470 passagesc. 10th century CEHebrew / AramaicCC-BY
Individual passages from Shemot Rabbah, shown in source order. Page 1 of 10.
"These are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; each came with his household" – that’s how the Book of Exodus begins. But what does that have to do wit...
It's rarely just repetition. Often, it's about adding layers of meaning, offering a deeper appreciation for what came before. Take the very beginning of the Book of Exodus. We’re i...
It's like, bam, out of nowhere, you're bearing a load you didn't even see coming. Well, the ancient Israelites knew that feeling all too well when they found themselves in Egypt. W...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. They saw layers of meaning, hidden connections, and prophecies woven into the very fabric of the Torah. Take the beginning of the Book of Exodus, ...
It’s not a typo, and it’s definitely not random! There’s a beautiful lesson tucked away in that apparent inconsistency. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin, quoting Rabbi Levi, offered a pow...
The book of Exodus, Shemot in Hebrew, opens with a seemingly simple verse that holds a profound message about humility and identity. "All the people who emerged from the loins of J...
The Book of Exodus opens with a simple statement: "Joseph died, along with all his brothers and that entire generation" (Exodus 1:6). But this seemingly straightforward sentence ho...
"He said to his people: Behold, the nation of the children of Israel is more numerous and mighty than us" (Exodus 1:9). This is Pharaoh, setting the stage for oppression. But Shemo...
Take the story of the Israelite enslavement in Egypt. The familiar version gives us the basics, but the details… well, that’s where things get interesting. The Torah tells us, "The...
The Book of Exodus, or Shemot in Hebrew, is the ultimate story of resilience. It begins not with triumph, but with oppression. And even in the darkest moments, we find glimmers of ...
Their story, as told in Shemot Rabbah, is a powerful reminder of resilience, faith, and the strength of community. Pharaoh, wasn't just content with enslaving the Israelites. He wa...
Our story begins in ancient Egypt, where the Israelites are flourishing, a little too flourishing for the liking of the Pharaoh. He sees their growing numbers as a threat, and so, ...
The scene: Pharaoh, terrified by the growing Israelite population, issues a horrifying command to the Hebrew midwives. "When you deliver the Hebrew women," he says, "and you see th...
The familiar version gives us about Moses, about the plagues, about the parting of the Red Sea. But what about the women who defied a king's cruel decree and saved countless Israel...
The Torah tells us that Pharaoh, increasingly paranoid about the growing Israelite population, ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill all newborn baby boys (Exodus 1:16). But the midw...
What exactly does that mean, "He made houses for them?" This teaching presents two perspectives, attributed to Rav and Levi. One suggests that God rewarded the midwives with priest...
The familiar story centers on Pharaoh, the archetypal oppressor of the Israelites. But Shemot Rabbah explores the why behind his horrific decree to cast newborn sons into the Nile ...
"A man from the house of Levi went and he took a daughter of Levi" (Exodus 2:1). Simple enough. But the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), in Shemot Rabbah, ...
The Torah tells us, "The woman conceived and bore a son; she saw that he was good and she hid him for three months" (Exodus 2:2). But what lies beneath that simple verse? The ancie...
"She took for him a wicker basket…" Why wicker, specifically? It's a fair question. Rabbi Elazar offers a powerful answer: "Because for the righteous, their property is dearer to t...
That feeling isn’t new. In fact, it echoes through one of the most powerful stories in the Torah. The familiar story centers on Moses. Born into slavery, hidden away, destined for ...
The familiar version gives us the basics: baby Moses in a basket, found by Pharaoh's daughter. But what if I told you there's a whole world of interpretation swirling around just a...
Take this one from (Exodus 2:6), describing Pharaoh’s daughter discovering the infant Moses adrift in the Nile: "She opened it and saw the child [yeled], and behold, a boy [na’ar] ...
The Torah tells us, "His sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter: ‘Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’" (Exodus 2:7). But why specifically ...
It’s a story filled with palace intrigue, near-fatal tests, and a touch of divine intervention. The familiar version gives us the basics: baby Moses in a basket, found by Pharaoh's...
Shemot Rabbah turns to Moses Leaves Egypt. Shemot Rabbah unpacks this verse, revealing layers of meaning. "Moses grew..." How old was he exactly? Some say twenty, others forty. But...
A reader can picture the pyramids, the scorching sun, and the relentless labor. But what about the small acts of defiance, the glimmers of hope that hinted at a future redemption? ...
As is so often the case with Torah, the rabbis unpack layers upon layers of meaning. What did it really mean when it says "he saw that there was no man"? It wasn't just about the a...
The story goes that Moses, having slain an Egyptian taskmaster, intervenes in a quarrel between two Hebrews. And what does he get for his trouble? A stinging rebuke: "Who appointed...
The book of Exodus tells us that Moses fled Pharaoh after killing an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave (Exodus 2:15). But Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretati...
Like a well, for instance. It's more than just a source of water; it’s often a meeting place, a place of destiny. Our sages point this out in Shemot Rabbah, noting how the well is ...
It all centers around Moses, and a rather interesting agreement he makes with Jethro (also known as Yitro), his future father-in-law. Remember, Moses has just fled Egypt after, sha...
The ancient rabbis certainly understood that feeling. In the book of Exodus, we read, “It was during those many days that the king of Egypt died and the children of Israel sighed d...
In fact, they wrestled with it in their interpretations of the book of Exodus, specifically (Exodus 2:25): "God saw the children of Israel, and God knew." What did God see? What di...
The verse But what did He see? What did He know? One interpretation, drawing on (Ezekiel 20:9), suggests that God knew it was time to redeem the Israelites for the sake of His name...
Our story begins, as so many do, in the book of Exodus. "Moses was herding the flock of his father-in-law Yitro, the priest of Midyan, and he led the flock into the wilderness, and...
Where is God, exactly? Is He up in the heavens, completely removed from our earthly struggles? Or is He still somehow… here? The book of Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic int...
Instead, greatness is often forged in the quiet moments, the seemingly insignificant tasks. Shemot Rabbah, a classic midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) text – a compilati...
It might seem like just a simple Hebrew word meaning "was," but in the world of Jewish thought, it can unlock hidden meanings, destinies, and connections. Shemot Rabbah, a collecti...
“An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed” (Exodus 3:2). ...
In the story of Moses, that moment is captured in a single, powerful scene – the burning bush. The book of Exodus tells us (3:3) that Moses said, "I will turn now, and see this gre...
In the book of Exodus, Moses has that very experience. But it's not quite what you might expect. The verse reads, "He said: I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God...
Our story begins in (Exodus 3:7): “The Lord said: I have seen My people’s affliction that is in Egypt, and I have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, as I know their p...
Shemot Rabbah turns to A Land Flowing With Milk and Honey Awaits Israel. Shemot Rabbah, a collection of Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) interpretations on the Book of ...
Shemot Rabbah turns to Who Am I That I Should Go to Pharaoh. In (Exodus 3:11), Moses cries out to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should take the children o...
Shemot Rabbah turns to God's Existence. It gets even more interesting when we consider the world around us. According to tradition, everything God created, He created as a pair. He...
In the Book of Exodus, we find Moses at the burning bush, tasked with the monumental mission of freeing the Israelites from slavery. He's understandably apprehensive. It’s a daunti...
It all starts with that pivotal moment when Moses encounters God at the burning bush. Remember the verse? "God said to Moses, 'I will be what I will be,' and He said, 'So shall you...
