2,344 related texts · Page 6 of 49
The story begins with Jacob nearing the end of his life, surrounded by his sons, including Joseph, who, as you might remember, had risen to prominence in Egypt. Joseph, ever dutifu...
On his deathbed, Jacob imparted crucial knowledge to his son Joseph—the key to recognizing the future redeemer of Israel, the one who will deliver them from the harsh bondage of Eg...
It’s a question that’s occupied Jewish thought for centuries, and sometimes, the answers are found in the most unexpected places. Take Jacob, for example, blessing his sons on his ...
Jacob, nearing his end, isn't just dictating his will. He's imparting something far more profound. He turns to Joseph, his favored son, the one who rose to power in Egypt. "And tho...
And sometimes, the stories we tell about those moments, those final farewells, reveal even more about the living than they do about the dead. Take, for instance, the story of Jacob...
The Egyptians, according to Legends of the Jews, actually mourned Jacob. Why? Because they believed his presence had lessened the severity of the famine. Instead of lasting the div...
The stories surrounding the burial of Jacob, Yaakov in Hebrew, are filled with profound insights into this very question. Jacob's journey back to Canaan for burial wasn't just a si...
According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, Reuben, burdened by the weight of his past transgression, felt compelled to warn those around him. He spoke of seven tempt...
We all know it. It’s anger. But have you ever considered it a spiritual danger? An old legend, passed down through generations, speaks directly to this. It's a deathbed message, a ...
One that even the sons of Jacob, the patriarch of the Jewish people, grappled with. These weren't just ordinary siblings. They were the ancestors of entire tribes, destined for gre...
That’s what it must have been like for the Israelites after Jacob died. Ginzberg, in Legends of the Jews, tells us that as soon as Jacob’s eyes closed, so did the eyes – and hearts...
In the Book of Genesis, Jacob, nearing the end of his life, bestows blessings upon his sons, the founders of the twelve tribes of Israel. When he blesses Dan, he likens him to Juda...
We see hints of it in the way Moses was commanded to count the Levites. : for all the other tribes, only men fit for war, twenty years old and up, were numbered. But with Levi? Eve...
It's more than just coincidence, my friends. It’s practically woven into the fabric of our sacred stories! : Why Levi? Why was the tribe of Levi, the priestly tribe, chosen for suc...
We might shake it with the lulav, alongside the myrtle and willow branches, but the Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar, a central text of Kabbalah, suggests it’s far more than just ...
"These are the generations of Isaac, the son of Abraham; Abraham begot Isaac" (Genesis 25:19). The repetition seems redundant. If Isaac is the son of Abraham, we know Abraham begot...
"Jacob left Beer Sheva" (Genesis 28:10). Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev connects this verse to a surprising topic: Chanukah. The word Chanukah (חנוכה) derives from chinukh (חנוך...
"I have remained a stranger at Laban's" (Genesis 32:5). Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev reports his father's brilliant reading of Jacob's message to Esau. The Hebrew word garti (...
And, what is more, with (the casket of) Jacob there went up the servants of Pharaoh and the elders of his household, while with Joseph there went up the ark and the Shechinah and t...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers a fascinating perspective. It points to the tribe of Levi, specifically those who resisted ...
(Psalm 27:13), "If I did not believe in seeing the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living..." It’s a powerful line, isn't it? A raw admission of vulnerability, immediately ...
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...
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,...
Let’s turn the pages of Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, specifically chapter 36, and immerse ourselves in the story of Jacob, Rachel, and a wedding that’s more than just a wedding. Jacob, ...
It’s a fascinating story that takes us from the biblical Jacob to the very Throne of Glory, with a little help from the angel Michael. According to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascin...
We all know the story: jealous brothers, a colorful coat, a treacherous sale. But sometimes, the details we gloss over hold the most fascinating secrets. to one particular version ...
That’s the kind of secret we’re diving into today, a painful moment ripped from the story of Joseph and his brothers. We find ourselves in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, Chapter 38, a fas...
The Yalkut Shimoni, a treasure trove of rabbinic commentary and aggadic stories on the Tanakh, offers us a fascinating glimpse, focusing on a very specific phrase. It all revolves ...
Our tradition certainly understands that feeling. And it finds a powerful voice in the prayer of Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes. We find this prayer tucked away in Sifrei D...
It's not always as simple as being the oldest, especially when we delve into Jewish tradition. We’re talking about inheritance, specifically the rights of the bechor, the firstborn...
The story of Jacob's ladder in Genesis 28 is one of the most famous visions in all of scripture—a ladder reaching to heaven, angels ascending and descending. But the Targum Jonatha...
Buried in Leviticus 22's rules about blemished offerings, the Targum Jonathan inserts one of the most beautiful passages in all of Targumic literature—a theology of sacrifice roote...
Rav Nachman once made a statement that shocked his colleague: "Jacob our father never died." Rabbi Yitzchak pushed back immediately. "They embalmed him. They eulogized him. They bu...
Simeon ben Rabbi forgot to invite Bar Kappara to dinner. The latter wrote on the door: ‘‘After joy death.” Invited afterwards to another dinner, he kept the guests so amused by his...
The passage begins with a curious question, referencing the Book of Job: "Will a man be more just than God...?" (Job 4:17). It seems like a rhetorical question, almost a challenge....
to one such passage from Genesis, chapter 24, where we find Rebecca on her way to meet Isaac. The verse tells us, "Rebecca and her maids rose, and rode upon the camels, and followe...
The Torah, and the wisdom of our Sages, are deeply concerned with justice, with making sure the scales are balanced. And the story of Isaac and his sons, Jacob and Esau, is a power...
The scene is set: Jacob, disguised as his brother Esau, deceives his aging and blind father Isaac to receive the blessing meant for the firstborn. The Torah tells us, "He came to h...
In the story of Jacob and Esau, as told in (Genesis 27:23), that sense of smell takes on a whole new, almost mystical, significance. The verse tells us, "He did not recognize him, ...
Our ancestors grappled with this very question of agency and divine intervention. to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Boo...
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...
There's something to that. In fact, the rabbis saw that connection way back when. We find ourselves in (Genesis 29:1), where it says, "Jacob lifted his feet, and went to the land o...
We often think of money, houses, cars... but what about flocks? (Genesis 30:43) tells us that Jacob, the patriarch, "became exceedingly prosperous." Now, "prosperous" is an underst...
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...
It’s a pretty universal experience, and it seems even Jacob, one of our patriarchs, felt it too. Our story begins with Jacob's reunion with his brother, Esau, after many years of s...
The book of Genesis tells us, almost in passing, "Jacob traveled to Sukot, and built him a house, and established booths [sukot] for his livestock. Therefore, he called the name of...
Jewish tradition tells us that the descendants of Jacob experienced just that – divine protection in the face of overwhelming odds. to a passage from Bereshit Rabbah (81), a classi...
