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.

Avimelekh's Prayer

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 52:13

In Jewish tradition, we find moments like that too, and they often lead to powerful breakthroughs. Take the story of Abraham and Sarah in the land of Avimelekh. As the Book of Gene...

CreationAngelsPatriarchsMatriarchs

Sarah: Avimelekh and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 53:1

It all comes down to remembering, and more importantly, acting. to a story about just that, found in Bereshit Rabbah 53, a section of the ancient midrashic (interpretive) collectio...

CreationPatriarchsMatriarchsTorah

Sarah's Prayer

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 53:5

The Torah, and the rabbinic tradition that blossoms from it, is obsessed with this very question. to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah 53, a midrash – a rabbinic interpret...

CreationHell/GehennaAngelsPatriarchs

Birth of Isaac and Yitz

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 53:7

It's more than just a label; it's a key to understanding a person’s essence and their role in the grand tapestry of existence. Take the name ISAAC, Yitzḥak in Hebrew. It's so much ...

CreationPatriarchsMatriarchsMoses

Birth of Sarah and Esther

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 53:8

After decades of barrenness, at a very, very advanced age, she miraculously conceives and gives birth to Isaac. In Genesis 21:6, she exclaims, "God has made laughter for me; everyo...

CreationPatriarchsMatriarchsEsther

Evil Inclination and Abraham

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 53:10

Our story begins with a simple line from Genesis 21:8: “The child grew and was weaned. Abraham made a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned.” Simple enough. But the Rabbis, in th...

CreationPatriarchsMatriarchsJoseph

Ishmael in Exile

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 53:11

The Torah tells us Sarah saw Ishmael "playing" (Genesis 21:9), and it was enough for her to demand, in no uncertain terms, that Hagar and Ishmael be banished. But what exactly did ...

CreationPatriarchsMatriarchsMoses

Kingdom of Hagar and Abraham

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 53:13

Let’s look at one of those now, a fraught and painful scene from Genesis, chapter 21. We're talking about the expulsion of Hagar and her son Yishmael. The verse tells us, "Abraham ...

CreationAngelsPatriarchsMatriarchs

David's Transgression and Hagar

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 53:14

Even King David, the sweet singer of Israel, felt that way sometimes. And the ancient rabbis grappled with this very question too. In Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homi...

CreationAngelsPatriarchsKing David