23
votes
Accepted
What literally was the mark of Cain?
Here is a sampling of the interpretations offered by the commentators (all taken from commentaries to the verse in question):
Rashi
God inscribed (part of) His name on Cain's forehead:
חקק לו אות ...
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20
votes
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How could Yocheved be conceived
I just discovered that many Rishonim address this question. For example:
Tosafos to Taanis 11a s.v. אסור לאדם
אסור לאדם לשמש מטתו בשני רעבון - ואם תאמר הרי יוכבד נולדה בין החומות ואותו העת עת רעב היה ...
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19
votes
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Why the reverse order of "Zachor Veshamor" in "Lecha Dodi"?
The beginning of each stanza spells the name of the author שלמה הלוי. I surmise that the author wanted to spell his name and therefore reversed the order.
- 138k
19
votes
What literally was the mark of Cain?
Midrash, Bereishit Rabbah 22:12
וַיָּשֶׂם ה' לְקַיִן אוֹת, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה וְרַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אָמַר הִזְרִיחַ לוֹ גַּלְגַּל חַמָּה, אָמַר רַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה לְאוֹתוֹ רָשָׁע הָיָה ...
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17
votes
The claim that Midrash Genesis Rabbah 35 refers to a virgin birth of the messiah?
This midrash does not exist in Bereishit Rabba. Indeed, the verse referenced by the translation "Behold the man whose name is Zemach [branch], and he shall branch up out of his place" is ...
- 9,757
16
votes
Did Avraham Avinu really have a daughter named Bakol?
Bava Batra (16b) records a dispute (found earlier in Tosefta Kiddushin (5:17 in R. Lieberman's edition) regarding the interpretation of Genesis (24:1) which states that God blessed Abraham "bakol" (...
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14
votes
Accepted
How did Rivka get married when she was three years old?
The following I remember from a Sicha of the Lubavitcher Rebbe:
Rashi at the end of Parshas VaYeira feels the need to explain why the "news" Abraham received about his family tree is written right ...
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14
votes
Accepted
Are there any Midrashim where Yitzchak was actually sacrificed by Avraham?
A collection of four medrashim can be seen here along with their translations and an explanation.
Pirkay DeRabbi Eliezer, ch. 31.
ר' יהודה אמר: כיון שהגיע החרב על צוארו, פרחה ויצאה נשמתו של יצחק. ...
- 33.2k
13
votes
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Was the Mishkan Built on Shabbat?
This question is addressed by several Acharonim.
R. Pinchas Horowitz says that during the 7 days of inauguration Moshe did not erect the Mishkan by himself. Since multiple people did the act together ...
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13
votes
Accepted
Who First Knew of the Messiah
The first individual to know of the Messiah was Adam HaRishon. This is stated explicitly in Sanhedrin 38b in the name of Reish Lakish, by Yose ben Chalafta in Seder Olam Rabbah 30 and Rabbi Yehuda bar ...
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11
votes
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What age were Leah and Rachel when they got married
The Seder Olam Rabba (ed. Leiner) states (ch. 2) that they were twins and were both 22 when they got married:
נמצאו רחל ולאה נשאו בנות כ"ב כ"ב, שהיו תאומות
Thus, Rachel and Leah were both ...
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11
votes
Accepted
What causes a person to remain in this world as a ghost?
R. Ezekiel Landau discusses this aspect of the tale in his commentary there. He explains that the spirit cannot leave the body until the body decomposes, and that is why we conduct burials in a manner ...
- 48.9k
11
votes
If God removed prophecy from the gentiles because of Bilaam's wickedness, how come that Obadiah who was a gentile was a prophet?
Ovadiah the prophet, at the time of his prophecy, was Jewish, not a gentile. He had converted. See Sanhedrin 39b:
מר אפרים מקשאה תלמידו של רבי מאיר משום רבי מאיר עובדיה גר אדומי היה והיינו דאמרי ...
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10
votes
Did Adam have intercourse with animals?
There is disagreement about this among the commentators. Here is a quote from the Artscroll Rashi Chumash Bereishis 2:23 footnote 4:
Divrei Dovid...says that this prohibition [to have relations ...
- 6,427
10
votes
Accepted
Paskening Shlomo out of Shamayim?
R. Yosef Chaim of Baghdad discusses this in his commentary to this Talmudic passage. His answer is that the whole thing was a mere ploy. The Sages actually knew that Shlomo was a worthy person and ...
