2,729 related texts · 21 related myths · Page 1 of 57
"I will assemble Jacob, all of you; I will bring together the remnant of Israel" (Micah 2:12). The end of Aggadat Bereshit's prophetic arc arrives here: not the death of Jacob, not...
Israel in Egypt, fruitful and multiplying, a thousand thousand and myriad myriads. And still, in God's eyes, like a single beloved child. That's the paradox this section of Aggadat...
On the night of the Exodus, while the entire nation of Israel was loading Egyptian gold and silver, Moses was doing something else. According to Sotah 13a, he was searching for the...
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov taught that prayer is the essential weapon of the Messiah. Not a sword. Not an army. Prayer. The teaching begins with a striking image from the Zohar: the ...
The Jewish people were redeemed from Egypt because of the righteous women. According to Sotah 11b, Rav Avira taught that while the men had given up hope under Pharaoh's slavery, th...
The essence of life comes from prayer. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov derives this from a single verse: "Prayer to the God of my life" (Psalms 42:9). Prayer is not merely an appeal to th...
When Jacob finally addressed the question of Joseph's two sons in (Genesis 48:5), he did something startling. He said: "Ephraim and Menasheh, as Reuben and Shimon shall be reckoned...
In what lies in the other ark it is written (Exodus 20) "I am the L–rd your G–d," and of Joseph it is written (Genesis 50:19) "Am I in the place of G–d?" In what lies in this ark i...
Joseph's request to Pharaoh hinges on a vow he cannot break. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan renders it simply. "My father made me swear, saying, Behold, I die, in the sepulchre which I hav...
When Jacob died in Egypt and his sons carried his body back to the land of Canaan for burial, an unusual procession formed. The sons of Esau, the sons of Ishmael, and the sons of K...
A dying man does not waste his last gestures. When Jacob gathered the strength to bless his grandsons, he did something strange with his hands. Menasheh, the firstborn, stood on hi...
"And Jacob called unto his sons" (Genesis 49:1). The Torah records the great final blessing, all twelve sons gathered around the dying patriarch, each receiving something tailored ...
A Kuthean, a Samaritan, once came to Rabbi Meir with an accusation against the patriarch Jacob. It is preserved as exemplum No. 32 in Moses Gaster's 1924 collection. "Your ancestor...
"I will make my opinions widely known" (Job 36:3). God called Abraham from the east, "calling a bird of prey from the east, a man of my counsel from a distant land" (Isaiah 46:11)....
A blessing that divides is still a blessing. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan takes the Hebrew's terse curse-on-anger and reveals its surgical logic. "If they dwell together, no king nor rul...
It turns out, that feeling might be more ancient and profound than you think. Jewish tradition actually has something pretty amazing to say about it. to a fascinating little teachi...
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 ...
"And it was on the third day, when they were weak from the pain of their circumcision, two of the sons of Jacob, Shimeon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, took each man his sword, a...
The scene: Jacob, on his deathbed, surrounded by his sons. You’d think it would be a time for peace, reflection, maybe a little bit of forgiveness. But no. Jacob’s got some things ...
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov taught that the root cause of exile is a lack of faith. And the cure for exile is the Land of Israel. The connection is not sentimental. It is structural. ...
Reuben, firstborn son of Jacob and Leah, lay dying in the hundred and twenty-fifth year of his life. Two years had passed since Joseph fell asleep forever. Now Reuben's own sons ga...
Joseph's brothers had carried their father's coffin up from Egypt to bury him in the Cave of Machpelah. At the mouth of the cave, Esau was waiting. "This grave is mine," Esau said....
Jacob does not shame his firstborn without also showing him a door. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan opens (Genesis 49:4) with a startling image: "I will liken thee to a little garden in the...
"Many peoples have afflicted me from my youth" (Psalm 129:1). The Assembly of Israel, the collective voice of the nation, says this as a Song of Ascents, sung while ascending to th...
Jacob, as he lay dying, was very particular about where he wanted to be buried. Not just anywhere in the Holy Land, but specifically in the cave of Machpelah in Hebron, alongside A...
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...
Jacob's deathbed blessings (Genesis 49) are among the most obscure passages in the Torah. Targum Onkelos does not merely translate them, he decodes them, turning cryptic poetry int...
Reuben was supposed to inherit everything. As the firstborn of Jacob, three crowns rested on his head by right, bechorah (the birthright), kehunah (the priesthood), and malchut (th...
"He blessed them on that day, saying: may God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh" (Genesis 48:20). Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev uses Jacob's blessing to explain a peculiar tea...
Levi, third son of Jacob and Leah, called his sons together when he knew his death was near. It had been revealed to him that he would die. When they gathered, he told them everyth...
The Torah tells the story quickly — too quickly, the rabbis felt. Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, was taken and violated by Shechem, the prince of the local city. Her ...
Ten brothers stood before him, and Joseph picked Simeon. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 42:24) preserves the reason the Torah leaves quiet: Simeon "had counselled them to kill ...
When Joseph tried to move his father's hand, the old man answered with a phrase that has echoed for centuries. "I know, my son, I know" (Genesis 48:19). The doubling is not a stamm...
The blessings are done. Jacob has said something hard or something heroic about each of his sons, one has lost the birthright, two have been scattered for their rage, one has been ...
The traditional texts give us some fascinating, and sometimes surprising, details. Jacob, having blessed each of his sons individually, gathers them all together for one final, pow...
The principle that a dream follows its interpretation is not an abstraction. The Talmud in Berakhot 55b demonstrates it through the life of Joseph. And through a hard rule about ti...
Jacob said: "My way is hidden from the Lord, and my justice has passed away from my God" (Isaiah 40:27). This was Israel speaking, the whole nation's complaint condensed into one v...
Naphtali, eighth son of Jacob, born of Bilhah, was dying in his hundred and thirtieth year. His sons gathered on the first day of the seventh month. He was still in good health. He...
In (Genesis 47:31), once Joseph has sworn to bury him in Canaan, Jacob does something cryptic. He "bowed himself upon the bed's head." The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan pulls back the cur...
Every Friday night, in homes from Jerusalem to Buenos Aires, Jewish fathers place their hands on their sons' heads and say the same words: "May God make you like Ephraim and like M...
A father can love his sons and still refuse to stand on their side. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves one of the hardest lines in Jacob's blessing, a public disavowal. "In their cou...
When the blessings were finished, Jacob turned to the practical. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan records his request with the gravity of a last will. "I am to be gathered to my people; bury...
The Book of Jubilees, an ancient Jewish text that expands on the stories of Genesis and Exodus, gives us a peek into that moment. It’s like a family reunion, generations connecting...
It all starts with Jacob, also known as Israel, nearing the end of his life in Egypt. Asenath, Joseph's wife, notices Jacob's declining health. Knowing the power of a righteous man...
The Torah describes Jacob's burial as a solemn procession to Canaan. Targum Jonathan turns it into an epic confrontation complete with a golden deathbed, a eulogy comparing Jacob t...
Jacob lived in Egypt, but his heart was already looking past Egypt. Zohar, Vayechi 1:1 reads "Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years" (Genesis 47:28) as more than the qui...
One of the most remarkable claims in rabbinic tradition is that the Israelites preserved their identity throughout centuries of Egyptian bondage by refusing to change their names. ...
When Pharaoh granted Joseph's request, a procession formed that had no precedent in Hebrew history. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan records it plainly. "And Joseph went up to bury his fathe...
