3,894 related texts · 15 related myths · Page 78 of 82
Seems straightforward. But a curious question arises, a question that leads us into a fascinating rabbinic debate found in Bereshit Rabbah 70. The scene opens with an idolater tryi...
Jacob certainly had that experience. The familiar story is this: from Genesis 29: Jacob, working for his uncle Laban, falls head-over-heels for the younger daughter, Rachel. He agr...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, and see what they had to say about...
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...
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...
The verse But what exactly is this "disgrace" she's referring to? Rabbi Levi bar Zechariah offers a powerful insight. He suggests that before a woman has a child, societal blame te...
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...
The rabbis of the Talmud saw something more. Rabbi Yudan offers one explanation: Rachel died first "because she spoke before her sister." It's a fascinating idea, suggesting perhap...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to How Laban Covered Three Days of Travel in a Single Day. Rabbi Abbahu, in Bereshit Rabbah, poses a fascinating question: what Jacob accomplished in three da...
The drama unfolds in (Genesis 31:47), where we read: “Laban called it Yegar Sahaduta and Jacob called it Galed.” Two names, two languages, one pile of stones. What's going on here?...
The story centers around (Genesis 31:53), where we find the line: "The God of Abraham, and the god of Nahor, the god of their father, will judge between us. Jacob took an oath by t...
Our Sages, those brilliant interpreters of the sacred texts, saw something… different. They noticed something peculiar about the word "kissed" – vayishakehu – in the original Hebre...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Present Righteousness Matters More Than Past Mistakes. The Rabbis notice something crucial. The verse doesn't say, "If you were pure and upright," but "If ...
His story, as told in Bereshit Rabbah (the great commentary on Genesis), is a masterclass in turning sorrow into joy, sowing in tears and reaping with songs. The verse says, "Jacob...
The Torah teaches us about showing appreciation for the benefits we receive, and this sentiment is beautifully explored in Bereshit Rabbah, the classic rabbinic commentary on the B...
The verse tells us, "Dina, daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land." But the rabbis saw much more. The text immediately connects th...
Jewish tradition certainly has. to a fascinating, if unsettling, tale from Bereshit Rabbah (Genesis Rabbah) 80 that explores just that. The verse we’re unpacking is from (2 Kings 1...
That feeling is ancient, etched into the very stories that form our identity. to a moment of that silence, a moment laden with consequence, from the Book of Genesis. The verse tell...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Marriage of Dina. Reish Lakish, a prominent sage of the Talmud, sees something profound in those words. He points out that the Holy One, blessed be He, als...
Dina, Jacob’s daughter, goes out to visit the women of the land, and is defiled by Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite. Shechem then asks his father to obtain Dina as his wife. Ja...
Our story comes from Bereshit Rabbah, a classic midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) text that dives deep into the Book of Genesis. Specifically, It starts with a verse God...
Who May Ascend the Mountain of the Lord and Stand There is the question behind this passage from Bereshit Rabbah. The blessings don't stop there. "So said the Lord of hosts, God of...
Our ancestors did. (Genesis 35:13) tells us, "God ascended from upon him, in the place where He had spoken with him." It’s a simple sentence, but it opens a window into a profound ...
Our story comes from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis. And the verse in question is (Genesis 36:6): "Esau took his wives, and his so...
Rabbi Aivu starts us off with an intriguing observation. Before Israel had a king, Edom did. (The text is supplemented here based on the Matnot Kehuna, Nezer HaKodesh, and Etz Yose...
It’s an idea that's been puzzling thinkers for centuries, and it pops up in some pretty unexpected places in our tradition. (Proverbs 28:1) tells us, "The wicked flee without a pur...
It's amazing what you can find when you start digging! Take the story of Tamar giving birth to twins, Perez and Zerah (Genesis 38:27-30). Did you know that even the way the word "t...
The story, as we know, revolves around Joseph and Potiphar's wife. (Genesis 39:11) tells us, "It was on a certain day, he came into the house to perform his labor, and there was no...
The familiar story is this: Potiphar's wife tries to seduce Joseph, he resists, and then, scorned, she falsely accuses him, leading to his imprisonment. But the ancient rabbis, nev...
It wasn't just a simple story; it was a portal to layers of meaning, hidden connections, and profound insights. Take Jacob's blessing to his son Issachar in (Genesis 49:14-15): “Is...
The story begins with the tribes of Reuben and Gad. As Israel was in the process of conquering and dividing the land, these tribes, as the midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary...
Bereshit Rabbah reads Jacob's blessing of Issachar as a portrait of labor, trade, and Torah scholarship. The verse calls Issachar "a strong-boned donkey, lying between the sheepfol...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Dan's Transgression of Samson. The text offers a few perspectives. The first compares Dan to Judah, singling out Judah as "the most special [kamyuḥad] of t...
We start with Asher. Jacob's blessing, "From Asher, his bread is rich, and he will provide royal delicacies," (Genesis 49:20) seems straightforward enough. But the rabbis in Beresh...
The story picks up right after the Exodus. Imagine the scene: The Israelites have just walked out of Egypt, witnessed incredible miracles, and word is spreading like wildfire. As R...
The Torah is full of these stories, and they often leave us scratching our heads. One such story is that of Moses, perhaps the greatest prophet in Jewish history, who led the Israe...
how God treats us? Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homilies on the Book of Deuteronomy, offers a powerful contrast. It says, "That has God near it." If a person has a wealthy relat...
This is a theme that echoes powerfully through Jewish tradition, and it's something we see vividly in the Devarim Rabbah. This particular passage explores the profound consequences...
The ancient rabbis pondered this very idea, using a seemingly simple verse about eating meat to unlock profound insights about freedom, desire, and divine provision. It all starts ...
Devarim Rabbah reads Miriam's punishment as a warning about speech, kinship, and the priestly power to diagnose tzara'at. We find ourselves drawn to (Deuteronomy 24:9): “Remember w...
The verse in question comes from (Proverbs 31:29): "Many women have performed valiantly, but you have surpassed them all." But who is the "you" being referred to here? According to...
The sages of old certainly did. And they saw that natural flow as a parallel to something quite profound about conversion to Judaism. Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teach...
A time for everything, as the saying goes. But what does that really mean? Well, one fascinating interpretation comes to us from Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin, found within Kohelet Rab...
Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of Rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, explores this very human experience with the verse, "There is an evil that I have seen under t...
A reader can picture the pyramids, the scorching sun, and the relentless labor. But what about the small acts of defiance, the glimmers of hope that hinted at a future redemption? ...
As is so often the case with Torah, the rabbis unpack layers upon layers of meaning. What did it really mean when it says "he saw that there was no man"? It wasn't just about the a...
