELLOW IN THE TIME OF HIS ANGER; DO NOT COMFORT HIM IN THE TIME OF HIS MOURNING;1Aboth 4:23 (Sonc. ed., IV, 18...
1This paragraph has no connection with the theme of this chapter, which is an extensive commentary on Aboth 5. Such commentary begins with §2. Accordingly it has been suggested tha...
THERE WERE TEN GENERATIONS FROM ADAM TO NOAH. What need is there for mankind to [know] this? It is to teach you that although those generations provoked Him continually, the Holy O...
The men of Sodom will neither come to life [in the hereafter] nor be brought to judgment,1The eschatological doctrines assumed here are that some time in the future, after the Mess...
SEVEN KINDS OF PUNISHMENT COME UPON THE WORLD FOR SEVEN CARDINAL TRANSGRESSIONS. IF SOME GIVE THEIR TITHES AND OTHERS DO NOT, THERE COMES A FAMINE THROUGH DROUGHT.1Aboth 5:11 (Sonc...
The Hebrew text of (Genesis 3) says Eve "saw that the tree was good for food." The Targum Jonathan says she saw Sammael, the angel of death, standing right there, and was afraid. T...
(Genesis 5:24) is one of the most mysterious verses in the Torah. "Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him." That is all the Hebrew says. No explanation of where he...
The Hebrew Bible says God told Noah to enter the ark, and that rain would begin in seven days (Genesis 7:4). It does not explain why seven days. The Targum Jonathan does, and the e...
The Hebrew Bible says Noah planted a vineyard (Genesis 9:20). The Targum Jonathan says he "found a vine which the river had brought away from the garden of Eden." This single addit...
Sarah died at one hundred and twenty-seven years old. The Torah records the number. The Targum records the aftermath: Abraham came from "the mountain of worship"—Mount Moriah, wher...
Abraham made his servant Eliezer swear an oath by placing his hand on the mark of circumcision. The Torah says "under my thigh." The Targum says exactly what it means: the section ...
Abraham married again after Sarah's death. The Torah calls his new wife Keturah. The Targum reveals her true identity in a single phrase: "She is Hagar, who had been bound to him f...
The Hebrew Bible tells a straightforward story about Isaac digging wells in Gerar and feuding with the Philistines over water rights (Genesis 26). The Targum Jonathan transforms it...
Genesis 27 is one of the most psychologically complex chapters in the Torah—the aged Isaac, blind and dying, tricked by his own wife and son into blessing the wrong heir. The Targu...
Genesis 35 records some of the most consequential events in Jacob's life—Rachel's death, the birth of Benjamin, and Jacob's return to his father Isaac. The Targum Jonathan, the anc...
The standard Genesis 36 reads like a dry census of Esau's descendants. But the Targum Jonathan, the ancient Aramaic interpretive translation, quietly inserts theological details th...
Joseph's sale into slavery is one of the most dramatic episodes in Genesis. But the Targum Jonathan adds details that the Hebrew original never mentions, turning a family tragedy i...
Genesis 42 tells how Joseph's brothers came to Egypt to buy grain during the famine and failed to recognize him. Targum Jonathan turns this reunion into something far more calculat...
Genesis 44 contains one of the most emotionally powerful speeches in the Hebrew Bible—Judah's plea before the Egyptian viceroy to take Benjamin's place as a slave. Targum Jonathan ...
The standard Torah tells us that Jacob traveled to Beersheba and offered sacrifices before heading down to Egypt. But Targum Jonathan, the ancient Aramaic translation dating to the...
The Torah describes Jacob's burial as a solemn procession to Canaan. Targum Jonathan turns it into an epic confrontation complete with a golden deathbed, a eulogy comparing Jacob t...
When the Hebrew Bible says Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and it became a serpent (Exodus 7:10), the Targum Jonathan makes a far more terrifying claim. The rod did not b...
The plague of hail in Exodus chapter 9 comes with a warning: anyone who fears God's word should bring their livestock inside. The Hebrew Bible says some of Pharaoh's servants feare...
The plague of darkness in Exodus chapter 10 is three days of impenetrable blackness across Egypt. The Hebrew Bible says simply that no one could see anyone else and no one rose fro...
The Passover story everyone knows has God striking down the Egyptian firstborn. The Targum Jonathan's version of (Exodus 12) is almost unrecognizably more detailed, packed with num...
The splitting of the Red Sea is dramatic enough in the Hebrew Bible. The Targum Jonathan on (Exodus 14) turns it into something almost mythological, adding details about the Garden...
The manna story in (Exodus 16) raises an obvious question: where did this miracle food come from? The Hebrew Bible says God "rained bread from heaven." The Targum Jonathan gives a ...
The Ten Commandments in (Exodus 20) are a list in the Hebrew Bible. In the Targum Jonathan, they are a spectacle. Each commandment is a living entity of storm and flame that flies ...
The laws of (Exodus 21) sound harsh in the Hebrew Bible. The Targum Jonathan systematically softens many of them, adding legal specifics that transform ancient punishments into som...
The priestly garments in (Exodus 28:1-43) are already elaborate in the Hebrew Bible. The Targum Jonathan turns them into theological weapons. Every piece of clothing becomes an ins...
Leviticus 7 compiles the laws of trespass offerings, thanksgiving offerings, and the priestly portions. The Targum Jonathan repeats a stunning claim from the previous chapter, fram...
Nadab and Abihu, the two eldest sons of Aaron, offered unauthorized incense—and died. The Hebrew Bible says fire "came out from the Lord and consumed them" (Leviticus 10:2). The Ta...
Leviticus 19 contains the famous command "love your neighbor as yourself." The Targum Jonathan's version is subtly different: "thou shalt love thy neighbour himself, as that though...
