3,287 related texts · Page 6 of 69
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...
That feeling isn't new. Our ancestors wrestled with it too. Let’s delve into a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Gen...
The Book of Job certainly seems to think so. "For He pays a person for his action," it says (Job 34:11). And the Rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah, that magnificent collection of rabbinic ...
Talk about a whirlwind! As we read in (Genesis 41:14), "Pharaoh sent and summoned Joseph, [and they rushed him from the dungeon. He shaved, changed his garments, and came to Pharao...
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...
We find a fascinating example of this in the story of Joseph and his brothers, a tale filled with drama, reconciliation, and the enduring strength of family. The verse in (Genesis ...
It's even woven into the very fabric of the Torah. : we read in (Genesis 47:28), "Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were o...
It's rarely just repetition. Often, it's about adding layers of meaning, offering a deeper appreciation for what came before. Take the very beginning of the Book of Exodus. We’re i...
The Song of Songs, that most passionate and allegorical of biblical books, wrestles with that very feeling. to a fascinating interpretation from Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a classical m...
The Torah places Israel's encampment "between Migdol and the sea," and the Mekhilta finds layers of meaning in this geography. The word "Migdol" sounds like "gedulah" — greatness. ...
We all know the story: Moses, the Israelites, the desperate flight from Egypt... But the details? Oh, the Rabbis have some thoughts. The book of Psalms (Tehillim) is a constant sou...
The standard Torah tells us that Jacob traveled to Beersheba and offered sacrifices before heading down to Egypt. But Targum Jonathan, the ancient Aramaic translation dating to the...
The Book of Exodus opens with a list of names and a king who "knew not Joseph." Targum Jonathan transforms this into something far more vivid—adding a prophetic dream, naming Phara...
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...
Jacob saw the leaders of Esau listed in the Torah — king after king after king (Genesis 36:31-43) — and was afraid. "How can I stand against all of them? I am one man." The Holy On...
Sometimes, the answers are tucked away in unexpected corners of our history, like in the Book of Jubilees. Now, the Book of Jubilees isn't part of the standard Hebrew Bible we read...
Our story picks up with Joseph, a mere seventeen years old, ripped from his family and sold into slavery in Egypt. Talk about a rough start! The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating tex...
The Book of Jubilees, an ancient Jewish text that retells and expands upon stories from Genesis, picks up the narrative with Joseph at a pivotal moment. It tells us that on the ver...
It’s one of the most powerful scenes in the entire Torah, isn't it?The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text considered apocryphal by some, offers a slightly different, expanded ver...
That sense of, "Which way do I go?" That's precisely where we find Jacob in the Book of Jubilees, chapter 44. He's facing a dilemma of epic proportions. His son, Joseph, is a power...
This wasn't just a fleeting moment of goodwill; the Book of Jubilees specifies that this harmony lasted for "ten weeks of years" – seventy years in total – all the days of Joseph's...
We pick up the story of Joseph in Egypt, after his brothers sold him and he's been bought and sold a couple more times. According to Jasher, the Ishmaelites who initially bought Jo...
We all know the story of the Exodus, the burning bush, the parting of the Red Sea. But what about the years leading up to that moment? The Book of Jasher, an ancient Hebrew text of...
That's the situation Joseph finds himself in as the story in Genesis reaches its climax. We've seen Joseph rise to power in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. We've seen his br...
The story of Rachel's burial offers a powerful glimpse into this very idea. The Torah tells us simply that Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin and was buried on the road to Ephrat...
It's far more than just a tale of sibling rivalry and Egyptian intrigue. According to the Legends of the Jews, compiled by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, Jacob endured the hardships of his ...
The Torah tells us of Jacob's deep love for Joseph, a love that perhaps bordered on favoritism. So, picture Jacob, now alone, consumed by grief. The text says that while his sons w...
After the whole heartbreaking ordeal of selling Joseph into slavery to the Midianites, Judah's brothers came to him with a proposition. "If things were normal," they said, "our fat...
According to Legends of the Jews, the Ishmaelites who’d taken him to Egypt began to suspect something wasn't right. They'd heard whispers: "This Joseph... he's not just some runawa...
Not just a little hunger pang, but the gnawing, desperate emptiness that turns societies upside down. That’s the scene we’re walking into. "The grain that we put aside during the g...
We pick up the story with high drama. They arrive in Egypt, unknowingly standing before the very brother they sold into slavery years before. Joseph, now a powerful figure, sees th...
According to Legends of the Jews, a monumental work compiled by Louis Ginzberg, the brothers spoke freely, thinking their words were veiled by the interpreter, Manasseh. Little did...
Remember, Joseph, now a powerful figure in Egypt, has finally revealed himself to his brothers, the same brothers who sold him into slavery years ago. It's a dramatic reunion fille...
Your family's survival hangs in the balance. What would you say? What would you do? That’s the tension at the heart of a powerful moment in the Joseph story, as retold in Ginzberg'...
But imagine the tables being turned... Imagine you holding all the cards, knowing the truth while others are desperately trying to keep up a charade. That’s the kind of tension we ...
After years of famine, Joseph, now the all-powerful viceroy of Egypt, finally reveals himself to his brothers. Can you imagine their shock? "Ye see it with your own eyes," Joseph d...
The story of Jacob and Serah offers a beautiful glimpse into that very mystery. Imagine Jacob, mourning the loss of his beloved son, Joseph. Years have passed, filled with sorrow a...
Even a turban for Jacob himself! They were ready to journey to Egypt, to leave Canaan and dwell with Joseph. The word had spread and, according to Legends of the Jews, the kings an...
Joseph, ever the dutiful son, promises his father he'll be buried in Palestine, the land of their ancestors. But it's not just a simple promise. Joseph adds a crucial detail: "As t...
The text tells us that Jacob was grievously ill, and it’s no wonder. Think about all he’d been through! Remember his years of relentless toil while working for Laban? Day and night...
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...
That’s the scene we encounter when Jacob, also known as Israel, passes away in Egypt. His sons, overcome with grief, didn't just weep quietly. No, they rent their garments, a tradi...
And it raises a fascinating question: who takes responsibility? Who steps up to handle the sacred duty of burial? Interestingly, Jacob's other sons, his children besides Joseph, th...
Joseph, the dreamer, the interpreter of dreams, the viceroy of Egypt… he died younger than he should have. The Sefer ha-Yashar attributes his early demise to a seemingly minor infr...
It's the twenty-first day of the second month, in the second year of a devastating seven-year famine. Jacob, weary but resolute, makes his way down to Egypt. Famine had gripped the...
The sons of Jacob sure did. And one of those dreams, a vision shared by the whole family, becomes a powerful lesson in unity, jealousy, and divine blessing. The story, found within...
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...
