Parshat Vayetzei

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Jacob's dream of the ladder to heaven, his years working for Laban, his marriages to Rachel and Leah, and the birth of the twelve tribes. Genesis 28:10-32:3.

Joshua: Jacob and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Devarim Rabbah 10:2

Day follows night, the seasons turn, the land stays put, the sea stays… well, you get the idea. But what if I told you that this order, seemingly immutable, has actually been bent ...

CreationPatriarchsMosesKing David

Jacob Among the Fathers and Judaism

Midrash Rabbah Kohelet Rabbah 7:6

The sages of old certainly did. And they saw that natural flow as a parallel to something quite profound about conversion to Judaism. Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teach...

PatriarchsMessiahProphecyHoly Land

Haman at the Dawn of Creation and Dreams

Midrash Rabbah Kohelet Rabbah 2:1

In fact, the Midrash, specifically Kohelet Rabbah, connects them to something much deeper: the consequences of our actions and, specifically, our words. Kohelet Rabbah, in its insi...

CreationHeavenNoah & FloodPatriarchs

Dawn of the World and Jacob

Midrash Rabbah Kohelet Rabbah 4:1

It’s a topic explored further in the rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, Kohelet Rabbah, and it's a fascinating, and frankly, a little scary. The verse in question is Ecclesiastes...

CreationAdam & EvePatriarchsMatriarchs

Abraham and Creation and Dreams

Midrash Rabbah Kohelet Rabbah 6:1

It all starts with the verse from Ecclesiastes 5:6: "So it is with a multitude of dreams and vanities and many words; rather, fear God.” The verse seems to be saying that too much ...

CreationHeavenPatriarchsMatriarchs

Bible: Jacob at the Dawn of Creation

Midrash Rabbah Kohelet Rabbah 11:1

The book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible grapples with these very feelings. There's a verse in chapter 9, verse 11, that really gets to the heart of it: "I again saw under the sun tha...

CreationHell/GehennaPatriarchsJoseph

Levi: Jacob at the Dawn of Creation

Midrash Rabbah Kohelet Rabbah 18:1

Our sages grappled with it too, and one place where they explore this idea is in Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes. The verse in ...

CreationPatriarchsMatriarchsJoseph

Jacob and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 1:3

It's rarely just repetition. Often, it's about adding layers of meaning, offering a deeper appreciation for what came before. Take the very beginning of the Book of Exodus. We’re i...

CreationPatriarchsJosephMoses

Joseph and the Patriarchs of Jacob

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 1:4

It's like, bam, out of nowhere, you're bearing a load you didn't even see coming. Well, the ancient Israelites knew that feeling all too well when they found themselves in Egypt. W...

PatriarchsJosephEgypt