15 texts
Sometimes, they spring from the most unexpected places – a victory, a chance encounter, a shared feast. Let me tell you a story that hints at just such an origin. Imagine this: You...
Our guide for this little journey is the Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating text that purports to describe how the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, came to be....
The atmosphere is thick with anticipation. The king turns to one of his guests, posing a question that resonates even today: How can one bear with equanimity – with calmness and co...
That feeling is exactly what the author of 2 Maccabees understood. He recognized that the existing accounts of the Maccabean revolt – that pivotal moment in Jewish history – were, ...
The story, as told in Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, is a doozy. Laban, remember, is not exactly winning any awards for honesty. He's got a scheme brewing, and it involves a littl...
The opening of Parashat Vayera—"And God appeared to him at the terebinths of Mamre" (Genesis 18:1)—seems straightforward. Abraham is sitting at his tent, and God appears. But Rebbe...
Rabbi Shimon ben Antipatros had a reputation that troubled the sages of Israel. Travelers who stayed at his house reported something alarming: their host beat his guests. Not robbe...
There was an inn on a certain road where travelers learned, too late, that the hospitality was a trap. The innkeeper welcomed his guests warmly, fed them well, and showed them to c...
A father prepared a wedding feast for his son. Guests arrived from distant cities. Music filled the courtyard. Wine flowed. The bride was radiant, the groom joyful, and the father'...
Rabbi Meir once stayed at an inn whose keeper was a wicked man. The Talmud and Midrash (Midrash HaGadol, Genesis) record what happened when the innkeeper's true nature was revealed...
Bar Kappara was known for his wit, his learning, and his ability to make even the most solemn occasions lively. The Talmud (Nedarim 50b-51a) records what happened when he was invit...
The sages taught that even when tragedy strikes at a moment of celebration, the celebration must not be disrupted. The Midrash (Pesikta 169b, Tanhuma Shemini) records an extraordin...
Hillel the Elder was famous for his patience. The Talmud records that no one ever saw him angry, no one ever heard him raise his voice, and no situation — however absurd or provoca...
A man once made a vow that he would never lose his temper, no matter what his wife did to provoke him. According to a tale preserved in the Exempla of the Rabbis (compiled by Moses...
It's even found within the ancient wisdom of Vayikra Rabbah, a Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic compilation focusing on the book of Leviticus! Rabbi Pinḥas, a sage whos...
