Midrash Rabbah

2,921 texts · Page 139 of 325

The great Midrash Rabbah, a collection of aggadic midrashim on the Torah and the Five Megillot. These rabbinic commentaries explore the deeper meanings of Scripture through parable, allegory, and legend.

Dina at the Dawn of Creation

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 80:5

And they weren't afraid to dig deep, wrestle with the text, and offer their own interpretations. Take the story of Dina, daughter of Leah, and her unfortunate encounter with Sheche...

CreationHell/GehennaPatriarchsMatriarchs

Dina and Creation of Shechem

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 80:6

That feeling is ancient, etched into the very stories that form our identity. to a moment of that silence, a moment laden with consequence, from the Book of Genesis. We're in the s...

CreationNoah & FloodPatriarchsMoses

Marriage of Dina

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 80:7

We're in Genesis 34, the story of Dina, Jacob's daughter, and Shechem, the son of Hamor, the prince of the land. Shechem has taken Dina, and now Hamor is trying to negotiate a marr...

CreationPatriarchsElijahProphecy

Dinah: Jacob at the Dawn of Creation

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 80:8

The Torah tells us, "Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and Ḥamor his father with guile, and spoke, as he had defiled Dinah their sister” (Genesis 34:13). But was it really just guile? ...

CreationPatriarchsSoulCovenant

Rabbi Meir and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 80:9

Sometimes, the answer lies hidden in plain sight, tucked away in ancient commentaries on the Torah. Take, for example, the seemingly simple act of bathing a baby after circumcision...

CreationPatriarchsJosephSabbath

Levi: Jacob and Creation

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 80:10

Bereshit Rabbah, that beautiful collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, dives deep into this very verse (Genesis 34:25) about Simeon and Levi avenging their ...

CreationPatriarchsJosephMoses

Simeon: Dina and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 80:11

The ancient rabbis grappled with that very feeling when they looked at the story of Dina, Jacob’s daughter, in the Book of Genesis. The Torah tells us that Dina went out to visit t...

CreationHoly Land

Levi: Jacob and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 80:12

Dina, Jacob’s daughter, goes out to visit the women of the land, and is defiled by Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite. Shechem then asks his father to obtain Dina as his wife. Ja...

CreationPatriarchs

Jacob's Journey and Jeremiah

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 81:1

The ancient rabbis wrestled with this idea, especially when it came to promises made to God. Let's turn to the book of Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretat...

CreationPatriarchsSolomonTemple