Solomon

1,693 texts · Page 25 of 36

King Solomon's legendary wisdom, the building of the Temple, his mastery over demons, and the secrets of the Song of Songs.

The Heart of the Wise Dwells in the House of Mourning

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

Kohelet Rabbah, the rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, dives deep into this idea. “The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning, and the heart of fools in the house of rejoici...

Moses and Solomon of Bilam

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

What does it really mean? Kohelet Rabbah, a rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, dives right in. It suggests that "the rebuke of a wise man" refers to those who deliver homilies – ...

The Crackling of Brambles Under the Pot

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, tackles this very feeling. "For like the crackling of brambles under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool; this, too, is vanity...

How Bribery and Corruption Cloud Even the Wisest Mind

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

We find this idea explored in Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes. It zeroes in on the verse, "For exploitation disconcerts a wise ...

Elisha — Rabbi Meir at the Dawn of Creation

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

The verse in question is (Ecclesiastes 7:8): "The end of a matter is better than its beginning; one of patient spirit is better than one of proud spirit." The rabbis, as they often...

Anger Rests in the Bosom of Fools Says Ecclesiastes

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

We all do. But what if I told you that ancient wisdom offers a powerful image to help us understand – and maybe even control – that inner fire? The verse from Ecclesiastes, 7:9, wa...

Wisdom Is Good With Inheritance Says Ecclesiastes

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

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...

Who Can Straighten What God Has Made Crooked

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, as it’s known in Hebrew, poses a powerful question: "See the work of God, for who can mend what He has warped?" (Ecclesiastes 7:13). Kohelet R...

On Good Days Rejoice and On Bad Days Reflect

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

One minute you're basking in sunshine, the next you're caught in a downpour. How do we navigate those wild swings of fortune? Well, the book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it’s kno...

The Righteous Perish While the Wicked Endure

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

It’s a timeless question, one that’s echoed in the Book of Ecclesiastes (Kohelet) itself: "I have seen everything in the days of my vanity; there is a righteous person who perishes...

Saul in Solomon's Court

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

The ancient rabbis certainly did. And they wrestled with this tension in some fascinating ways. to a passage from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Bo...

Do Not Be Overly Wicked and Do Not Be Foolish

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as we know it in Hebrew, is full of those moments. And one verse in particular, 7:17, gives us a real head-scratcher: "Do not be overly wicked ...

Grasp This and From That Do Not Withdraw Your Hand

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

The ancient sages felt that too, and they offered some pretty timeless advice on how to prioritize what truly matters. Our starting point is a verse from (Ecclesiastes 7:18): "It i...

Wisdom Bolsters the Wise More Than Ten Rulers

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

Kohelet Rabbah, the rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, takes on this very question, diving deep into the meaning of the verse: "Wisdom will bolster the wise more than ten rulers ...

Wisdom Strengthens More Than Ten Rulers in a City

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

Kohelet Rabbah, the commentary on Ecclesiastes, digs into this very question, offering some fascinating, and at times surprising, answers. The verse from Ecclesiastes, "Wisdom will...

Rabbi Yudan Before the King

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

Ecclesiastes has a way of pulling the rug out from under you, and chapter 7 is no exception. Consider (Ecclesiastes 7:20): "For there is not a righteous man upon the earth, who doe...

Solomon — Adam at the Dawn of Creation

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

King Solomon, wisest of all men, apparently felt that too. (Ecclesiastes 7:23) reads, "All this I attempted with wisdom; I said: I will become wise, but it is far from me." What do...

Kings — Wisdom of Solomon

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

The Book of Kings tells us that Solomon "spoke three thousand proverbs" (I (Kings 5:1)2). But wait a minute... when we actually read through the Bible, how many proverbs do we find...

Unexpected Explanations in Kohelet Rabbah

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

Sometimes, the explanations seem… unexpected, even poetic. to a passage from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, where we explore ...

Yaakov at the Dawn of Creation

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

Today, we’re diving into a story from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Ecclesiastes, where we see just such a situation unfold. The story cen...

The Woman More Bitter Than Death in Ecclesiastes

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet in Hebrew, certainly thought so, at least in one rather pointed verse. "I find more bitter than death," it says, "the woman whose heart is snar...

The Linguistic Puzzle of Adding One to Another

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

They saw echoes and connections everywhere, even in the way the Bible phrases things. Take the book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it’s known in Hebrew. It’s full of these little l...

One Righteous Man in a Thousand Is Hard to Find

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

The Book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, wrestles with this very feeling. And one verse in particular, Kohelet 7:28, has sparked a lot of discussion: "What my ...

