Parshat Vayigash

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Judah's plea for Benjamin, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, and Jacob's family descends to Egypt. Genesis 44:18-47:27.

Foundations of Being and Moses

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 21:8

The Israelites certainly did at the Red Sea. Pharaoh’s army was bearing down on them, and the sea was, well, a sea. So what were they supposed to do? Pray? Act? Just give up? The B...

CreationHell/GehennaAdam & EvePatriarchs

Shur and Creation

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 24:4

We often gloss over place names, assuming they're just… well, places. But sometimes, they're so much more. Take, for example, the phrase "the wilderness of Shur," which pops up in ...

CreationAdam & EvePatriarchsJoseph

Yitro and Creation

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 27:1

This week, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Shemot Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, specifically Shemot Rabbah 27. It uses the s...

CreationPatriarchsJosephMoses

Kingdom of Yitro and There

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 27:9

The ancient rabbis grappled with this very idea, and their insights, preserved in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of homiletic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, offer some fascina...

Hell/GehennaPatriarchsJosephMoses

Me and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 30:5

Shemot Rabbah, the collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, points this out explicitly. "Come and see," it urges, "how excellent this portion is!" What's so ex...

CreationNoah & FloodPatriarchsJoseph

Wonders of Genesis and Moses

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 42:1

The book of Exodus and the sages of the Midrash explore this very idea. In Exodus 32:7, we read, "The Lord spoke to Moses: Go descend; for your people, whom you brought up from the...

CreationHell/GehennaAngelsAdam & Eve

Songs: Abraham at the Dawn of Creation

Midrash Rabbah Shemot Rabbah 49:2

Good intentions, maybe, but with a track record that's... well, let's just say "mixed"? That's the feeling at the heart of a beautiful passage in Shemot Rabbah 49, a collection of ...

CreationHeavenPatriarchsJoseph

Forefathers of Israel and Amalek

Midrash Rabbah Shir HaShirim Rabbah 4:4

They found ways to see even those challenging forces as a path towards the Divine. to a fascinating interpretation of a verse from Shir HaShirim, the Song of Songs, explored in Shi...

PatriarchsJosephMosesKing David

Beitar and Creation

Midrash Rabbah Shir HaShirim Rabbah 17:1

The verse in question is Song of Songs 2:17: "Until the day is great and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a fawn on the cleft mountains.” Now, on the su...

CreationHell/GehennaNoah & FloodPatriarchs