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It sounds almost unbelievable, doesn't it? Yet, according to Devarim Rabbah, this is precisely the monumental struggle Moses faced at the end of his life. Rabbi Yoḥanan tells us th...
It’s a question that’s wrestled with in Jewish tradition, and one fascinating answer comes to us from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic commentaries on the Book of Ecclesias...
We find ourselves in Shemot Rabbah, a treasure trove of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. The verse in question is (Exodus 8:12): “The Lord said to Moses: Say to Aaro...
Specifically, we're looking at section 18, which explores the verse "it was at midnight" (Exodus 12:29) in the context of miracles, divine messengers, and God's intricate plans. Th...
In Shemot Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic commentary on the Book of Exodus, they offer a powerful, if somewhat unsettling, answer. The verse in question is God's instruction to M...
Rabbi Shimon, in Shemot Rabbah, really zeroes in on this. He points out the verse in Exodus (21:18), "If men quarrel and one strikes the other." Rabbi Shimon emphasizes that "nothi...
It’s not just about giving what you have, but about how you give it. In the book of Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, we find a powerfu...
Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the rabbinic commentary on the Song of Songs, explores this idea in a powerful way. It teaches us that before we sin, even the creatures of the world are in a...
Our text from Vayikra Rabbah 5, a midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) collection expounding on the Book of Leviticus, grapples with just that question. It starts with a se...
Jewish tradition certainly does, especially when it comes to oaths. In fact, the Rabbis saw the misuse of oaths as so serious that it could literally bring down the house! Vayikra ...
That’s the image Rabbi Pinḥas, quoting Rabbi Levi, uses to explain a powerful idea in Vayikra Rabbah. He tells the story of a king’s son who’d developed a taste for… well, let’s ju...
Vayikra Rabbah, a Midrash (rabbinic commentary) on the Book of Leviticus, explores this very idea in a fascinating way. It starts with the seemingly simple phrase, "You shall be ho...
To a fascinating little story from Vayikra Rabbah (Leviticus Rabbah), a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Leviticus. Rabbi Berekhya, quoting Rabbi Levi, tells a...
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...
The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), that treasure trove of Jewish storytelling and interpretation, loves to dig into these little details. And guess what? Philo of Alex...
We often focus on the sin, the temptation, the immediate consequences. But what about their reaction? How did they feel, and how did they act immediately after? There's a curious d...
The mystics imagined it, and what they saw is The story goes that when God decided to create Adam, it wasn't a snap of the fingers. It was a process. A cosmic sculpting project, if...
The creation story, as we know it, unfolds over six days. But have you ever noticed how God seems to be balancing things? Like a cosmic choreographer, making sure everything is jus...
Jewish tradition grapples with this feeling too, often through stories of angels – beings of immense power, but always, always subservient to God. What does it mean to say somethin...
The story of Abraham and Isaac, the Akeidah (the binding), grapples with these very questions. Abraham and Sarah, living in the Land of Israel, yearned for a child. Their lives wer...
And Jacob went out (Gen. 28:10). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: For He will give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways (Ps. 91:11). R. M...
Then Judah came near unto him (Gen. 44:18). May it please our master to teach us: Which guarantor is responsible for the repayment of a loan? Thus do our masters teach us: R. Simeo...
Another comment on These are the names (Exod. 1:1). Scripture states: As is Thy name, O God, so is Thy praise, unto the end of the earth (Ps. 48:11). Men praise a human king as str...
Therefore, say unto the children of Israel: “I am the Lord, and I will bring you out” (Exod. 6:6). The word therefore implies that an oath was involved, as it is said: Therefore I ...
And the people took their dough before it was leavened … upon their shoulders (Exod. 12:34). This indicates that the dough did not have sufficient time in which to leaven. Similarl...
Behold, I send an angel before thee (Exod. 23:20). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: For He will give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways (...
In the tent of meeting, without the veil (Exod. 27:21). In case you are inclined to assert that He required the light, the menorah was placed before the curtain near the ark, outsi...
And the Lord spoke unto Moses: “Go, get thee down…. I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people” (Exod. 32:7–9). R. Tanhuma the son of Abba began the discussio...
Go, get thee down (Exod. 32:7). The sages said: Moses was actually excommunicated by the heavenly court at that time. Here it is said: Get thee down (red) as a rebuke, for the peop...
(Numb. 7:1:) “So it came to pass on the day that Moses had finished.” R. Johanan said, “What is the meaning of ‘on the day that [Moses] had finished (rt.: klh)?’ [Finished is] a wo...
