1,416 texts · Page 23 of 30
At Marah, where the water was too bitter to drink, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan tells us what the Hebrew only hints at. Moses prayed, and the Lord showed him the bitter tree of Ardiphne,...
When the grumbling began in the wilderness of Sin, the Holy One responded not with rebuke but with a test. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 16:4) renders it: Behold, I will cause ...
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 16:13) paints the arrival of the manna with a detail you will not find in the Hebrew: the dew was holy, and it was prepared as a table, round abou...
The word manna itself, as Targum Pseudo-Jonathan tells it, was born from a question. The sons of Israel looked at the fine frost on the desert floor and said to one another Man Hu?...
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 16:21) preserves a detail almost invisible in the Hebrew but rich in the Sages' imagination: when the sun grew hot, the uncollected manna did not ...
When the people again cried for water, the Holy One's instruction to Moses, as Targum Pseudo-Jonathan renders (Exodus 17:5), is quietly pointed: Pass over before the people, and ta...
When the people cried out for water at Rephidim, Moses did not simply strike any rock. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan insists on a precise geography: God said, "Behold, I will stand be...
The plain Hebrew of (Exodus 17:11) says Moses lifted his hands, and when he did, Israel prevailed. What were the raised hands actually doing? The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan leaves no r...
Victory in the Amalek battle came through Joshua, but the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan insists the sword was not his alone. "And Joshua shattered Amalek, and cut off the heads of the str...
After the Amalek battle, Moses built an altar — but the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves the name he carved into it with surprising precision: "The Word of the Lord is my banner; f...
When family reunites, the first thing out of the mouth is usually the story of what was survived. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan records Moses's account to Jethro in condensed form: "M...
The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan specifies the three gifts that most moved Jethro: "Jethro rejoiced over all the good which the Lord had done unto Israel, and that He had given them mann...
A former priest of seven gods gives the first blessing-of-the-Name uttered by a convert. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan records Jethro's words: "Blessed be the Name of the Lord who hat...
The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan opens one of the most astonishing passages in the entire exodus tradition. "Ye have seen what I did to the Mizraee; and how I bare you upon the clouds as...
The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan intensifies the penalty for trespass at Sinai: "Touch it not with the hand; for he will be stoned with hailstone, or be pierced with arrows of fire; whet...
The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan dates the great revelation with precision: "It was on the third day, on the sixth of the month, in the time of the morning, that on the mountain there we...
The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan records one of the most dramatic images in all of rabbinic tradition: "Moses brought forth the people from the camp to meet the glorious Presence of the ...
The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan renders the theophany with thick sensory detail: "All the mount of Sinai was in flame; for the heavens had overspread it, and He was revealed over it in ...
How did the Ten Words arrive? The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan describes it with cosmic theatre. "The first word, as it came forth from the mouth of the Holy One, whose Name be blessed, ...
What does it mean to see a sound? The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan takes the strange Hebrew phrase and leans into the miracle. "And all the people saw the thunders, and were turned back,...
Before a single Israelite sword is drawn in the Land, God goes ahead. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus (Exodus 23:27) says: My terror will I send before thee, and will perturb all ...
(Exodus 26:28) describes an engineering detail. A middle bar, passing through the boards of the Tabernacle from end to end, holding the walls together. Plain Hebrew gives the speci...
God's answer to Moses contains one of the most mysterious promises in the entire Torah. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, the Aramaic paraphrase of the Torah, reveals the secret hidden in th...
Where did the onyx stones for the high priest's ephod come from? The Torah does not say. But Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 35:27) tells one of the strangest mineral-supply stor...
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 35:28) continues the miraculous supply chain it began in the previous verse. The clouds of heaven returned, and went to the garden of Eden, and to...
Between the outer altar and the inner tent of the Tabernacle, a bronze basin sat on its foundation. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 40:30) describes what Moses poured into it — n...
The closing verse of the book of Exodus is, among other things, a promise for the road. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 40:38) describes what every Israelite could see the mornin...
(Job 37:6) contains a line that sounds meteorological but that the rabbis read as cosmogonic: "For to the snow He says: Become earth." Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Bereshit 11:4 takes t...
This week, we're diving into a powerful message about gratitude, using the ancient text of Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically Bamidbar Rabbah 1. It all starts with a verse: “The Lord sp...
Bamidbar Rabbah, the rabbinic commentary on the Book of Numbers, dives right into this question with a surprisingly poetic starting point. The verse we're looking at is "The Lord s...
In the desert, the Israelites found that strength, not just in their faith, but also in their organization, in their very banners. "Each at his banner, with the insignias," says th...
Picture the Israelite camp in the wilderness — not a dusty blur, but a blaze of color. Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers, gives us a vibran...
The ancient rabbis certainly wrestled with this idea, especially when pondering the future of the Jewish people. to a fascinating passage from Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabb...
Jewish tradition grapples with this very idea when it comes to the people of Israel. Are we a numbered nation, or something… more? Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of Midrashic (rabbi...
We can see this theme beautifully illustrated in Bamidbar Rabbah (Numbers Rabbah) 4, which draws a powerful lesson from the seemingly straightforward verse, “The charge of Elazar, ...
That's the situation the sons of Kehat found themselves in, in the Book of Numbers. Our story begins in Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically section 5, which delves into the passage about...
It’s a question that might seem strange to us today, but diving into it reveals fascinating insights into the values and priorities of our ancestors. Our journey starts with a seem...
Leprosy, for example, wasn't just a disease. According to some Jewish traditions, it could be a sign of something deeper, a consequence of wrongdoing. But what wrongdoing specifica...
The ancient rabbis grappled with these questions constantly, searching for meaning in misfortune. One particularly fascinating exploration revolves around the affliction of leprosy...
It turns out, even ancient texts grapple with these questions, offering surprising insights into universal ethics. to Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically section 8. This isn't your typic...
It states: "Every gift of all the sacred items of the children of Israel that they will present to the priest shall be his." Sounds pretty straightforward. But the rabbis of the Mi...
The Torah (Numbers 5:17) instructs the priest to take "sacred water in an earthenware vessel, and from the dirt that is on the floor of the Tabernacle...place it into the water." B...
It wasn't just whispers and rumors. The Torah outlines a dramatic, almost unbelievable, ritual involving a priest, an oath, and... bitter water. We find the details of this in Bami...
Here, we're unpacking the story of the sotah, the woman suspected of adultery, and the unique ritual designed to determine her guilt or innocence. It's a wild ride, so buckle up. O...
What does it all mean? , drawing on the rich tapestry of Jewish tradition to unravel this mystery. The Torah tells us, "The priest shall write these curses in a scroll, and erase i...
That's precisely what we find explored in Bamidbar Rabbah 9, a section of the great Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) collection that delves into the book of Numbers. Th...
This Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), or interpretive commentary on the Book of Numbers, opens with a verse about the nazir, someone who takes a vow to abstain from cert...
It's a fascinating passage, brimming with insights about responsibility, destiny, and the power of prayer. The passage opens with a discussion of the nazirite vow, a voluntary comm...
