by hadassah | Dec 10, 2025 | The Talmud
Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 30a-b- The Soul of Man is the Lamp of the Lord This fascinating example of fourth-century C.E. homiletics from the Land of Israel is preserved in the Babylonian Talmud. It seems to constitute the entire sermon, changed only slightly to...
by hadassah | Dec 10, 2025 | The Talmud
Pesiqta de-Rav Kahana 25-1-4- A Penitential Homily Pesiqta de-Rav Kahana is a collection of homilies grouped around the Torah readings for festivals and special occasions. It is one of the oldest Midrashim, dating to some time in the sixth or early seventh...
by hadassah | Dec 3, 2025 | The Talmud
Lamentations Rabbah, Proem 21- The Leper and the Temple This proem to the reading of Lamentations on the Ninth of Av, anniversary of the destruction of the Temple, opens with a passage describing the leper and his impurity which are allegorically interpreted to...
by hadassah | Dec 1, 2025 | The Rabbis
Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael, Beshalah: Moses and the Bones of Joseph This Midrash expands the verse in Exodus (Ex. 13:19) which states tersely of Moses that upon the Exodus from Egypt, Moses took the remains of Joseph with the Israelites. It is an excellent...
by hadassah | Dec 1, 2025 | The Rabbis
Megillat Ta’anit: The Law of the Sadducees and the Boethusians Megillat Ta’anit is a list of days on which fasting and mourning were not permitted. To this list was appended a “scholion,” a commentary explaining each of the entries. The scholion, a compilation...
by hadassah | Nov 26, 2025 | The Rabbis
Babylonian Talmud Eruvin 54b- The Teaching of the Oral Law The Talmud relates several descriptive stories and events to show how the study of the oral law was conducted. These stories reveal that it was a detailed and tedious process which could only be...
