538 related texts · 3 related myths · Page 11 of 12
God's command to Moses: "Take the vengeance of the children of Israel against the Midianites; then you will be gathered to your people" (Numbers 31:2). It seems straightforward. Av...
The verse This is right before the Israelites are about to wage war against the Midianites. Now, God tells Moses, "Take the vengeance" (Numbers 31:2). So why doesn't Moses lead the...
The verse in (Joshua 1:5) declares, "As I was with Moses, I will be with you." This promise seems to imply that Joshua would enjoy a life parallel to that of Moses, who lived to be...
Like many profound questions in Jewish tradition, the answer isn't simple, but layered with meaning. to a fascinating discussion recorded in Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection o...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Noah and Creation of Flood. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana makes a pretty stark claim: that the ten tribes of Israel were even worse than the generation wiped out b...
What does it truly signify? And why there? In Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, we find a fascinating discussion between Rabbi Yishmael ...
Take the story of Isaac, son of Abraham, diligently re-digging wells in Beersheba. It's a quick mention in (Genesis 26:18): "Isaac again dug the wells of water that they had dug in...
As (Genesis 28:11) tells us, "He took from the stones of the place..." but what did he do with those stones? That's where the Rabbis pick up the story and run with it in Bereshit R...
The ancient rabbis certainly did.It illuminates the complex relationship between Leah, Jacob, and the birth of the tribes of Israel. In this, Midrash, a rabbinic interpretation, Le...
The tradition turns to the book of Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the book of Genesis. It grapples with a powerful moment in Jacob's life. Rem...
Sometimes, it's woven into the very fabric of our stories. Take the story of Jacob and Joseph, father and son. At first, they're distinct individuals in the Book of Genesis. But a ...
It all starts with Joseph, the favored son, and a couple of very fateful dreams. "His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers…" This line from (Genesis ...
"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...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to How Much the Ishmaelites Paid for Joseph. The verse in (Genesis 37:29) tells us, "Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit, and he...
It revolves around Jacob's grief over the apparent loss of his son, Joseph. The verse It's a powerful image of a father's devastation. But the rabbis, ever keen to find deeper mean...
It seems like a strange thing to worry about when, well, we're no longer around to worry about anything. But the story of Jacob, as he nears the end of his life in Egypt, gives us ...
The Torah tells us, "Jacob called to his sons, and he said: Gather, and I will tell you what will befall you at the end of days. Assemble and hear, sons of Jacob, and listen to Isr...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to David — Judah at the Dawn of Creation. The Rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah unpack this verse, line by line, revealing layers of meaning. "Judah, you shall your b...
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 Torah gives us stories of such people again and again, and one of the most striking is Samson. Our text from Bereshit Rabbah (98) explores the strength – and the thirst! – of t...
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...
One particularly intense moment: Jacob's words about Simeon and Levi. It all starts with the verse: "Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of villainy are their heritage" (Genesis ...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Dan's Transgression of Samson. The text offers a few perspectives. The first compares Dan to Judah, singling out Judah as "the most special [kamyuḥad] of t...
The verse Sounds great. But it leads to a crucial question: Is it okay for a single judge to preside over the community? Our Rabbis teach us: Absolutely not. "Do not judge alone," ...
Our jumping-off point is the verse in (Deuteronomy 2:3), "You have circled this mountain enough; turn yourselves to the north.” But how does this relate to honoring parents? Well, ...
(Deuteronomy 6:4). It's a question that takes us back to a pivotal moment, a deathbed scene filled with both anxiety and profound unity. Devarim Rabbah 2 paints a vivid picture. Ja...
It all starts with the verse, “You shall know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God” (Deuteronomy 7:9). Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba uses a parable to unpack this idea. Imagi...
Like everyone else is contributing, and you're just... there? Our sages grappled with this feeling, and their stories, preserved in texts like Kohelet Rabbah, offer surprising comf...
The Rabbis paint a scene where the Holy One, blessed be He, instructs Moses to appoint a High Priest. Moses, naturally, wants to know the specifics: "Master of the universe, from w...
The verse at the heart of it all is (Ecclesiastes 8:4): "Since the king's word has power, and who will say to him: What are you doing?" But what does this really mean? Rabbi Bon, i...
Shemot Rabbah turns to Moses and the Dreamer of Aminadav. Take, for instance, the passage in Exodus (6:14): "These are the heads of their fathers' houses; the sons of Reuben the fi...
Shemot Rabbah turns to Why No Foreigner May Eat of the Passover Offering. The Midrash then dives into a comparison between the Exodus from Egypt and the future redemption. During t...
Rabbi Yehuda tells us that the Israelites reasoned, "The Holy One, blessed be He, only took us out of Egypt for five things!" What were those five things? First, to give us the plu...
Shemot Rabbah, a treasure trove of interpretations on the Book of Exodus, brings us a powerful insight through a teaching connected to the verse, "These are the ordinances" (Exodus...
Shemot Rabbah turns to God's Justice Shows No Favoritism to Anyone. Rabbi Natan, in Shemot Rabbah, makes a pretty strong statement: justice is fitting for God precisely because He ...
The answer, according to the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), is a fascinating blend of divine foresight and, well, a little bit of divine concern! Our story begins, as ...
The ancient rabbis grappled with this very feeling, this sense that some groups seem to get away with things that others don't. And they found surprising answers in the stories of ...
5) found in Shir HaShirim Rabbah. The tents of Kedar, were known for being… well, not pretty. Black, tattered, worn. Outwardly, they seemed ugly. But the Rabbis of the Midrash (rab...
In the Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Song of Songs, we find a fascinating exploration of this very idea. The verse What does a dove in the r...
In Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Song of Songs, we find a fascinating discussion about these pesky creatures and what they represent. Rabbi ...
" (Job 34:29). What does it mean for God to "quiet"? The Midrash understands this as referring to a period of tranquility granted to the Ten Tribes of Israel. But was this tranquil...
The ancient rabbis certainly did! They saw profound symbolism woven into every thread, especially when it came to the garments of the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest. the High Priest ...
It’s about something far deeper: our relationship with the Divine. Vayikra Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Leviticus, offers some stunni...
King David certainly did. In Vayikra Rabbah 30, we find a fascinating exploration of just that – David's quest for the "way of life" and "abundant joy," as he puts it in (Psalm 16:...
It all begins with the verse, "Command the children of Israel, and they shall take to you pure virgin olive oil for the lighting, to kindle a lamp continually" (Leviticus 24:2). Th...
The ancient rabbis grappled with this very question. In Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Leviticus, we find a fascinating discussion. Rabbi Ḥanina p...
Our tradition certainly thinks so. There’s a powerful message tucked away in Vayikra Rabbah, specifically in section 33, about the weight of our words and the damage they can infli...
The ancient rabbis grappled with these very questions, and their answers, preserved in texts like Vayikra Rabbah, are both surprising and deeply inspiring. to one fascinating passa...
