Parshat Toldot

1,998 related texts · Page 145 of 222

The birth of Jacob and Esau, Esau sells his birthright, Isaac and the Philistines, and Jacob receives Isaac's blessing through deception. Genesis 25:19-28:9.

David in Battle and Laban

Midrash Aggadah Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 36:23

Our guide today is a passage from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a captivating work of Jewish legend and lore. Specifically, we're looking at Chapter 36, which touches on some pretty sign...

Noah & FloodPatriarchsKing DavidTorah

Jacob's Journey

Midrash Aggadah Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 39:3

Jewish tradition has a fascinating way of showing us that sometimes, just sometimes, we need a little divine… addition. Let’s turn to a text called Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a wonder...

JosephHoly LandEgypt

The Garden of Eden and Joseph

Midrash Aggadah Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 40:2

Not just any rod, but the rod. A rod created in the twilight of creation itself, before the first Shabbat. Rabbi Levi, a sage from the Talmudic period, tells us its story, a story ...

HeavenAdam & EveNoah & FloodPatriarchs

Abraham: Moses and the Angels

Midrash Aggadah Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 45:12

That's the situation Moses faced in a powerful story found in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (chapter 45). The story opens with a terrifying decree: God, in his anger, sends not one, but f...

HeavenPatriarchsMosesMessiah

Blessing of Sammael

Midrash Aggadah Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 46:8

Jewish tradition wrestles with these questions constantly, and one particularly fascinating perspective comes from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a collection of stories and interpretatio...

DemonsRepentanceHoly LandHolidays

Blessing of Adam and Cheruvim

Midrash Aggadah Tanna DeBei Eliyahu Rabbah 1:1

But that's precisely the reading we find in Tanna DeBei Eliyahu Rabbah, a fascinating early rabbinic text. The verse in Genesis (3:24) tells us God "drove out" (ויגרש, vayegaresh) ...

Hell/GehennaAdam & EveTorah

Isaac and the Holy Sanctuary

Midrash Aggadah Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 184:2

It’s more than just historical happenstance. According to a beautiful passage in the Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of rabbinic commentary on the Bible, there’s a deeper, cosmic rea...

TempleHoly LandHolidays

Esau's Vision

Midrash Aggadah Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 119:2

We know the story: fleeing from his brother Esau, he rests his head on a stone and has this incredible vision. But the Yalkut Shimoni, a compilation of Midrashic teachings, offers ...

TempleMysticismHoly LandSacrifice

The Binding of Isaac and Yeshayahu

Midrash Aggadah Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 816:1

It all starts with the phrase "this good mountain and the Lebanon." This isn't just any mountain, you see. It's the mountain. Everyone, it seems, calls it that. Abraham calls it a ...

King DavidTempleProphecyHoly Land