Torah

4,111 texts · Page 145 of 457

Explore 4,111 Jewish texts related to the theme of Torah, drawn from Midrash, Kabbalah, Apocrypha, and classical Jewish literature.

Jephthah Faces Judgment and Sacrifice

Ginzberg Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg)

Let’s talk about Jephthah. You might remember him. He was one of the Judges of Israel, a military leader, a powerful figure. But he's also remembered for a vow he made, a vow that ...

Kingdom of Abdon

Ginzberg Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg)

Take Abdon, for example. He succeeded Jephthah, and just as Jephthah had the unenviable task of dealing with the Ammonites, Abdon had to face the Moabites. Imagine this: The king o...

Legend of Phinehas

Ginzberg Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg)

The Talmudic sages certainly did, wrestling with these questions in their interpretations of scripture. Take the story of Phinehas and the eleven tribes, for instance. Imagine this...

Kingdom of Samuel

Ginzberg Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg)

Like Samuel, for instance. He stands at the crossroads between the era of the Judges and the rise of the Kingdom, anointing both Saul and David as kings. But Samuel didn't just app...

Hannah's Prayer

Ginzberg Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg)

The story goes that Hannah, yearning for a child, prayed so fervently at the Temple that the High Priest Eli initially mistook her for being drunk! He rebuked her, but then, realiz...

Marriage of Peninnah

Ginzberg Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg)

It’s a powerful story of faith rewarded, but there's more to it than just that. The legends tell us that Hannah lived to see not only her son's rise to greatness, but also the down...

Eli and David

Ginzberg Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg)

Eli, as the story goes, had two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. Now, Phinehas – not to be confused with Eli's grandson of the same name – was the younger, and, well, let's just say he w...

Faith of Eli

Ginzberg Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg)

The story of Eli and his sons in the Bible is a stark reminder. It's more than just a tale; it's a cautionary legend about leadership, faith, and consequences, retold and amplified...

Samuel's Prayer and Saul

Ginzberg Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg)

It's easy to think they were simply rejecting God's rule, but the story is more nuanced than that. According to some accounts, it wasn't the desire for a leader that upset Samuel a...