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The answer, as with so many profound questions, lies deep within Jewish tradition, and grapples with some pretty mind-bending concepts, especially when we delve into Kabbalah. But ...
My dear friend, it all boils down to the core of our faith: the absolute and singular authority of God. Our sages, whose wisdom stretches back to Moses himself, taught us that the ...
That’s kind of what we're doing today, diving into some pretty deep Kabbalistic concepts about the nature of the Divine. We’re talking about the Sefirot (the divine emanations), th...
There's a perspective, woven into ancient Jewish thought, that offers a slightly different angle?Now, midrash (מדרש) itself, broadly speaking, is a way of interpreting and expandin...
It's like we're trying to soften the blow, to create a little distance between the person and the negative action. Well, it turns out this isn't just a quirk of human interaction; ...
To a fascinating little corner of Jewish thought that wrestles with exactly this question, found in The Midrash of Philo. Philo, in this particular midrash (rabbinic interpretive c...
The Torah, in its unflinching honesty, doesn't shy away from these tough questions. to one particularly weighty example. In (Genesis 15:13), God tells Abraham – Avraham, the patria...
The ancient sages certainly did. And they found profound meaning in that feeling. to a fascinating interpretation of a well-known biblical passage, explored in the Midrash of Philo...
Take the covenant God makes with Abraham in Genesis 15. It's a big moment. God promises Abraham this whole huge swathe of land for his descendants. But then it gets…well, geographi...
The ancient sages certainly did. to a fascinating interpretation from the Midrash of Philo that uses geography to explain the pursuit of happiness itself. Philo, a Jewish philosoph...
Like so many things in the Torah, there's a deeper layer, a hidden meaning waiting to be uncovered. The ancient sages, particularly those who engaged in midrash (rabbinic interpret...
And there was a famine in the land (Gen. 12:10) What is stated in Scripture prior to this verse? It is written: And the Lord said to Abraham: “Get thee.” Blessed be the name of the...
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel (Gen. 14:1). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: Through Thee do we push down our adversaries, through Thy name do we t...
And Joseph was brought down into Egypt (Gen. 39:1). May it please our master to teach us whether one may recite the Havdalah (the ceremony marking the end of Shabbat (the Sabbath))...
And Joseph was brought down into Egypt (Gen. 39:1). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: Come and see the works of God; he acts circuitously in His doings toward ...
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 ...
42:1). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: Happy is He whose help is the God of Jacob (Ps. 146:5). Why does this verse say the God of Jacob and not “the God of A...
42:1). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him; but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it (Prov....
Jacob said unto his sons: “Why do ye look one upon another?” (Gen. 42:1). Jacob told his sons: Since you are strong and handsome, do not enter through one gate, nor stand together ...
And he called his son Joseph (Gen. 47:29). Why did he not summon Reuben or Judah? After all, Reuben was the firstborn, while Judah was a king. He ignored them and called Joseph ins...
Who came into Egypt with Jacob (Exod. 1:1). Did they actually enter Egypt on that very day? Had not many days passed by since their arrival? (This informs us that) as long as Josep...
And Joseph died, and all his brethren (Exod. 1:6). Nevertheless, the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly (ibid., v. 7). R. Yannai declared: Each woman bore si...
And she opened it, and saw it, even the child; and behold, a boy that wept (Exod. 2:6). The verse does not say “And behold, a child that wept” but rather a boy. This informs us tha...
And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown up (Exod. 2:11). Does not everything grow up? Do not men, beasts, animals, and birds all grow up? Why, then, is this said? I...
And he went out on the second day, and behold, two men of the Hebrews were striving together (Exod. 2:13). Who were these men? They were Dathan and Abiram, who later said: Let us m...
2:16). Was it proper for this righteous man to go to the home of an idolater? After all, since the Holy one, blessed be He, detests idolatry, why did he permit Moses to go to a pla...
And Moses went and returned to Jethro, his father-in-law (Exod. 4:18). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for ...
What is written prior to the episode in which Moses was keeping the flock? Many things are designated for certain purposes even before they are introduced into the world.14This is ...
And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass (Exod. 4:20). The singular form ass is employed here, as when a man says: “Lead out the animal” (though he may have m...
Another explanation of God thundereth marvelously with his voice (Job 37:5). When did the Holy One, blessed be He, perform these miracles with His voice? He did so at the time he w...
Another comment upon the verse And the Lord said to Aaron: “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses” (Exod. 4:27). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: O that thou wer...
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 ...
When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying: “Show a wonder for you” (Exod. 7:9). He will be making a reasonable request to you. You find in the case of Noah, that though He said to ...
When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying (Exod. 7:9). May it please our masters to teach us whether a man who is bitten by a serpent while standing in prayer may stop praying. Our...
And the Lord spoke unto Moses (Exod. 7:19). Scripture says elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Surely oppression turneth a wise man into a fool; and a gift destroyeth the understa...
And they said: “The God of the Hebrews hath met with us” (Exod. 5:3). Moses and Aaron declared: Perhaps You will say we altered Your words when we told him: “Thus said the Lord, th...
And the Lord said unto Moses: “See, I have set thee in God’s stead to Pharaoh” (Exod. 7:1). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Lift up your heads, O ye gates, an...
See, I have set thee in God’s stead to Pharaoh (Exod. 7:1). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: The wicked Pharaoh boasts that he is a god. Make him realize that he is an i...
See, I have set thee in God’s stead to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet (Exod. 7:1). Just as the lecturer sits and lectures, and the interpreter explains his wor...
When Pharaoh shall speak unto you (Exod. 7:9). Scripture states (elsewhere in reference to this verse): Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are...
When Pharaoh shall speak unto you (Exod. 7:9). Scripture says elsewhere: A fool spendeth all his spirit; but a wise man stilleth it within him (Prov. 29:11). That is, the fool says...
Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water (Exod. 7:14). Thus the Lord said: Through this (water) you shall cause him to know that I am the Lord. I will ...
And the Lord said unto Moses: “Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh from the water” (Exod. 8:16). Why did Pharaoh go to the waters early in the mor...
And the Lord said unto Moses: “stretch out thy hand toward the heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt” (Exod. 10:21). Scripture ...
And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days (Exod. 10:22). Our sages maintained: There were seven days of d...
Our sages of blessed memory said: The Holy One, blessed be He, followed the military tactics employed by kings when inflicting the plagues upon them. When the people of a province ...
And the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying (Exod. 12:1). Is it not a fact that He spoke only to Moses? Why, then, does the Scripture say unto Moses and Aa...
This month shall be unto you (Exod. 12:1). R. Ishmael said: He showed him the moon during night and said: Like this shall you examine the new moon; this shall be the law for future...
