470 passages in Rabbinic Midrash
Individual passages from Shemot Rabbah, shown in source order. Page 4 of 10.
The Israelites certainly did in Egypt. But even in the darkest of times, hope can blossom. And it often arrives in unexpected ways. Our story begins, as so many do, with a word fro...
It first appears it's all divinely ordained, etched in stone.. but the answer, according to some fascinating interpretations, is a little more nuanced, a little more… us. Shemot Ra...
It seemed hopeless. So, what turned the tide? What was the secret ingredient that finally led to their redemption? The Book of Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretatio...
The ancient Rabbis felt that way about the Exodus, the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt. And they found echoes of that feeling in the most unexpected places, even in the Son...
It seems like a minor detail, but as we learn in Shemot Rabbah, it's anything but. Rabbi Ḥanina offers a beautiful explanation. He says that God's choice of words reflects a profou...
It all starts with the verse, "This month shall be for you the first of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you" (Exodus 12:2). But instead of a straightforward exp...
Our story today comes from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. Specifically, What's so special about this month – the month of Nissan, wh...
One such story, found in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, uses the analogy of a king and his son. A king, immensely proud of his son, ...
It was about a whole new way of counting time itself. Think of it this way. Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Exodus, offers a beautiful analogy to e...
Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, offers us a powerful lens through which to view this pivotal moment in Jewish history. It explores th...
It's a declaration. The text connects it to the verse "Happy is the nation that the Lord is its God" (Psalms 33:12), suggesting a deep link between national identity, divine provid...
The Shemot Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, offers a breathtakingly intimate perspective on that pivotal moment. Specifically, Shemot...
The ancient rabbis felt that way about the Israelites in Egypt. generation after generation born into slavery. It's a crushing weight. But what if, suddenly, that debt was cancelle...
Our starting point is the verse "This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2). But Shemot Rabbah, in its characteristic way, finds a connection to (Micah 6:4): "I sent Moses, Aaron, ...
The story of the Exodus, as told in Shemot Rabbah, the compilation of rabbinic sermons on the Book of Exodus, gives us a fascinating glimpse into this idea, focusing on the final p...
The Book of Exodus, as The familiar version gives us, begins with the Israelites enslaved in Egypt. "The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying.." (Exodus 12...
Shemot Rabbah turns to The Snake Analogy and Why Israel Needed Redemption Now. One fascinating passage in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exo...
It is often remembered as being solely for the sake of the Israelites, to free them from slavery. But what if there was another, deeper reason? Shemot Rabbah, the collection of Mid...
As we explore Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, we find a particularly beautiful and insightful answer. This teaching presents an alter...
It begins with the verse, "This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2), spoken to Moses and Aaron. Why them? The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) asks, why did God speak t...
The ancient rabbis certainly did! And they painted a vibrant picture, filled with light, healing, and unimaginable peace. Our starting point is a fascinating passage from Shemot Ra...
"This month shall be for you" – that’s how the Torah introduces the month of Nissan, the month of Passover, the month of freedom. But what does it really mean? The text connects th...
Shemot Rabbah turns to God Gave Israel Control Over the Calendar. What does it mean? God is saying: "I'm giving you something special. This is just for you." What exactly is this "...
Shemot Rabbah turns to Israel's Extraordinary Power to Sanctify Time Itself. The verse from (Exodus 12:2), "This month shall be for you," is more than just a calendar marker. Accor...
The book of Shemot Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic interpretations on the book of Exodus, offers a stunning insight into just how crucial the calendar is. It all begins with the ...
There's a fascinating passage in Shemot Rabbah that uses the moon as a metaphor to explain just that. It's a brilliant, poetic, and surprisingly practical way to look at history. "...
Shemot Rabbah turns to Abraham — Moses at the Dawn of Creation. What does this seemingly simple phrase really mean? It’s more than just marking time. It's a key to understanding Go...
Shemot Rabbah, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Exodus, recounts a fascinating episode. It begins with the verse, "This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2), referri...
Shemot Rabbah turns to How God Relates to Israel Around the Exodus. The passage starts with the verse, "This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2), which refers to the month of Nis...
It’s found within Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. A king, overflowing with riches. Not just money, but gold, silver, precious gems, p...
It starts with the verse "This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2), which marks the beginning of the Hebrew month of Nissan, the month of Passover, the month of our freedom. But ...
The verse But the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Shemot Rabbah 16, doesn't just read it at face value. It asks: why the elders? Why were they the ones cal...
The verse "Draw, and take for yourselves lambs" (Exodus 12:21) might seem straightforward, but the Rabbis saw layers of meaning. They connect it to the verse "With stillness and pl...
It’s a story about courage, about challenging the status quo, and about showing the world that what they worship is nothing more than an illusion. The verse in question is, "draw, ...
Jewish tradition teaches us that justice, true justice, is at the very heart of the Divine. And that the way we act in the world has cosmic repercussions. In Shemot Rabbah, a compi...
Take, for instance, the humble hyssop. Hyssop – that little plant we read about in the story of the Exodus. It doesn't seem like much, but according to Shemot Rabbah, it's a key to...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. to a fascinating interpretation from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Exodus. It all begins with a seemingly simple...
Our story comes from Shemot Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Exodus. Specifically, it focuses on the instruction to take a bunch of hyssop and dip i...
Shemot Rabbah turns to Egypt — Giving of the Torah. Shemot Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, gives us a glimpse into the night of the ...
” The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Shemot Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, asks a profound question about this v...
The familiar reading treats these epic stories in the Torah and just accept that things happened at the right moment. But what if there's a hidden layer of incredible detail beneat...
What Happened at Midnight When the Firstborn Died is the question behind this passage from Shemot Rabbah. Here's the picture Shemot Rabbah paints: Moses, acting as God's messenger,...
The familiar reading treats the verse in (Exodus 12:30), "As there was no house in which there was no one dead," and maybe we don't fully grasp its implications. But the ancient ra...
Shemot Rabbah turns to The Slaying of the Firstborn at the Stroke of Midnight. "It was at midnight," the verse says, echoing the words of Elihu in (Job 34:20): "In a moment they di...
Specifically, What does "song" mean here? According to this Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), it's not necessarily a happy tune. Instead, "song" can refer to disaster, to...
The Divine, it seems, knows the feeling. According to Shemot Rabbah, the great collection of Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) interpretations on the Book of Exodus, God...
The Book of Exodus tells us that the Israelites were instructed to mark their doorposts with blood so that God would "pass over" their homes during the tenth plague, sparing their ...
Today's story comes from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. It's a powerful reflection on God's role in the Exodus, and really, in all o...
