Praise in Jewish Mythology

13 myths

Each story names the sources it was written from.

Parshat Vayishlach 7 min

Jacob Feared the Amorite Kings, Then Judah Spoke of Noah

Seven Amorite kings march on Jacob's tents after Shechem burns, and only Judah's words about Noah stand between the family and the swords.

JacobShechemSimeon And LeviPraiseAngelsWarPsalmsJudahAmoritesBattleFaithBrothersCouragePatriarchsCovenantNationsTorahRedemptionExile
Myth 5 min

Isaiah Who Saw Creation Before It Was Finished

Isaiah stood in the smoke of the throne room. Overhead the sky was still being stretched, a curtain a hand had not yet let go.

IsaiahCreationHeavenPraiseCosmosDivine Justice
Myth 4 min

Isaiah Stood Before Kings Who Could Not Silence Him

King Ahaz pulled a cloak over his face and took the long way around the court. He would rather go unseen than meet Isaiah's mouth.

IsaiahDavidProphecyPraiseApocrypha
Myth 4 min

Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai Taught a Dead Man's Son the Barekhu

A man gathering firewood in the forest was dead. He burned in Gehinnom (afterlife of judgment) because of a shared sin, and only his son's voice in the.

GehinnomYochanan Ben ZakkaiAfterlifePrayerPraiseRepentanceSoulParenting
Myth 5 min

Angels Carry Every Human Word Upward, and David Becomes His Own Psalm

Solomon warned that a bird of heaven carries the voice. The midrash says that bird is an angel, and Saul's curse reached heaven as soon as he said it.

Midrash TehillimDavidHeavenSolomonPsalmsChosenIsraelPraiseMekhiltaSongCovenant
Parshat Bereshit 7 min

Every Creature From Gnat to Star Sings Its Secret Verse

A sleeper wakes at midnight to a rooster crowing seven verses and learns the earth, the sea, the fox, and the frog each carry a praise of their own.

Perek ShirahCreationPraiseAnimalsSongLegends Of The Jews
Parshat Bereshit 5 min

Beasts Rehearse Scripture Until the Vulture Announces the Messiah

Creatures recite verses of strength and justice. A grounded vulture will one day announce redemption with a line from Zechariah.

MessiahAnimalsVultureLionCreationPraise
Parshat Bereshit 7 min

Adam Refused the Animals Who Came to Worship Him

Every creature in the garden drew into a ring around the first man and went down on its knees. He had been alive for less than a day.

AdamCreationPraiseAnimalsHumilityEdenShabbatMoonExile
Parshat Yitro 5 min

Israel Hears Sinai and Absorbs Each Word

A king tells his wife to put on every jewel she owns so he will want her. Here the stones are commandments, and the camp still tasted honey in the air.

SinaiTorahIsraelPraiseMitzvotMekhiltaSong Of SongsSanctuary
Myth 5 min

David Taught His Soul Five Ways to Praise God

A soul fills its body the way light fills a room. David kept giving his own soul orders until it stopped pretending it had somewhere better to be.

DavidSoulPraisePsalmIntentionBodyTempleReward
Myth 5 min

David Sang With Every Bone While Still in Exile

From the ends of the earth David turned his whole body into praise, while Israel waited for a light no borrowed lamp could keep lit.

DavidPraisePsalmsExileLightShekhinahLimbsPrayer
Myth 5 min

David Cried for Judgment and Found His Strength

King David asked God to plead his cause against oppressors while admitting his own faults. Strength came when judgment, not flattery, answered him.

DavidJudgmentPsalmsMercyPraise
Myth 5 min

David Sees the Wicked Flourish Like a Green Tree

Nebuchadnezzar ate grass in the field until his mind returned. Then he praised God as just, and David's throat tightened over the ruins.

DavidDoegNebuchadnezzarJusticePraise