872 texts · Page 85 of 97
The Book of Numbers, or Bamidbar in Hebrew, recounts a particularly troubling episode in the Israelites' wanderings. Specifically, our source today comes from Sifrei Bamidbar 131, ...
The passage opens with the verse from Devarim (Deuteronomy) 3:23: "And I supplicated (va'ethchanan) the L-rd." Va'ethchanan, the text tells us, is a term loaded with entreaty, a he...
And in the book of Bamidbar – that's Numbers in English – we find a fascinating glimpse into this very mystery. The verse we're looking at, Numbers 27:16, starts with a prayer: "Le...
We often think of them as a simple recap of the journey from Egypt, but the very first verse hints at something more. It begins by listing the places where Moses spoke to the Israe...
The ancient text of Sifrei Devarim delves into just that, exploring the ramifications of the Golden Calf incident. The verse in question reads, "and an abundance of gold." But it’s...
Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretations on the book of Deuteronomy, gives us some fascinating perspectives on just that. When the Torah says "to give to them," who ex...
It tells us that the commandments shouldn't feel like an antiquated edict, something ignored and forgotten. Instead, they should feel brand new, urgent, something everyone rushes t...
The ancient rabbis certainly did! And their discussions, preserved in texts like the Sifrei Devarim, offer us a fascinating peek into how Jewish law and custom developed. Take the ...
They’re called tefillin, or phylacteries, and they’re more than just ritual objects – they’re a powerful connection to our history and our faith. But have you ever stopped to consi...
