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The Torah warns that whoever eats chametz during Passover will have their soul "cut off from Israel." The punishment is kareth — spiritual excision from the community. But the Mekh...
"only what is to be eaten by all souls": All (labors) of ochel nefesh (food processing) override the festival, but not all offerings (aside from those which are festival-linked) ov...
The Torah permits certain food preparation on festival days with the phrase "only what is to be eaten by all souls." The Mekhilta records a debate about exactly how far this permis...
Rabbi Yossi HaGlili reads the same verse about "what is to be eaten by all souls" and arrives at a different conclusion than Rabbi Yishmael. Where Yishmael excludes both animals an...
Rabbi Akiva agrees with Rabbi Yossi HaGlili that animals are included in the festival food-preparation permission — but he reaches this conclusion through a different textual mecha...
(Ibid. 19) "For whoever eats leavening, that soul shall be cut off": What is the intent of this? From (Ibid. 15) "Whoever eats chametz shall be cut off," I would know only of chame...
Antoninos, the Roman emperor who maintained a famous friendship with Rabbeinu Hakadosh (Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, the compiler of the Mishnah (the earliest code of rabbinic law)), once...
"The foe (Pharaoh) said": And he did not know what he was saying, viz. (Mishlei 16:1) "To a man are the musings of his heart, but to the L–rd is the meaning of the tongue." (He sai...
The Torah states: "And if a man strikes any soul of a man." The Mekhilta examines this verse with extraordinary precision, asking exactly which victims are covered by the prohibiti...
"And one who steals a man": This would exclude (from liability) his stealing a minor. Whence is it derived that he is liable for stealing a minor? From "If a man be found to have s...
The Torah states plainly: "If a man be found to have stolen a soul" (Deuteronomy 24:7). This is the law against kidnapping, one of the gravest crimes in Jewish jurisprudence, punis...
"You shall not steal" — this is the eighth of the Ten Commandments. But what kind of stealing does it prohibit? The Mekhilta argues it refers to kidnapping, not theft of property. ...
Perhaps the first is an exhortation against stealing money, and the second an exhortation against stealing souls? Would you say that? Three mitzvoth (commandments) are mentioned in...
Rebbi — Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi — taught that "nefesh (the vital soul) for nefesh" — "a life for a life" — means monetary compensation, not literal execution. The Torah is requiring t...
Rabbi Akiva specified that when the Torah requires the mued's owner to pay kofer — ransom — the amount is calculated based on the value of the ox owner, not the value of the victim...
Beyond these is a kidnapper, who pays his life. R. Shimon b. Yochai says: It is written (Mishlei 29:24) "One who divides with a thief hates his soul. (He hears the adjuration to sw...
"For whoever does work upon it, that soul shall be cut off" — the Mekhilta specifies that this refers to "a complete work." The full prohibition applies only when a person complete...
"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...
Where is God? Have you ever stopped to truly consider that question? It seems simple, almost childlike. But the deeper you delve, the more mysterious it becomes. The mystics of our...
Jewish tradition has a powerful and beautiful answer: the Ruah ha-Kodesh, the Holy Spirit. According to tradition, before the Throne of Glory, before angels, before even the stars ...
We often picture a grand, sweeping gesture, a divine command echoing through the void. But what if it was something… gentler? Something more akin to a breath? The mystics certainly...
Jewish tradition speaks of such things. Specifically, it tells us about three keys. Not physical keys, of course, but metaphorical ones – representing ultimate control over the ver...
The Torah actually grapples with this very question, and the answer, as you might expect, is layered and fascinating. : Moses, standing before the burning bush, is tasked with lead...
Jewish tradition paints a picture of a voice so powerful, so overwhelming, that it's almost beyond comprehension. We're told that God saved His full voice for a pivotal moment in h...
Jewish tradition dares to imagine a God who weeps. And perhaps nowhere is that more powerfully depicted than in the legends surrounding the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. ...
The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem – twice – is one of the most profound traumas in Jewish history. It’s not just about losing a building; it’s about losing a connection, a...
There was a time, a very dark time, when God Himself considered doing just that. Imagine the scene: The Temple in Jerusalem lies in ruins. The people of Israel are in exile, weepin...
Jewish tradition offers a powerful, heart-wrenching image: Mother Zion. The image of Mother Zion comes from a deep well of sorrow and longing, born from the exiles and devastations...
There is a way, a glimpse, perhaps, of the Divine Presence – the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence)? The Shekhinah, a Hebrew word often translated as "dwelling" or "presence," represe...
He's not exactly kicking back with a cosmic cup of coffee. Nope. He's been busy making matches. That's right, God is the ultimate shadkhan—a matchmaker. It's a powerful idea, isn't...
It’s a question that has captivated Jewish thinkers for centuries. When God set about creating the world as we know it, what did God have to work with? The tradition tells us that ...
Okay, it's not exactly a fashion question, but it's a fascinating way to think about the beginning of everything. According to Jewish tradition, the very first thing created wasn't...
The Torah tells us, "Let there be light" (Gen. 1:3). But what was that light? Jewish tradition answers with something truly special: the primordial light. And it wasn't just any li...
Did God have help when creating the world? It’s a question that’s sparked debate and wonder for centuries. Most traditions emphasize that God alone brought the universe into being,...
The Jewish mystical tradition certainly does. It paints a fascinating, and sometimes even controversial, picture of Adam as both the first and the last of God's creations. Now, we ...
The Torah gives us a beautiful, evocative image: "Such is the story of heaven and earth when they were created. When the Lord God made earth and heaven—when no shrub of the field w...
Jewish tradition offers a fascinating, almost dizzying glimpse into that unimaginable period. We know that on each of the first five days of Creation, God brought forth a multitude...
There's a story about that. It's a bittersweet tale, really, about beginnings and forgetting, and it goes something like this... Imagine a circle. Not just any circle, but a celest...
Jewish mystical tradition offers a stunning image: a ceaseless cycle of angelic creation, service, and dissolution, all fueled by a river of fire. Not just any fire, but the Rigyon...
Jewish tradition has a fascinating, almost cosmic answer: Adam. It all starts with the creation of Adam. We’re told that after God formed him, He showed Adam something incredible: ...
Jewish tradition offers a beautiful, mystical answer: the Guf, the Treasury of Souls. Also known as the Chamber of Creation, it’s the ultimate waiting room. Imagine a place brimmin...
Jewish tradition, particularly Kabbalah, offers some fascinating and intricate possibilities. It's not just about heaven or hell, but a whole cycle of transformation and, sometimes...
We all know the story: Abraham, tested by God, is commanded to sacrifice his beloved son. But what happened to Isaac in those heart-stopping moments? The familiar Genesis account l...
For Elijah, the prophet, and his devoted disciple Elisha, it was reality. Our story begins as the Lord is about to take Elijah up to heaven. Elijah and Elisha are journeying from G...
It's about four great sages who dared to enter Pardes – Paradise. The implications of this seemingly simple story have echoed through Jewish mysticism for centuries. Who were these...
Kafka’s parable, "Before the Law," from his novel The Trial, speaks to that feeling in a way that few stories can. It's a tale that resonates deeply, and while it's often interpret...
Jewish tradition hints at such possibilities, particularly through the mystical exploration of the Divine Chariot, the Ma’aseh Merkavah (the Divine Chariot). Let's journey back in ...
We often think of the afterlife in terms of reward and punishment, but Jewish tradition offers a richer, more nuanced picture. It speaks of palaces in heaven, shimmering with light...
