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Today, let's look at a fascinating little puzzle found in Sifrei Bamidbar, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Numbers. The verse we're looking at begins with a se...
The very first verse throws us a curveball: "These are the words which Moses spoke..." (Deuteronomy 1:1). Seems simple enough. But wait a minute. Didn't Moses write the entire Tora...
We often picture him as this towering, almost superhuman figure, but behind the miracles and the commandments, there was a real person grappling with a monumental task. And sometim...
It's all about perspective, and how a seemingly simple place can hold layers upon layers of potential, depending on where you're standing. R. Shimon b. Yochai, a towering figure in...
Here, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, a towering figure in Jewish mysticism – tradition ascribes the authorship of the Zohar to him – uses a powerful analogy to illustrate our relationshi...
Sometimes, those little asides open up a whole world of understanding. Take this one, from Sifrei Devarim 43, connected to the verse "And I shall give grass in your field to your b...
The Sifrei Devarim, a crucial text in Jewish tradition, offers a fascinating glimpse into this very question. It quotes the verse from Deuteronomy, instructing us "to do what is ju...
And it seems our ancestors grappled with it too. to a little piece of wisdom from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretations connected to the Book of Deuteronomy. This p...
The ancient texts of Judaism, particularly the Sifrei Devarim, a legal commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, delve into such weighty matters with surprising precision. Take the ac...
That tension, that very human struggle, is right at the heart of this little passage from Sifrei Devarim. It opens with a seemingly straightforward phrase: "that the L-rd your G-d ...
The book of Sifrei Devarim, a commentary on Deuteronomy, touches on this very idea. It connects our wholeness, our completeness, directly to our relationship with God. It says, "Wh...
Jewish law grapples with this all the time, especially when it comes to witnesses and oaths. And sometimes, the logic gets beautifully intricate. to one such discussion from Sifrei...
It's more complex and nuanced than you might think. We often hear about it as a straightforward principle: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. But what happens when the scales ...
to an ancient text, Sifrei Devarim, specifically section 200, to unpack some fascinating, and frankly, challenging ideas about war, peace, and dealing with "the other." This partic...
The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early rabbinic legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, offers a powerful, almost startlingly simple answer. It connects sin not just t...
The verse in (Deuteronomy 23:18) states, "There shall be no harlot from the daughters of Israel, and there shall be no harlot from the sons of Israel." Seems straightforward. But, ...
Let’s talk about lending money, but with a twist – a Jewish perspective that’s surprisingly relevant today. The book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), the last of the five books of Moses, ...
It’s like those Russian nesting dolls, each layer revealing something new. Let's peel back some layers from the book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, specifically from the collection known...
The Torah, in its infinite wisdom, grapples with this very feeling, especially when it comes to the vulnerable in our society. In the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), we find a seemi...
Our tradition is incredibly sensitive to that, especially when it comes to those who are vulnerable. to a powerful teaching from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretatio...
Jewish law, as you might expect, has thoughts. Deep thoughts. And they’re tucked away in some fascinating corners of our sacred texts. Today, let's dig into Sifrei Devarim, specifi...
There’s a powerful idea tucked away in Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early rabbinic legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, that suggests the answer is a resounding "ye...
Like maybe you're getting a little... complacent? Jewish tradition has a way of reminding us that even in times of plenty, we need to stay vigilant. There's a fascinating little pa...
This question sits at the heart of a beautiful passage from Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)im on the Book of Deuteronomy. It revolv...
There's a passage in Sifrei Devarim 344 that speaks to this very idea. It's connected to (Deuteronomy 33:3), which refers to "the law of fire." But what does "the law of fire" even...
JOSEPH B. JOḤANAN OF JERUSALEM SAID: LET YOUR HOUSE BE OPENED WIDE, AND LET THE POOR BE MEMBERS OF YOUR HOUSEHOLD; AND TALK NOT MUCH WITH A WOMAN.LET YOUR HOUSE BE OPENED WIDE. Wha...
