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We're diving into the word ekev, which means "because" or "in consequence of." But it's not just a simple "A leads to B" kind of situation. It's layered with history, Divine promis...
We often think of grand things – governments, economies, armies – but what if the foundations are more subtle, more... human? Our story today takes us into the heart of Jewish law,...
Jewish tradition certainly thinks so, especially when it comes to leadership and justice. The book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, is rich with instructions for how to live a righteous li...
The rabbis of old grappled with this very question. They asked: Is it better to be ignorant of the Torah’s demands, or to know them intimately and then… ignore them? It’s a tough o...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, gives us a glimpse into that incredible scene, a cosmic struggle between life and death, between Mose...
Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, suggests that "all matters are wearying" – especially matters of heresy. But what does that re...
Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's called in Hebrew, is full of his reflections, and one line in particular always gets me: "For with much wisdom is much vexation; and one who increa...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, certainly grapples with that feeling. It can feel bleak. But within that perceived bleakness, ancient interpreters found profound meaning. Tak...
The verse from Ecclesiastes (3:16) sets the stage: “Moreover, I have seen, under the sun, in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of justice there is wickedn...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, grapples with this very question, stating, "I said in my heart: The righteous and the wicked, God will judge, as there is a time for every pur...
Today, we're diving into a passage from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, to explore what it has to say about the ultimate fate ...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, grapples with this very human experience. "I returned and saw all the oppressions that are performed under the sun; and behold the tears of th...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, wrestles with these kinds of paradoxes. And there’s one verse in particular that always gets me thinking: "There is a ...
The verse in question is (Ecclesiastes 7:8): "The end of a matter is better than its beginning; one of patient spirit is better than one of proud spirit." The rabbis, as they often...
One minute you're basking in sunshine, the next you're caught in a downpour. How do we navigate those wild swings of fortune? Well, the book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it’s kno...
They saw echoes and connections everywhere, even in the way the Bible phrases things. Take the book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it’s known in Hebrew. It’s full of these little l...
Power over another human being is one of the most dangerous things a person can hold, and Ecclesiastes names this danger directly. In (Ecclesiastes 8:9), it says, "All this I have ...
You're not alone. The Book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it’s known in Hebrew, grapples with this very question, and the rabbinic interpretations in Kohelet Rabbah, a collection o...
The book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible grapples with these very feelings. There's a verse in chapter 9, verse 11, that really gets to the heart of it: "I again saw under the sun tha...
Sometimes, the answer isn’t just in swords and shields. Sometimes, it's in something far more powerful: wisdom. Our story comes from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interp...
(Ecclesiastes 10:1) puts it bluntly: "Dead flies spoil and froth a perfumer’s oil; a little folly is weightier than wisdom, than honor." It's a powerful image, isn’t it? How someth...
It seems Kohelet Rabbah, the collection of rabbinic commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastes, thought so too. It uses that very image – "Dead flies spoil and froth a perfumer's oil" ...
Take the verse from Ecclesiastes (10:8): “One who digs a pit will fall into it; and one who breaches a fence, a serpent will bite him.” It's a powerful image. But what does it real...
Ancient Jewish wisdom grappled with these questions too. Take this passage from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes. It starts with...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, wrestles with that very idea. It's a book of wisdom, attributed to King Solomon, but some of its verses have sparked d...
It’s a universal feeling, and it’s one that the ancient sages grappled with too. The book of Kohelet, Ecclesiastes, wrestles with the meaning of life, and Kohelet Rabbah, a rabbini...
The Rabbis in Kohelet Rabbah delve deep into this verse, unpacking its layers of meaning. Rabbi Pinḥas and Rabbi Ḥilkiya, in the name of Rabbi Simon, pose a crucial question: When ...
It all centers around the verse from (Ecclesiastes 12:13): "The end of the matter, everything having been heard: Fear God and observe His commandments, for that is all of man." But...
Take the story of the Israelite enslavement in Egypt. We all know the basics, but the details… well, that’s where things get interesting. The Torah tells us, "They imposed upon the...
It might seem like just a simple Hebrew word meaning "was," but in the world of Jewish thought, it can unlock hidden meanings, destinies, and connections. Shemot Rabbah, a collecti...
In the book of Exodus, Moses has that very experience. But it's not quite what you might expect. The text tells us, "He said: I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the G...
The passage we're looking at begins with God instructing Moses: "Go and gather the elders of Israel, and say to them: The Lord, the God of your fathers, God of Abraham, of Isaac, a...
To that, drawing from the ancient wisdom of Shemot Rabbah, a classic rabbinic commentary on the Book of Exodus. In (Exodus 3:20), God says, "I will extend My hand, and smite Egypt ...
To a strange and intense little story from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. It revolves around Moses, the man destined to lead the Isr...
That feeling is all over the story of the Exodus, and it really hits hard in the early chapters of the Book of Exodus. to a moment of crisis, as understood by the ancient Rabbis in...
Jewish tradition has a fascinating take on this idea – the concept of divine patience, and what happens when that patience runs out. The Book of Job, that epic poem of suffering an...
The passage begins with a rather grand statement from Exodus: "See, I have set you as god to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother will be your prophet” (Exodus 7:1). But what does it re...
Jewish tradition has some pretty strong opinions on that. And, spoiler alert: it doesn't end well. Shemot Rabbah, a classic collection of Midrash (interpretive stories) on the Book...
It's easy to see them as just divine punishment, but Jewish tradition often digs deeper, searching for layers of meaning. one fascinating idea from Shemot Rabbah, a classic collect...
We read the story of the plagues, and it can feel like a foregone conclusion, like Pharaoh was just cartoonishly stubborn. But there were moments... moments where the pressure was ...
The Book of Exodus gives us a glimpse into just that, with the plague of the swarms descending upon Egypt. We pick up the story in (Exodus 8:20): "The Lord did so; and heavy swarms...
The verse in (Exodus 9:10) tells us, "They took soot of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses threw it heavenward; and it became boils erupting into blisters upon man an...
The Book of Exodus tells us, "Moses extended his staff toward the heavens and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the ground, and the Lord rained hail upon the lan...
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...
The Israelites certainly did at the Red Sea. Pharaoh’s army was bearing down on them, and the sea was, well, a sea. So what were they supposed to do? Pray? Act? Just give up? The B...
To a fascinating passage from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, specifically chapter 22, that explores exactly that idea. The verse in ...
That feeling, that's what we're diving into today, looking at a passage from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. The passage opens with a...
Shemot Rabbah, a rich collection of Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) interpretations on the Book of Exodus, offers a powerful reading of the verse "Then Moses…sang [thi...
