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The Book of (Genesis 14:15) tells us, "He divided up against them at night, he and his servants, and he smote them and pursued them until Ḥova, which is north of Damascus." But it’...
"Know with certainty that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will be enslaved to them and they will oppress them, four hundred years.” That's...
(Genesis 18:1) tells us, "He was sitting [yoshev] at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day." But there's more to it than meets the eye. Rabbi Berekhya, quoting Rabbi Levi...
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...
Our story begins with the seemingly simple phrase, “After these matters [devarim]…”. The Hebrew word devarim can mean both "matters" and "words," and as we delve into Bereshit Rabb...
Names hold power, history, and sometimes, the very essence of a place. Take Jerusalem, for example. Its story, according to the ancient Rabbis, is far more intricate than you might...
The Torah tells us Avimelekh went to him "from Gerar, and a group of his associates, and Fikhol the captain of his guard" (Genesis 26:26). Simple enough. But the Rabbis, bless thei...
The story of Jacob and Esau, and their mother Rebecca, is definitely one for the ages. It's a story ripe with sibling rivalry, parental favoritism, and a mother's desperate attempt...
The Torah tells us the story, of course, but the Rabbis of old, in their infinite wisdom, weren't content with just the surface narrative. They dove deep, poring over every word, e...
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...
Something that maybe... came back to haunt you? In the Torah, Jacob certainly has a moment like that. We find ourselves in Genesis, chapter 31. Jacob is leaving his father-in-law L...
We're looking at section 75, which deals with the moment Jacob prepares to meet his brother Esau after years of estrangement. Jacob, remember, is about to face his brother Esau, fr...
There's a fascinating little drama tucked away in the story of Jacob preparing to meet his brother Esau, a drama involving a chest, a daughter, and a divine rebuke. It all starts w...
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...
That’s a feeling that echoes through the story of Dinah in the Book of Genesis, and it explodes with dramatic force in the rabbinic interpretations. Dinah, daughter of Leah, ventur...
That feeling is ancient, etched into the very stories that form our identity. to a moment of that silence, a moment laden with consequence, from the Book of Genesis. We're in the s...
Jewish tradition tells us that the descendants of Jacob experienced just that – divine protection in the face of overwhelming odds. to a passage from Bereshit Rabbah (81), a classi...
We're looking at the story of Pharaoh's dream and how Joseph, the ultimate dream interpreter, finally gets his shot. The text begins, "He sent and summoned…" referring to Pharaoh g...
This moment, fraught with tension and brotherly love disguised as animosity, is explored in a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah 93. The story opens with a quote from Ecclesi...
The verse says, "He raised his voice in weeping…. And his brothers could not answer him" (Genesis 45:2-3). It's a powerful moment! But what does it really mean? Well, Abba Kohen (a...
The ancient Rabbis certainly noticed it. They saw it woven into the very fabric of the Torah, these moments where authority seems to… loosen. Our story today comes from Bereshit Ra...
That’s the sense I get reading Bereshit Rabbah 98, a beautiful passage from the ancient midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic collection, which interprets a verse from (Psal...
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...
The sages grappled with this question, and their answers reveal fascinating insights into divine justice and human fallibility. Our story begins, as it often does, in the Book of G...
The verse we're looking at is from (Deuteronomy 1:11): "May the Lord, God of your fathers, add to you one thousand times as you are, and He will bless you, as He spoke to you." Sou...
(Deuteronomy 1:10) states, "The Lord your God has multiplied you, and, behold, you are today as the stars [of the heavens in abundance larov]." Seems straightforward. God has made ...
It's not always as simple as a direct hand from above. Sometimes, there's a cosmic chess game happening behind the scenes. Devarim Rabbah, in its very first section, opens with a p...
The text opens with a quote from Deuteronomy, saying God is "near it." But who is "it"? The verse itself speaks of a nation that has God near to it. Devarim Rabbah, in its characte...
But have you ever considered how God treats us? Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homilies on the Book of Deuteronomy, offers a powerful contrast. It says, "That has God near it." If...
It might seem like a niche legal issue, but within it lies a profound understanding of justice, forgiveness, and even the nature of hope itself. In Deuteronomy, we read, "Then, Mos...
The passage centers on the most core of Jewish declarations: “Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad” – "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One" (Deuteronomy 6:...
The ancient rabbis pondered this very idea, using a seemingly simple verse about eating meat to unlock profound insights about freedom, desire, and divine provision. It all starts ...
Jewish tradition certainly thinks so, especially when it comes to leadership and justice. The book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, is rich with instructions for how to live a righteous li...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the book of Deuteronomy, dives right into this thorny issue. It all starts with a verse from (Job 34:30): “He prevents a decei...
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...
The ancient rabbis did, and their answer, found within the pages of Devarim Rabbah, is both surprising and deeply comforting. The verse from Deuteronomy (28:12) sets the stage: “Th...
Jewish tradition teaches us that we have far more influence than we might realize. Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the book of Deuteronomy, sheds light ...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homiletic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, offers a powerful and surprising answer, focusing on God's relationship with the Israelites during t...
In (Deuteronomy 31:14), God says to Moses, "Behold, your days are approaching to die; summon Joshua, and stand in the Tent of Meeting and I will command him." This verse, "Behold, ...
It’s a question that’s echoed throughout Jewish tradition, and Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, offers a pretty amazing perspective. I...
It’s a question that’s wrestled with in Jewish tradition, and one fascinating answer comes to us from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic commentaries on the Book of Ecclesias...
It paints a vivid picture of the sun, not just as a celestial body, but as a powerful force carefully managed by the Holy One. Rabbi Natan, as the text tells us, taught that the su...
"What was is what will be," it says, "and what was done is what will be done; and there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9). But is that really true? Are we just doome...
A time for everything, as the saying goes. But what does that really mean? Well, one fascinating interpretation comes to us from Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin, found within Kohelet Rab...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, to explore this very dilemma. The passage ...
The Book of Ecclesiastes – or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew – grapples with this very feeling. It asks us: what do we do when we see injustice seemingly rewarded? Specifically, K...
Like that perfect cup of coffee, or maybe... mitzvot (commandments)? That’s the question bubbling up from Kohelet Rabbah, a fascinating exploration of the book of Ecclesiastes. In ...
We often think of God as this distant, powerful being, but Jewish tradition paints a much more intimate picture. It suggests that God is actively involved in our lives, even in the...
