Egypt

3,053 texts · Page 52 of 64

The bondage in Egypt, the ten plagues, the Exodus, and the birth of Israel as a people.

Happy Is the Nation Whose God Is the Lord

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The passage opens with a seemingly simple phrase: "This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2). But it's more than just a calendar note. It's a declaration. The text connects it to ...

God Himself Passed Through Egypt on Passover Night

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The Shemot Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, offers a breathtakingly intimate perspective on that pivotal moment. Specifically, Shemot...

Birth of He

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The ancient rabbis felt that way about the Israelites in Egypt. : generation after generation born into slavery. It's a crushing weight. But what if, suddenly, that debt was cancel...

Aaron — Moses at the Dawn of Creation

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Our starting point is the verse "This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2). But Shemot Rabbah, in its characteristic way, finds a connection to (Micah 6:4): "I sent Moses, Aaron, ...

Lord and the Angels

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The story of the Exodus, as told in Shemot Rabbah, the compilation of rabbinic sermons on the Book of Exodus, gives us a fascinating glimpse into this idea, focusing on the final p...

What Was God Doing Before He Spoke to Moses in Egypt

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The Book of Exodus, as we all know, begins with the Israelites enslaved in Egypt. "The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying..." (Exodus 12:1). But Shemot R...

The Snake Analogy and Why Israel Needed Redemption Now

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It's a theme that resonates deeply within Jewish tradition, especially when we talk about redemption. One fascinating passage in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretat...

Abraham — Splitting of the Sea

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We often think of it as being solely for the sake of the Israelites, to free them from slavery. But what if there was another, deeper reason? Shemot Rabbah, the collection of Midra...

God Acted for His Own Honor in Freeing Israel

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It’s a question that has occupied Jewish thinkers for centuries. And as we delve into Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, we find a parti...

Lord and the Ark

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The ancient rabbis certainly did! And they painted a vibrant picture, filled with light, healing, and unimaginable peace. Our starting point is a fascinating passage from Shemot Ra...

The Month of Nissan and God's Blueprint of Creation

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Jewish tradition is rich with answers to these questions, and Shemot Rabbah, a classical Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) text, offers a fascinating glimpse into the Di...

God Gave Israel Control Over the Calendar

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We find a powerful idea nestled within its verses, a radical claim about the relationship between God and the Jewish people. It all starts with the verse "This month shall be for y...

Israel's Extraordinary Power to Sanctify Time Itself

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We're about to dive into a fascinating idea about that connection – the power of Israel to actually consecrate time itself. The verse from (Exodus 12:2), "This month shall be for y...

This Month Shall Be Yours and Why the Calendar Matters

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The book of Shemot Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic interpretations on the book of Exodus, offers a stunning insight into just how crucial the calendar is. It all begins with the ...

The Moon as a Metaphor for Israel's Rise and Fall

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There's a fascinating passage in Shemot Rabbah that uses the moon as a metaphor to explain just that. It's a brilliant, poetic, and surprisingly practical way to look at history. T...

Abraham — Moses at the Dawn of Creation

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We're looking at section 15, which delves into the very first commandment given to the Israelites as they stood on the cusp of freedom: "This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2)....

Moses Struggles to Understand the New Moon

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Shemot Rabbah, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Exodus, recounts a fascinating episode. It begins with the verse, "This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2), referri...

How God Relates to Israel Around the Exodus

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We find a powerful example of this in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. The Rabbis ask us to consider how God relates to us, specifical...

Moses Calls the Elders to Slaughter the Passover Lamb

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The verse we're looking at is (Exodus 12:21): “Moses called all the elders of Israel, and said to them: Draw, and take for yourselves lambs for your families, and slaughter the pas...

Three Things That Can Never Be Used to Heal

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The verse "Draw, and take for yourselves lambs" (Exodus 12:21) might seem straightforward, but the Rabbis saw layers of meaning. They connect it to the verse "With stillness and pl...

Israel Slaughters Egyptian Gods on Passover Night

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It’s a story about courage, about challenging the status quo, and about showing the world that what they worship is nothing more than an illusion. The verse in question is, "draw, ...

Samuel — Moses at the Dawn of Creation

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Jewish tradition teaches us that justice, true justice, is at the very heart of the Divine. And that the way we act in the world has cosmic repercussions. In Shemot Rabbah, a compi...

The Humble Hyssop That Holds a Cosmic Secret

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Take, for instance, the humble hyssop. Hyssop – that little plant we read about in the story of the Exodus. It doesn't seem like much, but according to Shemot Rabbah, it's a key to...

