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“Let all their wickedness come before You, and do to them as You did to me for all my transgressions, for my sighs are many and my heart is suffering” (Lamentations 1:22).“Let all ...
“And did not remember His footstool [hadom raglav],” Rabbi Ḥanina bar Yitzḥak said: The Holy One blessed be He does not remember that blood [hadam] that was between the legs of the...
“He severed in his enflamed wrath all the horn of Israel; He retracted His right hand from before the enemy. He burned in Jacob like flaming fire, consuming all around” (Lamentatio...
“He drew His bow like an enemy; His right hand stood as an adversary, and he killed all delights of the eye. In the tent of the daughter of Zion, He poured out His fury like fire” ...
“What shall I attest to you, to what shall I liken you, daughter of Jerusalem? To what shall I equate you, and comfort you, virgin daughter of Zion? For your breach is as vast as t...
“I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His fury” (Lamentations 3:1).“I am the man” – Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina began: “Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Barukh s...
“He wore away my flesh and my skin, broke my bones” (Lamentations 3:4).“He wore away my flesh” – this is the community. “And my skin” – this is the Sanhedrin (the supreme rabbinic ...
“For the Lord will not forsake forever. For, if He torments, He will have compassion according to His abundant grace. For He does not afflict willingly and torment the children of ...
“Who is it who said and it occurred, if the Lord did not command it?” (Lamentations 3:37).“Who is it who said and it occurred, if the Lord did not command it?” – who did command? H...
“Pay them retribution, Lord, according to their handiwork” (Lamentations 3:64).“Pay them retribution” – Jeremiah said: “Pay them retribution.” Asaf said: “Pay our neighbors retribu...
“May You pursue them in wrath and destroy them from under the heavens of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:66).“May You pursue them in wrath and destroy them” – Jeremiah said: “May you pur...
“Even now, our eyes fail toward futile help. In our waiting, we awaited a nation that cannot save” (Lamentations 4:17).“Even now, our eyes fail.” What would the Ten Tribes do? They...
“Your iniquity is completed, daughter of Zion; He will not continue to exile you. He will reckon your iniquity, daughter of Edom, He will expose your sins” (Lamentations 4:22).“You...
“We extended a hand to Egypt, Assyria, to be sated with bread” (Lamentations 5:6).“We extended a hand to Egypt, Assyria, to be sated with bread.” What would the Ten Tribes do? They...
“Servants rule over us; there is no deliverer from their hand” (Lamentations 5:8).“Servants rule over us,” this is Egypt.11They descend from Ham, who was cursed by Noah that his de...
“Why do You forget us forever, forsake us for so long?” (Lamentations 5:20).“Why do You forget us forever?” Rabbi Yehoshua bar Avin said: Jeremiah employed four expressions: Spurni...
“Return us to You, Lord, and we will return; renew our days as of old” (Lamentations 5:21).“Return us to You, Lord, and we will return.” The congregation of Israel said before the ...
“It was during the days of Aḥashverosh; that [hu] Aḥashverosh who reigned from India to Kush, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces” (Esther 1:1). Hu [appears] five [times] for ev...
“On his royal throne” – Rabbi Kohen (a priest) in the name of Rabbi Azarya: “On his royal throne [kisse malkhuto (Sovereignty)],” malkhuto is written [without the vav]. He sought t...
“The elite of Persia and Media:” It is taught in the name of Rabbi Natan about these ten measures: There are ten portions of licentiousness in the world, nine in Alexandria and one...
“Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's word by means of the officials, and the king was very angry, and his fury burned within him” (Esther 1:12).She sent and said to him thin...
“The king said to the wise men, those knowledgeable about the times, for so was the practice of the king before those learned in custom and law” (Esther 1:13).Who were they? Rabbi ...
“He sent scrolls to all the king’s provinces, to each province in its script, and to each people in its language; for every man to be the ruler in his house, and speak the language...
“The young woman who will please the king will reign in place of Vashti. The proposal pleased the king and he did so” (Esther 2:4).“The young woman who will please the king” – who ...
“There was a Judean man in the Shushan citadel, and his name was Mordekhai, son of Ya'ir, son of Shimi, son of Kish, a Benjamite” (Esther 2:5).“There was a Judean man [ish] in the ...
It is written: “And set it in the ears of Joshua” (Exodus 17:14), this is one of four righteous people to whom a portent was given; two sensed it and two did not sense it. A porten...
“In those days, Mordekhai was sitting at the king's gate; two of the king's officials, Bigtan and Teresh, among the doorkeepers, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Aḥashv...
“When they [the king’s servants] spoke to him [Mordekhai] daily and he did not heed them, they told Haman, to see whether Mordekhai’s words would prevail; for he had told to them t...
What did Mordekhai say to someone who would say to him: “Why are you violating the king’s command?” (Esther 3:3) Rabbi Levi said: Mordekhai would say: ‘Moses our master cautioned u...
“Haman saw that Mordekhai was not bowing and prostrating himself to him and Haman was filled with wrath” (Esther 3:5).“Haman saw that Mordekhai was not bowing and prostrating himse...
“It was contemptible in his eyes to lay hands on Mordekhai alone, for they had told him of Mordekhai’s people; Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were in the whole kingdom o...
“In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Aḥashverosh, he had cast a pur, that is, the lot, before Haman for each day and for each month, to the tw...
“If it pleases the king, let it be written to eliminate them and I will weigh out ten thousand talents of silver by the hands of the king's craftsmen, to bring to the king's treasu...
Another matter: “If it pleases the king, let it be written to eliminate them” (Esther 3:9) – He [Haman] said to him [the king]: ‘You should write to give me the pen,’17Give me lice...
“The king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and it was written in accordance with everything that Haman had commanded the king’s satraps, and the go...
Rabbi Levi said: Accursed are the wicked who are engaged in evil counsel against Israel, and each one of them counsels in his way and says: ‘My counsel is better than your counsel....
“The king said to her: What troubles you, Queen Esther, and what is your request… Esther said: If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet… The king sa...
After he erected the gibbet, he went to Mordekhai and found that he was sitting in the study hall with the children sitting before him, with sackcloth on their waists, engaging in ...
God told Israel three separate times: do not go back to Egypt. According to Esther Rabbah, they violated every single warning and paid for every single one. Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai ...
From the very first moment of creation, God assigned every major figure in history a specific role. Esther Rabbah preserves a remarkable list, attributed to Rabbi Berekhya, that re...
Jewish tradition offers some truly fascinating perspectives on creation, and one that particularly intrigues me is the idea that God didn't just make things. He consulted with them...
It sounds radical, I know. According to some accounts, God bestowed immense honor upon Moses, gifting him dominion over the entire earth, the seas, the rivers – all the elements th...
Our ancestors wrestled with it, too. And they left us a pretty incredible guide to help us navigate it. It’s called The Book of the War of the Lord. A bold title. It promises to il...
Central to Judaism is the absolute oneness of God. It’s right there in the Shema, that foundational declaration: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:...
Sometimes, that happens with our understanding of the Divine, too. There's a fascinating debate, captured in letters from Jewish scholars of generations past, about how we relate t...
Ever stumble upon something that seems contradictory, something that makes you scratch your head and wonder, "Wait, did I miss something?" That’s exactly the kind of question someo...
Jewish tradition speaks of such moments as revelations of the Shekhinah (שכינה), the Divine Presence. But what exactly does that mean? And what does it look like? Sometimes, it see...
It’s a question that has echoes through Jewish tradition, and one that comes up in a fascinating discussion about bowing down, prostration, and the very nature of God’s glory. The ...
