134 texts · Page 1 of 3
The Book of Jubilees, also known as Lesser Genesis, is an ancient Jewish religious work of 50 chapters, considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as well as Ethiopian J...
The Book of Jubilees, a text not found in the Hebrew Bible but considered scripture by some, gets pretty specific about the calendar. It envisions a perfectly ordered world, where ...
We’re not just talking about a nice nap after a good meal. We're diving deep into a vision of Sabbath so profound, so all-encompassing, that it could be, well... deadly serious. Le...
We're heading into the Book of Jubilees. Now, the Book of Jubilees isn't actually part of the Hebrew Bible as we know it, but it’s a fascinating text. It’s considered part of the J...
That’s the story of Judith. And in this moment, as we find her in the Book of Judith, she's just finished pouring out her heart to God, a plea not just for herself, but for her ent...
That’s exactly the kind of agonizing dilemma facing Mattathias and his followers in the Book of Maccabees I. The scene is this: the tyrannical Antiochus IV Epiphanes is determined ...
The dead do not simply lie still. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle translated by Moses Gaster in 1899, the righteous dead have a vast habit...
The Bible itself gives us some clues, but the full picture? It's painted in vibrant detail in the Legends of the Jews, Louis Ginzberg's masterful compilation of rabbinic lore. So, ...
Jewish tradition has a fascinating way of explaining that feeling, especially when it comes to Shabbat (the Sabbath). We often talk about Shabbat as a day of rest, a time to unplug...
The tradition teaches us that on Shabbat (the Sabbath), we are not just meant to eat, but to partake in three specific meals, each a gateway to profound spiritual realms. Why three...
This mystical text, part of the Zohar, delves into the deepest secrets of Kabbalah, and today we're going to explore a very specific and fascinating corner of it. The Idra Zuta, li...
Jewish mysticism might have an answer for you, and it all revolves around Shabbat (the Sabbath). We all know Shabbat as the day of rest, a sacred pause in the week. But according t...
It’s a question that’s been pondered for centuries, especially within the rich tapestry of Jewish mystical tradition. Today, we're going to peek into one small corner of that tapes...
The Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar, that incredible companion to the Zohar, the central work of Kabbalah, gives us some pretty powerful guidance on how to really make Shabbat (t...
The Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar, a profound mystical text elaborating on the Zohar, dives into this idea in a fascinating way. It’s talking about the Sabbath, Shabbat, and ho...
The Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar, a central work of Kabbalah, delves into this very idea in its 113th section. It begins with a seemingly simple verse from Exodus (35:3), "You...
We’re all running around, stressed, dealing with work, family, life’s endless to-do lists. But then comes Shabbat, the Sabbath. A moment to breathe. A moment to reconnect. But it's...
"These are the things that the Lord commanded to be done. For six days work shall be performed, but the seventh day shall be holy for you" (Exodus 35:1-2). Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of B...
Happy is the Jew, the Kabbalists say, who can prepare for Shabbat a complete set of garments that he wears only then. A coat, a belt, a pair of shoes, a hat — all different from th...
The mystics of Kabbalah did not just rule on large questions of Sabbath law — they drew a whole day of living around the smallest gestures. Here is a sample. Geese, fowl, cats, dog...
When Shabbat ends and three stars appear in the sky, Jewish custom has always lingered a little longer over the Sabbath queen's departure. One of the oldest customs is to sing hymn...
The rabbis classified Kiddush Levanah, the monthly blessing of the moon, as one of the small but weighty acts of avodah, service of Heaven. The Kitzur Sh'lah and the kabbalists pre...
R. Yonathan said to him: But we still have not heard! R. Yoshiyah: It is written (Ibid. 28:2) "Command the children of Israel and say to them: My offering, My bread … shall you obs...
The Mekhilta extends the previous argument about festival labor restrictions to Shabbat (the Sabbath) itself, using an elegant reversal of the kal va-chomer — the argument from les...
"And you shall guard this day": What is the intent of this? Is it not already written (16) "all labor shall not be done in them"? This tells me only of labor per se. Whence do I de...
Rabbi Akiva ruled that a Jewish master may not keep uncircumcised male servants in his household. Circumcision — the sign of the covenant between God and Abraham — was required of ...
Absalom, the handsome prince who rebelled against his own father King David, was famous throughout Israel for one thing above all else: his magnificent hair. The Mekhilta preserves...
"each day's ration in its day": for the day and the morrow, e.g., on Friday, for Friday and Sabbath. R. Eliezer Hamodai says: So that one not gather for the day and the morrow, e.g...
Moses spoke three words that carried immense weight: "Eat it today" (Exodus 16:25). He said it not once but three times in the same verse. "Eat it today, for it is Sabbath today. T...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael derives the practice of Kiddush, the sanctification of Shabbat (the Sabbath) over wine, from the commandment to "sanctify it." The phrase "to sanctify...
(Exodus, Ibid. 10) "And the seventh day is Sabbath to the L–rd your G–d. You shall not perform any labor." What is the intent of this? (Exodus 31:15) "Everyone who does labor on th...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael turns to the phrase "and your sojourner in your gates" from the Shabbat (the Sabbath) commandment and asks: which type of sojourner is meant? Jewish l...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael draws an illuminating comparison between the fear of parents and the observance of Shabbat (the Sabbath). The verse in (Leviticus 19:3) places them si...
It is written "Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it," and, opposite it, "You shall not testify (falsely)," whereby Scripture apprises us that one who desecrates the Sabbath ther...
One of the disciples of R. Yishmael said: It is written (Exodus 35:3) "You shall not light a fire in all of your dwellings on the Sabbath day." Burning was in the category (of all ...
The Mekhilta now draws the ultimate conclusion from the legal hierarchy it has been constructing. Murder overrides the sacrificial service. This is established. But saving a life o...
From the law of the burglar, the Mekhilta derives one of the most important principles in Jewish law: a doubt about whether a life is in danger overrides the Sabbath. The reasoning...
The Torah says, "Six days shall you do your work" (Exodus 23:12), a commandment to labor for six days and rest on the seventh, the Shabbat (the Sabbath). But the Mekhilta noticed s...
The Torah declares about the Sabbath: "for it is holy to you" (Exodus 31:14). The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael draws from this phrase a remarkable teaching about how Sabbath observanc...
"That soul shall be cut off from the midst of its people" — the Mekhilta asks what this verse adds to "those who profane it shall be put to death," which has already been stated. B...
The Torah commands: "And the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath for their generations" (Exodus 31:16). The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael connects this ve...
Furthermore, it follows a fortiori, viz.: If on shemitah, transgression of which is liable to neither kareth (cutting-off) nor judicial death penalty, he rests from shemitah even t...
The Torah says "You may not light a fire in all of your dwellings" on the Sabbath. But what about executions ordered by a court? The judicial death penalty of burning requires fire...
The Mekhilta concludes its treatment of the Sabbath fire prohibition with a clean summary of the legal principle. Lighting a fire was one of the thirty-nine proto-labors forbidden ...
The idea of greeting the Sabbath Queen, or Shabbat Malkah, has captured the hearts and minds of Jewish mystics and everyday people for centuries. We find this beautiful custom echo...
Our tradition tells a story about Adam, the very first human, that hits on just that feeling. Imagine this: Creation is fresh, the world is brand new, and Adam is experiencing ever...
God rested. But what does that mean? The book of Genesis tells us, "And on the seventh day God finished his work" (Gen. 2:2). But according to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating...
We're looking at Bamidbar (Numbers) 19:19, which talks about ritual purity. Specifically, it deals with the process of purification from impurity caused by contact with a dead body...
