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It all revolves around a single, loaded question stemming from the Book of Genesis: "I have gotten a man from the Lord?" (Genesis 4:1). Specifically, was that really what Eve said ...
Philo, a Jewish philosopher living in Alexandria in the first century CE, grappled with this idea. He saw that virtue, that inner goodness, could actually make someone "older" in a...
They often hold some of the biggest secrets. Take the story of Cain and Abel. We all know the basics: brothers, offerings, jealousy, tragedy. But have you ever noticed a subtle dif...
Ancient Jewish wisdom grapples with this very struggle, this internal conflict that defines the human experience. And sometimes, it gets Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher w...
But it opens up a whole universe of questions. What was so special about Enos? What does it even MEAN to "call upon the name of the Lord?" We find this verse in The Midrash of Phil...
Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher living in Roman Egypt, certainly thought so. He delved into the numerical symbolism of the Torah, seeking hidden meanings within the seemi...
But wait a minute… God, anxious? God, regretting? It’s a pretty radical idea, isn’t it? We’re talking about (Genesis 6:6), that stark verse that says, "God considered anxiously bec...
One that theologians and philosophers have wrestled with for centuries. We find it even bubbling up in the ancient texts. Take, for example, the passage that talks about God "repen...
to a fascinating interpretation found in The Midrash of Philo. Philo, a Jewish philosopher living in Alexandria in the first century CE, wasn't afraid to think outside the box. He ...
Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher who lived in Egypt during the Roman era, did just that. He delved deep into the Torah, seeking hidden wisdom and allegorical interpretatio...
But pull back for a second. A worldwide flood. The fate of humanity hanging by a thread – or rather, a wooden beam. And then… silence. The waters recede. But when they recede, and ...
He saw the world – and especially our inner world – as a kind of living midrash, a constant interpretation of the Torah and reality itself. And in his unique way, he understood the...
Take Noah, for example. We all know the story: the ark, the flood, the animals two-by-two. But then, (Genesis 9:20) hits us: "Noah began to be a cultivator of the earth." Okay... s...
"I am the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the land of the Chaldaeans to give thee this land for an inheritance" (Genesis 15:7). It's not just a generic "Hey, I'm God!" introdu...
Philo, the great Jewish philosopher of Alexandria, writing millennia ago, gives us a fascinating glimpse into this concept of divine ecstasis, or trance. He describes it as "a depa...
It’s a theme that echoes throughout Jewish tradition, doesn't it? And it makes you wonder: why that particular miracle? Well, one perspective comes to us from a fascinating text at...
Philo, the great Jewish philosopher of Alexandria, grappled with this very idea centuries ago. In his writings, often called "The Midrash of Philo" by scholars, he touches upon the...
Sometimes, it’s in those tiny nuances that we find the biggest revelations. Take the story of Sarah. We all know Sarah. Wife of Abraham, matriarch of our people. But have you ever ...
And it came to pass at the end of two full years (Gen. 41:1). May it please our master to teach us the blessing one should offer on experiencing rainfall when mankind is in dire ne...
42:1). Scripture says elsewhere in allusion to this verse: I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread (Ps. 37:25). R....
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....
Then Judah came near unto him (Gen. 44:18). May it please our master to teach us: Which guarantor is responsible for the repayment of a loan? Thus do our masters teach us: R. Simeo...
Then Judah came near unto him (Gen. 44:18). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: And the envy of Ephraim shall depart (Isa. 11:13). Concerning whom did Isaiah utt...
Benjamin is a wolf that raveneth (Gen. 49:27). Scripture states elsewhere: For the Lord will do nothing, but He revealeth His counsel unto His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7). At ...
And God spoke (Exod. 20:1). May it please our master to teach us: What things have their reward in the world-to-come? Thus do our masters teach us: These are the things whose inter...
That they take for Me an offering (Exod. 25:2). Scripture says elsewhere in allusion to this verse: For I give you good doctrine; forsake ye not My teaching (Prov. 4:2). R. Simeon ...
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...
(Lev. 1:1:) “Then [the Lord] called unto Moses.” Let our master instruct us: When the one who leads the prayers makes a mistake by not saying the benediction on the cursing of the ...
(Lev. 9:1) “And it came to pass on the eighth day….” This text is related to [the verse] (in Eccl. 8:5), “Whoever observes a commandment shall not know anything evil.” Who is this?...
(Lev. 9:1:) “And it came to pass on the eighth day.” This text is related (to Ps. 92:13), “The righteous one shall flourish (rt.: prh) like the palm….” This is Aaron, of whom it is...
(Lev. 9:2:) “Then he said unto Aaron, ‘Take a calf [of the herd for a sin offering].’” Why was it not told him [to take] a bull instead of a calf? He said to him, “Because through ...
(Lev. 11:1-2:) “Then the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying […], ‘Speak unto the Children of Israel, saying, “These are the creatures that you may eat….”’” It is stated (...
(Lev. 11:1-2) “Then the Lord spoke unto Moses…, saying, ‘… these are the creatures that you may eat….’” Let our master instruct us: How many [types of] pure animals are there are i...
All of those seven days that Moshe was occupied with the tabernacle, he was sprinkling the blood and incinerating the fats. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "What do you t...
And he said to them, "Approach and carry your brothers": And has it not already been stated, "And fire went out from in front of the Lord and consumed them?" Rather, blessed be the...
(Lev. 19:2:) “You shall be holy.”7Tanh., Gen. 1:7. See what is written (in Josh. 24:19), “for He is a holy God (in the plural).”8The words, HOLY and GOD, are both plural in the Heb...
(Lev. 19:2:) “You shall be holy.” R. Pinhas bar Hama the Priest said that R. Reuben said, “What is the meaning of that which is written (in Ezek. 3:12), ‘and I heard after me?’14Th...
(Lev. 22:27:) “A bull or a sheep or a goat.” This text is related (to Is. 41:24), “Behold (hen), you are nothing (me'ayin), and your work is naught (me’afa’); an abomination shall ...
(Lev. 26:3:) “If [you walk] in My statutes (huqqim).” This text is related (to Job 14:5), “If his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; You have set limits (hu...
(Numb. 5:13:) “In that a man has slept with her carnally.” [“A man” is to] exclude a minor, and one who is not a man.38On the exception, see Sifre, Numb. 5:13 (7). Cf. Sot. 4:4; TS...
(Numb. 22:12:) “Then God said unto Balaam, ‘You shall not go with them.’” He said to Him, “If so, I will curse them from where I am.”22Numb. R. 20:10. He said to him, (ibid., cont....
"To these apportion the land" (Numbers 26:53). And who are they? The ones standing on the Plains of Moav. And was the land not apportioned to those that left Egypt? As it is writte...
(Numb. 34:2), “This is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance.” What is the meaning of “to you?” To you it is fitting.29Numb. R. 23:11. [The matter] is comparable to a k...
(Zech. 13:8:) “’And it shall come to pass throughout all the land,’ says the Lord, ‘that two-thirds in it shall be cut off [and] die, but one-third shall remain in it.’” This is wh...
Rabbi Banna'ah opened [his discourse] (with Prov. 11:1), “Fraudulent scales are an abomination to the Lord….”:27PRK 3:4; Ruth R. 1:2; cf. PR 13:5. if you see a generation whose mea...
