Parshat Vayechi

2,005 related texts · Page 136 of 223

Jacob blesses his sons and grandsons with prophetic blessings, Jacob's death and burial, and Joseph's final years. Genesis 47:28-50:26.

Birth of Esau and Edom

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 65:11

Our story comes from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. Specifically, we're diving into chapter 65, which grapples with the character...

CreationPatriarchsSolomonTorah

Esau's Transgression and Rabbis

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 65:15

The scene: Jacob is about to deceive his father Isaac in order to receive the blessing meant for his brother Esau. He's understandably nervous. "Behold," he says to Rebecca, "Esau ...

CreationDemonsAdam & EvePatriarchs

Isaac's Transgression and Behold

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 67:5

Take the tale of Isaac, Jacob, and Esau. We all know the basics: Jacob deceives his father, Isaac, and steals Esau's blessing. But what happens after? What was Isaac really thinkin...

CreationPatriarchsJosephTemple

Esau's Transgression and Daniel

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 67:8

That feeling is at the heart of our story today, a story about brothers, blessings, and a whole lot of bad blood. We're diving into Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 67, a Midr...

CreationPatriarchsKing DavidDaniel

Cosmic Origins of Rabbis

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 69:5

We're looking at Genesis 28:14, a blessing given to Jacob: "Your descendants will be as the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out to the west, and to the east, and to the nor...

CreationHell/GehennaPatriarchsMoses

Rabbi Abbahu and Creation

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 70:4

Specifically, Bereshit Rabbah 70 wrestles with a tricky part of Jacob's story. After his dream of the ladder, Jacob makes a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me i...

CreationPatriarchsJosephSolomon

Leah and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 71:2

Jewish tradition offers comfort and hope in those moments. It reminds us that even in the depths of despair, we are noticed, and our fortunes can change. The verse in Psalms (145:1...

CreationPatriarchsMatriarchsJoseph

Leah: Zebulun at the Dawn of Creation

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 72:6

We’re talking about Leah, wife of Jacob. You remember Leah: first wife, given in a switcheroo by her father Laban! By this point, she’s already given Jacob a whole bunch of sons. B...

CreationPatriarchsMatriarchsProphecy

Rachel's Transgression and Benjamin

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 73:4

Our story begins with Rachel, one of the matriarchs of the Jewish people. She was barren, a source of immense sorrow in a time when children were seen as a woman's greatest blessin...

PatriarchsMatriarchsJosephKing David