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Kohelet Rabbah, a Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastes, tackles this idea head-on with the verse: "If the spirit of the ruler comes u...
Take the verse from Ecclesiastes (10:8): “One who digs a pit will fall into it; and one who breaches a fence, a serpent will bite him.” It's a powerful image. But what does it real...
It’s a book known for its wisdom, but sometimes couched in rather…opaque language. Take this verse from (Ecclesiastes 10:9): "One who transports stones will be saddened by them; an...
Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, grapples with this very question, using the famous story of King Solomon and the two mothers t...
On the surface, that sounds like a recipe for a pretty good Friday night. But let’s dig a little deeper, guided by the wisdom of Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpreta...
Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, delves into this very human experience, urging us to be mindful of our thoughts and words, esp...
Today, we’re diving into a passage from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Ecclesiastes, that explores this very idea through the verse: “Cast ...
"Distribute a portion to seven, and also to eight, as you do not know what evil will be upon the earth" (Ecclesiastes 11:2). Simple enough. But what does it mean? That’s where Kohe...
"If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the land," it says, "and if the tree falls in the south, or in the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it sh...
They found wisdom in the most unexpected of places: a farmer's field. The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, as it's known in Hebrew, offers some surprisingly practical advice tucke...
Uplifting, even. The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as we know it in Hebrew, captures this feeling perfectly: "The light is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to behold the sun."...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet in Hebrew, grapples with these very questions. And the rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), in Kohelet Rabbah, offer a fas...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, wrestles with that very idea. It's a book of wisdom, attributed to King Solomon, but some of its verses have sparked d...
The rabbis of old, in their infinite wisdom, dove deep into its poetic verses, finding layers of meaning we might miss today. We're looking at Kohelet Rabbah, a rabbinic commentary...
The Rabbis in Kohelet Rabbah delve deep into this verse, unpacking its layers of meaning. Rabbi Pinḥas and Rabbi Ḥilkiya, in the name of Rabbi Simon, pose a crucial question: When ...
It wasn't just about accumulating knowledge, but about understanding the very essence of reward, redemption, and the mysteries of the universe. The verse from Ecclesiastes (12:9-10...
It all starts with a verse from Ecclesiastes (12:11): "The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails well fastened are the collectors of wisdom; they are given from one shep...
Not just the biblical Ruth, but the Ruth we meet in the rabbinic imagination – a figure so compelling that her story continues to resonate with us centuries later. We all know the ...
"These are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; each came with his household" – that’s how the Book of Exodus begins. But what does that have to do wit...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. They saw layers of meaning, hidden connections, and prophecies woven into the very fabric of the Torah. Take the beginning of the Book of Exodus, ...
The Book of Exodus opens with a simple statement: "Joseph died, along with all his brothers and that entire generation" (Exodus 1:6). But this seemingly straightforward sentence ho...
"He said to his people: Behold, the nation of the children of Israel is more numerous and mighty than us" (Exodus 1:9). This is Pharaoh, setting the stage for oppression. But Shemo...
The Book of Exodus, or Shemot in Hebrew, is the ultimate story of resilience. It begins not with triumph, but with oppression. And even in the darkest moments, we find glimmers of ...
Our story begins in ancient Egypt, where the Israelites are flourishing, a little too flourishing for the liking of the Pharaoh. He sees their growing numbers as a threat, and so, ...
The Torah tells us that Pharaoh, increasingly paranoid about the growing Israelite population, ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill all newborn baby boys (Exodus 1:16). But the midw...
Take this one from (Exodus 2:6), describing Pharaoh’s daughter discovering the infant Moses adrift in the Nile: "She opened it and saw the child [yeled], and behold, a boy [na’ar] ...
It’s a story filled with palace intrigue, near-fatal tests, and a touch of divine intervention. We all know the basics: baby Moses in a basket, found by Pharaoh's daughter. But She...
The ancient rabbis certainly understood that feeling. In the book of Exodus, we read, “It was during those many days that the king of Egypt died and the children of Israel sighed d...
To one, from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. The verse we're looking at is simple, yet profound: “God saw the children of Israel, and...
Our story begins, as so many do, in the book of Exodus. "Moses was herding the flock of his father-in-law Yitro, the priest of Midyan, and he led the flock into the wilderness, and...
Where is God, exactly? Is He up in the heavens, completely removed from our earthly struggles? Or is He still somehow… here? The book of Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic int...
It might seem like just a simple Hebrew word meaning "was," but in the world of Jewish thought, it can unlock hidden meanings, destinies, and connections. Shemot Rabbah, a collecti...
“An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed” (Exodus 3:2). ...
In the story of Moses, that moment is captured in a single, powerful scene – the burning bush. The book of Exodus tells us (3:3) that Moses said, "I will turn now, and see this gre...
Our story begins in (Exodus 3:7): “The Lord said: I have seen My people’s affliction that is in Egypt, and I have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, as I know their p...
That's the situation Moses found himself in. In (Exodus 3:11), Moses cries out to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should take the children of Israel out of ...
In the Book of Exodus, we find Moses at the burning bush, tasked with the monumental mission of freeing the Israelites from slavery. He's understandably apprehensive. It’s a daunti...
The passage we're looking at begins with God instructing Moses: "Go and gather the elders of Israel, and say to them: The Lord, the God of your fathers, God of Abraham, of Isaac, a...
The ancient rabbis saw that struggle playing out in the life of Moses, as he stood on the cusp of his world-changing mission. The book of Exodus (4:18) tells us, "Moses went and re...
The book of Shmot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, offers a fascinating perspective on this very idea, focusing on Moses, Jethro (Yitro in He...
Even some of the biggest figures in Jewish history felt that way. Shemot Rabbah, a classic collection of Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) interpretations on the Book of...
To one of those fascinating in-between moments, found in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. The text focuses on a seemingly simple phras...
The Torah touches on this very human act in some surprising ways. We find a fascinating exploration of brotherly love, and the significance of a kiss, in Shemot Rabbah, a collectio...
A seemingly insignificant phrase can carry immense weight, altering the course of destiny. to a curious observation from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on ...
The verse says, "The Lord said to Moses in Midyan: Go, return to Egypt; as all the men who sought your life are dead" (Exodus 4:19). Simple enough. But the Rabbis of the Midrash (r...
(Exodus 4:20) tells us, "Moses took his wife and his sons, and mounted them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. Moses took the staff of God in his hand." Simple enou...
The book of Exodus tells us that God spoke, but the how… that’s where the Jewish tradition gets truly wondrous. Our exploration starts with a seemingly simple verse: “The Lord said...
The ancient Jewish texts delve into this very idea, and one particular passage in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, offers a powerful i...
