1,037 related texts · 4 related myths · Page 19 of 22
We begin with the verse: "God said: Let the water under the heavens be gathered to one place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so" (Genesis 1:9). But the Rabbis, masters of ...
A reader can imagine grand, sweeping transformations, but sometimes, the most profound miracles are about containing the uncontainable – about fitting more into less. That’s what o...
The familiar story is this: the ark, the flood, the animals two by two. But have you ever stopped to wonder about the timing of it all? It's not just about the rain, but about the ...
Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, explores this very idea, exploring how God’s mercy permeates everything. The verse from (P...
Bereshit Rabbah centers this passage on Noah's Transgression of Canaan. First, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) clarifies that "Noah awoke from his wine" means simply...
The Torah gives us hints, but it's in the rabbinic tradition where things get really interesting, where they piece together the ages and relationships to illuminate the story. (Gen...
The rabbis of old, wrestling with this very question, spun a fascinating tale in Bereshit Rabbah 40, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. The story begi...
Bereshit Rabbah centers this passage on Kedorlaomer's Transgression. It sounds straightforward. But the rabbis, masters of close reading, saw more than meets the eye. The verse kic...
This teaching connects this to a verse from Isaiah (33:15): "He seals his ears from hearing of bloodshed." The idea is that a righteous person doesn't stand idly by when faced with...
Our journey begins in (Genesis 14:20): “And blessed is God, the Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand. He gave him a tithe of everything.” This verse is about Abraha...
It all starts with God promising Abraham countless descendants: "Look now to the heavens, and count the stars, if you can count them… So will your offspring be." But it's the phras...
We find ourselves in Genesis, chapter 17, where it's written, "And all the men of his household, born in the house or purchased with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with h...
I've been pondering just that as I was reading through Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 48, which elaborates on a seemingly simple verse: (Genesis 18:6). It reads, "Abraham hu...
How do you BECOME ready? Our exploration starts in Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. Here, in section 49, we find a fascinat...
The verse we're focusing on is (Genesis 19:24): “And the Lord rained down brimstone and fire upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah from the Lord, from the heavens…” It's a pretty intense im...
Bereshit Rabbah centers this passage on Sarah — Abraham at the Dawn of Creation. Hold on. What if these aren't just descriptions of barren fields? What if they're allusions to some...
The idea of being tested, especially by a higher power, is a central theme in Jewish tradition. And one of the most profound examples of this is the story of Abraham. Bereshit Rabb...
While there aren't easy answers, Jewish tradition grapples with this in profound ways. a fascinating Midrash – a rabbinic interpretation – from Bereshit Rabbah (Genesis Rabbah), sp...
As we learn in Bereshit Rabbah 60, it's a theme that runs through some pretty significant stories in our tradition. He's standing by a well, praying for a sign. "May it be," he ask...
The story begins with Rebecca, who, upon meeting Eliezer at the well, "ran and told her mother’s household all about these matters" (Genesis 24:28). Now, Rabbi Yoḥanan makes an int...
They saw more than just stories; they saw patterns, echoes, and hidden depths. to one of those fascinating explorations, found in Bereshit Rabbah, the great collection of rabbinic ...
Take the birth of Jacob and Esau, for example. Seems straightforward. But Bereshit Rabbah, the ancient rabbinic commentary on Genesis, dives deep, revealing layers of interpretatio...
Our ancestor Isaac certainly did. The Torah tells us that Isaac went to Avimelekh, king of the Philistines, in Gerar (Genesis 26:1). But where exactly was Gerar? Bereshit Rabbah, t...
"By your sword you will live, and you will serve your brother; it will be when you will revolt, you will remove his yoke from your neck" (Genesis 27:40). It’s a confusing mix of do...
Take the tale of Esau, brother of Jacob. He wasn't exactly winning any popularity contests with his parents. (Genesis 28:8) tells us, "Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan were ob...
Our sages wrestled with it too. to a fascinating little corner of Bereshit Rabbah (Genesis Rabbah), a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. Specifi...
The verse in question comes from (1 Chronicles 29:9): “The people rejoiced in their donation, because they donated to the Lord wholeheartedly, and King David too rejoiced with grea...
The verse in question is (Genesis 29:31): “The Lord saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, and Rachel was barren.” Seems straightforward. But Rabbi Binyamin links this ...
Bereshit Rabbah centers this passage on Leah — Zebulun at the Dawn of Creation. Bereshit Rabbah, that incredible collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, takes this a lit...
The story of Rachel in the book of Genesis speaks directly to that feeling, and offers a powerful message of hope. The Torah tells us simply, "God remembered Rachel" (Genesis 30:22...
Bereshit Rabbah centers this passage on Twenty Years of Faithful Shepherding for Laban. The passage focuses on Jacob’s words to Laban, recounting his two decades of dedicated servi...
Our ancestor Jacob certainly did. When he sends messengers ahead to his brother Esau, the report they bring back plunges him into fear. But within that fear, we find a fascinating ...
The ancient rabbis certainly did, and their struggles echo even today. to a fascinating story tucked away in Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book o...
The Torah tells us in Genesis (35:20) that "Jacob established a monument upon her grave; it is the monument of Rachel's grave until today.” But what does it really mean to establis...
Bereshit Rabbah centers this passage on The Dotted Word That Foreshadowed Shechem's Fate. It all starts with the line: "His brothers went to herd their father’s flock in Shekhem" (...
"They sat to eat bread…" Rabbi Aḥva bar Ze’eira points out something profound here. He says, "The transgression of the tribes is remembered forever; it gave hope to the world." Isn...
The story begins with Judah and his sons. You might remember the verse from (Genesis 38:8): "Judah said to Onan: Consort with your brother’s wife, and consummate levirate marriage ...
Sometimes, it's from the most unexpected places. Take the story of Joseph in Egypt. He rises from prisoner to become second-in-command to Pharaoh. And within that rise, hidden in P...
It's a deep dive into the story of Jacob's sons and their trip to Egypt, and it's full of anxiety, suspicion, and loss. The passage begins with a recap from Genesis 42. Joseph, now...
The scene: a devastating famine grips the land. Jacob's sons have returned from Egypt with grain, but it’s gone. They need to go back, but the mysterious Egyptian ruler, who we, th...
Our ancestors certainly did. This week, we're diving into Bereshit Rabbah 91, a section of the great Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) collection that unpacks the Book o...
It all begins with Jacob, now also known as Israel, standing at a crossroads. God speaks to him "in the visions of the night," a phrase that already sets a mystical tone. "Jacob, J...
I was reading in Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, and I stumbled across just such a moment. It revolves around a rather pointed exc...
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...
Beyond being one of the twelve tribes of Israel, it carries a unique promise, a prophecy intertwined with leadership, lineage, and ultimately, the coming of the Messiah. to a fasci...
The Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) take this idea and run with it, suggesting that Jacob and Moses, in their own ways, foreshadowed the battles between th...
We find ourselves in Bereshit Rabbah, a treasure trove of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, wrestling with Jacob's final blessings to his sons. And when he gets to D...
(Psalm 100:3) declares, "Know that the Lord is God." But it's the next part that really sparked their interest: "He made us, and we are His" (Psalm 100:3). Or is it? See, the Hebre...
