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.

Rabbi Shimon and Creation of Dome

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 6:8

It’s a question that’s captivated minds for millennia, and our sages of old certainly wrestled with it. The Rabbis, in Bereshit Rabbah, that treasure trove of early interpretations...

CreationHeaven

Adam's Transgression and Samlai

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 8:13

We get glimpses, little whispers, from our tradition that paint a picture far grander than we might imagine. The Torah tells us, plainly enough, "God blessed them" (Genesis 1:28). ...

CreationAdam & EvePatriarchsPrayer

Adam's Transgression and Sabbatical

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 10:4

Specifically, in Bereshit Rabbah 10, we find some pretty wild thoughts about the impact of Adam's sin. Rabbi Hoshaya, relaying an idea that Rabbi Afes expounded in Antioch, suggest...

HeavenAdam & EveProphecyExile

Lebanon: Temple at the Dawn of Creation

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 15:1

But according to Bereshit Rabbah, there was profound intention behind every detail. The school of Rabbi Yanai asks a crucial question: Why does the verse use the full name, "The Lo...

CreationHeavenAdam & EveKing David

The Garden of Eden and Rabbis

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 15:7

An apple? Maybe… but our tradition offers a whole orchard of possibilities! The rabbis of the Midrash, in Bereshit Rabbah 15, really sink their teeth into this question. Rabbi Meir...

CreationHeavenAdam & EveMoses

The Garden of Eden and Pishon

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 16:2

It's easy to just gloss over those descriptions of the Garden of Eden, but the Rabbis of the Midrash, those ancient interpreters of the Torah, saw so much more. to just a tiny piec...

CreationNoah & FloodTempleProphecy

Kush at the Dawn of Creation

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 16:3

"And the name of the second river is Giḥon; it is that which encircles the entire land of Kush" (Genesis 2:13). Okay, cool, rivers... but wait a minute. The problem is, Kush, as in...

CreationNoah & FloodDanielProphecy

Adam in Battle and Levi

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 16:6

It seems simple enough on the surface: "From every tree of the garden you may eat." But, like with so much in Torah, the rabbis saw layers upon layers of meaning hidden beneath the...

CreationAdam & EveMosesProphecy

Satan and Creation of Garden

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 17:6

Take, for example, the verse in Genesis 2:21, "He took one of his sides [mitzalotav]..." Now, mitzalotav can mean either "one of his ribs" or "one of his sides." So, which was it? ...

CreationDemonsAdam & EveMoses