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We're looking at Parsha 86, where we find ourselves in the middle of the Joseph narrative. Remember Joseph? Sold into slavery in Egypt? He ends up in the house of Potiphar, an Egyp...
The Torah portion Vayechi, at the very end of Genesis, gives us a glimpse into that very idea. Jacob, on his deathbed, blesses his sons. And when he blesses Joseph, it says, "He bl...
The Jewish tradition certainly does. In fact, it links our speech directly to our relationship with the Divine. Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homilies on the Book of Deuteronomy,...
To Shemot Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Exodus. Specifically, we're looking at section 32, where Rabbi Yitzchak opens with a verse from Jeremiah ...
The Torah gives us glimpses, but the Rabbis, in their wisdom, fill in the colors, adding depth and humanity to these sacred moments. The verse we're focusing on is (Exodus 33:8): "...
The Torah tells us that when Moses descended from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony – the luchot ha-brit (לוחות הברית) – he didn't realize his face was radiating li...
Boards, bars, meticulously woven fabrics… everything perfect in its own right. But when it came to assembling it all? Nothing. They were stumped. Shemot Rabbah 52 vividly paints th...
They begin by referencing (Proverbs 16:23): “The heart of the wise will make his mouth prevail.” The idea is that a wise person’s heart overflows with wisdom. But what proves it? W...
The verse "Indeed our bed is fresh" (Song of Songs 1:16) isn't just about a cozy place for lovers, according to this midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary). It's about the Temp...
It wasn't just about bricks and mortar, you see. It was about something far deeper – a sense of stability, of divine presence truly dwelling amongst the people. Shir HaShirim Rabba...
The mystics of old certainly did. They saw this feeling echoed in the Song of Songs, that passionate and enigmatic book we call Shir HaShirim in Hebrew. Specifically, in the verse:...
Rabbi Yuda ben Rabbi Ilai, a sage of the 2nd century, offers a beautiful analogy. He interprets the verse in Song of Songs (3:9), "Palanquin," as referring to the Ark. Now, what's ...
We often think of the Song of Songs, Shir HaShirim, as just that: a beautiful, sensual poem about love between a man and a woman. But what if it’s also about something much, much b...
Ever felt that sting of doubt, that little voice whispering, "Where is He now?" It's a question that's echoed through the ages, a challenge thrown at the heart of faith itself. And...
It wasn't just a quick glance. The Torah tells us in (Leviticus 13:12) that the priest examines the afflicted individual in “the entire view of the eyes of the priest.” But what ex...
Jewish ritual is rarely about only the action — it's about the choreography of meaning. Take (Leviticus 23:11), which instructs us about waving the omer "before the Lord, for accep...
We find a surprisingly intimate answer tucked away in Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Leviticus. Rabbi Yoshiya starts us off with a verse from (Psa...
The arba minim—the "four species" used during the Jewish festival of Sukkot (the Festival of Tabernacles)—carry a meaning far deeper than ritual. These four species – the etrog, th...
We know the science, the orbits, the rotations... But what about the story behind it all? What's the cosmic drama unfolding behind the scenes of our everyday sunrise and sunset? We...
“For the Lord has tormented her for her abundant transgressions.” Is it, perhaps, for nothing? The verse states: “For her abundant transgressions.” “Her infants are led into captiv...
It’s like trying to grasp the trunk of a massive, ancient tree, its branches reaching so high you can barely see the top. It’s... well, it’s complicated. I recently came across som...
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...
Jewish tradition has a name for that feeling: Shekhinah (the Divine Presence). But what exactly is it? It’s a word we hear often, especially when talking about exile and redemption...
That feeling, that sense of unease, might be more than just good manners telling you to speak up. According to Jewish tradition, it's practically a commandment. The Torah tells us,...
But…they eat the fruit, and they don't drop dead right then and there. So, what gives? What does "Ye shall surely die" really mean? That's a question that has kept Jewish thinkers ...
After the Flood, after all that chaos and destruction, Noah releases this dove. He's hoping for good news, a sign that things are getting better. And what does the dove do? It flie...
Philo, the great Jewish philosopher of Alexandria, grappled with this very idea centuries ago. In his writings, often called "The Midrash of Philo" by scholars, he touches upon the...
The answer, again and again, comes back to this: God is everywhere. It's right there in the scriptures. As it says, "His presence fills all the earth" (Isaiah 6:3). We're not talki...
A time long, long before time as we know it. Before the sun, the moon, the stars… before even the very Earth beneath our feet. What existed then? Well, according to some mystical t...
These are the generations of Noah. Blessed be the name of the King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, who chose Israel from among the seventy nations of the world, as it is wri...
When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel (Exod. 30:12). R. Yosé the son of Hanina said: This verse indicated to him that in the future he would bring the first of the tri...
R. Judan of Gallia opened (with (Job 39:2)7), “Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes its nest on high?” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Aaron. “At your comm...
(Numb. 3:15:) “Enroll the Children of Levi.” This tribe was dearer to the Holy One, blessed be He,86Numb. R. 3:8. than all the tribes, as stated (in I Sam. 2:28), “And I chose him ...
"And it was on the day that Moses had finished" (Numbers 7:1). Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said, "The Holy One, blessed be He, made conditions with Israel before they left Egypt, that ...
