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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 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...
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 passage in Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. It's all about Jacob, and...
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...
Our ancestors felt it too. And the Rabbis, in their infinite wisdom, addressed it head-on. We find a fascinating discussion in Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 79, sparked by ...
The Torah tells us, "Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and Ḥamor his father with guile, and spoke, as he had defiled Dinah their sister” (Genesis 34:13). But was it really just guile? ...
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...
The verse we're focusing on is from (Genesis 35:2): "Jacob said to his household, and to all who were with him: Remove the foreign gods that are in your midst, and purify yourselve...
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...
The Torah, in its concise way, captures this very human experience. We find ourselves in Genesis, Chapter 35. Jacob is returning home, a journey laden with its own emotional baggag...
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...
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...
Jewish tradition suggests this might be more than just a feeling. Sometimes, it's woven into the very fabric of our stories. Take the story of Jacob and Joseph, father and son. At ...
It all starts with Joseph, the favored son, and a couple of very fateful dreams. "His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers…" This line from (Genesis ...
Jewish tradition certainly thinks so, and there's a fascinating passage in Bereshit Rabbah (Genesis Rabbah), a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis...
The Torah tells us, "All his sons and all his daughters arose to console him, but he refused to be consoled; he said: For I will descend mourning to the grave, to my son. His fathe...
We're looking at the story of Pharaoh's dream and how Joseph, the ultimate dream interpreter, finally gets his shot. The text begins, "He sent and summoned…" referring to Pharaoh g...
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...
That’s kind of what happened to Jacob after Joseph disappeared, according to the ancient commentary, Bereshit Rabbah. The Torah tells us, "Jacob saw that there was grain [shever] i...
It's a deep dive into the story of Jacob's sons and their trip to Egypt, and it's full of anxiety, suspicion, and loss. The passage begins with a recap from Genesis 42. Joseph, now...
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...
Our ancestors certainly did. This week, we're diving into Bereshit Rabbah 91, a section of the great Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic collection that unpacks the Book o...
Our tradition grapples with this too, offering perspectives that might surprise you. to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the ...
Then, out of the blue, his sons return from Egypt with news that Joseph is not only alive, but a powerful ruler! It's a moment of incredible joy, but also… disbelief. The Torah tel...
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 centers around the verse: "He slaughtered feast-offerings to the God of his father Isaac" (Genesis 46:1). Why Isaac? Why not Abraham, the patriarch of them all? Rabbi Yehoshua b...
It all begins with Jacob, now also known as Israel, standing at a crossroads. God speaks to him "in the visions of the night," a phrase that already sets a mystical tone. "Jacob, J...
The verses state, "All the people who were coming with Jacob to Egypt, the products of his loins, aside from the wives of Jacob's sons; all the people were sixty-six" (Genesis 46:2...
What it means to truly come "home?" The Torah touches on this very human longing as Jacob, nearing the end of his life, makes a heartfelt request of his son, Joseph. "The time for ...
Jewish tradition grapples with this question in fascinating ways, particularly when we look at the deaths of our patriarchs. Take Jacob, for example. The Torah tells us, “The time ...
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 ...
We're in chapter 97, diving into Jacob's blessing of Joseph. The scene: Jacob, nearing the end of his life, blesses Joseph, saying, "The God before whom my fathers, Abraham and Isa...
The Torah portion Vayechi, at the very end of Genesis, gives us a glimpse into that very idea. Jacob, on his deathbed, blesses his sons. And when he blesses Joseph, it says, "He bl...
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...
That’s the sense I get reading Bereshit Rabbah 98, a beautiful passage from the ancient midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic collection, which interprets a verse from (Psal...
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...
Specifically, we're looking at section 99, which explores a verse from Amos: "For the Lord God will not do anything, [unless He has revealed His secret to His servants the prophets...
In Jewish tradition, there are stories about those who tried, and what happened when they did. Our story today comes from Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpre...
The story of Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, is a powerful illustration of just that – a tale of lost potential, impulsive actions, and the consequences that ripple through generations....
Today, we’re diving into 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 ...
(Psalm 100:3) declares, "Know that the Lord is God." But it's the next part that really sparked their interest: "He made us, and we are His" (Psalm 100:3). Or is it? See, the Hebre...
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 ...
Specifically, we're looking at Bereshit Rabbah 100, which delves into the mourning of Jacob. The verse in (Genesis 50:3) tells us, "Forty days were completed for him, as so are the...
We often read the Torah focusing on the big picture, but sometimes, it's in the details that we find the most fascinating human drama. Take the story of Jacob's death and burial in...
