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It wasn't just bad manners, folks. The story, as the rabbis tell it, is far more… complicated. Adam was made in God's image. And so was his son Seth, and Seth's son, Enosh. Accordi...
The story goes like this: A curious, and perhaps skeptical, idolater approaches Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakai, a renowned Jewish sage. He's puzzled by the ritual of the Red Heifer (Para...
The story of Bilam gives us a fascinating glimpse. We find ourselves in the Book of Numbers, Bamidbar in Hebrew. The Israelites are on the move, and their growing presence is makin...
We find ourselves in the book of Numbers, with Balak, the king of Moab, terrified of the Israelites. He hires the sorcerer Bilam to curse them. But, as we soon discover, things don...
The book of Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Numbers, delves into Moses' burning desire to witness the vengeance against Midian before his d...
We often think of it as a storybook tale, but the details, as the Torah and later rabbinic interpretations reveal, are surprisingly strict. , shall we? The verse in (Genesis 8:17) ...
It's easy to imagine a golden aura, a constant stream of good fortune. But what if it’s something more subtle, more… human? Let’s look at the story of Joseph in Egypt, specifically...
And his reaction to Moses and Aaron's miracles in Egypt, as described in Shemot Rabbah, is a masterclass in insecure overcompensation. We all know the story: Moses and Aaron come b...
The Torah tells us, "The magicians of Egypt did so with their spells; and Pharaoh's heart hardened, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had spoken” (Exodus 7:22). But what does "...
We find ourselves in Shemot Rabbah, a treasure trove of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. The verse in question is (Exodus 8:12): “The Lord said to Moses: Say to Aaro...
That agonizing tease of liberation is a feeling the Israelites knew all too well as they stood on the brink of freedom from Egypt. We find ourselves in the thick of it in (Exodus 1...
It’s a question that's plagued humanity for centuries. And while there aren't easy answers, Jewish tradition grapples with this in profound and moving ways. to a story from Shir Ha...
That feeling is surprisingly ancient. The Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) knew it well, wrestling with how to maintain Jewish identity in a world of compet...
The passage begins with a seemingly simple verse from Leviticus (19:24) about planting fruit trees: “When you will come into the land and plant any food tree, then you shall regard...
It's a tale of desperation, disobedience, and the dark consequences that follow when we turn away from the divine. The story begins with a pointed question: what comes before this ...
“On each day, Mordekhai would walk before the courtyard of the harem, to find out how Esther was, and what would be done with her” (Esther 2:11). “On each day, Mordekhai would walk...
In (Genesis 7:13), when describing who enters the ark, we read about Noah and his sons first, “and after them his wife and his sons’ wives.” But (Genesis 8:18) flips the script whe...
And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth (Gen. 6:5). Our sages taught: As punishment for lewdness (in the world) androlepsia41Reprisal taken against all m...
(Numb. 23:21:) “No one has beheld falsehood in Jacob […].” Balaam said, “He does not pay attention to the transgressions in their hands, He only pays attention to their merit.” (Nu...
Another interpretation (of Numb. 31:2:) “Exact vengeance for the Children of Israel.” This text is related (to Job 36:7), “He does not withdraw His eyes from a righteous person […]...
