Women of the Bible

1,227 texts · Page 21 of 26

The women who shaped Jewish history and legend: Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Tamar, Hagar, Zipporah, and the unsung heroines of Torah and Midrash.

How Much the Ishmaelites Paid for Joseph

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We often focus on the main narrative, but Jewish tradition is rich with interpretations that fill in the gaps, offering deeper insights into the characters and their motivations. L...

Judah — Death of Jacob

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The Torah tells us, "All his sons and all his daughters arose to console him, but he refused to be consoled; he said: For I will descend mourning to the grave, to my son. His fathe...

Why Judah's Story Interrupts the Joseph Narrative

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You're reading one story, and suddenly – BAM! – we're in a completely different time or place. It can feel a little jarring. Well, the ancient Rabbis noticed this too, and they dov...

Marriage of Judah

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to a passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, and unpack some of the ideas around yibum, or levirate marriage. The story begin...

Judah's Grief and the Days of Mourning at Timna

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The Torah certainly understands that feeling. Take this little phrase we find in (Genesis 38:12): "The days accumulated…" Sounds innocuous. But in Bereshit Rabbah, the classic coll...

Covenant of Tamar

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She was a widow, promised to Judah's youngest son, Shelah. But Shelah was growing up, and Judah just… wasn't making good on his promise. He was worried, see, because Tamar's first ...

Why Judah Mistook His Own Daughter-in-Law for a Harlot

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The verse in question is from (Genesis 38:15): “Judah saw her and thought her to be a harlot, because she covered her face.” What's so significant about this seemingly simple obser...

How Judah and Tamar's Union Led to Kingship

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We're looking at Chapter 85, which tackles the complex story of Judah and Tamar. Remember the story? Judah, grieving the loss of his wife, encounters Tamar, disguised as a prostitu...

Judah — Shem at the Dawn of Creation

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That’s exactly what happens when we delve into the story of Tamar and Judah in Genesis 38. It's a tale filled with deception, bravery, and some pretty intense family drama. Today, ...

Tamar's Three Tokens That Exposed Judah's Shame

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The story of Judah and Tamar, found in Genesis 38, is a powerful exploration of just that. And the Rabbis, in their infinite wisdom, unpack the layers of this narrative in Bereshit...

Righteousness of Judah

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Sometimes, it takes more than human testimony. Sometimes, it requires a little…divine intervention. Our story begins with Judah, of the tribe of Judah, and Tamar, his daughter-in-l...

Birth of Perez

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It's amazing what you can find when you start digging! Take the story of Tamar giving birth to twins, Perez and Zerah (Genesis 38:27-30). Did you know that even the way the word "t...

Kingdom of Peretz

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to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, and see just how much we can uncover. We're looking at (Genesis 38:2...

Potiphar in Battle

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We all know the story: Joseph, sold into slavery in Egypt. But the Rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah (86) ask us to consider this: "“[Potiphar…an Egyptian man,] purchased him [from the Ish...

Legend of Joseph

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Our story comes from Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 87. Bereshit Rabbah is a midrash, a collection of rabbinic interpretations and expansions on the Book of Genesis. It's wh...

Joseph and Mordechai Resist Temptation Day by Day

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Specifically, we're looking at section 87, which draws a striking parallel between Joseph and Mordechai. The verse in question is (Genesis 39:10), describing Joseph's unwavering re...

What Potiphar Really Knew About His Wife's Lie

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We all know the story: Potiphar's wife tries to seduce Joseph, he resists, and then, scorned, she falsely accuses him, leading to his imprisonment. But the ancient rabbis, never on...

The Vine in the Butler's Dream and Israel's Future

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The Torah is brimming with them, and Jewish tradition loves to unpack their layers of meaning. Take the dream of the chief butler in the Joseph story. In (Genesis 40:9), he recount...

Joseph and Creation of Judah

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We find ourselves in (Genesis 44:16), with Judah facing Joseph – though he doesn’t yet know it's Joseph – after the infamous silver goblet is found in Benjamin's sack. His desperat...

Was Judah's Approach War, Prayer, or Diplomacy

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Our guide? None other than Bereshit Rabbah 93, a treasure trove of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis. Specifically, we're looking at the moment Judah "approached" (va...

Why Jacob Crossed His Hands to Bless Ephraim First

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The Torah tells us, "Joseph saw that his father was placing his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, and it displeased him; he supported his father’s hand, to remove it from the he...

Did Jacob Reveal the End of Days to His Sons

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The Torah tells us, "Jacob called to his sons, and he said: Gather, and I will tell you what will befall you at the end of days. Assemble and hear, sons of Jacob, and listen to Isr...

