535 related texts · Page 22 of 60
The Torah tells us Avimelekh went to him "from Gerar, and a group of his associates, and Fikhol the captain of his guard" (Genesis 26:26). Simple enough. But the Rabbis, bless thei...
We’re looking at section 66, and it all starts with the phrase, "And may God give you from the dew of the heavens." What’s so special about dew, anyway? The rabbis, masters of clos...
The passage revolves around the blessing, "May [God] give you" – in Hebrew, veyiten lekha. But it’s not just a simple wish. The rabbis see layers of meaning, built right into the g...
"Isaac summoned Jacob and he blessed him. He commanded him and said to him: Do not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan" (Genesis 28:1). Simple enough. But Rabbi Abahu sees som...
We're looking at section 75, which deals with the moment Jacob prepares to meet his brother Esau after years of estrangement. Jacob, remember, is about to face his brother Esau, fr...
The ancient Rabbis certainly noticed it. They saw it woven into the very fabric of the Torah, these moments where authority seems to… loosen. Our story today comes from Bereshit Ra...
We're in chapter 97, diving into Jacob's blessing of Joseph. The scene: Jacob, nearing the end of his life, blesses Joseph, saying, "The God before whom my fathers, Abraham and Isa...
We find ourselves in Bereshit Rabbah, a treasure trove of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, wrestling with Jacob's final blessings to his sons. And when he gets to D...
Jewish tradition has some powerful stories that speak to that very idea. Take this tale, recounted in Devarim Rabbah. It’s a quick one, but it packs a punch. Rabbi Tanhuma shares a...
