Questions tagged [midrash]
Exegetical interpretation, often of verses in Tanach. The term also refers to books based on these interpretations, e.g., Midrash Rabba, Midrash Tanchuma, et al.
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Does the Midrash say we have guardian angels?
The Midrash quotes Rabbi Hama on the story where Jacob wrestled an angel but, not just any ordinary angel, but the guardian of Esau. Needless to say, Maimonides, I think said it was a symbolic ...
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Why did Hashem change Adam’s creation specifically because Chiram declared himself a god?
Bava Basra 75a-b (translation mine, bracketed insertions follow Rashbam ad. loc.):
מאי (יחזקאל כח, יג) מלאכת תופיך ונקביך בך אמר רב יהודה אמר רב אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא לחירם מלך צור בך נסתכלתי ...
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Three things being handed over Tablets, Torah and the Mitzvah?
HaShem tells Moshe (Shemot 24:12):
וְאֶתְּנָה לְךָ אֶת־לֻחֹת הָאֶבֶן וְהַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוָה אֲשֶׁר כָּתַבְתִּי לְהוֹרֹתָם -
And I will give thee the tables of stone, and the Torah and the ...
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Do we apply עושה מעשה עמך consistently anywhere it says עמך?
The Gemara in several places (BM 48b and 62a, Yevamos 22b, Sanhedrin 85a, BB 4a, BK 94b, Makkos 8b) quotes the exposition
ונשיא בעמך לא תאור - בעושה מעשה עמך
“A prince in your people you shall ...
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How could Yocheved be conceived
Rashi brings the Midrash that Yocheved was born as Yaakov's family arrived in Egypt. They had to migrate due to the devastating famine.
Now, Rashi earlier points out that we learn from Yosef that it'...
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What literally was the mark of Cain?
וַיֹּ֧אמֶר ל֣וֹ יְהוָ֗ה לָכֵן֙ כָּל־הֹרֵ֣ג קַ֔יִן שִׁבְעָתַ֖יִם יֻקָּ֑ם וַיָּ֨שֶׂם יְהוָ֤ה לְקַ֙יִן֙ א֔וֹת לְבִלְתִּ֥י הַכּוֹת־אֹת֖וֹ כָּל־מֹצְאֽוֹ׃
(Genesis 4:15)
What literally was the mark of Cain?...
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What was Chazal's understanding of the cause and purpose of menstruation?
Is there a Jewish midrash, kabala, chasiddut or commentary addressing Chazal's understanding of the cause and purpose of menstruation?
Not just that is it a curse, that blood comes out, but with more ...
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Why "your hand" is spelled ידכה instead of ידך?
In שמות יג:טז:
"וְהָיָה לְאוֹת עַל־יָדְכָה וּלְטוֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ כִּי בְּחֹזֶק יָד הוֹצִיאָנוּ יְהוָה מִמִּצְרָיִם׃"
the word ידכה is used. Why is it not spelled ידך?
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Where in the midrash does it state that David told Yisrael that not everyone will be Torah scholars?
I read a reference to this in Eim Habanim Semeichah, ch. 3,לג (though later editions give R’ Yonatan Eybeschutz’s Ahavat Yonatan here as the source; indeed same phraseology), but there's no source ...
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Order of events in parashas Bereishis
BH
I am having a lot of trouble understanding the order of the following events:
The creation of Man
The births of Cain and Hevel
The death of Hevel
The snake
Eating from the ...
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The Vav of Veahavta in the first perek of Shema
What are the explanations of the Vav of Veahavta in the Shema as it comes to add something?
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Bereshit 46:10, Shaul the son of a Cannanite Woman
Bereshit 46:10:
וּבְנֵ֣י שִׁמְע֗וֹן יְמוּאֵ֧ל וְיָמִ֛ין וְאֹ֖הַד וְיָכִ֣ין וְצֹ֑חַר
וְשָׁא֖וּל בֶּן־הַֽכְּנַעֲנִֽית׃
Simeon’s sons: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Saul the son
of ...
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What happened to Noah's slaves?
According to such commentators or midrashim as say that Noah had slaves that joined him on the ark[1], what happened to them? That is: We hear a lot in the immediately succeeding chapters of Genesis (...
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Reconciling Seder Olam’s account of Ever’s death with the Pesukim
Seder Olam Rabbah 2 says that Ever died when Yaakov left his Yeshiva for Charan.
In the previous portions of this paragraph, the Midrash said that Yaakov was 63 when he got the Berachos, and he ...
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Does Midrash HaGadol actually say this?
Footnote 35 on page 395 of William Braude's English translation of Pesikta d'Rav Kahana says, "See MhG Gen., p. 880, where an anonymous teaching characterizes all prophecies predicting redemption as ...
user18253
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Sources for receiving blessing through Mitzvot
I am searching for sources for the concept that a Jew keeping the Mitzvot will ultimately bring blessing to / not keeping the Mitzvot will bring destruction to:
A) himself/herself
B) the Jewish ...
