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Birth order, historical sequence. But what if there’s more to it than that? Vayikra Rabbah 36, a fascinating passage in the rabbinic commentary on Leviticus, flips that script on u...
Or perhaps put off fulfilling a commitment, thinking, "I'll get to it eventually?" Well, the ancient rabbis certainly had some thoughts on that. to a fascinating discussion from Va...
Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Leviticus, tackles this very question. And it does so with a story – a really compelling one. It starts with...
“If it please the king, let a royal edict be issued before you, and let it be written into the laws of Persia and Media, so that it cannot be abrogated, that Vashti shall never [ag...
Another interpretation: “After these matters” – it is written: “Though his haughtiness ascends to the heavens” – to the heights; “and his head reaches to the clouds”– the clouds2Th...
We call Him by names like YHWH and Adonai, and our sages, may their memory be a blessing, refer to Him as HaKadosh Baruch Hu, "The Holy One, Blessed be He." But what does it all me...
This is a tricky concept, one that's tripped up even seasoned students of Kabbalah. We're diving deep into the nature of the Divine, grappling with ideas about creation, generation...
The ancient Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria grappled with this very question. Philo, living in the 1st century CE, sought to reconcile Jewish scripture with Greek philosophy...
Philo, in his writings, believed that understanding “right division” – what we might call proper order – is key to understanding… well, everything. He argued that right division an...
The ancient texts grapple with this feeling, painting a stark picture of the despair that comes from feeling forsaken. As the Midrash of Philo poignantly puts it, "In truth there i...
We all know the story: Cain's offering wasn't accepted, Abel's was, jealousy flared, and tragedy struck. But what about the consequences? Why a mark of protection, instead of swift...
We often think of blessings as straightforward – good health, wealth, maybe a loving family. But what if there's a deeper layer to unpack? What if the blessings themselves aren’t e...
The ancient sages certainly did. And sometimes, the most straightforward stories hide the deepest truths. Take the tale we find in The Midrash of Philo, for example. It seems simpl...
To a fascinating little corner of Jewish tradition, a passage from what's known as The Midrash of Philo. Now, Philo of Alexandria was a Jewish philosopher who lived a long, long ti...
The ancient sages certainly did. And they found profound meaning in that feeling. to a fascinating interpretation of a well-known biblical passage, explored in the Midrash of Philo...
We often think of affliction as purely negative, something to be avoided at all costs. But what if I told you that, according to some ancient wisdom, affliction can actually be… be...
It might sound trivial, but Jewish tradition is full of stories about how the smallest things can have enormous significance. Today, we're diving into one such story, found in The ...
These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man … Noah walked with God (Gen. 6:9). Why is Noah’s name repeated three times in this single verse? Because he was one of t...
And the Lord said: “Shall I hide from Abraham?” (Gen. 18:17). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: It shall be for the filling of his belly; He shall cast the fie...
And Abraham took another wife (Gen. 25:1). Scripture states elsewhere: Though thy beginning was small, yet thy end shall greatly increase (Job 8:7). This verse alludes to Moses. R....
And Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne unto Jacob, went out (Gen. 34:1). May it please our master to teach us whether a woman is permitted to walk about on the Sabbath...
And Jacob called unto his sons (Gen. 49:1). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: He removeth the speech of men of trust, and taketh away the sense of the elders (J...
Another comment on These are the names (Exod. 1:1). Scripture states: As is Thy name, O God, so is Thy praise, unto the end of the earth (Ps. 48:11). Men praise a human king as str...
And Moses went and returned to Jethro, his father-in-law (Exod. 4:18). Scripture states elsewhere: But he is at one with Himself, and who can turn Him? And what His soul desireth, ...
And the Lord said to Aaron: “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses” (Exod. 4:27). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: God thundereth marvelously with His voice; gr...
Another explanation of God thundereth marvelously with his voice (Job 37:5). When did the Holy One, blessed be He, perform these miracles with His voice? He did so at the time he w...
Our sages of blessed memory said: “Observe that the way of the Holy One, blessed be He, is not the way of man.” It is not man’s way to heal with what he wounds. If he wounds with a...
Another explanation of the verse: And God spoke (Exod. 20:1). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: Then did He see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and s...
If thou lend money to any of My people (Exod. 22:24). The prophet Jeremiah said: Refuse silver shall men call them (Jer. 6:30). You find that when Israel was exiled from Jerusalem,...
When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel … then shall they give every man a ransom (Exod. 30:12). When Moses heard this, he said: Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath ...
And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses (Exod. 39:32). It is written elsewhere in reference to the verse: He withdraweth not His eyes from the righteous; but with kings upon the...
(Lev. 12:2:) “When a woman emits her seed and bears a male.” This text is related (to Job 29:2), “O that I were as in the months of old, [as in the days when God watched over me]!”...
Another interpretation (of Lev. 12:2), “When a woman emits her seed [and bears a male]”: If the woman comes first, she bears a male; if the man comes first, [she bears] a female.8B...
(Lev. 13:2:) “When anyone has [on the skin of his flesh a swelling or a sore or a bright spot].” This text is related (to (Job 38:2)5), “Who split open a channel for the flow (shtp...
R. Ahawa bar Ze'era opened (with Job 37:1), “At this also my heart trembles and leaps from its place.” What is the meaning of “and leaps?”33PRK 26(27):5; Lev. R. 20:5. Jumps, as [S...
(Lev. 16:1:) “Now the Lord spoke unto Moses after the death [of Aaron's two sons].” This is what Elihu said (to Job 37:1), “At this also my heart trembles and leaps.” Elihu was obs...
(Lev. 20:9:) “For anyone whatever who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.” So too is it stated (Exod. 21:17), “He who curses his father or his mother shal...
R. Tanhuma opened [his discourse] (with Job 41:3), “Who has advanced Me anything that I shall repay him; everything under the heavens is Mine.”40Lev. R. 27:2; PRK 9:2. This refers ...
(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. 5:17), “Then the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel and some of the dust.” And, why does he take water and dust and test her? Because he was created from the ...
(Numb. 22:20:) “Then God came unto Balaam at night.” This text is related (to (Job 33:15-1)7), “In a dream, a vision of the night […]; Then he uncovers a human ear […]; To turn a p...
"Command the Children of Israel" (Numbers 28:2). This is [the meaning of] that which was stated by the verse (Job 27:23), "The Omnipresent we have not found to be of great power"; ...
(Numb. 34:2:) “When you come into the land.” What is written above the matter (in Numb. 33:52)? “You shall dispossess all the inhabitants of the land from before you.” This text is...
"Lord God, You have begun" (Deuteronomy 3:24): There is a [relevant] parable: To what is this comparable? To a king that saw an orphaned woman and sought to marry her. He sent to p...
See I, etc. (Deuteronomy 11:26): This is what is stated in the verse (Job 36:10-12), "He opens their ear by discipline, etc. If they will listen and serve, they shall spend their d...
(Deut. 14:22:) “You shall surely tithe.” This is related to the verse (in (Job 31:3)8), “If my land cries out against me.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Job, “Do you have an...
(Deut. 16:18:) “[You shall appoint] judges and law officers,” “judges” are magistrates, and “law officers” are administrators that supervise the people.11Cf. Sifre to Deut. 16:18 (...
(Deut. 25:17:) “Remember what Amalek did to you.” R. Tanhum bar Hanila'i opened [his discourse] (with (Job 13:1)2), “Your remembrances are proverbs of ashes; your responses are res...