Simeon and Levi's Weapons of Villainy Unpacked

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The story starts with a quote from (Genesis 49:5): "Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of villainy are their heritage." But what does it really mean? Bereshit Rabbah, an ancient...

Joseph and Creation of Rabbis

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It's (Genesis 49:9): “Judah is a lion cub; from prey, my son, you ascended. He crouches, lies like a lion, and like a great cat, who shall rouse him?” Right away, the image of a li...

The Tribes of Reuben and Gad Settle East of Jordan

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The story begins with the tribes of Reuben and Gad. As Israel was in the process of conquering and dividing the land, these tribes, as the midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary...

Naphtali at the Dawn of Creation

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First, "Naphtali is a doe let loose [sheluḥa]." The Rabbis connect this to the land of Naphtali being full of irrigated fields [beit hashelaḥin]. They point to (Deuteronomy 3:17), ...

Why Judah Trembled Before His Father's Blessing

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It all goes back to Jacob's blessings to his sons on his deathbed, a scene fraught with emotion and anticipation. And within that scene, the blessing to Judah stands out, packed wi...

Lakish — From Nothing to Everything

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Take mourning rituals, for example. The familiar seven-day period of intense mourning, the shivah. Where did that come from? The Rabbis of old grappled with this very question. "Th...

Moses Pleads With God and the Art of Prayer

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It all starts with Moses, and his famous plea, "I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying..." (Deuteronomy 3:23). The Rabbis of old, in their wisdom, saw this verse as a springb...

Sometimes Listening to Others Leads You Astray

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We’re often told to be good listeners, to value the opinions of those around us. But what happens when those opinions lead us astray? Or, conversely, what if listening to someone –...

Sending Away the Mother Bird Before Taking Her Eggs

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And sometimes, in the most unexpected places, it even offers us ways to protect ourselves. Take, for example, the seemingly simple mitzvah (commandment) of sending away the mother ...

Miriam's Transgression

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They’re more than just tales; they're lenses through which we understand ourselves and the world. Today, let’s peer through one of those lenses, focusing on the biblical figure of ...

Miriam and the Lawgiver

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Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homiletic teachings on the book of Deuteronomy, tackles this very issue head-on, using a powerful verse from Psalms: “You sit and speak against your...

When Words Can Physically Harm Another Person

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We all have. But what if those words had far more power than we imagined? What if they could actually… physically harm us? Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings and in...

The Poisonous Snake and the Power of Slander

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In Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, we find a powerful exploration of this very feeling, wrapped in a story about snakes and the proph...

Faith of Miriam

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Let's look at Miriam, a pivotal figure in the Exodus narrative. : she was celebrated as a prophetess, a leader, a woman of immense faith. The book of Exodus (15:20) tells us, “Miri...

Moses's Transgression of Miriam

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The story revolves around Miriam's affliction with tzara'at, often translated as leprosy, after she and Aaron speak critically of Moses. When Moses witnesses his sister's suffering...

Miriam in Heaven

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The Jewish tradition certainly does. In fact, it links our speech directly to our relationship with the Divine. Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homilies on the Book of Deuteronomy,...

How Abraham and Moses Read Torah to the People

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Take reading from the Torah, for example. The verse we're looking at is from (Deuteronomy 29:2): "Moses summoned all Israel, and he said to them: You have seen everything that the ...

Elijah — Adam and Eve in Eden

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The sun rises, the seasons turn... it all seems so fixed, so unchangeable. But is it, really? Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the book of Ecclesiastes, ...

A Fool's Voice Brings Nightmares Upon Himself

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In fact, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Kohelet Rabbah, connects them to something much deeper: the consequences of our actions and, specifically, our...

Better Not to Vow Than to Vow and Not Pay

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It’s a topic explored further in the rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, Kohelet Rabbah, and it's a fascinating, and frankly, a little scary. The verse in question is (Ecclesiaste...

The Terrifying Power and Hidden Danger of Words We Speak

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We all have. But in Jewish tradition, the words we speak – and the intentions behind them – carry immense weight. Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Bo...

When the Smallest Creature Serves God's Purpose

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The ancient Rabbis certainly did. In Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, we find a series of stories, almost like little parables,...

Eli Before the King

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The Book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, certainly grapples with this very human feeling. And within Kohelet Rabbah, the rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, w...

A Good Name Travels Farther Than the Ark of God

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Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, a prominent figure in the Zohar (the foundational text of Jewish mysticism), puts it this way: a good name is more beloved than the Ark of the Covenant itse...

Which Name Matters Most According to the Sages

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The book of Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, dives right into this question, offering a perspective that might just flip your e...

When God Created of Adam

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We often think of God as this distant, powerful being, but Jewish tradition paints a much more intimate picture. It suggests that God is actively involved in our lives, even in the...