12,014 related texts · Page 196 of 251
Take, for example, the verse in (Genesis 2:21), "He took one of his sides [mitzalotav]..." Now, mitzalotav can mean either "one of his ribs" or "one of his sides." So, which was it...
The ancient rabbis did! And they weren't shy about asking some pretty direct questions. Let's take a peek into a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic ...
We know the story: disobedience, shame, exile. But the ancient rabbis, in their boundless creativity, spun even more wondrous tales around that pivotal moment. The verse in (Genesi...
We're talking about Adam and Eve, and their first children, Cain and Abel. We all know the story, but Jewish tradition often dives deeper, asking questions you might never have con...
What happens after the first murder? After Cain kills Abel, what kind of justice, or mercy, is extended? (Genesis 4:15) tells us: "The Lord said to him: Therefore, anyone who kills...
It’s a question that echoes through the ages, right back to the very beginning. In the Book of Genesis (4:17), we read: “Cain was intimate with his wife and she conceived, and gave...
Take the story of Adam and Eve after the tragic loss of Abel. We read in (Genesis 4:25), "Adam was further intimate with his wife and she gave birth to a son, and she called his na...
Like you've pulled the wool over someone's eyes, maybe even... God's? Well, Bereshit Rabbah, that incredible collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, has something to say...
Specifically, in section 27, we find a powerful connection drawn between human sin and divine response, all through the lens of a verse from Ecclesiastes. The verse in question is ...
The flood narrative in Genesis is one of the most challenging passages in the Torah, wrestling as it does with divine regret and the wiping out of nearly all life. It all starts wi...
Innocent creatures caught in the wake of human sin. But the ancient rabbis grappled with this question too, offering powerful, and perhaps unsettling, explanations. In Bereshit Rab...
But the animals? Did they really deserve to be wiped out along with everyone else? Well, the rabbis of old had some thoughts on that. Rabbi Azarya, quoting Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon, ...
Rabbi Yoḥanan, a prominent Jewish sage, offers a fascinating, and perhaps surprising, perspective. He says that the sentence, the punishment, of the generation of the Flood lasted ...
It’s a question that's been wrestled with for centuries, and it pops up in the most unexpected places in Jewish tradition. : Do we receive blessings because of our ancestors' good ...
The Torah portion Noah grapples with just that, the world after the flood. But even in this story of renewal, shadows of the past linger. The Rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah, that magnif...
It's easy to imagine everyone just carrying on, oblivious, but Jewish tradition suggests otherwise. The Torah tells us, "Noah was a righteous man [ish]" (Genesis 6:9). Seems simple...
We often think of the sheer scale of the wickedness, but sometimes the details are what really bring the picture into focus. Bereshit Rabbah, that incredible collection of rabbinic...
It's easy to point to general "wickedness," but the details, as always, are far more interesting, and speak to timeless human failings. Bereshit Rabbah, that incredible collection ...
It’s easy to focus on the sheer scale of the destruction, but the rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), those ancient interpreters of scripture, dug deeper. The...
to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah 32, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. The verse that kicks it all off is God's instruction to Noah: "Co...
But what if I told you that true greatness lies not in squashing the competition, but in celebrating it? That’s the kind of wisdom we find nestled within the ancient texts of our t...
But the rabbis of old, in Bereshit Rabbah, one of the most important collections of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, saw layers of meaning in these few words. Specifically, the...
Maybe you're in a job you don't love, a relationship that's run its course, or even just a prolonged period of feeling…blah. Well, Noah, yes that Noah of ark fame, knew that feelin...
We all know the story: the flood, the animals, the ark bobbing along on a chaotic sea. But what happened after? The waters receded, the dove returned with the olive branch… and the...
We often think of it as a storybook tale, but the details, as the Torah and later rabbinic interpretations reveal, are surprisingly strict. , shall we? The verse in (Genesis 8:17) ...
We make them all the time – to loved ones, to ourselves, and, if we believe, God makes promises to us. But what happens when the very foundations of the world seem to shift? What t...
We're going to look at the story of the cities of Babel and Nineveh and what their fates reveal. Our journey starts with (Genesis 10:10): “The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, a...
to a fascinating little corner of Bereshit Rabbah (Genesis Rabbah) – specifically, section 37 – and unpack some seriously cool wordplay hidden in the names of ancient nations. We'r...
Specifically, we're looking at Bereshit Rabbah 37, which delves into the lineage of Noah’s descendants. The verse we're focusing on is (Genesis 10:26): "And Yoktan begot Almodad, a...
It happens to the best of us. And sometimes, the reason is more profound than just a lack of sleep or a complicated explanation. Our story begins with the Tower of Babel. Remember ...
It's a fascinating, and sometimes complex, corner of Jewish law. Our guide for today is Bereshit Rabbah, a classic Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic text – meaning, a co...
That’s kind of the vibe we get from a fascinating passage in Bereshit Rabbah (49), a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. It centers around the verse in (...
The Book of Genesis (19:24) tells us plainly: "And the Lord rained down brimstone and fire upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah from the Lord, from the heavens." But the rabbis, in their e...
The Torah portion Vayera, and specifically (Genesis 20:6), offers a fascinating take on this. God speaks to Avimelech, king of Gerar, in a dream after Avimelech takes Sarah, Abraha...
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...
It’s a question that’s lingered in Jewish thought for centuries, and one fascinating glimpse into it comes from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Boo...
The story begins with Akilas, a convert to Judaism – a ger tzedek, as we say in Hebrew. He approaches Rabbi Eliezer with a question, a concern, really. Akilas points to the verse i...
Even a casual "How's it going?" can hold a world of unspoken understanding. Let's peek into Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 70, for a gem on just this. The scene: Jacob, our ...
Take the story of Joseph, for example. He's often portrayed as the righteous, almost-too-good-to-be-true figure. But was he always? Bereshit Rabbah, that incredible collection of r...
That’s exactly what happens when we delve into the story of Tamar and Judah in Genesis 38. It's a tale filled with deception, bravery, and some pretty intense family drama. Today, ...
The story of Judah and Tamar, found in Genesis 38, is a powerful exploration of just that. And the Rabbis, in their infinite wisdom, unpack the layers of this narrative in Bereshit...
It's easy to imagine a golden aura, a constant stream of good fortune. But what if it’s something more subtle, more… human? Let’s look at the story of Joseph in Egypt, specifically...
We're looking at Parsha 86, where we find ourselves in the middle of the Joseph narrative. Remember Joseph? Sold into slavery in Egypt? He ends up in the house of Potiphar, an Egyp...
Specifically, we're looking at section 87, which draws a striking parallel between Joseph and Mordechai. The verse in question is (Genesis 39:10), describing Joseph's unwavering re...
The story of Joseph in Egypt, as recounted in Bereshit Rabbah, offers a powerful, and surprisingly intimate, glimpse into just that. We all know the outlines of the story: Joseph, ...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. They saw God's hand even in moments of anger, betrayal, and… well, poisoned drinks. to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a classic rabbi...
The book of Genesis tells us, "It was at the conclusion of two years, and Pharaoh was dreaming: and, behold, he stood at the Nile" (Genesis 41:1). But Bereshit Rabbah, that incredi...
Jewish tradition certainly has. There's a fascinating story in Bereshit Rabbah 89 that makes you think twice about speaking carelessly. The story begins simply enough. A woman appr...
