Suffering in Jewish Mythology

43 myths · Page 2 of 2

Myths, legends, and mystical writings about Suffering from across Jewish tradition.
Myth 4 min

Mattia Walked to Ludia for Four Atonements

Rabbi Mattia ben Charash arrived with four questions, not one. His throat was dry from the road. He would not drink until Elazar ben Hakappar named the first.

AtonementTeshuvahYom KippurSufferingMekhiltaMattiaRepentance
Parshat Ki Tisa 5 min

Moses Begged to See Why the Righteous Suffer

A king struck his wife, and her father demanded to know why. The king sent back five sealed letters. The fifth one named what she had done.

MosesMercySufferingAaronAttributes
Myth 5 min

Elijah Wore Rabbi Hiyya's Face to Heal Judah HaNasi's Tooth

Thirteen years a toothache gnaws Rabbi Judah HaNasi in Sepphoris. While he suffers, no beast dies and no womb fails. Then Elijah comes wearing another face.

ElijahJudah HanasiSepphorisToothacheSufferingHiyyaRighteousPain
Myth 4 min

Flies Ate Job While Heaven Kept the Wager Open

A lost Book of Delicacies left one line that still stings. Flies consumed Job. On the ash heap the righteous man learned dew on a harvest does not cancel trial.

JobFliesSufferingTorahAmosAsh HeapWager
Myth 5 min

Akiva Swept the Floor of a Forgotten Student

A student lay sick in a corner while the house stepped around him. Akiva walked in, and care returned. At Eliezer's bed he named suffering as a gift that turns.

Rabbi AkivaVisiting SickSufferingCompassionStudentsAkivaSicknessChesedMealDisciplineCare
Myth 5 min

Beloved Are Sufferings Spoken at the Sickbed

Tarfon called the dying master more precious than the sun. Elazar called him dearer than father and mother. Akiva spoke next, and the sick man sat up.

AkivaSufferingManassehBen SiraTorahEliezerTarfonSicknessMekhiltaSagesAffliction
Myth 5 min

The King Who Healed His Servant's Sore Foot

A king orders a physician to heal his servant's foot, and the midrash names that order as the shape of love's affliction for Israel.

SufferingMercyRewardPharaohRepentance
Myth 6 min

Akiva Smiled While Eliezer Lay Dying

The room smelled of vinegar cloths and a lamp burned too long. Everyone around Eliezer's bed was weeping. One face in the circle looked almost glad.

AkivaEliezerAfterlifeGehinnomMeirSuffering
Myth 6 min

Job Gave the Accuser a Piece of Burnt Bread

Job locked his gate against the Accuser, then sent burnt bread. The servant swapped it. Satan took the threat home to Job's flesh and his wife's hair.

JobHa SatanDemonsDivine JusticeSuffering
Myth 5 min

Jobab Hears His Name and Breaks the False God

At night Jobab hears a voice name the idol a lie, then rises as king to smash it while the Accuser sharpens his case.

JobHa SatanIdolatryKingshipSuffering
Myth 6 min

Satan May Wound Job But Not Spill His Soul

Heaven lets the Accuser bruise Job from crown to sole, yet seals his soul. Job scrapes ash with a potsherd and will not curse.

JobHa SatanSufferingSoulEdom
Myth 5 min

Job Kicks the Rod and David Asks for the Strap

Four men were handed the same rod. Abraham was played with until God said enough. Hezekiah pressed his face to the wall and got fifteen years.

JobAbrahamHezekiahDavidSufferingDisciplinePrayerAtonement
Myth 6 min

The Soul Demanded an Accounting and the Intellect Asked What a Lack Is

She came carrying everything she had watched go wrong and demanded an accounting. The Intellect refused to comfort her and asked about lack.

SoulRamchalDivine ProvidenceSufferingConcealmentKabbalah