1,478 texts · Page 29 of 31
Rav began: “Woe! He gives drink to his neighbor, amplifies your wrath, and intoxicates him, so that you may look upon their nakedness” (Habakkuk 2:15). “Woe! He gives drink” – that...
Another interpretation: “Also, Vashti the queen” – Shmuel began: “When they are inflamed, I will set out their banquet [and get them drunk, that they revel and then sleep an endles...
It is written: “You have seen, for You behold mischief and spite; to requite is in Your hand: the helpless man commits himself to You; You are the helper of the orphans” (Psalms 10...
Another interpretation: “From people [mimtim] by Your hand” – who are these courageous men who took theirs from under the hand of God? And who was that? That was the generation of ...
Another interpretation: “From people by Your hand, O Lord” – how mighty are they who took dominion from under the hand of God. Who is that? That is Nebuchadnezzar. “From people fro...
“On the seventh day, when the king was merry with wine, he said to Mehuman, Bizzeta, Ḥarvona, Bigta, and Avagta, Zetar, and Kharkas, the seven officials who attended King Aḥashvero...
“He said to Mehuman, Bizzeta, Ḥarvona” – Rabbi Yoḥanan said: At that moment, the Holy One blessed be He called the angel who is appointed over fury16A reference to the verse: “Quee...
“Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's word by means of the officials, and the king was very angry, and his fury burned within him” (Esther 1:12).She sent and said to him thin...
“The king said to the wise men, those knowledgeable about the times, for so was the practice of the king before those learned in custom and law” (Esther 1:13).Who were they? Rabbi ...
“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”...
“Happy are those who observe the law, who act with righteousness at all times” (Psalms 106:3). They were counted1They assembled to vote to decide matters of halakha. in the loft of...
“There was a Judean man in the Shushan citadel, and his name was Mordekhai, son of Ya'ir, son of Shimi, son of Kish, a Benjamite” (Esther 2:5).“There was a Judean man [ish] in the ...
It is written: “And set it in the ears of Joshua” (Exodus 17:14), this is one of four righteous people to whom a portent was given; two sensed it and two did not sense it. A porten...
“In those days, Mordekhai was sitting at the king's gate; two of the king's officials, Bigtan and Teresh, among the doorkeepers, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Aḥashv...
“After these matters, King Aḥashverosh promoted Haman son of Hamedata the Agagite, and he raised him up and set his seat above all the princes who were with him” (Esther 3:1).“Afte...
Another matter: “After these matters” – Rabbi Levi said: What the verse says: “When the wicked sprout like grass, and evildoers flourish” (Psalms 92:8); what is written at the end ...
What did Mordekhai say to someone who would say to him: “Why are you violating the king’s command?” (Esther 3:3) Rabbi Levi said: Mordekhai would say: ‘Moses our master cautioned u...
“Haman saw that Mordekhai was not bowing and prostrating himself to him and Haman was filled with wrath” (Esther 3:5).“Haman saw that Mordekhai was not bowing and prostrating himse...
“It was contemptible in his eyes to lay hands on Mordekhai alone, for they had told him of Mordekhai’s people; Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were in the whole kingdom o...
“Haman said to King Aḥashverosh: There is one people that is scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from every peo...
“The king removed his ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, son of Hamedata the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews” (Esther 3:10).“The king removed his ring from his hand and gave i...
Rabbi Levi said: Accursed are the wicked who are engaged in evil counsel against Israel, and each one of them counsels in his way and says: ‘My counsel is better than your counsel....
“The couriers went out urgently by the king’s command, and the order was issued in the Shushan citadel; the king and Haman sat to drink, and the city of Shushan was confounded” (Es...
“Mordekhai knew everything that had been done, and Mordekhai rent his garments and donned sackcloth and ashes. He went out in the midst of the city and cried a loud and bitter cry”...
After he erected the gibbet, he went to Mordekhai and found that he was sitting in the study hall with the children sitting before him, with sackcloth on their waists, engaging in ...
“Haman entered, and the king asked him: ‘What is to be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor?’ Haman said in his heart: Whom would the king delight to honor besides myself?...
“The king said to Haman: Hurry, take the garments and the horse; as you have said, do so to Mordekhai the Jew who sits at the king’s gate. Do not omit anything that you spoke of. H...
Another interpretation: “Haman took the garments and the horse....” (Esther 6:11). He came to Mordekhai and said: ‘Rise and get dressed.’ How unlucky is this man; last night I was ...
“The king rose in his fury from the wine banquet to the palace garden and Haman stood to plead for his life from Esther the queen, for he saw that the king has resolved to do him h...
“And Mordekhai went out from before the king in royal dress of blue and white wool, and a great gold crown, and a robe of fine linen and purple. The city of Shushan reveled and rej...
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...
The Book of Esther opens with a single verse that the rabbis of Esther Rabbah read as a cry of anguish: "It was during the days of Ahasuerus" (Esther 1:1). But to understand why th...
A single verse from Deuteronomy captured the entire emotional arc of Jewish exile. "In the morning you will say: Would that it were evening, and in the evening you will say: Would ...
The Hebrew Bible contains a hidden signal that tells you, in a single prefix, whether a king's reign brought joy or catastrophe. Rabbi Yitzhak discovered it buried in the grammar o...
The exile of the Jewish people under Ahasuerus was not an accident. According to Esther Rabbah, it was prophesied in detail centuries before it happened, embedded in verses from Is...
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...
It's more than just a belief, it's a foundational principle that underpins everything. to what some of our tradition's greatest thinkers have said about it. We can turn to Maimonid...
And in the Midrash of Philo, we find a truly intriguing answer. (Genesis 2:6) poses a bit of a puzzle, doesn't it? "A fountain went up from the earth, and watered all the face of t...
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...
Specifically, I’m thinking of (Genesis 2:14). It's not just that the Euphrates river is mentioned. Oh no, we also get that the Pishon "goes round all the land of Evilat," the Gihon...
Philo of Alexandria, a fascinating Jewish philosopher who lived way back in the first century, grappled with this very idea. And in a text known as The Midrash of Philo 16, he unpa...
God had just created Adam, this perfect being, in this perfect garden. What was missing? Well, the Midrash of Philo, a collection of ancient Jewish interpretations and elaborations...
It’s something that’s been pondered for centuries, and even makes an appearance in ancient Jewish texts. The Midrash of Philo, a collection of interpretations and elaborations on t...
The question is simple: Why does the creation of animals and flying creatures get mentioned again after we already had the whole six-day creation story in Genesis 1? It seems a bit...
It’s a question that’s haunted humanity for ages, and our tradition, with its rich tapestry of stories, offers some pretty fascinating answers. Today, we're diving into one of thos...
Philosophers have scratched their heads, trying to unravel the mystery of slumber. But you know, sometimes the answers are closer than we think. Our own tradition, through the wisd...
Why wasn't she just... there? Well, according to a fascinating interpretation found in the Midrash of Philo 22, it's not just a random detail. It speaks to something much deeper ab...
But the ancient rabbis, those masters of hidden meanings, saw layers upon layers in even the simplest verses. to just one little phrase from the story of creation and see what they...
