2,248 related texts · Page 44 of 47
It’s a question that the ancient rabbis grappled with, and their answers are, well, The Book of Job (23:13) gives us a starting point: "He acts through one, and who can respond to ...
We're diving into Bereshit Rabbah, a treasure trove of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, specifically chapter 50, and it tells a wild story about just that. It all r...
That feeling isn't new. Our ancestors knew it well. Take Abraham, for instance. The Torah tells us, "Abraham traveled from there to the region of the south; he lived between Kadesh...
Our story begins with Abraham. "Abraham traveled from there," the verse tells us (Genesis 20:1). But where was he going, and why? Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic ...
to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a classical rabbinic commentary on the Book of Genesis, to see how the ancients grappled with the unexpected. The story unfolds in Ge...
to one of those moments, a scene ripe with intrigue, involving Abraham, Sarah, and Avimelekh, king of Gerar. The story unfolds in Genesis 20. Avimelekh, deceived by Abraham’s claim...
The Torah, and the rabbinic tradition that blossoms from it, is obsessed with this very question. to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah 53, a midrash – a rabbinic interpret...
After decades of barrenness, at a very, very advanced age, she miraculously conceives and gives birth to Isaac. In (Genesis 21:6), she exclaims, "God has made laughter for me; ever...
The verse we're looking at is (Genesis 21:7): "She said: Who would have announced to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I bore a son for his old age.” It's Sarah, speakin...
The passage opens with Avimelekh and Pikhol approaching Abraham. Now, who exactly was Pikhol? Rabbi Yehuda says Pikhol was his actual name. But Rabbi Nehemya offers a fascinating a...
Jewish tradition wrestles with this question constantly, and one powerful lens through which we explore it is the story of Abraham and the binding of Isaac, the Akeidah. Genesis 22...
to a fascinating example from Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 55, which deals with one of the most challenging stories in the Torah: the binding of Isaac, the Akeidah. The ve...
Jewish tradition is full of stories that remind us that sometimes, salvation comes on the third day. It’s a recurring motif, a whisper of hope that echoes through our texts. Think ...
The Bible tells us the bare bones of the story, but the Rabbis, in their endless quest to understand God's word, delve deeper, seeking hidden meanings and profound truths. In Beres...
We know the story: God commands Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son. But what about the whispers, the doubts, the anxieties that surely must have plagued them both? The Book of Ge...
We all know the story: Abraham, tested by God, is asked to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. He obeys, bringing Isaac to Mount Moriah. Just as Abraham raises his knife, an angel in...
The story of Abraham and the binding of Isaac, the Akeidah, is a cornerstone of Jewish tradition, and within it, a tiny detail holds profound meaning. It's in the repetition of Abr...
We know the story: God commands Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. Abraham, unflinchingly faithful, prepares to follow through. But at the last moment, an angel intervene...
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...
We know the story: God commands Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son. Abraham, after a terrible internal struggle, obeys. At the last moment, an angel intervenes, and a ram is sacr...
He's stood on Mount Moriah, knife raised, ready to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac. The tension is almost unbearable. And then? (Genesis 22:20) tells us, "It was after these matter...
The ancient rabbis certainly did, and they explored this question through stories, through midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) – those beautiful, imaginative expansions on t...
And while there aren't easy answers, Jewish tradition grapples with this in profound ways. Today, we're diving into a fascinating Midrash – a rabbinic interpretation – from Bereshi...
It might sound surprising, but the ancient Rabbis certainly thought so! The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Bereshit Rabbah 59, delves into a fascinating i...
We often think of blessings as material wealth, good health, maybe even a long life. But what if the true blessing is something far deeper, something almost…invisible? Let’s turn t...
We often focus on practicalities, but sometimes, the ancient texts remind us that there’s much more at stake than meets the eye. Take the story of Abraham sending his servant to fi...
In the Torah, we find Abraham, the patriarch, facing just such a moment when sending his servant, Eliezer, to find a wife for his son, Isaac. It's a journey fraught with responsibi...
The story of Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, gives us a powerful glimpse. In (Genesis 24:12), we find Eliezer on a crucial mission: to find a wife for Isaac. He prays, "Lord, God of my...
And as we learn in Bereshit Rabbah 60, it's a theme that runs through some pretty significant stories in our tradition. The passage opens by quoting (Genesis 24:13-15), the story o...
The story begins with Rebecca, who, upon meeting Eliezer at the well, "ran and told her mother’s household all about these matters" (Genesis 24:28). Now, Rabbi Yoḥanan makes an int...
The story kicks off in (Genesis 24:50-51), where Laban and Betuel, Rebecca's brother and father, respond to Abraham's servant's request for Rebecca's hand in marriage for Isaac. Th...
The Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), those ancient interpreters of scripture, certainly had some thoughts. to their fascinating explanations from Bereshit ...
We find a poignant example in the story of Abraham's burial, as recounted in Bereshit Rabbah 62, a section of the classic midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic collection th...
Our story begins with the verse: "It was after the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son, and Isaac lived beside Be’er Laḥai Ro’i" (Genesis 25:11). Be’er Laḥai Ro’i, meaning ...
It's not just filling space! Often, these repetitions are little clues, hints that there's something deeper going on, something we need to pay close attention to. Take the story of...
It seems that this feeling, envy, is as old as the hills – or at least as old as the stories in Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. Ou...
The verse in question comes from (1 Chronicles 29:9): “The people rejoiced in their donation, because they donated to the Lord wholeheartedly, and King David too rejoiced with grea...
The ancient rabbis wrestled with this very idea, and they came up with a fascinating little lesson hidden within the stories of our ancestors. Bereshit Rabbah, that incredible coll...
Jewish tradition offers comfort and hope in those moments. It reminds us that even in the depths of despair, we are noticed, and our fortunes can change. The verse in Psalms (145:1...
Our journey begins with Leah, one of the matriarchs of the Jewish people. (Genesis 29:32) tells us, "Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; she said: Becaus...
The Torah tells us, "Rachel saw that she did not bear children for Jacob; Rachel envied her sister and she said to Jacob: Give me children, and if not, I am dead" (Genesis 30:1). B...
We often have these grand ideas of lineage, of destiny woven into our very DNA. But what if the story is more…complicated? to a passage from Bereshit Rabbah 71 and wrestle with jus...
Sometimes, the answer lies hidden in the stories of our ancestors, like the tale of Asher, one of Jacob's twelve sons. In (Genesis 30:12), we read, "Zilpa the maidservant of Leah g...
It all comes to mind when we look at the story of Rachel and Leah, and those fateful dudaim, the mandrakes. The scene is set in (Genesis 30:15). Rachel, unable to conceive, is desp...
We’re talking about Leah, wife of Jacob. You remember Leah: first wife, given in a switcheroo by her father Laban! By this point, she’s already given Jacob a whole bunch of sons. B...
The story of Rachel in the book of Genesis speaks directly to that feeling, and offers a powerful message of hope. The Torah tells us simply, "God remembered Rachel" (Genesis 30:22...
It turns out, this isn't just a modern consideration. The ancient rabbis were thinking about this too! Our story today comes from Bereshit Rabbah (Genesis Rabbah), a collection of ...
Jacob, our patriarch, knew that feeling all too well. He was working for his father-in-law, Laban, and things were…complicated. In Genesis 31, we hear Jacob expressing his frustrat...