- 48.9k
10
votes
What is the source that says David wrote Psalms / Tehillim while hiding from Saul
Tehillim 54
לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ בִּנְגִינֹ֗ת מַשְׂכִּ֥יל לְדָוִֽד׃
For the leader; with instrumental music. A maskil of David,
בְּב֣וֹא הַ֭זִּיפִים וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ לְשָׁא֑וּל הֲלֹ֥א דָ֝וִ֗ד מִסְתַּתֵּ֥ר ...
- 1,817
10
votes
Accepted
Midrash on the sale of the Machpelah Cave
You're perhaps referring to the Sefer Hayashar on Chayei Sarah:
ויכתוב אברהם את הדבר הזה בספר ויחתום, ויעד ארבעה עדים. ואלה שמות העדים: אמיגל בן אבישוע החתי אליחורף בן אשונה החוי, עדון בן אחירע הגרדי,...
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9
votes
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Who killed Nimrod?
The Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer does indeed state that Esav killed Nimrod (ed. Higger ch. 31). This is also found in Yalkut Shimoni (Parashat Tol'dot 110) and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (Parashat Tol'dot 25:27)...
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9
votes
Dead sea in the midrashim
According to the Midrash Tanchuma (Lech Lecha #8) the Dead Sea apparently became salty due to the sins of those involved in the war of the four kings against the five kings.
הוא ים המלח שבעונם נעשה ...
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9
votes
Did Abraham and Noah know of each other?
The Kad Ha'Kemach by Rabeinu Bachyei ben Asher, implies that Avraham saw Noach (see footnote ג). It is very possible he met him later on on life since they were from different locations.
As was ...
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9
votes
Rav S.R. Hirsch and fairy tales
You may want to check this reference to vol 3, p.263 on regard chanuka:
Teach the jewish chanuka, don't feed the child with fairy tales. It
does not beguile childhood and youth with the notions ...
- 6,854
9
votes
Accepted
Would someone please translate this midrash on the death of Moshe?
Here's the first version (some of the punctuation is based on Eisenstein's edition) (some question marks in-between for words I wasn't sure how to translate):
“This is none other than the house of ...
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9
votes
Accepted
Where can I find the original Hebrew text for this quote?
That'd be a reference to Lamentations Rabba to chapter 1 verse 14.
Here's the Hebrew of your quote from Sefaria's edition:
אָמַר אִם אֲנִי מַגְלֶה אוֹתָם דֶּרֶךְ מִדְבָּר, הֵם מֵתִים בָּרָעָב, אֶלָּא ...
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9
votes
Accepted
What’s the source for this midrash?
Shabbat 30b:
What did David do? Every Shabbat he would sit and learn all day long to protect himself from the Angel of Death. On that day on which the Angel of Death was supposed to put his soul to ...
- 1,671
8
votes
What's a good beginner-friendly collection of aggadah in English?
I think Legends of the Jews by Prof. Louis Ginzberg is the classic work of aggadah. It follows the order of the Torah, and appears in 7 volumes. The first 4 volumes are the actual aggadot, the next ...
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8
votes
Source wanted: Talmudic story about the power of teshuvah
I think you're referring to the story of R. Elazar ben Dodaya, which can be found in Avodah Zarah 17a.
To summarize the story, it was said about a man named Elazar ben Dodaya that there was not a ...
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8
votes
Was Eliezer a tzaddik or a rasha?
In this medrash Talpiot written by Hamekubal Rav Eliyahu Hacohen of Izmir about 300 years ago he writes in entry "Eliezer" (the entries are written in alphabetical order) Eliezer did a kabalistic ...
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8
votes
What literally was the mark of Cain?
No answer is complete without the Kabbalistic interpretation Tikkunei Zohar 118,2:
הָכָא תָב בִּתְיוּבְתָּא וְאִתְחַרַט, בְּגִין דָּא וַיָּשֶׂם יהו"ה לְקַיִן אוֹת (שם, טו), הָכָא רָמַז אוֹת בְּרִית ...
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8
votes
Accepted
Does anyone draw a parallel between Haman selling himself to Mordechai and Esav selling the birthright to Yaakov?
Yes, the Manos Halevi brings what the actual Shtar said:
אני המן בן המדתא מזרע אגג, שלח אותי מלך אחשורוש במלחמה על עיר הינדקא, ומנה אותי המלך על ששה רבוא אנשי הצבא, ונתן לי המלך צידה לפרנס אותם, ...
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8
votes
How painful is tzara'at
I can't tell you how much pain a metzora would suffer, but a couple of Mefarshim indicate that they did experience some amount of pain.
Abarbanel to Vayikra 13:1 explains why Tzara'as is called a ...
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