1,793 texts · Page 37 of 38
They tell a story. They hint at something deeper. Take Noah's sons: Shem, Ham, and Japhet. You'd think their order would be consistent. But it's not! Isn't that peculiar? Sometimes...
Philo tackles a seemingly simple question: why are Shem, Ham, and Japhet, the sons of Noah, listed in that specific order? Some might assume it's based on age, with the first-named...
We're so used to breezing past those genealogical lists in Genesis, but tucked within them are echoes of ancient understandings about the world and its peoples. Today, let's zoom i...
Our ancestor Abraham felt it too. The Torah tells us, in (Genesis 15:12): "About the time of the setting of the sun a trance fell upon Abraham; and lo, a great horror of darkness c...
Take the covenant God makes with Abraham in Genesis 15. It's a big moment. God promises Abraham this whole huge swathe of land for his descendants. But then it gets…well, geographi...
To a fascinating interpretation from the Midrash of Philo, a collection of interpretations attributed to the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria. The passage in question revolve...
We often stumble upon verses that seem straightforward but hint at something profound, something beyond the literal. Take (Genesis 17:4), where God says to Abraham, "And I, behold,...
He’s just received the earth-shattering news that he, in his old age, is going to have a son with Sarah. A son who will carry on the covenant with God. It's huge! But then comes th...
Because the eyes of God, we're told, are everywhere. It's a powerful image, isn't it? From His throne in Heaven, God's eyes observe absolutely everything that takes place in the wo...
The mystics imagined it, and what they saw is The story goes that when God decided to create Adam, it wasn't a snap of the fingers. It was a process. A cosmic sculpting project, if...
The Tree of Souls tells us that these souls resided in the Garden of Eden, up above. And get this: they were all present at the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai! How do we know t...
"Let there be light!" And there was light. Simple, powerful, divine fiat. But there's another beautiful, equally potent idea woven through Jewish tradition: creation by the very wo...
That’s the situation the Israelites faced at the Yam Suf, the Sea of Reeds, what we often call the Red Sea. And what happened next is one of the most iconic moments in the entire T...
We're told, in no uncertain terms, that the Land of Israel is the heart of it all. But it doesn't stop there. Jerusalem, we learn, is the heart of the Land of Israel. And within Je...
The very concept of the Temple in Jerusalem, that sacred place, was envisioned at the dawn of creation itself. As Howard Schwartz recounts in Tree of Souls, God, in His infinite wi...
And the Lord said unto him: “Therefore, whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” and the Lord set a sign for Cain (Gen. 4:15). The Holy One, blessed be H...
[These are the generations of Noah (Gen. 6:9).] May it please our master to instruct us concerning the number of transgressions for which women die during childbirth. Thus have our...
These are the generations of Noah (Gen. 6:9). R. Tanhuma the son of Abba began the discussion of this subject with the verse: The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he t...
A question. An Israelite is forbidden to steal from a fellow human being. No punishment for the performance of any prohibited act mentioned in the Torah is harsher than that admini...
These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man … Noah walked with God (Gen. 6:9). Why is Noah’s name repeated three times in this single verse? Because he was one of t...
And God remembered Noah (Gen. 8:1). May it please our master to teach us the benediction recited upon witnessing a rainbow. Thus did our masters teach us: Upon seeing a rainbow, on...
And God remembered Noah (Gen. 8:1). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: A righteous man regardeth the life of his beasts; but the tender mercies of the wicked are ...
And God spoke to Noah, saying: “Go forth from the ark” (Gen. 8:15). May our master instruct us whether one is permitted to place saliva upon an ailing eye on the Sabbath. R. Hiyya ...
Go forth from the ark (Gen. 8:16). Scripture says elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks to Thy name; the righteous shall crown th...
Go forth from the ark (Gen. 8:16). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: I counsel thee: keep the king’s command, and that in regard of the oath of God. Be not hasty...
Another explanation of go forth from the ark. David said: Bring my soul out of prison (Ps. 142:8). Noah, while in the ark, prayed continually: Bring my soul out of prison, and it i...
And the sons of Noah left the ark (Gen. 9:18). May it please our master to instruct us whether man or woman is enjoined to fulfill the commandment to Increase and multiply (Gen. 1:...
And Noah, the husbandman, began and planted a vineyard (Gen. 9:20). Noah degraded himself when he began to till the soil. R. Judah the son of R. Shalum said: At first Noah was call...
And he planted a vineyard (Gen. 9:20). Noah was one of four men who introduced four things. Noah introduced planting, as it is written: And he planted a vineyard; cursing when he s...
And he planted a vineyard (Gen. 9:20). Where did he obtain the shoots for the vineyard? He obtained them from the grape seeds he had brought into the ark.24See Pesikta Rabbati 23. ...
And the whole earth was of one language (Gen. 11:1). May it please our master to teach us why a house with an eruv27A legal fiction which establishes the continuity of a community ...
And the whole earth was of one language (Gen. 11:1). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Slay them not, lest my people forget, make them wander to and fro by Thy ...
And the whole earth was of one language (Gen. 11:1). What is written in Scripture before this verse? These are the families of the sons of Noah … and of these were the nations divi...
45:11). Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear alludes to Abraham. Forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house refers to the idolaters, concerning whom i...
After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram (Gen. 15:1). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous; He is a shiel...
And when Abraham was ninety years old and nine (Gen. 17:1). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: Thou art fairer than the children of man; grace is poured upon thy ...
A song of ascents. I will lift up mine eyes to the mountains (Ps. 121:1). Scripture alludes here to the verse Who art thou, O great mountain before. Zerubbabel? Thou shalt become a...
What is written prior to the episode in which Moses was keeping the flock? Many things are designated for certain purposes even before they are introduced into the world.14This is ...
When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying: “Show a wonder for you” (Exod. 7:9). He will be making a reasonable request to you. You find in the case of Noah, that though He said to ...
And the Lord said unto Moses: “stretch out thy hand toward the heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt” (Exod. 10:21). Scripture ...
Stretch out thy hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness (Exod. 10:21). Where did the darkness come from? R. Judah and R. Nehemiah discussed this question. R. Judah held: It ...
And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days (Exod. 10:22). Our sages maintained: There were seven days of d...
Our sages of blessed memory said: The Holy One, blessed be He, followed the military tactics employed by kings when inflicting the plagues upon them. When the people of a province ...
Thy right hand, O Lord (Exod. 15:6). This verse indicates that the Lord’s right hand is stretched out to receive repentant sinners. Though You set a time for the generation of the ...
And they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water (Exod. 15:22). Some say that the water they had taken with them, from between the rocks, was exhausted by that time. ...
And Moses said unto Aaron: “Take a jar and put an omerful of manna therein” (Exod. 16:33). I would not know of what substance the jar was fashioned, whether of silver or of gold or...
And thou shalt command (Exod. 27:20). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair (Song 1:15). R. Akiba said: The e...
In the tent of meeting, without the veil (Exod. 27:21). In case you are inclined to assert that He required the light, the menorah was placed before the curtain near the ark, outsi...