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Tradition-Based Depictions of the Third Temple
Are there any artistic depictions of the third Temple and/or future Jerusalem, available online, that are rooted in traditional descriptions, such as Ezekiel 40-47 and related midrashim?
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Source for Midrash on 8 Stages of Life
Posting for a friend:
"Where is the medrash that describes the eight stages of life? I think it refers to the first stage of infancy as being like a king.
Thank you!"
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Anyone not redeemed doesn't redeem: what about second-borns?
A father is required to redeem his firstborn son by paying some money to a kohen. A mother is not. The Bavli, Kidushin 29 amud 1, asks, "How do we know she's not commanded?" and answers:
[In the ...
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Why does Rashi specifically tell us his interpretation method on 3:8?
In Bereishis 3:8, Rashi makes the following comment about his method of interpretation:
וישמעו. יֵשׁ מִדְרְשֵׁי אַגָּדָה רַבִּים וּכְבָר סִדְּרוּם רַבּוֹתֵינוּ עַל מְכוֹנָם בִּבְ"רַ וּבִשְׁאָר ...
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Were Midrashim and Aggadeta transmitted to Moshe on Sinai like the Halachic Torah She'be'al Peh?
The halachic part of the Torah She'be'al Peh was transmitted to Moshe on Sinai along with the written Torah (or in the Ohel Moed afterward).
Sifra:
How is Shemitta relevant to Mount Sinai? Were ...
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Rashi's reason for juxtaposition of mitzvos insufficient
The Torah (Deuteronomy 22:6-11) describes 5 mitzvos consecutively, seemingly in random order (although the last three are indeed connected):
Sending away the mother bird
Building a fence on your roof
...
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מפני שיבה תקום - How standing up means honoring?
This question is not about the cultural norms, but about the Tanachic sources for that.
The Gemmorah in Kiddushin 32b discusses the subject of honoring the elders. It questions the definition of an ...
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How are we supposed to interpret "Derech eretz kadma l'Torah"?
I'm having a lot of trouble understanding how we should interpret the pseudo-midrash "דרך ארץ קדמה לתורה", ~~ "Derech eretz should come before Torah."
The actual text of the ...
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Can the Midrash be included in "Talmud Yerushalmi"
When saying or writing "Talmud Yerushalmi" can this include (or refer to) the Midrash
For example.
In the Tanya (Chabad) chapter 37 it says
ובכל תלמוד ירושלמי היא נקראת בשם מצוה סתם
But it was ...
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Gad and Reuven exiled eight years before everyone else
Bamidbar Rabbah 22:7, Eichah Rabbah Pesikta 5, Midrash Tanchumah Mattos 4, Tanchumah Yashan Mattos 8 all point out that the tribes of Gad and Reuven, because they chose to live outside the land of ...
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How does Hashem relate to the bitachon (faith) of a wicked person?
Chovos Halevavos - Shaar Habitachon Chapter 3 - חובות הלבבות שער הביטחון פרק שלישי
מי שיבטח על הבורא והוא ממרה אותו, כמה הוא סכל וכמה דעתו חלושה והכרתו! כי הוא רואה כי מי שנתמנה לו מבני אדם על דבר, ...
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Did Aaron have daughters?
We are reading this Shabat parshat Pinchas. In this parsha the Torah mentioned the daughters of Tzelofchad as follows:
וצלפחד בן חפר לא היו לו בנים כי אם בנות ושם בנות צלפחד מחלה ונעה חגלה
מלכה ...
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Why miracle of no blood dripping on Pinchas, if Zimri and Kozbi were still still alive?
The Midrashim [Bamidbar] Rabbah and Tanchumah, and the Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel write that When Pinchas killed zimri and Kozbi many miracles took place.
Two of the miracles are listed as follows:
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Where is there a rabbinical discussion or a mentioned in the TaNaKH about ethnic designation to mean "white" or "white person" or non-black person?
Where is there a rabbinical discussion or a mentioned in the TaNaKH about ethnic designation to mean "white" or "white person" or non-black person?
I am aware that there is an ethnic designation in ...
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Can an angel perform multiple agencies?
Bereishis Rabbah 50:2 states that one angel cannot perform multiple tasks:
אין מלאך אחד עושה שתי שליחות ולא שתי מלאכים עושים שליחות אחד.
One angel cannot perform two agencies, nor can two ...
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Is there any significance in the distinction between Avos d’Rebbi Nassan and Bereishis Rabbah regarding Chavah and the snake?
In Avos d’Rebbi Nassan 1:5, as quoted and linked by DanF here, when Chavah told the snake that Hashem commanded them not to touch nor eat from the Etz HaDa’as, the snake touched the tree, saying, “...
