Parshat Vayera

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Three angels visit Abraham, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the birth of Isaac, and the Binding of Isaac (the Akedah). Genesis 18:1-22:24.

Abraham: The Tower of Babel

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 61:1

"Happy is the man who has not walked…" – and then it lists the paths we should avoid: the counsel of the wicked, the way of sinners, the company of the insolent. According to Beres...

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Death of Abraham and Simon

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 62:3

Our story begins with the verse: "It was after the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son, and Isaac lived beside Be’er Laḥai Ro’i" (Genesis 25:11). Be’er Laḥai Ro’i, meaning ...

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Marriage of Isaac and Rebecca

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 63:5

The verse in Genesis (25:21) tells us, "Isaac entreated the Lord opposite his wife, because she was barren, and the Lord acceded to his entreaty, and Rebecca his wife conceived." S...

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Abraham and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 63:12

We find a fascinating, and perhaps unsettling, answer in Bereshit Rabbah 63, a section of the ancient Midrash that delves into the lives of Abraham and Isaac, and the troublesome f...

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Rebecca: Abraham and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 64:5

Jewish tradition recognizes that life throws curveballs. But it also offers a comforting perspective: time can be a healer. Our story today comes from Bereshit Rabbah (Genesis Rabb...

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Isaac and Creation of Avimelech

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 64:6

The scene: Isaac is hanging out in the land of the Philistines, near Gerar. Remember, his father Abraham had his own…issues there. And wouldn’t you know it, history seems to be rep...

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Isaac's Transgression and Rebecca

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 65:4

But the Midrash, specifically Bereshit Rabbah 65, really digs into why that bitterness is directed at Isaac first. Why Isaac first? That's the question the rabbis grapple with. And...

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Jacob: Abraham and Creation

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 65:9

But what if these weren’t just random occurrences? What if they were, in a way, requested? Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa opens a fascinating door into this idea, stating, "Much, Lord my G...

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Death of Isaac

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 65:12

The ancients certainly did. And in Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of Rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, we find a fascinating glimpse into their thoughts on death, destiny...

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