Parshat Bereshit

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Covers the creation of the world in six days, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the first sin, Cain and Abel, and the generations from Adam to Noah. Genesis 1:1-6:8.

Moses in Battle and Joseph

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 20:19

We all know about the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea... but there's a smaller, more personal story woven into the grand narrative of the Exodus. It's a story of loyalty, promi...

CreationAdam & EveJosephMoses

The Ten Commandments and Judah

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 30:19

According to Rabbi Elazar, it's justice. That’s why, as Shemot Rabbah tells us, God gave us laws after the Ten Commandments. If justice is perverted, everything crumbles. God, in h...

CreationAdam & EvePatriarchsJoseph

Jeremiah: Messiah at the Dawn of Creation

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 31:10

That feeling, that fear, is something the Jewish people have grappled with throughout our history. And it's right there in Shemot Rabbah 31, a midrash on the book of Exodus. The pa...

CreationPatriarchsMosesTemple

Jeremiah: Abraham and Creation

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 32:2

In Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, we find a fascinating exploration of this very question. It begins with a verse: "Behold, I am sen...

CreationAngelsPatriarchsJoseph

Hidden Secrets of Creation and Israelites

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 32:7

It’s a question that takes us to the heart of Jewish thought, and to a fascinating passage in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. The pas...

CreationHeavenAngelsPatriarchs

Israelites: Haman at the Dawn of Creation

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 38:4

The ancient rabbis wrestled with this, too, and their insights, preserved in Shemot Rabbah, are surprisingly relevant today. The verse from Hosea (14:3) says, "Take words with you ...

CreationHeavenPatriarchsJoseph

Betzalel's Transgression and the Tabernacle

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 40:1

This week, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Exodus. It all starts with God choosing Betzalel to b...

CreationAdam & EveMosesJob

Wonders of Genesis

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 47:4

The ancient rabbis certainly did. They saw the world – our world, and all the worlds beyond – as hanging in the balance, dependent on something surprisingly simple: our commitment ...

CreationHeavenNoah & FloodSolomon

Ezekiel: Levi and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Shir HaShirim Rabbah 4:6

Rabbi Yanai had a similar thought. He pointed out that the Torah truly needed to begin only with the verse "This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2), marking the start of the Jew...

CreationCreaturesNoah & FloodMoses