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Song of Songs, that beautiful, sensual, often enigmatic book of the Bible, gives us a clue. Chapter 8, verse 8, poses a curious question: “We have a little sister, and she has no b...
We all know the story from Exodus 32 – the Israelites, impatient for Moses to return from the mountain, pressure Aaron to create a god for them. He obliges, a golden calf is made, ...
Seven, for instance, pops up everywhere – the seven days of creation, the seven days of mourning (shiva), the seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot. But what about eight? It's l...
The ancient rabbis grappled with this question, and their insights, preserved in texts like Vayikra Rabbah, offer some truly fascinating answers. Rabbi Abba bar Avina, a sage of ol...
Take the sacrifices described in the Torah. Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the book of Leviticus, sees them not just as offerings, but as embodiments of our ...
See, Leviticus 16:23 tells us that Aaron, the High Priest, would enter the Tent of Meeting – the Ohel Mo'ed – and remove the linen vestments he wore when he entered the Sanctum – t...
Rabbi Ḥiyya taught that this specific portion, Kedoshim, was delivered in a grand assembly – "Speak to the entire congregation of the children of Israel..." (Leviticus 19:2). Why? ...
Rabbi Tanhuma kicks things off with a quote from Job: "Who has given Me anything beforehand, that I shall pay? Everything beneath the heavens is Mine" (Job 41:3). It sounds a bit… ...
It's not just about the animals themselves; it's about the patriarchs, about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the profound legacy they left behind. Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of ra...
