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It's not just about what’s on the ground, but what fills the air above us. Bereshit Rabbah, that magnificent collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, puts it this way: "A...
We often think of creation as a grand, sweeping act, but Jewish tradition also delves into the nitty-gritty details, the almost-missed deadlines, and the "oops, we'll get to that l...
Our tradition acknowledges that feeling, especially when we consider the mysteries of creation. What was it like before the Big Bang of Genesis? What was God "doing"? The Rabbis of...
Rabbi Yehoshua, speaking in the name of Rabbi Levi, offers a beautiful image. He suggests that God consulted with the "works of the heavens and the earth." It's like a king who has...
And our sages, wrestling with the creation story itself, asked a very similar question. The Book of Psalms (8:5) asks, "What is a mortal that You remember him, a man that You take ...
The story centers on Rabbi Samlai, a sage known for his sharp wit and insightful responses. He found himself confronted by "heretics" – likely members of early Christian or Gnostic...
Our sages pondered that very thing, and they found a fascinating exception. The Torah portion of Bereshit, Genesis, opens with the creation. And in Genesis 2:1, we read, "The heave...
It's more than just setting the scene; it's about revealing the beauty hidden within creation itself. Rabbi Ḥama kicks things off with a powerful image, quoting Proverbs 25:4: “Rem...
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...
