5,406 related texts · 40 related myths · Page 6 of 113
The familiar story is this: from Genesis 34 – how Shechem, son of Hamor, defiled Jacob's daughter, Dinah, and how Jacob's sons, particularly Simeon and Levi, exacted a brutal reven...
After journeying from Shechem to Hebron to be with their father Isaac, Jacob's sons settled in the valley. The pastures of Shechem were still good, and that’s where they tended the...
While the Israelites traveled through the wilderness, seven clouds of glory surrounded them on every side. One cloud went in front, one behind, two flanked them on each side, and o...
The story of Isaac blessing Jacob instead of Esau is definitely one of those moments. It’s a story filled with deception, family drama, and a bit of divine intervention, and it's f...
That sign came with the birth of his son, Joseph. Jacob believed that Joseph's descendants would ultimately triumph over Esau's – his own brother, with whom he was not on the best ...
His story doesn't end there. His descendants play a fascinating, sometimes unsettling, role in Jewish legend. Apparently, the most righteous of Esau's sons was Eliphaz. Now, accord...
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 land wasn't exactly empty when Jacob's sons were destined to inherit it. No, no. It was provisionally granted to a whole host of Canaanite nations: the Canaanites themselves, t...
Take the story of Jacob and Isaac. It's a pivotal moment in Genesis. Jacob, disguised as his brother Esau, receives the blessing meant for the elder son. But there’s so much more t...
In the Torah, names aren't just labels; they're prophecies, echoes of the past, and whispers of the future. Take Leah, for instance, one of Jacob’s wives. Her story, as told in Leg...
He's got his family, his flocks, and a whole lot of baggage, emotional and otherwise. He's facing the very real possibility of a showdown with his estranged brother, Esau, and the ...
Legends of the Jews turns to Rebekah Was Buried Secretly Because Only Esau Was Nearby. It wasn’t long after that Rebekah herself passed away. But unlike Deborah, her death wasn't m...
The familiar telling remembers Dinah, daughter of Jacob, and the terrible events surrounding Shechem. But did you know that Simon, one of her brothers, had a son named Saul with a ...
The eldest is often remembered as holding a special place, but Jewish tradition sometimes flips that script in fascinating ways. the story turns to the tale of Ephraim and Manasseh...
He doesn't just offer a simple "God bless you." Instead, he crafts a blessing rich with history, hope, and a profound understanding of what it means to walk a righteous path. The b...
The angel, acting as our guide, unveils the secrets of each celestial plane, explaining their purpose and the events that unfold within. And then, the day of judgment is proclaimed...
Judah wasn't shy about sharing his battlefield exploits. He recounted his bravery in the wars against the Canaanite kings and even against Esau and his descendants. Apparently, in ...
As retold by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, Moses chose his servant Joshua to lead the charge. Why? Because Moses knew that only a descendant of Rachel, like the Ephraimite Joshua, could co...
A reader can imagine him as this larger-than-life figure, divinely guided, but sometimes he acted with remarkable prudence, almost bordering on… politeness. We find an example of t...
The story begins with an ass – not just any ass, but one created on the sixth day of creation itself! According to Legends of the Jews, this creature was gifted to Balaam by Jacob,...
The rabbis certainly debated it, comparing and contrasting the merits of our most revered patriarchs and prophets. And wouldn't you know it, the discussions could get a little… spi...
Simeon and Levi waited for the festival. That was the key to their plan. While the men of Shechem feasted and drank, the two brothers slipped past the sleeping guards, entered the ...
Take the tale of Jacob and Esau, for instance. The familiar version gives us the basic outline: Jacob, aided by his mother Rebecca, deceives his blind father Isaac to steal the ble...
The familiar story is this: from (Genesis 32:24-30). Jacob, preparing to meet his estranged brother Esau, sends his family and possessions across the Yabbok River (a stream whose n...
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 ...
" This verse, seemingly simple, becomes a springboard for a deep dive into themes of good and evil, destiny, and the very nature of creation. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive com...
It’s not always what you think. Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers a glimpse into this very question, and it's wild. The pass...
One of those fascinating tales, a legend surrounding Judah, one of Jacob's sons, and a rather dramatic encounter with Esau. The passage we're exploring comes from Midrash Tehillim,...
Tonight, It centers on Jacob, later known as Israel, and a pivotal dream he had while resting his head on a rather unusual pillow. The story goes that Jacob, in his travels, took t...
Jacob certainly did. Imagine this: He's returning home after years away, and he knows his brother Esau – the very brother he tricked out of his birthright – is coming to meet him. ...
Our ancestor Jacob had that experience, big time, at the ford of the Jabbok (יַבֹּק), a river mentioned in Genesis. The story, as told in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (chapter 37), a fas...
The story of Simeon and Levi, found in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 38, explores just that kind of fiery zeal. It all starts with the violation of their sister, Dinah, by Shechem. That S...
The familiar story is this: jealous brothers, a colorful coat, a treacherous sale. But sometimes, the details we gloss over hold the most fascinating secrets. to one particular ver...
The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan opens the scene of Rebekah's plan with a line the Hebrew does not speak. "Behold, this night those on high praise the Lord of the world, and the treasure...
"And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and sojourned there the twelve months of the year; and he built in it a midrasha, and for his flocks he made booths; therefore he called the name o...
"And the Lord revealed Himself to Jacob again on his return from Padan of Aram, and the Lord blessed him by the name of His Memra, after the death of his mother." Targum Pseudo-Jon...
When Jacob returned to Bethel, the very stones where he had dreamed of the ladder decades earlier, he did not simply set up a marker and move on. He raised a pillar of stone on the...
The Torah tells us Reuben came back to the pit, found it empty, and tore his clothes. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 37:29) answers the question readers have always wanted to a...
Joseph has been holding a pose for three chapters. Stern vizier. Egyptian potentate. Accuser, examiner, power. Then he lifts his eyes and sees, standing among his brothers, the boy...
When Jacob asked Joseph to bury him in Canaan rather than Egypt, he did not ask for a simple promise. In (Genesis 47:29) he asked Joseph to "put thy hand under my thigh", a euphemi...
A seemingly straightforward instruction: "The Lord said to Moses: Count every firstborn male of the children of Israel from one month old and above, and take the number of their na...
It centers on Jacob, later to be known as Israel, at a pivotal moment in his journey. The verse in question: "He encountered the place" (Genesis 28:11). That Jacob "sought to pass,...
It’s a fascinating story that takes us back to the very beginnings of our people, to Jacob wrestling with a mysterious figure. The Torah tells us, in (Genesis 32:33), "Therefore, t...
It quickly jumps to a seemingly unrelated verse from Psalms: "I had said: You are divine beings, celestial beings, all of you" (Psalms 82:6). What's the connection? Shemot Rabbah e...
It's one of those biblical scenes that's both epic and deeply mysterious. Who was this "man" Jacob wrestled with all night? And what does this strange encounter really mean? Our jo...
The collection of rabbinic homiletic interpretations of Song of Songs, Shir HaShirim Rabbah, dives deep into this very question. Rabbi Berekhya offers a surprising take: how can ho...
And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba (Gen. 28:10). May it please our master to teach us where a man who has unintentionally taken the life of another man may take refuge. Thus do our...
He dreamed, and behold, a ladder set upon the earth; and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it (Gen. 28:12). R. Samuel the s...
