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.

Datan in Joseph's Time

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 5:20

In the Book of Exodus, we read, "The foremen of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, saying: Why have you not fulfilled your appointed...

JosephMosesSoulHoly Land

Isaac: Abraham's Transgression

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 6:4

This very human experience echoes in the ancient texts, specifically in a powerful passage from Shemot Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. The ...

CreationAdam & EveNoah & FloodPatriarchs

Pharaoh's Miracle and Isaiah

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 9:1

It's all there in the book of Exodus, chapter 7, verse 9: "When Pharaoh will speak to you, saying: Provide a wonder for you; then you shall say to Aaron: Take your staff, and cast ...

CreationAngelsAdam & EveNoah & Flood

Pharaoh: Moses's Miracle

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 9:6

And his reaction to Moses and Aaron's miracles in Egypt, as described in Shemot Rabbah, is a masterclass in insecure overcompensation. We all know the story: Moses and Aaron come b...

JosephMosesMiraclesWisdom

Moses in Battle of Aaron

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 11:5

It's easy to see them as just divine punishment, but the rabbis found layers of meaning, justice, and even hidden miracles within each one. Let's look at the plague of boils as des...

HeavenJosephMosesMiracles

The Golden Calf and Betzalel

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 48:3

Take Betzalel, for example, the master craftsman of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. We read in Exodus 31:2, "See, the Lord has called by name Betzalel, son of Uri, son of Ḥur…” But wh...

MosesTempleSoulPrayer

First Days of Existence and Sanhedrin

Midrash Rabbah Shir HaShirim Rabbah 1:2

to Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations, and unpack just one verse: "Your eyes are doves." Now, on the surface, it's a beautiful compliment. Poetic, even....

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Fires of Gehenna

Midrash Rabbah Shir HaShirim Rabbah 4:4

It's not just a love poem, you know. Jewish tradition sees it as an allegory, a story of the love between God and Israel. And within its verses, we find echoes of the Temple, its d...

CreationHell/GehennaCreaturesAdam & Eve

Wisdom of Rabbi Akiva

Midrash Rabbah Vayikra Rabbah 5:4

The Book of Proverbs tells us, "A man's giving expands him" (Proverbs 18:16). But what does that really mean? Well, Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the ...

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