Parshat Bereshit

7,771 related texts · Page 486 of 864

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.

Elijah and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Devarim Rabbah 4:11

The Book of Deuteronomy promises, "when the Lord your God will expand your border" (Deuteronomy 19:8). But what does that expansion really mean? Is it just about more territory? Th...

CreationNoah & FloodElijahTorah

Kingdom of Amalek

Midrash Rabbah Devarim Rabbah 5:10

Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Ilai points out that there were actually three commandments the Israelites received upon entering the land: to wipe out the memory of Amalek, to appoint a ki...

CreationHeavenAdam & EveKing David

Kingdom of Moses and Miriam

Midrash Rabbah Devarim Rabbah 6:11

In Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, we find a powerful exploration of this very feeling, wrapped in a story about snakes and the proph...

CreationAngelsAdam & EvePatriarchs

Death of Moses

Midrash Rabbah Devarim Rabbah 9:8

We often think of praise as purely positive, a gift freely given. But what if even our most sincere compliments could carry a hidden cost? Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homiletic...

CreationAdam & EveMosesRepentance

Fate of the Sinners

Midrash Rabbah Kohelet Rabbah 23:1

The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, certainly grapples with that feeling. It can feel bleak. But within that perceived bleakness, ancient interpreters found profound meaning. Tak...

CreationHell/GehennaNoah & FloodJoseph

Noah's Offering and Moses

Midrash Rabbah Kohelet Rabbah 1:1

The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet in Hebrew, certainly does. And the rabbis of the Midrash, in Kohelet Rabbah, wrestled with it too. Specifically, they hone in on a verse that r...

CreationNoah & FloodMosesKing David

Jacob: Isaac and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 1:32

Like a well, for instance. It's more than just a source of water; it’s often a meeting place, a place of destiny. Our sages point this out in Shemot Rabbah, noting how the well is ...

CreationHeavenAdam & EvePatriarchs

Maker of Heaven and Earth of Presence

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 2:2

But where is God, exactly? Is He up in the heavens, completely removed from our earthly struggles? Or is He still somehow… here? The book of Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic...

CreationHeavenAdam & EvePatriarchs

Moses's Song and Israelites

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 15:4

The ancient Rabbis felt that way about the Exodus, the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt. And they found echoes of that feeling in the most unexpected places, even in the Son...

CreationNoah & FloodPatriarchsMoses