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The verse in question? "He said: I will return to you at this time next year and, behold, a son for Sarah your wife. And Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, and it was...
But how do you BECOME ready? Our exploration starts in Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. Here, in section 49, we find a fasc...
It’s a question that bubbles to the surface when we delve into the story of Abraham and Lot in Bereshit Rabbah, the great Rabbinic commentary on the Book of Genesis. The text opens...
Rabbi Akiva knew the feeling well! The Midrash tells us he was once teaching, and noticed his audience starting to nod off. So, being the quick-witted sage he was, he decided to sh...
Our focus is Genesis 23:17-18, describing how Abraham acquired the field of Ephron, including the cave of Makhpela, as a burial place. "The field of Ephron that was in Makhpela tha...
Sometimes, the really juicy stuff is hidden in between the lines, prompting the Rabbis to fill in the gaps with their own interpretations. Take the story of Rebecca, for instance, ...
We find ourselves in Bereshit Rabbah 60, a treasure trove of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, wrestling with just that. The verse in question, Genesis 24:33, descri...
The Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, is so concise, that every word, every phrase, even a name, can hold layers of meaning. Take Ketura, for example. Who was she, r...
This story, found in Bereshit Rabbah 61, takes us right into the middle of just such a scene. The verse that sparks this whole episode is from Genesis 25:6: "But to the sons of the...
