320 texts · Page 7 of 7
Kohelet Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, dives into this very idea, particularly when it comes to life, death, and the mome...
In fact, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Kohelet Rabbah, connects them to something much deeper: the consequences of our actions and, specifically, our...
It all starts with the verse from (Ecclesiastes 5:6): "So it is with a multitude of dreams and vanities and many words; rather, fear God.” The verse seems to be saying that too muc...
Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, wrestles with this very question. And it’s a question that hits at the heart of how we live ou...
Jewish tradition certainly has opinions, and some intriguing stories to tell. to one found in Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes. ...
The Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, dives deep into this question, particularly in section 30. It all starts with a verse from Isaiah...
It’s a question that takes us to the heart of Jewish thought, and to a fascinating passage in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. The pas...
You turned the house upside down. You lit every lamp, peered into every corner. Why? Because the reward – finding that lost treasure – was worth the effort. Well, Shir HaShirim Rab...
Love poetry and Temple architecture don't usually share a sentence — unless you're reading the Song of Songs through rabbinic eyes. Take (Song of Songs 1:17): "The beams of our hou...
It’s a question that echoes through the ages, and one that our Sages grappled with deeply. In Vayikra Rabbah, a classic midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) text—midrash be...
The story, as recounted in Vayikra Rabbah 34, is It all started on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, a time for reflection and new beginnings. Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, a prominent...
A certain Cuthite passed himself off as an interpreter of dreams. Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Yosei heard and said: Shall I not go and see this foolish Cuthite who deceives people? He...
A certain Cuthite said: ‘I will go and see a certain Jewish elder40Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Yosei. who mocks people.’ He came and sat near him. He said to him: ‘I saw in my dream f...
One of the students of Rabbi Yoḥanan was sitting before him. [Rabbi Yoḥanan] explained [the lesson] to him but he did not understand it. [Rabbi Yoḥanan] said to him: ‘Why do you no...
“Mordekhai told him everything that had befallen him [karahu]” (Esther 4:7). He said to Hatakh: ‘Tell her that the descendant of karahu6Amalek, the subject of the verse in (Deutero...
There’s a fascinating little corner of Jewish thought that suggests a truly different picture of those early days. It’s tucked away in the Midrash of Philo, a collection of interpr...
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...
A Question.9Sections 2 and 3 of “In the Beginning” and the fourth section of “Noah” were taken from the She’iltot of R. Ahai, a distinguished Babylonian scholar who left Palestine ...
It happened that one of R. Akiba’s disciples heard the following in a dream: “You will die in the month of Adar, you will not see the month of Nisan; and what you sow you shall not...
The Lord came unto Abraham in a vision, saying: “fear not” (Gen. 15:1). Scripture says elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Then Thou spokest in vision to Thy godly ones, and saids...
He dreamed, and behold, a ladder set upon the earth; and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it (Gen. 28:12). R. Samuel the s...
And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night (Gen. 31:24). This is one of the occasions on which the Holy One, blessed be He, contaminated the purity of His divine glo...
And it came to pass on a certain day, when he went into the house to do his work (Gen. 39:11). Our sages disagreed over the meaning of this verse. Some held that he went into the h...
And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine … and it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled (Gen. 41:2–8). In this verse the word “troubled” is written...
And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine (Gen. 41:2) After he (Pharaoh) had his dream, he summoned all his magicians. Whereupon the Holy Spirit called out: Where are ...
And he sent Judah before him (Gen. 46:28). Scripture states elsewhere: Behold, I send My messenger, and he shall clear the way before Me (Mal. 3:1). Observe that every misfortune t...
21:1). Scripture says (elsewhere) in reference to this verse: These also are sayings of the wise. To have respect of persons in judgment is not good (Prov. 24:23). The Holy One, bl...
That they make for me an offering (Exod. 25:2). Scripture says elsewhere in allusion to this verse: I have loved you, saith the Lord, yet ye say: “Wherein hast Thou loved us?” (Mal...
This is the offering which ye shall take of them: gold, etc. (Exod. 25:3). The gold corresponds to the kingdom of Babylon, as it is written concerning her: Thou art the head of gol...
(Numb. 6:23:) “Thus shall you bless.” This text is related (to Cant. 3:7), “There is his bed, the one belonging to Solomon (rt.: shlm), with sixty warriors around it […].” What rea...
(Numb. 22:20:) “Then God came unto Balaam at night.” This text is related (to (Job 33:15-1)7), “In a dream, a vision of the night […]; Then he uncovers a human ear […]; To turn a p...
(Numb. 22:20:) “Then God came unto Balaam at night.” This text is related (to Exod. 12:42), “That was for the Lord a night of vigil.” All miracles which were done for Israel and wh...