Searching for Meaning in the Book of Ecclesiastes

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it’s known in Hebrew, wrestles with this very question. It’s a book about searching, about meaning, and often, about the frustrating lack of...

Who Is Like the Wise Man and the Answer Is God

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

The wisdom of a man illuminates his face, and the boldness of his face is changed" (Ecclesiastes 8:1). Right away, the Rabbis ask: Who is this wise man? And their answer, in a move...

Moses the Wise Man Who Ascended the City of the Mighty

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

The ancient rabbis certainly did. They wrestled with the complexities of Jewish law and tradition, seeking not just to follow the rules, but to truly understand them. And in the pr...

I Observe the King's Command and the Oath to God

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

Kohelet, Ecclesiastes, dives right into that tension. And Kohelet Rabbah, the rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, unpacks it for us with layers of meaning. Let's look at one short...

Do Not Be Hasty Before the King

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

Today's story from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, speaks directly to that feeling, urging us to pause and consider our approa...

Does God Follow His Own Rules

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

To one fascinating interpretation from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes. The verse at the heart of it all is (Ecclesiastes 8:4):...

Esther's Wisdom in Knowing the Time of Judgment

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

That's what we find in a fascinating interpretation of Ecclesiastes in Kohelet Rabbah. The verse we're looking at is (Ecclesiastes 8:5): “One who follows a command will not know an...

For Every Desire There Comes a Time of Judgment

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

We all do. And sometimes, that impulse leads us down a path we later regret. It's that tension between desire and consequence, between the immediate gratification and the long-term...

No One Rules the Spirit or Controls the Day of Death

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

To (Ecclesiastes 8:8): “There is no man who rules the spirit to retain the spirit, and there is no rule over the day of death. There is no release in war, and wickedness will not r...

When One Person Has Authority Over Another to Harm

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

Power over another human being is one of the most dangerous things a person can hold, and Ecclesiastes names this danger directly. In (Ecclesiastes 8:9), it says, "All this I have ...

The Wicked Buried With Honor While the Just Forgotten

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, grapples with this constantly. And one particular verse, (Ecclesiastes 8:10), has sparked a lot of fascinating interpr...

Why God Delays Punishment for the Wicked

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, as it’s known in Hebrew, dives deep into this very conundrum. And in Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on Ecclesiastes, we find a p...

Why the Wicked Prosper While the Righteous Suffer

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

You're not alone. The Book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it’s known in Hebrew, grapples with this very question, and the rabbinic interpretations in Kohelet Rabbah, a collection o...

Wisdom of Solomon of Rabbis

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

You're not alone. King Solomon, the wisest of men, grappled with this too. In (Ecclesiastes 8:15), he declares, "I praised joy, as there is nothing better for man under the sun tha...

Rabbis — Wisdom of Solomon

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

(Ecclesiastes 8:16) says, "When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the matters that are performed on the earth, as both during the day and during the night, one does not...

Solomon and Moses of Although

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, as it's known in Hebrew, grapples with this very feeling. "I saw all the work of God, as man is unable to discover the work that is performed ...

There Is One Fate for the Righteous and the Wicked

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

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...

A Living Dog Is Better Than a Dead Lion and What It Means

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

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...

The Living Know They Will Die but the Dead Know Nothing

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, puts it starkly: "For the living know that they will die; but the dead do not know anything, and they no longer have a reward, as their memory...

Even Their Love Has Already Perished

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

The verse that really gets us thinking is (Ecclesiastes 9:6): "Even their love, even their hatred and even their envy, have already perished; they will never again have a portion i...

God Has Already Accepted Your Actions

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

It tells us: “Go, eat your bread joyfully, and drink your wine goodheartedly, as God has already accepted your actions” (Ecclesiastes 9:7). But what does that mean? Kohelet Rabbah,...

White Garments and Oil as Symbols of Good Deeds

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

It all starts with the verse, "May your garments be white at all times, and may the oil on your head not be lacking" (Ecclesiastes 9:8). Now, what does that even mean? Is it litera...

Enjoy Life With the One You Love Says Ecclesiastes

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

Turns out, the book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, might just have the answer. Kohelet 9:9 says, "Enjoy life with a woman whom you love all the days of your life of vanity which He h...

Whatever You Can Do With Your Strength Do It Now

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, wrestles with this very question. And it’s a question that hits at the heart of how we live ou...

Bar Kappara and the Heavenly Realms

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

The grief is so intense that the townspeople declare a ban: anyone who dares announce the Rabbi's death will face dire consequences. Can you imagine the tension? The air thick with...