Parshat Miketz

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Pharaoh's dreams, Joseph's rise to power in Egypt, the famine, and the brothers' first journey to Egypt. Genesis 41:1-44:17.

Beitar and Creation

Midrash Rabbah Shir HaShirim Rabbah 17:1

The verse in question is Song of Songs 2:17: "Until the day is great and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a fawn on the cleft mountains.” Now, on the su...

CreationHell/GehennaNoah & FloodPatriarchs

Moses and the Dreamer of Shir

Midrash Rabbah Shir HaShirim Rabbah 2:1

That ache, that persistent search – it echoes through the ages, even finding its way into the ancient texts. We turn to Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretatio...

JosephMosesSolomonSoul

Moses and Adam of Rabbis

Midrash Rabbah Shir HaShirim Rabbah 9:1

Seems straightforward. But the Rabbis, in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, see layers of meaning here. Specifically, they focus on the Hebrew word libavtini – "you have charmed me." The spell...

Adam & EveJosephMosesKing David

Bilam and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Shir HaShirim Rabbah 9:4

The passage begins by interpreting a verse about those who left Egypt during the Exodus. It states, "There are sixty queens…" But instead of taking this literally, the Rabbis offer...

CreationPatriarchsJosephTorah

Passover's Song

Midrash Rabbah Shir HaShirim Rabbah 2:2

Take the verse from the Song of Songs, Shir HaShirim, "How fair are your feet in sandals [bane’alim]," with its slightly unusual plural form, "sandals" [ne’alim]. What could that p...

CreationJosephMosesTorah

Shem and Divine Judgment

Midrash Rabbah Vayikra Rabbah 5:3

to a fascinating passage from Vayikra Rabbah, a Midrash, or interpretive commentary, on the Book of Leviticus, that touches upon this very issue. The passage opens with a quote fro...

Hell/GehennaCreaturesPatriarchsJoseph

Adam Names the Animals and Israelites

Midrash Rabbah Vayikra Rabbah 22:8

That’s the image Rabbi Pinḥas, quoting Rabbi Levi, uses to explain a powerful idea in Vayikra Rabbah. He tells the story of a king’s son who’d developed a taste for… well, let’s ju...

DemonsAdam & EveJosephTemple

Laban: Rebecca and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Vayikra Rabbah 23:1

The Torah tackles this very question, and the answer is surprisingly nuanced. We find a fascinating passage in Vayikra Rabbah 23, which delves into Leviticus 18:3: “You shall not a...

CreationPatriarchsJosephSolomon

Reish Lakish Among the Mothers

Midrash Rabbah Vayikra Rabbah 23:12

Today, we're diving into a fascinating, and frankly, pretty intense passage from Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Leviticus. This particular section...

MatriarchsJosephSolomonJob