1,056 passages in Rabbinic Midrash
Individual passages from Bereshit Rabbah, shown in source order. Page 9 of 22.
It’s more profound than it first appears. (Genesis 12:5) tells us, “Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot, son of his brother, and all their property that they had acquired, and the p...
The Torah tells us, "Abram passed through the land to the place of Shekhem, until the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land" (Genesis 12:6). But there's more to ...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to The Three Altars Abraham Built in the Promised Land. Why three? Well, each altar served a specific purpose, a distinct expression of gratitude and foresigh...
A reader can imagine them springing forth, fully formed, ready to face any challenge. But what about the times before the heroism, the moments of vulnerability, the struggles that ...
Like, you're on your path, feeling good, and then BAM! Suddenly, everything changes. Maybe it's a job loss, a health scare, or just a general feeling of being lost. How do we react...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Ten Famines That Have Struck the World Since Adam. It won't be a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but something far more profound: "Not a famine for...
Abraham suddenly notices his wife is beautiful – like, really beautiful – and expresses concern that the Egyptians will kill him to get to her. He asks her to pretend to be his sis...
The rabbis of old, wrestling with this very question, spun a fascinating tale in Bereshit Rabbah 40, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. The story begi...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. And they found evidence of it woven right into the fabric of the Torah itself. Take the story of Abraham, our forefather. He goes down to Egypt to...
The rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), those brilliant interpreters of our tradition, saw so much more. Bereshit Rabbah, that treasure trove of rabbinic thou...
Take the tale of Pharaoh and Sarah in Genesis. We know the basic outline: Abraham and Sarah enter Egypt, Abraham says Sarah is his sister, Pharaoh takes Sarah into his house, and t...
The ancient rabbis certainly thought so. They saw echoes of the Exodus, the defining moment of Jewish liberation, shimmering even in the life of Abraham. We find this idea beautifu...
Bereshit Rabbah notices one small word in Lot's property list: tents. Rabbi Toviya bar Yitzḥak sees something profound in that word "tents." In Hebrew, "tent" (ohel) can sometimes ...
Yet, Jewish tradition whispers of just such a mystery: that the Messiah himself will descend from the side of evil. How can this be? Well, the story starts with King David, the anc...
Maybe… maybe there’s more to it than meets the eye. The verse in Genesis tells us there was a big ol' argument brewing between the shepherds of Abram (later Abraham) and the shephe...
It's like a ripple effect, where a squabble between employees reveals a fundamental conflict between the bosses themselves. That's precisely what Bereshit Rabbah (Genesis Rabbah) 4...
" It looked idyllic, didn't it? A paradise. But appearances, as they say, can be deceiving. Rabbi Naḥman bar Ḥanin offers a rather stark interpretation: "Anyone who has a voracious...
A fascinating little debate from Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. Specifically, The verse in question is (Genesis 13:14): "...
Our ancestor, Abraham, knew that feeling well. God promised him descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth and an eternal inheritance of land. But what did that really mean? ...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Teachings of Abraham. The book of Genesis, Bereshit in Hebrew, gives us that powerful image of God telling Abraham, in chapter 13, verse 17: “Arise, walk a...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. to a fascinating story from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, and see what we can uncover. We star...
Our story begins with the seemingly simple phrase: "It was in the days of Amrafel..." (Genesis 14:1). But the Rabbis, masters of interpretation, saw so much more within those words...
Our sages certainly did. to a fascinating exploration from Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 42, where they dissect the phrase "vayhi bimei" (וַיְהִי בִּמֵי), "it was in the da...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Amrafel and Creation of Kush. Then we have "Aryokh king of Elasar." Rabbi Yosei of Milḥaya offers a fascinating tidbit here. He says that in Babylon – and ...
The ancient Rabbis certainly thought so! to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, specifically section 42, wh...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Kedorlaomer's Transgression. It sounds straightforward. But the rabbis, masters of close reading, saw more than meets the eye. The verse kicks off a discus...
Bereshit Rabbah 42, a fascinating passage from the Midrash, the body of ancient rabbinic interpretations of Scripture. This passage looks at Genesis 14, specifically verses 4 throu...
The Torah is full of such moments, and the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) are masters at unearthing the layers of meaning. The source turns to Bereshit Ra...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Abraham — Abram at the Dawn of Creation. What’s truly fascinating isn't just the event, but Abram's reaction. Bereshit Rabbah 43 uses this moment to explor...
This teaching connects this to a verse from Isaiah (33:15): "He seals his ears from hearing of bloodshed." The idea is that a righteous person doesn't stand idly by when faced with...
The Book of (Genesis 14:15) tells us, "He divided up against them at night, he and his servants, and he smote them and pursued them until Ḥova, which is north of Damascus." But it’...
The familiar story is this: Lot gets captured, Abraham bravely rescues him, and then… what happens to the spoils? (Genesis 14:16) tells us, "He returned all the goods, and also his...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to The King of Sodom Met Abraham in the Valley of Shaveh. That’s kind of what we find in Bereshit Rabbah 43, a fascinating peek behind the curtain of Abraham’...
Who was this Malkitzedek? Why is he offering bread and wine? And what's the deal with Salem? The Rabbis of Bereshit Rabbah, that rich collection of early Jewish interpretations of ...
The verse in question is (Genesis 14:19): "He blessed him, and he said: Blessed is Abram to God, the Most High, Maker of heavens and earth." But another way to read it is "Acquirer...
Our journey begins in (Genesis 14:20): “And blessed is God, the Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand. He gave him a tithe of everything.” This verse is about Abraha...
In the story of Abram and the King of Sodom, found in Bereshit Rabbah (Genesis Rabbah) 43, we see a masterclass in ethical leadership and selfless action. After Abram's victorious ...
The ancient rabbis certainly thought so. They saw this idea woven into the very fabric of the Torah, even in God's promise to Abraham. to Bereshit Rabbah 44 and explore this fascin...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Why Abraham Feared After Winning the Great Battle. Our story comes from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. I...
It's like a song with a recurring chorus, reminding us of something vital. the story turns to one of those refrains, the reassurance "Fear not, Abram," and see what echoes it holds...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Did Abraham Kill Righteous People Among His Enemies. Rabbi Levi offers two fascinating takes on Abraham's fear. The first stems from the battles Abraham fo...
It's packed with hidden meanings, and even a single letter can change everything! Take the word "after," for example. In Hebrew, it can be written as aḥar or aḥarei. Seems like a s...
The Torah tells us that "the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision" (Genesis 15:1). But what kind of word was it? What kind of vision? Our sages in Bereshit Rabbah (44) – that...
God's reassurance to Abraham: "Fear not, Abram." But whom did Abraham fear? Rabbi Berekhya suggests it was none other than Shem himself. The passage then draws a parallel to (Isaia...
Abraham, our patriarch, knew that feeling. In (Genesis 15:2), he cries out, "My Lord God, what will You give me, seeing that I go childless, and the one who has charge of my house ...
Them is often remembered as paragons of faith, figures of unwavering strength. But what about their doubts, their fears about the future? The ancient rabbis, in their beautiful and...
As we find in (Genesis 15:3), Abraham cries out, "Behold, to me You have not given offspring, and a member of my household is my heir." He's pouring out his heart, expressing his d...
The verse reads, "Behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying: This man will not inherit you; rather, one who shall emerge from your loins, he will inherit you." It’s a Abraha...
