Parshat Vaera

2,883 related texts · Page 46 of 321

God reveals His name to Moses, the first seven plagues strike Egypt, and Pharaoh's heart is hardened. Exodus 6:2-9:35.

Moses's Prayer and Esau

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 21:1

The Israelites are trapped. The sea is before them, Pharaoh's army is closing in from behind. Panic is in the air. They cry out to God, as we read in Exodus 14:10: "The children of...

CreationPatriarchsMosesKing David

Foundations of Being and Moses

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 21:8

The Israelites certainly did at the Red Sea. Pharaoh’s army was bearing down on them, and the sea was, well, a sea. So what were they supposed to do? Pray? Act? Just give up? The B...

CreationHell/GehennaAdam & EvePatriarchs

Moses's Transgression

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 23:7

The story begins, as we all know, with the parting of the Red Sea. A moment of unimaginable salvation for the Israelites, fleeing slavery in Egypt. Moses leads the people, and as t...

JosephMosesKing DavidProphecy

Heavenly Messengers and Pharaoh

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 23:14

It all starts with the verse, "For He is exalted." The Rabbis ask, what does that truly mean? Rabbi Pappos offers a beautiful and subtle reading of the verse from Song of Songs 1:9...

AngelsMosesKing DavidSolomon

Kingdom of Yitro and Moses

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 27:7

It all revolves around Yitro, Moses' father-in-law. The verse we're looking at is “Yitro…heard” (Exodus 18:1), which is the start of the portion where Yitro comes to visit Moses in...

MosesSolomonHoly LandEgypt

Moses and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 28:4

Can you picture them all crying out at the same moment? Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, tells us that God hears them all concurrently...

CreationAdam & EveJosephMoses

Moses Speaks to God

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 28:5

Shemot Rabbah (a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus) offers a mind-bending perspective on this, using God as the ultimate example. It begins with the simp...

MosesJobTorahEgypt

Moses and Joseph

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 43:9

This particular section, Shemot Rabbah 43, gives us a glimpse into the intense drama that unfolded between Moses and God after the Israelites' colossal blunder. The verse in questi...

JosephMosesRepentanceHoly Land

Trial of Moses and Tabernacle

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 51:1

Who do we trust? Why do we trust them? And what happens when that trust is broken? In Jewish tradition, the concept of trust, of being a ne'eman, a trustworthy person, is incredibl...

MosesSolomonTempleEgypt