2,677 related texts · Page 122 of 298
Our focus is Genesis 23:17-18, describing how Abraham acquired the field of Ephron, including the cave of Makhpela, as a burial place. "The field of Ephron that was in Makhpela tha...
The Torah, as it often does, gives us clues, and this time it’s wrapped up in the story of Abraham burying his beloved Sarah. In Genesis 23:19, we read, “Then, Abraham buried Sarah...
Our sages, in the ancient collection of rabbinic homilies known as Bereshit Rabbah, delve deep into this very question. They find an answer woven into the fabric of Torah itself. T...
The Psalmist certainly pondered this. "Even when I am old and gray, God, do not forsake me" (Psalms 71:18). A simple plea. But Rabbi Aḥa, in Bereshit Rabbah, asks a deceptively sim...
This one, found in Bereshit Rabbah 59, a compilation of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Genesis, definitely did that for me. It's a story about a rabbi, a myrtle branch, and a fie...
We often think of blessings as material wealth, good health, maybe even a long life. But what if the true blessing is something far deeper, something almost…invisible? Let’s turn t...
It begins, "Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household, who was in charge of everything that was his: Please, place your hand under my thigh" (Genesis 24:2). Under his...
We find ourselves in Bereshit Rabbah 60, a treasure trove of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, wrestling with just that. The verse in question, Genesis 24:33, descri...
The Torah gives us a glimpse, a tantalizing hint, when describing Isaac bringing Rebecca into his mother Sarah’s tent. Genesis 24:67 tells us, “Isaac brought her into the tent of h...