RABBAN JOḤANAN B. ZAKKAI RECEIVED THE TRADITION FROM HILLEL AND SHAMMAI.Hillel the Elder had eighty disciples:1Cf. the parallel passage in Suk. 28a (Sonc. ed., p. 123) and B.B. 134...
R. JOSHUA SAID: THE EVIL EYE, THE EVIL INCLINATION, AND THE HATRED OF MANKIND DRIVE A MAN OUT OF THE WORLD.THE EVIL EYE. What does this mean? It teaches that as a man regards his o...
R. SIMEON B. ELEAZAR SAID IN THE NAME OF R. MEIR: DO NOT APPEASE YOUR FELLOW IN THE TIME OF HIS ANGER; DO NOT COMFORT HIM IN THE TIME OF HIS MOURNING;1Aboth 4:23 (Sonc. ed., IV, 18...
SEVEN KINDS OF PUNISHMENT COME UPON THE WORLD FOR SEVEN CARDINAL TRANSGRESSIONS. IF SOME GIVE THEIR TITHES AND OTHERS DO NOT, THERE COMES A FAMINE THROUGH DROUGHT.1Aboth 5:11 (Sonc...
The second set of tablets in (Exodus 34:1-35) carries a weight the first set never had. These were carved by human hands, not divine ones. But the Targum Jonathan adds something to...
Leviticus 20 prescribes death penalties for violations listed in the previous chapter. The Targum Jonathan specifies four distinct methods of execution that the Hebrew Bible leaves...
Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses. The Hebrew Bible is vague about why. The Targum Jonathan fills in the backstory with a Cushite queen, a celibate prophet, and a divine rebuke tha...
The Targum Jonathan on (Deuteronomy 5) does something extraordinary with the Ten Commandments. Where the Hebrew gives each commandment as a prohibition, the Targum expands every si...
The Song of Moses in (Deuteronomy 32) is the Torah's great poem. Targum Jonathan wraps it in an elaborate theological commentary that dwarfs the original. It opens with Moses choos...
[What about all] the praise of Joseph, who exceeded in the honor of his father? And yet he did not enter into him all the time, such that were it not that they came to tell him, "Y...
The people of Judea were precise with their language. The people of Galilee were not. According to Eruvin 53a, this difference was not a minor cultural quirk—it had real consequenc...
Beruria—wife of Rabbi Meir, and one of the only women cited as a legal authority in the Talmud—was famous for her sharp tongue and sharper mind. According to Eruvin 53b, she once c...
Berurya, one of the sharpest minds in all of Talmudic literature, once caught a student studying Torah in a whisper. She kicked him and said: Scripture teaches that Torah must be "...
The Talmud in Tractate Eruvin asks a strange question: why is the Torah compared to a deer? The answer: a deer's womb is narrow. Every time the deer mates, it is as cherished as th...
The Hebrew Bible opens with "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). Targum Onkelos, the authoritative Aramaic translation read alongside the Torah ...
The Hebrew Bible says God established a covenant with Noah, setting the rainbow as its sign (Genesis 9:12-17). Targum Onkelos renders every instance of "between Me and you" as "bet...
The Hebrew Bible says Jacob "wrestled a man" until dawn (Genesis 32:25). Targum Onkelos stays with the Hebrew here—it was "a man," not an angel, not a demon, not a divine being. Bu...
The Hebrew Bible commands: "Hear, O Israel! God is our Lord, God is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4). Targum Onkelos translates the Shema—Judaism's central declaration of faith—with perfect ...
The Hebrew Bible begins with "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). Targum Neofiti, the Palestinian Aramaic translation, opens with something gran...
Kleopatra asks Rabbi Meir whether the dead rise in their clothes. The reply was “In their clothes. The wheat, when sown grows with the cover (husks) on, and how much more should th...
Of all those who comforted R. Johanan b. Zakkai on the death of his son, Elazar b. Arach was pre-eminent; he said, “Thou hast but restored in a perfect condition that which was ent...
A Greek bought a young Jewish girl as a slave. He brought her up in his house. When she grew up, the Master of Dreams ordered him to send her away,. Threatened with death in case o...
