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We all know the story: Joseph, sold into slavery in Egypt. But the Rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah (86) ask us to consider this: "“[Potiphar…an Egyptian man,] purchased him [from the Ish...
Jewish tradition is just teeming with those kinds of moments. Take Jacob, for instance, as he's about to head down to Egypt to reunite with his son Joseph. The Torah tells us, "Isr...
It centers around the verse: "He slaughtered feast-offerings to the God of his father Isaac" (Genesis 46:1). Why Isaac? Why not Abraham, the patriarch of them all? Rabbi Yehoshua b...
Take mourning rituals, for example. The familiar seven-day period of intense mourning, the shivah. Where did that come from? The Rabbis of old grappled with this very question. "Th...
To a fascinating passage from Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, that touches on this very dilemma and much more. The verse that k...
We often hear about the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the mighty hand of God... But what about the internal processes, the spiritual shifts that paved the way for that monum...
Take this passage from Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy. It all starts with a verse: "It will be, because you heed these ordinances, an...
The Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, wrestles with the verse, "The Lord your God will maintain for you…" What exactly will God maintai...
Not just for people, but for everything around them – the animals, the land, even the trees bursting with fruit. That's the vision we find in the book of Deuteronomy, 7:14: "You wi...
Devarim Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, offers a powerful parable about just that – the relationship between God and Israel. It's a story of...
There’s a fascinating passage in Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, that sheds light on this very concept. It all starts with a verse we...
Jewish tradition grapples with this very idea, and it finds a rather poetic expression in Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy. The passage...
We all have. But have you ever stopped to consider the consequences, not just for those around you, but for yourself? The Book of Deuteronomy, or Devarim in Hebrew, is full of wisd...
The Book of Deuteronomy promises, "when the Lord your God will expand your border" (Deuteronomy 19:8). But what does that expansion really mean? Is it just about more territory? Th...
We often think of it as the absence of conflict, but Jewish tradition elevates peace – shalom – to something far more profound and active. It’s not just a nice idea; it's a force t...
What does this seemingly simple commandment truly mean? What deeper lessons about mercy and compassion can we learn from a bird's nest? The Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpre...
I’m talking about amen. (Deuteronomy 28:1) promises, "It will be if you will heed the voice of the Lord your God to observe, to perform all His commandments that I am commanding yo...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, tackles this very question. It starts with a verse from Proverbs (2:1): "My son, if you take my sayin...
The Torah touches on this very human struggle. In (Deuteronomy 29:3), Moses says to the Israelites, "But the Lord has not given you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to he...
In Jewish tradition, we find a fascinating story in Devarim Rabbah that touches upon just such a concept when it comes to the death of Moses. The text starts by asking, "What is he...
Maybe you stumble over your words during a presentation, or completely blank on someone's name. Imagine the pressure, then, of leading a congregation in prayer and making a mistake...
The verse in question comes from (Proverbs 31:29): "Many women have performed valiantly, but you have surpassed them all." But who is the "you" being referred to here? According to...
It sounds almost unbelievable, doesn't it? Yet, according to Devarim Rabbah, this is precisely the monumental struggle Moses faced at the end of his life. Rabbi Yoḥanan tells us th...
Like everyone else is contributing, and you're just... there? Our sages grappled with this feeling, and their stories, preserved in texts like Kohelet Rabbah, offer surprising comf...
It's a question that the book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, wrestles with head-on. The verse in question, from (Ecclesiastes 1:11), states, "There is no memory of the former ones; a...
Our tradition wrestles with this very feeling. The book of Kohelet, or Ecclesiastes, famously explores the futility of life, that "all is vanity." But within the rabbinic expansion...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, wrestles with this very idea. "Of laughter, I said it is confounded; and of joy, what does it accomplish?" (Ecclesiast...
Ecclesiastes has a way of stopping you cold with a single sentence, and (Ecclesiastes 2:21) is one of them: "For there is a man whose toil is with wisdom, and with knowledge, and w...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, certainly grapples with that feeling. It can feel bleak. But within that perceived bleakness, ancient interpreters found profound meaning. Tak...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet in Hebrew, grapples with this very idea, and the rabbinic commentary on it, Kohelet Rabbah, digs even deeper. It all starts with that famous li...
The ancient rabbis, in Kohelet Rabbah, that treasure trove of commentary on Ecclesiastes, dive deep into this verse. Rabbi Tanhuma suggests a simple, elegant idea: the world came i...
Jewish tradition grapples with this question, especially when it comes to the timing of pivotal moments in our history. And sometimes, the answers are more surprising than you'd ex...
The sun rises, the seasons turn... it all seems so fixed, so unchangeable. But is it, really? Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the book of Ecclesiastes, ...
The ancient Rabbis, in their commentary called Kohelet Rabbah, dive deep into a specific verse that really makes you think: "What has been, already is, and what will be has already...
Take this passage from Kohelet Rabbah, a rabbinic commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastes (Kohelet). It grapples with a pretty stark statement: "I praise the dead who are already de...
In fact, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Kohelet Rabbah, connects them to something much deeper: the consequences of our actions and, specifically, our...
The Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), in Kohelet Rabbah, take this even further, using stories and interpretations to unpack the weight of those feelings. O...
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, a prominent figure in the Zohar (the foundational text of Jewish mysticism), puts it this way: a good name is more beloved than the Ark of the Covenant itse...
Kohelet Rabbah, the rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, wrestles with this very idea, focusing on the verse: "Anger is better than laughter, as with a cross countenance the heart ...
Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, tackles this very question, and it does it in such a wonderfully human way. It all starts with...
Kohelet Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, wrestles with this very question. Specifically, it digs into the verse: "Wisdom wi...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet in Hebrew, certainly does. And the rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), in Kohelet Rabbah, wrestled with it too. Specifica...
It all starts with a verse from Ecclesiastes (9:4): "For anyone who is joined to any of the living there is hope, as a living dog is better than a dead lion.” Now, that seems prett...
In fact, it's echoed in ancient texts that speak to the timeless struggle between humanity and… well, something much bigger than ourselves. Let’s turn to Kohelet Rabbah, a collecti...
Jewish tradition grapples with this very human experience, and it does so in a fascinating way, using the story of Noah. We find this exploration in Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of...
Kohelet Rabbah, a Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastes, tackles this idea head-on with the verse: "If the spirit of the ruler comes u...
The rabbis of old, in their infinite wisdom, dove deep into its poetic verses, finding layers of meaning we might miss today. We're looking at Kohelet Rabbah, a rabbinic commentary...
It all centers around a verse from (Ecclesiastes 12:3), a verse filled with cryptic imagery: "On the day that the guards of the house will tremble, the men of valor will be bent, t...