What Is So Special About Hyssop on Passover

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The ancient rabbis certainly did. to a fascinating interpretation from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Exodus. It all begins with a seemingly simple...

The Blood on the Doorpost and the Patriarchs' Merit

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Our story comes from Shemot Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Exodus. We’re looking at chapter 17, which delves into the symbolism of the Passover of...

Egypt — Giving of the Torah

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We often focus on the miracles, the parting of the Red Sea, the giving of the Torah. But nestled within that incredible narrative are moments of sheer, unadulterated divine power.....

God Passes Over and the Destroyer Cannot Enter

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The ancient texts offer some fascinating perspectives. Let's look at (Exodus 12:23), the verse describing the pasach, the Passover: "The Lord will pass to smite Egypt, and He will ...

How God Orchestrated the Exact Timing of the Exodus

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We often read these epic stories in the Torah and just accept that things happened at the right moment. But what if there's a hidden layer of incredible detail beneath the surface,...

What Happened at Midnight When the Firstborn Died

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It's not just about spooky stories! to a fascinating explanation from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Exodus, that sheds light on this very q...

Moses — Pharaoh and the Dreamer

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We often read the verse in (Exodus 12:30), "As there was no house in which there was no one dead," and maybe we don't fully grasp its implications. But the ancient rabbis, in their...

The Slaying of the Firstborn at the Stroke of Midnight

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That's the scene we find ourselves in, in this passage from Shemot Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. We're talking about the tenth plague, th...

The Great Miracles God Performed at Midnight

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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...

God's Regret Over the Honor Once Given to Egypt

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The Divine, it seems, knows the feeling. According to Shemot Rabbah, the great collection of Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) interpretations on the Book of Exodus, God...

Face of Moses of Israelites

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The Book of Exodus tells us that the Israelites were instructed to mark their doorposts with blood so that God would "pass over" their homes during the tenth plague, sparing their ...

God Acted Alone on the Night of the Exodus

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Today's story comes from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. It's a powerful reflection on God's role in the Exodus, and really, in all o...

David and the Dreamer

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Take the Exodus, for example. That final, earth-shattering plague—the death of the firstborn—struck at midnight. But why? Why not high noon? What’s so special about that inky black...

The Messy Choices People Made on the Night of Exodus

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It's not just about freedom; it's about divine justice, redemption, and the messy, complicated choices people make when faced with monumental events. The ancient rabbis certainly d...

Six Hundred Thousand Israelites March Out of Egypt

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We read in (Exodus 12:37): "The children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Sukkot, approximately six hundred thousand men on foot, beside children." It's a verse that launches us...

Passover Night When God Performs Miracles

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It's more than just matzah and retelling the Exodus story. The Torah itself calls it a "night of vigil" – leil shimurim (Exodus 12:42). But what exactly does that mean? What is God...

Akhish in Heaven

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It turns out this very human experience is deeply rooted in Jewish tradition. We find this idea beautifully explored in Shemot Rabbah, specifically in its interpretation of the ver...

Moses and the Dreamer of Meeting

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Our tradition suggests he did, and in a fascinating way: it reveals moments where Moses' own reasoning aligned perfectly with the divine will. The Shemot Rabbah, a collection of ra...

Akilas at the Dawn of Creation

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It's a feeling that Judaism, in its wisdom, addresses head-on. We find a fascinating exploration of this theme in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Boo...

The Overlooked Details of the Very First Passover

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The story starts with a seemingly simple commandment: "This is the statute of the paschal offering." Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta paints a vivid picture: God, blessed be He, instructs ...

Why No Foreigner May Eat of the Passover Offering

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We read in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, a fascinating idea tied to the verse "No foreigner shall eat of it" (Exodus 12:43) – refer...

Consecrate Every Firstborn to Me Says God

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It goes way beyond just family lineage. In fact, according to Shemot Rabbah, it points to something truly messianic. The verse in (Exodus 13:2) commands us to "Consecrate to Me eve...

The Firstborn's Living Connection to the Exodus

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It goes all the way back to the Exodus, to the very night God spared the Israelite firstborn while striking down the Egyptians. But there’s more to it than just remembering a histo...

Why God Did Not Lead Israel by the Shortest Route

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Get out as fast as possible! But (Exodus 13:17) tells us, "It was when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them via the land of the Philistines, although it was near, as Go...

Pharaoh and the Lawgiver of Songs

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The Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) thought Pharaoh knew exactly how that felt when he finally let the Israelites leave Egypt. Shemot Rabbah, a compilation...