Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg)

2,650 texts · Page 68 of 295

Selections from Louis Ginzberg's monumental Legends of the Jews, a seven-volume compilation that weaves together aggadic material from the Talmud, Midrash, and other rabbinic literature into a continuous narrative.

Birth of Esau of Jacob

Ginzberg Legends of the Jews 6:28

We know the story: a hungry Esau, returning from the fields, famished, practically trades his birthright for a bowl of lentil stew. But was it just about the food? The traditional ...

PatriarchsTorahTemple

Jacob: Birth of Esau

Ginzberg Legends of the Jews 6:30

That, my friends, is Esau in a nutshell. We all know the story. Esau, the elder twin, sells his birthright to his younger brother Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew. But what was real...

Hell/GehennaPatriarchsSoulPrayer

Isaac's Legacy and Jacob

Ginzberg Legends of the Jews 6:32

These brothers, figures from the very dawn of our tradition, had a sibling rivalry that's… well, legendary. We all know the story of Jacob and Esau. Twins, but as different as coul...

Patriarchs

Abraham: Isaac Among the Fathers

Ginzberg Legends of the Jews 6:35

Take Isaac, for example. His life, as the great compilation Legends of the Jews tells us, reads like a mirror image of his father Abraham's. Abraham had to leave his homeland. So d...

PatriarchsJosephTempleHoly Land

Isaac and the Patriarchs of Abimelech

Ginzberg Legends of the Jews 6:36

We find Isaac following in his father Abraham's footsteps, settling in Gerar. But trouble seems to follow them, doesn't it? According to Legends of the Jews, Isaac, noticing the lo...

PatriarchsMatriarchs

Kingdom of Isaac and Abimelech

Ginzberg Legends of the Jews 6:37

But the roots go way back, further than you might think, to the patriarch Isaac himself. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, after Isaac's interactions with K...

Noah & FloodPatriarchsMatriarchsTorah

Abraham's Transgression and Isaac

Ginzberg Legends of the Jews 6:39

The Torah hints at it in so many ways. Let's look at the story of Isaac and some very important wells. Isaac, as we know, was the son of Abraham, and he found himself in Gerar, a P...

PatriarchsHoly Land

Abimelech and the Patriarchs

Ginzberg Legends of the Jews 6:40

And you, almost miraculously, strike water. Not once, but repeatedly. That was Isaac. But his success? It only stoked the flames of envy in the hearts of the Philistines. The text ...

Patriarchs

Divine Presence and Isaac

Ginzberg Legends of the Jews 6:41

Our story takes us back to Isaac, the son of Abraham, and a rather awkward encounter with Abimelech, king of the Philistines. Abimelech, you see, was feeling a little… guilty? Anxi...

Noah & FloodPatriarchsTorahSoul