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In Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, we find this idea explored through a rather unsettling lens: famine. Specifically, the ...
Take Terah, for example, the father of Abraham. The Torah introduces him with a doubled name: "These are the descendants of Teraḥ. Teraḥ begot Abram, Naḥor, and Haran, and Haran be...
The Torah is full of such moments, and the Rabbis of the Midrash are masters at unearthing the layers of meaning. Let's take a peek into Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 42, w...
It all starts with a dream. Jacob, fleeing his brother Esau, lays down to sleep, using a stone as a pillow. And he has a vision. A ladder stretching to heaven, angels ascending and...
We're looking at section 76, which grapples with Jacob's prayer as he prepares to meet his brother Esau after years of separation (Genesis 32:10). Remember the setup: Jacob is unde...
Jewish tradition is just teeming with those kinds of moments. Take Jacob, for instance, as he's about to head down to Egypt to reunite with his son Joseph. The Torah tells us, "Isr...
In Deuteronomy 3:2, God tells Moses, "Do not fear him, as I have delivered him and his entire people and his land into your hand; you shall do to him as you did to Siḥon, king of t...
to one fascinating interpretation from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes. The verse at the heart of it all is Ecclesiastes 8:4: "...
Psalm 143, a heartfelt plea from David, grapples with exactly that. "Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my plea..." But the questions bubble up: Who among us can truly claim innocence...