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Why sprinkle on the third day?
Parshat Chukat describes the purifying ritual of the red heifer and records that one is impure for 7 days, but the process requires that one sprinkle on the third and seventh day. Aside from one ...
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What happened to the remains of Noah's ark?
According to Josephus1, the Ark of Noah was visible in his day:
The Armenians call this place The Place of Descent; for the ark being saved in that place, its remains are shown there by the ...
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Cursing other opinions
In Bereishit Rabbah 26:5 we read רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחָאי מְקַלֵּל לְכָל מַאן דְּקָרֵא לְהוֹן בְּנֵי אֱלָהַיָּא -- that R. Shim'on Bar Yochai cursed anyone who interpreted Bereishit 6:2 as ...
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Can Angels "fall"?
According to this answer, the Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer (among other works) references an idea that angels "fell" -- were somehow separated from their holiness and "became" human.
This answer states ...
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Hava Amina for Kohen not becoming impure for father
The Midrash questions why the Torah has to specify that a Kohen becomes impure both for his deceased father and deceased mother. Why not just write his mother? It says:
[ד] יאמר "לאמו", מה תלמוד ...
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Yirmiyahu comforting the Jewish people
I remember reading from Pesikta D'Rav Kahanna about Yirmiyahu comforting the Jewish people as they were being led out to exile (i.e. Bavel) in which they were suffering terribly. He told them I have ...
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Rashi Comment on Twins Tube with Pebbles
Rashi to Genesis 25:26
ואחרי כן יצא אחיו וגו’ צֵא וּלְמַד מִשְּׁפוֹפֶרֶת שְׁפִּיהָ קְצָרָה, תֶּן לָהּ שְׁתֵּי אֲבָנִים זוֹ אַחַר זוֹ, – הַנִּכְנֶסֶת רִאשׁוֹנָה תֵּצֵא אַחֲרוֹנָה וְהַנִּכְנֶסֶת ...
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No issue of techum during kriyas yam suf
The Torah says that the sea formed a wall to the left and right of the Jews. The Midrash clarifies that it became a solid wall.
The Chasam Sofer (to be precise, his grandson), to resolve a different ...
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Does Midrashim exist for Neviim and Ketuvim?
I am looking for where I can find Midrashic literature on every other book of Tanakh. I own Artscroll's series of the Midrash and of course have the Megillos. If it even exists, where can I find this ...
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Is eliyahu hanuvy real?
Is eliyahu hanuvy real? is he really coming by shfoch chamoschu or it's just the Jewish version of Santa Claus?
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Avos vs. the Hagada on plague counts
My son asks:
The Hagada mentions, toward the end of Magid, three opinions on how many plagues the Egyptians suffered in Egypt and on the Red Sea:
R' Yose Haglili: 10 and 50
R' Eliezzer: 40 and 200
R'...
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Other reasons to start teaching children with Vayikra
The Midrash (Tanchuma Tzav #14, Vayikra Rabbah 7:3) advises one to start teaching their children with parshas Vayikra, since the korbonos are pure, just like children are pure. This is brought by the ...
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What was the "Great river of the Ocean" shown to Jonah?
The Midrash Tanchuma in Vayikra discusses the wonders shown to Jonah by the fish which swallowed him after having saved it from the Leviathan (see the Midrash [ibid.] for further elaboration).
(Source ...
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Pirkei drabbi Eliezer questions [closed]
Pirkay D'rabbi Eliyeser 14.5
Hashem gave the woman nine curses and death:
The afflictions of child birth
The afflictions of blood of virginity
The affliction of pregnancy
The affliction of bringing ...
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Midrash from עין יעקב that is not found in ש"ס. What is its status?
Various articles cite to this section from עין יעקב
בן זומא אומר: מצינו פסוק כולל יותר והוא 'שמע ישראל'. בן ננס אומר מצינו פסוק כולל יותר והוא 'ואהבת לרעך כמוך'. שמעון בן פזי אומר: מצינו פסוק כולל ...
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Acacia wood or Cedar
The verse mentions one of the materials in the Mishkan was עצי שטים. Artscroll and others translate it as acacia wood.
Rashi on the pasuk quotes Midrash Tanchumah (#9) that Yaakov planted ארזים in ...
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Who said that little Tzfardeaim jumped out of the big one's mouth?
Who said that little Tzfardeaim jumped out of the big one's mouth?
As far as I can tell, the gemara in Sanhedrin, as well as all of the mainstream medrashim, use a lashon of וישרצו, which, as Rashi ...
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Was Yisro descended from Avraham
Was Yitro descended from Avraham Avinu, and if so, how? I seem to remember he was a descendant of Hagar/Keturah but can't find where I saw that.
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