Midrash Rabbah

2,921 texts · Page 78 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.

The Great Flood and Rabbis

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 30:2

The Torah portion Noah grapples with just that, the world after the flood. But even in this story of renewal, shadows of the past linger. The Rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah, that magnif...

Noah & FloodJob

Noah and Creation of Terah

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 30:4

The ancient rabbis certainly knew it. They saw it baked right into the words of the Torah itself. Take, for instance, the opening of Parashat Noah, the portion of Genesis that tell...

CreationNoah & FloodPatriarchsMessiah

Noah Awaits the Messiah

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 30:5

And in a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, the ancient rabbinic commentary on Genesis, we find the figure of Noah held up as a source of just that: double relief. But it st...

Noah & FloodMessiahExile

The Tree of Life and Noah

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 30:6

We read in Genesis 6:9, "These are the offspring of Noah; Noah was a righteous man." A pretty great opening line. But what does it really mean? The Rabbis of the Bereshit Rabbah, t...

Noah & FloodSolomonTemplePrayer

Wisdom of Noah and Abba

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 30:7

It's easy to imagine everyone just carrying on, oblivious, but Jewish tradition suggests otherwise. The Torah tells us, "Noah was a righteous man [ish]" (Genesis 6:9). Seems simple...

CreationNoah & FloodJob

Abraham: Noah at the Dawn of Creation

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 30:8

In the book of Bereshit, Genesis, we find two such words used to describe key figures: tamim and haya. What do they really mean? , because the Rabbis of old sure had some fascinati...

CreationAdam & EveNoah & FloodPatriarchs

The Great Flood of Yehuda

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 30:9

The Torah tells us he was "righteous in his generation" (Genesis 6:9). But what does that really mean? Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis,...

Moses

Kingdom of Abraham and Noah

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 30:10

Specifically, Bereshit Rabbah 30 dives deep into the nuances of "walking with God" by comparing Noah to another biblical giant: Abraham. Rabbi Yehuda offers a beautiful analogy. Im...

CreationNoah & FloodPatriarchsJoseph

Noah in Battle and Ezekiel

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 31:1

It's easy to just say "God did it," but Jewish tradition wrestles with these questions. It digs deep, looking for meaning, for justice, for a reason why. Take the verse in Genesis ...

CreationHell/GehennaNoah & FloodProphecy