2,248 related texts · Page 12 of 47
Our ancestors did too. In fact, there's a fascinating passage in Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, that digs into just that feeling....
King David certainly did. In Psalms, he repeatedly begs God to rise up and intervene. But what does it really mean for God to "arise"? And when will that moment finally come? Our s...
It turns out, even our greatest heroes struggled with this. We find ourselves in Bereshit Rabbah 76, a section of the ancient rabbinic commentary on the Book of Genesis. The scene ...
Jacob, our patriarch, certainly did. In (Genesis 32:11), after years of wandering and working, facing down tricksters and building a family, Jacob cries out, "I am unworthy of all ...
(Genesis 32:17) tells us, "And he placed them in the hands of his slaves, each flock separately, and he told them: Go before me, and leave space between the flocks." Jacob isn't ju...
It’s the story of Jacob, our patriarch, and it's a story that the rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah, that great collection of Genesis interpretations, unpack with fascinating detail. We al...
It's never just a detail. Everything has meaning, layers upon layers waiting to be uncovered. We find this idea beautifully illustrated in Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic...
Take the reunion of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 33. We read how Jacob arranged his family as he approached his brother, placing the maidservants and their children first, Leah and he...
But our Sages, those brilliant interpreters of the sacred texts, saw something… different. They noticed something peculiar about the word "kissed" – vayishakehu – in the original H...
Sometimes, it's in those very details that the most fascinating stories are hidden. Take the moment in (Genesis 33:5) when Jacob, after years of estrangement, finally meets his bro...
In (Genesis 33:10), Jacob pleads with Esau, saying, "Please, no, if I have found favor in your eyes, receive my gift from me, for therefore, I have seen your face, as the sight of ...
Take the encounter between Jacob and Esau after their long separation. (Genesis 33:15) tells us, "Esau said to him: Please, I will place with you some of the people who are with me...
The Torah is full of stories of resilience, and one that particularly resonates with this idea is Jacob's return to Canaan. In (Genesis 33:18), we read: "Jacob arrived intact to th...
That feeling, that resilience, is at the heart of a beautiful teaching about Jacob, our patriarch. The Torah tells us that Jacob "arrived intact" (Genesis 33:18) after his long jou...
The ancient rabbis wrestled with this idea, especially when it came to promises made to God. Let's turn to the book of Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretat...
Our ancestors certainly did. And sometimes, just sometimes, they got one. Take Jacob, for instance. He's been through the wringer, hasn't he? Deception, exile, wrestling angels… yo...
We find him at a crucial point in his life, facing a Divine encounter that echoes a previous one. The text in Bereshit Rabbah 82: “God appeared…again.” That little word "again" is ...
We find ourselves doing just that in this week's story, wrestling with an ancient blessing and its surprising recipients. Our tale begins with God speaking to Jacob, saying, "I am ...
One fascinating passage in Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, dives right into this thorny issue. Specifically, it tackles Jacob's bl...
Today, we’re diving into a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah (Bereshit Rabbah 82), a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, that grapples wit...
Our story comes from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis. And the verse in question is (Genesis 36:6): "Esau took his wives, and his so...
Our ancestors knew a thing or two about the struggle to find that peace. Take Jacob, for example. We read in (Genesis 37:1), "Jacob settled in the land of his father's residence, i...
Our ancestor Jacob knew it well. We find ourselves in Bereshit Rabbah (Genesis Rabbah) 84, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Genesis. The text opens with a seemingly...
Jacob, seeing a famine in the land, tells his sons, "Why do you make yourselves conspicuous?" (Genesis 42:1). Simple enough. But the rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive co...
The story begins with Jacob observing his sons. "Why do you make yourselves conspicuous?" he asks them. But what exactly did he mean? According to this Midrash (rabbinic interpreti...
The scene: a devastating famine grips the land. Jacob's sons have returned from Egypt with grain, but it’s gone. They need to go back, but the mysterious Egyptian ruler—who we, the...
Jewish tradition is just teeming with those kinds of moments. Take Jacob, for instance, as he's about to head down to Egypt to reunite with his son Joseph. The Torah tells us, "Isr...
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 ...
It’s a beautiful custom, wishing them the qualities we admire in these two brothers. But there's something even more interesting hidden within that blessing, something that goes ba...
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...
It all goes back to Jacob's blessings to his sons on his deathbed, a scene fraught with emotion and anticipation. And within that scene, the blessing to Judah stands out, packed wi...
The book of Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Genesis, gives us a peek into just that, focusing on the patriarch Jacob and the sage Rabbeinu Yehuda ...
This very human experience echoes in the ancient texts, specifically in a powerful passage from Shemot Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. The ...
It goes way beyond just family lineage. In fact, according to Shemot Rabbah, it points to something truly messianic. The verse in (Exodus 13:2) commands us to "Consecrate to Me eve...
The Jewish tradition is rich with stories of angels, not just as winged figures, but as manifestations of the Divine Presence itself. And their role? To safeguard and redeem. to on...
We often think of it as just a structure, but according to Jewish tradition, every single element, every color, every placement, held profound meaning. Take the Hoshen, the breastp...
Take, for instance, this powerful moment described in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus. We find Moses, pleading with God. The Israelite...
Specifically, (Song of Songs 1:17): "The beams of our houses are cedars, and our panels are cypresses." Seems simple enough. But like so much in Jewish tradition, there's a deeper ...
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 ...
It's one of those biblical scenes that's both epic and deeply mysterious. Who was this "man" Jacob wrestled with all night? And what does this strange encounter really mean? Our jo...
It’s a question that’s echoed down the centuries, and one that the ancient rabbis grappled with too. In Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Leviticus, ...
Birth order, historical sequence. But what if there’s more to it than that? Vayikra Rabbah 36, a fascinating passage in the rabbinic commentary on Leviticus, flips that script on u...
Sometimes, the most fascinating details are tucked away in texts just outside the mainstream, like the Book of Jubilees. Think of it as a peek behind the curtain of the Torah. This...
We all know Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Esau. But there's so much more to these stories! The Book of Jubilees, for those unfamiliar, is an ancient Jewish text t...
Today, let's peek into the final days of Rebecca, wife of Isaac and mother of Jacob and Esau, as described in the Book of Jubilees. This fascinating text, considered apocryphal (me...
We jump into the story already in progress. Jacob's sons have just returned from Egypt, where they went to buy grain. Remember, there was a famine in the land. But things didn't go...
It’s a theme that runs deep in Jewish tradition, especially when it comes to our most righteous figures. According to Legends of the Jews, even Jacob, after years of hardship, thou...
That feeling, that undercurrent of destiny, hums through the story of Joseph and his brothers. The famine wasn't just devastating Egypt. As Ginzberg recounts in Legends of the Jews...
