10,602 related texts · Page 130 of 221
Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, tackles this very question, and it turns out, it's a battle as old as time. The text starts with a...
The story of Noah, after the flood, grapples with this very question. We all know the story: the world drowned in sin, Noah builds an ark, saves his family and the animals. But wha...
We often picture Noah releasing the dove, seeing the rainbow, and rebuilding the world. But the Torah tells us a less rosy story, a story of wine, exposure, and consequences. A sto...
Take, for example, the sons of Ḥam (חָם), Noah's son: "Kush, and Mitzrayim, and Put, and Canaan" (Genesis 10:6). We see the names that echo through history – Mitzrayim, which is Eg...
The passage starts with a seemingly simple verse: "And to Shem, father of all the children of Ever, brother of Yefet the eldest, children were also born" (Genesis 10:21). But hold ...
Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, delves into this concept with a powerful verse from Isaiah: "They do not know and they do not unde...
We get glimpses, fragments really, in the Torah, but the Rabbis, through their interpretations, give us access to a deeper understanding of his actions. Take, for example, the vers...
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...
The book of Genesis, Bereshit, is brimming with these moments. Take Lot, Abraham's nephew. We remember him mostly for his unfortunate choice of neighbors: the wicked inhabitants of...
The text opens with God's reassurance to Abraham: "Fear not, Abram." But whom did Abraham fear? Rabbi Berekhya suggests it was none other than Shem himself. The passage then draws ...
That liminal space is rich with meaning, according to Jewish tradition. And it all starts with a single verse. In (Genesis 15:12), we read: "It was as the sun was setting, and a sl...
Specifically, verse 17: “It happened when the sun had set, that there was extreme darkness, and, behold, there was a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between those ...
Our story centers on Sarai (later Sarah) and Abram (later Abraham), a couple facing the heartbreaking reality of childlessness. Sarai, in a desperate attempt to fulfill the divine ...
Specifically, we're looking at Bereshit Rabbah 46, where the rabbis are puzzling over something quite profound: where in the Torah do we find the use of acronyms? And more importan...
It centers around a single verse, (Genesis 17:14), which deals with brit milah, the covenant of circumcision. The verse reads: “And the uncircumcised male who shall not circumcise ...
It's right there in the Torah: "Abraham said to God: 'Would that Ishmael might live before You.'" (Genesis 17:18). Seems straightforward. But like so much in our tradition, there's...
It opens with the seemingly simple phrase: "At the entrance [petaḥ] of the tent [ohel]." This refers to Abraham sitting at the entrance of his tent, welcoming guests. But, as is so...
Our sages certainly did. And they found a fascinating answer, tucked away in the very words God used when speaking to Abraham. The passage we're looking at comes from Bereshit Rabb...
That’s the feeling that explodes from the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. We find it in (Genesis 18:20): "The Lord said: Because the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and because ...
We all know the story: God is about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness. But Abraham, ever the righteous advocate, steps in. He challenges God, asking, "Far b...
We all know the story: God commands Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. Abraham, with unwavering faith, prepares to fulfill this divine decree. "They came to the place tha...
Jewish tradition certainly sees patterns in the past, especially when it comes to times of hardship. We find a fascinating example of this in Bereshit Rabbah 64, a collection of ra...
You're reading one story, and suddenly – BAM! – we're in a completely different time or place. It can feel a little jarring. Well, the ancient Rabbis noticed this too, and they dov...
to a passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, and unpack some of the ideas around yibum, or levirate marriage. The story begin...
We all know the story: Joseph, sold into slavery in Egypt. But the Rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah (86) ask us to consider this: "“[Potiphar…an Egyptian man,] purchased him [from the Ish...
The verse in question, (Genesis 39:8), reads, "He refused, and he said to his master's wife: Behold, my master, having me, does not know what is in the house, and he has placed eve...
The Torah is brimming with them, and Jewish tradition loves to unpack their layers of meaning. Take the dream of the chief butler in the Joseph story. In (Genesis 40:9), he recount...
Our story comes from Bereshit Rabbah (Genesis Rabbah), a classical Rabbinic text that intricately interprets the Book of Genesis. We're in chapter 40, where Joseph, languishing in ...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating discussion from Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, focusing on the Shema, Judaism's central...
The Book of Deuteronomy promises, "when the Lord your God will expand your border" (Deuteronomy 19:8). But what does that expansion really mean? Is it just about more territory? Th...
Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Ilai points out that there were actually three commandments the Israelites received upon entering the land: to wipe out the memory of Amalek, to appoint a ki...
In Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, we find a powerful exploration of this very feeling, wrapped in a story about snakes and the proph...
We often think of praise as purely positive, a gift freely given. But what if even our most sincere compliments could carry a hidden cost? Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homiletic...
It starts with a bang: "Vanity of vanities, said Kohelet; vanity of vanities, everything is vanity" (Ecclesiastes 1:2). But what does that even mean? What is this "vanity," this he...
That question, that nagging feeling, is at the heart of the Book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet in Hebrew. And it’s a question the Rabbis grappled with deeply. The opening verse of Ko...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet in Hebrew, wrestles with this too. "The wind goes to the south, and turns to the north; around and around the wind turns, and on its rounds the...
The Book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, grapples with this very feeling. It's a wisdom text, a philosophical exploration of life's meaning, or sometimes, its ...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, certainly grapples with that feeling. It can feel bleak. But within that perceived bleakness, ancient interpreters found profound meaning. Tak...
But what does it really mean? Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, digs into this very question, using the verse from (Ecclesiastes...
In fact, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Kohelet Rabbah, connects them to something much deeper: the consequences of our actions and, specifically, our...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet in Hebrew, certainly does. And the rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), in Kohelet Rabbah, wrestled with it too. Specifica...
Turns out, the book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, might just have the answer. Kohelet 9:9 says, "Enjoy life with a woman whom you love all the days of your life of vanity which He h...
Kohelet Rabbah, a Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastes, tackles this idea head-on with the verse: "If the spirit of the ruler comes u...
It all centers around a verse from (Ecclesiastes 12:3), a verse filled with cryptic imagery: "On the day that the guards of the house will tremble, the men of valor will be bent, t...
Like a well, for instance. It's more than just a source of water; it’s often a meeting place, a place of destiny. Our sages point this out in Shemot Rabbah, noting how the well is ...
But where is God, exactly? Is He up in the heavens, completely removed from our earthly struggles? Or is He still somehow… here? The book of Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic...
The ancient Rabbis felt that way about the Exodus, the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt. And they found echoes of that feeling in the most unexpected places, even in the Son...
Jewish tradition recognizes that very tension within us, and even within the relationship between God and Israel. Shemot Rabbah, a classic midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary...
