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Our sages grappled with it too, and one place where they explore this idea is in Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes. The verse in ...
The passage starts with a simple statement: "wisdom is better." Better than what? Better "than instruments of battle." Kohelet Rabbah illustrates this with a remarkable tale involv...
Sometimes, the answer isn’t just in swords and shields. Sometimes, it's in something far more powerful: wisdom. Our story comes from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interp...
(Ecclesiastes 10:1) puts it bluntly: "Dead flies spoil and froth a perfumer’s oil; a little folly is weightier than wisdom, than honor." It's a powerful image, isn’t it? How someth...
It seems Kohelet Rabbah, the collection of rabbinic commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastes, thought so too. It uses that very image – "Dead flies spoil and froth a perfumer's oil" ...
It’s actually a question pondered in Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Ecclesiastes. to the fascinating ways our Sages understood the seemingl...
It's like they're walking around with a spotlight shining on everyone else but themselves. Well, Kohelet Rabbah, the rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, has some thoughts on that,...
It all starts with a verse from Ecclesiastes (10:10): “If the iron is dull, and one did not whet the edge, he must intensify his exertion; the advantage is in preparation with wisd...
A blessing, a curse, a promise kept, a promise broken... it all hangs on the power of speech. Kohelet, or Ecclesiastes, understood this deeply. In Kohelet Rabbah, a midrash (interp...
Even Moses, the great lawgiver himself, apparently had that problem! The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, a book known for its philosophical musings, contains the line, "The fool ...
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...
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 ...
"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...
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...
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...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it’s known in Hebrew, grapples with this in its final chapter. Chapter 12, verse 12, reads: "More than that, my son, be careful: Making many...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, as it’s known in Hebrew, ends with this rather stark line: "For every action God will bring to judgment, for every unknown, whether good or ev...
"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 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...
That feeling isn’t new. In fact, it echoes through one of the most powerful stories in the Torah. We all know the story of Moses. Born into slavery, hidden away, destined for great...
The Torah tells us, "His sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter: ‘Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’" (Exodus 2:7). But why specifically ...
The story goes that Moses, having slain an Egyptian taskmaster, intervenes in a quarrel between two Hebrews. And what does he get for his trouble? A stinging rebuke: "Who appointed...
It all centers around Moses, and a rather interesting agreement he makes with Jethro (also known as Yitro), his future father-in-law. Remember, Moses has just fled Egypt after, sha...
In the book of Exodus, specifically (Exodus 3:19), God tells Moses, "And I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, except by a mighty hand.” It's a pretty direct warning. ...
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 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 Torah tells us, "Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord that He had sent him, and all the signs that He had charged him" (Exodus 4:28). Seems straightforward. But Shemot Ra...
We all know the story, but Shemot Rabbah, a classic collection of midrashim (rabbinic interpretive commentary) – interpretations and expansions – on the Book of Exodus, offers a fa...
Our sages explored this very human tendency in fascinating ways, especially when looking at the stories of Solomon and Moses. Our journey begins with a verse from Exodus (6:2-3): “...
Even Moses, the great lawgiver, felt that way. Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, offers us a fascinating glimpse into a moment where Mo...
Shemot Rabbah, a classic midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) compilation – a collection of interpretations and expansions on the Book of Exodus (Shemot in Hebrew) – gives ...
Jewish tradition has some pretty strong opinions on that. And, spoiler alert: it doesn't end well. Shemot Rabbah, a classic collection of Midrash (interpretive stories) on the Book...
His reaction to Moses and Aaron's miracles in Egypt, as described in Shemot Rabbah, is a masterclass in insecure overcompensation. We all know the story: Moses and Aaron come befor...
The ancient Rabbis certainly thought about that feeling, and they found it in a surprising place: the showdown between Moses and Pharaoh's magicians. The verse in (Exodus 7:12) tel...
It's easy to see them as simply divine punishments, but Jewish tradition often delves deeper, searching for layers of meaning and nuance. Let's look at the plague of darkness, as e...
It begins with the verse, "This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2), spoken to Moses and Aaron. Why them? The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) asks, why did God speak t...
Jewish tradition is rich with answers to these questions, and Shemot Rabbah, a classical Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) text, offers a fascinating glimpse into the Di...
It starts with the verse "This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2), which marks the beginning of the Hebrew month of Nissan, the month of Passover, the month of our freedom. But ...
The verse we're looking at is (Exodus 12:21): “Moses called all the elders of Israel, and said to them: Draw, and take for yourselves lambs for your families, and slaughter the pas...
The verse "Draw, and take for yourselves lambs" (Exodus 12:21) might seem straightforward, but the Rabbis saw layers of meaning. They connect it to the verse "With stillness and pl...
That's the scene we find ourselves in, in this passage from Shemot Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. We're talking about the tenth plague, th...
The Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) thought Pharaoh knew exactly how that felt when he finally let the Israelites leave Egypt. Shemot Rabbah, a compilation...
We all know about the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea... but there's a smaller, more personal story woven into the grand narrative of the Exodus. It's a story of loyalty, promi...
Jewish tradition recognizes that very tension within us, and even within the relationship between God and Israel. Shemot Rabbah, a classic midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commenta...
It all starts with the verse, "Then Moses…sang" (Exodus 15:1). The Rabbis connect this to (Proverbs 31:26), "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her...
The ancient rabbis felt that way too, and they found profound hope in the story of the Exodus. In Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, we ...
Take the story of the war against Amalek in (Exodus 17:9). Moses tells Joshua, "Choose men for us and go out and wage war with Amalek; tomorrow I will be standing on top of the hil...
