2,248 related texts · Page 11 of 47
"And Jacob sent messengers ahead of him" (Genesis 32:4). On the surface, Jacob is preparing to meet his brother Esau. Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk, reading Parashat Vayishlach, sees...
The Mekhilta cites Jacob's blessing to Joseph — "I have given you an additional portion over your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Emori with my sword and with my bow" (...
That’s kind of the vibe around Jacob's famous vision. We all know the story: Jacob, on the run from his brother Esau, is trekking from Beersheva to Haran. (Genesis 28:11) simply sa...
The Torah gives us one of the most powerful and mysterious stories of just such a struggle: Jacob wrestling with the angel. The scene is set. Jacob, alone after sending his family ...
We all know the story from (Genesis 32:24-30). Jacob, preparing to meet his estranged brother Esau, sends his family and possessions across the Yabbok River (a stream whose name me...
That, in essence, is the heart of this powerful story about Jacob and the destruction of the Temple. Tradition tells us that in the lead-up to the destruction of the Temple in Jeru...
The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) starts with a powerful statement: "God's way is perfect." And it connects this perfection to Abraham, pointing to the verse in Genesi...
to a fascinating piece of Jewish thought from Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic teachings that interpret the Book of Psalms. This particular passage, focusing on Psalm 80,...
Our tradition is filled with such moments, and one of the most powerful surrounds Jacob's famous dream. We find it in the book of Genesis, where Jacob, fleeing from his brother Esa...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers a startling perspective on the famine that forced Jacob and his family to leave Canaan. “And there w...
Today, let's talk about Eliezer, Abraham's trusted steward. But who was this Eliezer, really? The Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early collection of biblical stories and exp...
God tests Abraham, tells him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, and then at the last possible second, sends an angel to stop him, providing a ram instead. But what really happened in t...
It all starts with the story of Isaac, and a verse from (Genesis 26:12): "And Isaac sowed in that land." Now, what did Isaac sow? Grain? Rabbi Eliezer, in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, s...
Tonight, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, specifically chapter 35, that does just that. It centers on Jacob, later known as Israel, and a pivota...
And Jewish tradition offers a stunning, almost unbelievable, answer. We all know the story of Jacob's dream. Fleeing his brother Esau, he rests his head on a pile of stones and dre...
Our ancestor Jacob knew that feeling well. He was a man on the run, with a destiny he couldn’t fully grasp. Let's rewind a bit. Jacob, fleeing from his brother Esau's wrath, finds ...
This ancient text, a treasure trove of Jewish legend and lore, offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives of our ancestors. Here, the verse from (Proverbs 4:12), "When thou goest,...
Our ancestor Jacob had that experience, big time, at the ford of the Jabbok (יַבֹּק), a river mentioned in Genesis. The story, as told in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (chapter 37), a fas...
The ancient texts are full of such moments, and they often reveal hidden truths about human nature. to one of those stories, a fascinating take on the reunion of Jacob and Esau. Re...
The scene: The Cave of Machpelah in Hebron, the ancient burial ground purchased by Abraham himself. Jacob, also known as Israel, has passed away in Egypt, and his sons are bringing...
One place they did this was in Seder Olam Zutta, a later, shorter version of the Seder Olam Rabbah, a 2nd-century CE rabbinic text that attempts to chronicle history from creation ...
It turns out, this isn't just good manners – it might be ancient wisdom! The Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early Jewish legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, teaches ...
It's so central to Jewish prayer, so foundational to our understanding of G-d, that we might sometimes take it for granted. But the rabbis of old saw so much depth and meaning pack...
The ancient sages noticed this human tendency, too, and they saw it reflected in the relationship between Israel and the other nations. Sifrei Devarim, a legal midrash on the Book ...
The wrestling match at the Jabbok River is one of the most mysterious scenes in all of Genesis. A man fights Jacob in the dark, and by morning Jacob has a new name and a limp. The ...
The Targum Jonathan on (Deuteronomy 2) adds a theological bombshell that the Hebrew text only hints at. God commands Israel not to touch the land of Esau—not because of a treaty or...
The Hebrew Bible says Jacob "wrestled a man" until dawn (Genesis 32:25). Targum Onkelos stays with the Hebrew here—it was "a man," not an angel, not a demon, not a divine being. Bu...
When Jacob fled from his brother Esau and set out on the long road to Haran, he stopped at a place called Bethel and made a vow to God. "If God will be with me and guard me on this...
We all know the story: Abraham and Sarah, finally blessed with a child in their old age. But what if there was more to the story than meets the eye? What if, as some ancient texts ...
The text opens with a seemingly straightforward instruction: "The Lord said to Moses: Count every firstborn male of the children of Israel from one month old and above, and take th...
Our stories are woven into our lineage, and sometimes, those threads get tangled. to a fascinating passage from Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of N...
Sometimes, it really was – especially when it came to dividing the land of Israel among the tribes. But this wasn't just some random drawing. Oh no, this involved divine interventi...
to a beautiful passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, to explore just such a moment: the birth of Isaac. The verse we’re loo...
It’s a beautiful image, isn't it? But what does it really mean? Our sages, grappling with this very verse, connected it to something we say every day: a blessing. Specifically, the...
The Torah gives us a glimpse, a tantalizing hint, when describing Isaac bringing Rebecca into his mother Sarah’s tent. (Genesis 24:67) tells us, “Isaac brought her into the tent of...
The verse in (Genesis 25:22) tells us "The children were agitated within her, and she said: If this is so, why do I exist? She went to inquire of the Lord." But what exactly does "...
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...
The scene: Isaac is hanging out in the land of the Philistines, near Gerar. Remember, his father Abraham had his own…issues there. And wouldn’t you know it, history seems to be rep...
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...
The Torah tells us, "It was when Isaac was old, and his eyes dimmed from seeing, he summoned Esau his elder son, and said to him: My son, and he said to him: Here I am" (Genesis 27...
Our story hinges on a moment of profound anguish: "When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out, a very great and bitter cry, and he said to his father: Bless me too, my f...
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman begins our story in Bereshit Rabbah 68, by interpreting a verse from Psalms (121:1) as referring directly to Jacob’s experience. “A song of ascents. I lift ...
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...
That’s almost what happened to Jacob in a pivotal moment of his life, a moment beautifully captured in Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book...
It's like you've stumbled onto sacred ground without even realizing it. That's kind of what happened to Jacob in the Book of Genesis, and it's explored in a beautiful passage in Be...
That feeling isn't new. Our ancestor Jacob felt it too. And how he responded offers a powerful lesson about vows, faith, and the power of words. The story begins in Parashat Vayetz...
Seems straightforward. But a curious question arises, a question that leads us into a fascinating rabbinic debate found in Bereshit Rabbah 70. The scene opens with an idolater tryi...
The Torah, in the story of Jacob, gives us a masterclass in reading those unspoken cues. It all starts when Jacob, working for his less-than-honest father-in-law Laban, begins to p...
