1,056 passages in Rabbinic Midrash
Individual passages from Bereshit Rabbah, shown in source order. Page 5 of 22.
The familiar story is this: – the forbidden fruit, temptation, and the fall. But tucked away in the tradition of Jewish tradition, there are layers upon layers of interpretation th...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to The Serpent's Twisted Theology Against the Divine. The key verse, of course, is (Genesis 3:5): "For God knows that, on the day you eat from it, your eyes w...
Bereshit Rabbah slows down Eve's reach for the fruit and finds three separate lures in one verse. "The woman saw that the tree was good for eating, and that it was an enticement to...
No. The text from Bereshit Rabbah 19 offers some fascinating insights into this pivotal moment in the Garden of Eden. Rabbi Yudan, quoting Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Zakkai, and Rabbi Berek...
Having a voice, but God has feet that enable him to walk. In the Talmud, Rabbi Abahu said: "The Holy One, blessed be He, said: 'I am He who walked in the Garden of Eden'" (Taanit 2...
In Jewish mysticism, there's a powerful story about exactly that – the story of the Shekhinah, the divine feminine presence, and her long journey to find a home. The kabbalists, th...
The familiar story centers on their shame and banishment, but the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) saw something even deeper happening at that moment. Somet...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to God's Voice Walking in the Garden After the Fall. The verse in (Genesis 3:8) tells us, "They heard [vayishme’u] the voice of the Lord God walking in the ga...
It's a feeling that, according to the ancient rabbis, even God experienced with Adam. We find this idea explored in Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the...
Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" (Genesis 3:11). I mean, come on, God knows everything. So why the question? The rabbis of old grappled with this to...
Bereshit Rabbah, a classic Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) text, dives deep into the book of Genesis, and in section 19, it explores moments where certain figures real...
It contrasts Adam, the first man, with Job, the righteous sufferer, highlighting their very different responses to adversity. The passage begins with Adam's infamous excuse: "The w...
(Genesis 3:14) tells us, "The Lord God said to the serpent: Because you did this, cursed are you from all the animals, and from all the beasts of the field; on your belly you shall...
Being sentenced without a trial. No discussion, no back-and-forth, just BAM – the hammer drops. Jewish tradition offers a fascinating glimpse into a moment just like that, right af...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Honor Starts with the Greatest but Disgrace with the Least. Rabbi Ḥiyya, a sage from long ago, taught a fascinating principle based on the verses in Beresh...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Hoshaya — Eve at the Dawn of Creation. The passage begins by focusing on the phrase "Because you did this [zot]". Notice that zot is the feminine form of "...
A collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Genesis, this wasn't just a symbolic statement. The text paints a dramatic picture: When God, blessed be He, declared this curse, m...
Why does (Genesis 3:16) say, "To the woman He said: I will increase your suffering and your pregnancy; in pain you shall give birth to children, and your desire shall be for your h...
This verse, of course, comes right after the Fall, after Adam and Eve eat from the Tree of Knowledge. It's part of the consequences, the new reality they face. But the Rabbis, they...
The familiar picture has a simple act of disobedience, but the rabbis of old saw something far more nuanced, a tangled web of persuasion, responsibility, and even a bit of culinary...
There's a fascinating passage in Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, that dives right into this feeling. It starts with the verse, "In...
The verse: "And thorns and thistles it will grow for you, and you shall eat the vegetation of the field." So, what exactly are these "thorns and thistles," or kotz and dardar in He...
Jewish tradition loves to peel back the layers, and Bereshit Rabbah, that incredible collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, dives deep into this very verse. The text pl...
The Torah tells us, "The Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of hide, and clothed them" (Genesis 3:21). Simple enough. But as always, the rabbis of the Midrash (rabbin...
The Torah tells us, "The Lord God said: Behold, the man has become as one of us, to know good and evil, and now, he might extend his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and ...
The ruined garden points back to the person who let it fall apart. Bereshit Rabbah reads that image through Adam and Eve. Bereshit Rabbah, that incredible collection of rabbinic in...
One fascinating interpretation comes from Bereshit Rabbah 21, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Genesis. It starts with a verse from Job: "Though his exaltedness asc...
As always, the rabbis of old had some fascinating ideas. The verse from Job (14:20) sets the stage: “You grant him power forever, and he is gone; You alter his countenance and send...
The verse God says, "Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live fo...
The familiar story is this: the serpent, the forbidden fruit, and then… exile. But what did that exile really mean? The Book of Genesis tells us, "The Lord God sent him out of the ...
The familiar story is this: they ate the forbidden fruit, gained knowledge, and were banished. But what was the nature of that banishment? Was it a final, crushing blow, or somethi...
At least, that's what we learn from Bereshit Rabbah 21, a fascinating passage in the ancient rabbinic commentary on Genesis. Rav tells us that "in every place, the eastern directio...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to The First Intimacy Between Adam and Eve in Genesis. It seems straightforward. But the Rabbis, as they always do, see layers beneath the surface. They pick ...
The Bible just drops them into the story. Where did they come from? It's one of those questions that has kept Jewish tradition busy for millennia. The simple answer? Adam and Eve d...
The Torah touches on this in the story of Adam and Eve, and the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) have some fascinating things to say about it. In Bereshit R...
Why Cain Became a Farmer and Abel a Shepherd is the question behind this passage from Bereshit Rabbah. Consider the verse in (Genesis 4:2): "She gave birth once again, to his broth...
The sages of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), those brilliant interpreters of Jewish texts, grappled with this very question. In Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rab...
The story of Cain and Abel, right at the beginning of Genesis, gives us a clue, but also raises some fascinating questions about sacrifice itself. "Cain brought an offering of the ...
The story of Cain and Abel, as explored in Bereshit Rabbah, the ancient rabbinic commentary on Genesis, offers some pretty profound insights. The familiar version gives us the basi...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to What Cain and Abel Were Really Fighting About. The Torah is concise, leaving us to confront the underlying tensions. And that's where the beauty of Jewish ...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Kingdom of Abel. Rabbi Yoḥanan, in a particularly striking interpretation, suggests that Abel was actually stronger than Cain. How do we know? The Torah si...
The ancient rabbis grappled with these very human questions as they explored the story of Cain and Abel in Bereshit Rabbah, the great commentary on the Book of Genesis. Specificall...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to The Precise Nature of Cain's Punishment From God. The Torah tells us, "Now, you are cursed from the ground that opened its mouth to take your brother's blo...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Was Cain Complaining or Confessing Before God. The Torah tells us Cain says to God, "Is my iniquity too great to bear?" (Genesis 4:13). Now, The first read...
What happens after the first murder? After Cain kills Abel, what kind of justice, or mercy, is extended? (Genesis 4:15) tells us: "The Lord said to him: Therefore, anyone who kills...
The Torah tells us, "Cain departed from the presence of the Lord, and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden" (Genesis 4:16). But where did he really go? The Rabbis of the Bereshit...
In the Book of Genesis (4:17), we read: “Cain was intimate with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Ḥanokh; he was the builder of a city, and he called the name of the ci...
We choose them carefully, hoping they’ll embody certain qualities, or perhaps carry on a family legacy. But what if a name wasn't a blessing, but a curse? What if it foreshadowed i...
