Issachar in Jewish Mythology

10 myths

Each story names the sources it was written from.

Myth 6 min

David Said Torah Scholars Were Worth More Than Gold

David had taken the crown of kingdom and filled rooms with silver. He sat down to Torah and said the scholars were worth more than both.

DavidTorahScholarsPsalmsTzedakahScholarLeviIssacharMarketplace
Myth 5 min

Issachar the Strong-Boned Donkey Who Kept Israel's Calendar

Reuben claimed the second day's offering by birth. Moses held the order, and Netanel of Issachar still brought the dish close.

IssacharTorah StudyJacobTribesDonkey
Parshat Vayetzei 7 min

Issachar Was Born Because of a Bargain Over Mandrakes

Reuben tied his father's donkey to a mandrake root and walked off. He came back to find the plant torn out of the ground and the donkey dead beside it.

IssacharLeahRachelCreationAdamEveMandrakesMatriarchsPatriarchsTorahMidrashJacobTwelve TribesGenesisLearningZebulonBlessingTribesDinahJosephBereshit RabbahTargum
Myth 5 min

Zebulun Merchants Who Fed the World and Funded the Torah

Zebulun is the forgotten tribe. No miracles, no prophets, no famous kings. Just trade routes and a coastline. The rabbis say that coastline built the Torah.

TribesTorahMosesHoly LandTempleZebulunIssacharTorah StudyMerchantsSanhedrinBlessing
Myth 6 min

Ahashverosh Asked Issachar About Vashti, and Haman Still Wanted Blood

Vashti would not come into the hall. The men who kept Israel's calendar sat in the king's rage and would not give him a clean sentence.

Midrash RabbahEstherMordechaiHamanAhashveroshIssachar
Parshat Vayetzei 5 min

Jacob Fled While Laban Sheared His Flocks

Laban's hands were full of wool. Jacob told Leah and Rachel the dream from heaven. They said they would go wherever he went.

JacobLabanLeahRachelFlightIssachar
Myth 5 min

Reuben Brought Mandrakes and Leah Met Jacob on the Road

Reuben came in from the fields with flowers he had not tasted. His mother traded them away that same evening for one night with her own husband.

ReubenLeahMandrakesIssacharZebulunJacobGenesis
Myth 6 min

On's Wife Cut Her Hair and Hid Him From Korah

While Korah marched two hundred and fifty princes, On's wife poured wine, unbound her hair, and blocked the door until the earth closed.

KorahOn Ben PelethWivesRebellionWisdomLeahIssacharTanchuma
Myth 6 min

Moses Saw the Chieftains' Wagons and Feared That God Had Replaced Him

The oxen stamped. Officers waited for a nod Moses would not give. Other men were rolling holiness toward the Tent without his word.

MosesTabernacleChieftainsPesiktaIssacharTent Of Meeting
Parshat Vezot Haberakhah 5 min

Zebulun Took God a Complaint and Found the Sky in His Sand

His brothers got vineyards and grain while he got mountains and a raw shore. So Zebulun went up and told God he had been shortchanged.

ZebulunIssacharTekheletChilazonTribesCommerceBlessingSeaTorah