6,488 related texts · Page 587 of 721
Take the encounter between Jacob and Esau after their long separation. Genesis 33:15 tells us, "Esau said to him: Please, I will place with you some of the people who are with me. ...
That feeling, that resilience, is at the heart of a beautiful passage in Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. It's all about Jacob, and...
We make our plans, we have our dreams, but as the Book of Proverbs (27:1) wisely reminds us, "Do not glory in tomorrow, for you do not know what the day will bring." This idea of t...
The ancient rabbis grappled with that very feeling when they looked at the story of Dina, Jacob’s daughter, in the Book of Genesis. The Torah tells us that Dina went out to visit t...
It’s an idea that's been puzzling thinkers for centuries, and it pops up in some pretty unexpected places in our tradition. Proverbs 28:1 tells us, "The wicked flee without a pursu...
Sometimes, a seemingly minor detail can open up a whole world of interpretation. to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book...
It’s a beautiful custom, wishing them the qualities we admire in these two brothers. But there's something even more interesting hidden within that blessing, something that goes ba...
The Torah gives us stories of such people again and again, and one of the most striking is Samson. Our text from Bereshit Rabbah (98) delves into the strength – and the thirst! – o...
The sages of the Midrash, particularly in Bereshit Rabbah, that treasure trove of Genesis interpretations, weren't fond of repetition. They believed every word, every phrase, held ...
