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.

Abraham: Avimelekh and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 54:2

The passage opens with Avimelekh and Pikhol approaching Abraham. Now, who exactly was Pikhol? Rabbi Yehuda says Pikhol was his actual name. But Rabbi Nehemya offers a fascinating a...

CreationPatriarchsMatriarchsJoseph

Foundations of Being and Abraham

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 54:6

It might be more surprising – and down-to-earth – than you think. Our text from Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, dives into...

CreationPatriarchsTorahPrayer

Moses: The Binding of Isaac

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 55:6

The story of Abraham and the binding of Isaac, the Akeidah, is a powerful lens through which to explore this idea. Our text today comes from Bereshit Rabbah 55, a collection of rab...

CreationPatriarchsMosesKing David

The Binding of Isaac and Rabbis

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 56:3

We're looking at Genesis 22:6, that agonizing verse leading up to the Akeidah, the Binding of Isaac. "Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and placed it upon Isaac his son; ...

CreationPatriarchsHoly LandSacrifice

The Binding of Isaac and Shem

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 56:10

Names hold power, history, and sometimes, the very essence of a place. Take Jerusalem, for example. Its story, according to the ancient Rabbis, is far more intricate than you might...

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Tarmod and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 56:11

We know the story: God commands Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son. Abraham, after a terrible internal struggle, obeys. At the last moment, an angel intervenes, and a ram is sacr...

CreationAngelsPatriarchsDaniel

Marriage of Abraham of Sarah

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 58:9

The Torah, as it often does, gives us clues, and this time it’s wrapped up in the story of Abraham burying his beloved Sarah. In Genesis 23:19, we read, “Then, Abraham buried Sarah...

CreationPatriarchsMatriarchsSolomon

Righteousness of Meir

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 59:1

The sages of the Midrash, those brilliant interpreters of our sacred texts, really dug into this. Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic commentary on Genesis, explores ...

CreationPatriarchsSolomon

Abraham and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 59:4

This one, found in Bereshit Rabbah 59, a compilation of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Genesis, definitely did that for me. It's a story about a rabbi, a myrtle branch, and a fie...

CreationPatriarchsSolomonTorah