Midrash Rabbah

2,921 texts · Page 59 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.

Adam's Transgression and Sabbatical

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 10:4

Specifically, in Bereshit Rabbah 10, we find some pretty wild thoughts about the impact of Adam's sin. Rabbi Hoshaya, relaying an idea that Rabbi Afes expounded in Antioch, suggest...

HeavenAdam & EveProphecyExile

Maker of Heaven and Earth of Levi

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 10:5

The rabbis of old certainly did. In Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, they wrestle with the details of creation, offering us...

CreationHeavenAdam & EveJob

Cosmic Origins and Simon

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 10:6

According to ancient Jewish wisdom, the answer is a resounding yes! Take Bar Sira, for example. He taught that God created medicines from the earth, empowering physicians to heal a...

CreationAngelsJobWisdom

Edom at the Dawn of Creation

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 10:7

We might swat them away without a second thought, but according to the Rabbis, even these creatures have a purpose. As we find in Bereshit Rabbah, even these so-called "superfluous...

CreationAngelsAdam & EveNoah & Flood

Shabbat: Ishmael at the Dawn of Creation

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 10:8

It turns out, that feeling might be older – and trickier – than you think. The Torah tells us, "God completed on the seventh day His labor that He had made; He rested on the sevent...

CreationPrayerSabbathShabbat

Shabbat at the Dawn of Creation

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 10:9

It’s in Genesis 2:2: "God completed [vayechal] on the seventh day." But wait a minute! Didn't God finish creating everything on the sixth day? The sages of the Midrash grappled wit...

CreationMosesKing DavidTorah

Shabbat at the Dawn of Creation and Blessings

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 11:1

The verse in question? Genesis 2:3: "God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His labor that God created to make." But what does it mean that...

CreationSolomonPrayerSabbath

Manna from Heaven and Shabbat

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 11:2

It's more than just a day off; it's a taste of something truly divine. Bereshit Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, offers some bea...

CreationHeavenAdam & EveNoah & Flood

Blessing of Shabbat

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 11:3

Because the answer, as is often the case with these things, is layered and lovely. We find a fascinating clue in Bereshit Rabbah, a classical collection of rabbinic interpretations...

PrayerSabbathShabbat