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In Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, specifically in section 63, we find a discussion around the verse, "The Lord said to her" (Genesis 25:23), ...
The ancient rabbis grappled with these questions constantly, poring over scripture for answers. One particularly poignant example comes from Bereshit Rabbah 65, as it tries to unde...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, specifically section 65, to explor...
The story of Isaac blessing Jacob instead of Esau is one that resonates with that feeling, and the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) grappled with it intense...
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman begins our story in Bereshit Rabbah 68, by interpreting a verse from Psalms (121:1) as referring directly to Jacob’s experience. “A song of ascents. I lift ...
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). The text tells us that Jaco...
Dreams have always held a special fascination, and Jewish tradition is no exception. Take the famous dream of Jacob in (Genesis 28:12): "He dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set on...
That’s the kind of morning Jacob had. We find ourselves in (Genesis 28:18). Jacob, after his famous dream of the ladder stretching to heaven, wakes up "early in the morning, and he...
Even a casual "How's it going?" can hold a world of unspoken understanding. Let's peek into Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 70, for a gem on just this. The scene: Jacob, our ...
The Torah tells us, "Jacob took for himself rods of fresh poplar, and almond, and plane; he peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white that was in the rods” (Genesis 30:37). ...
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...
It’s a question that’s been pondered for centuries, and our tradition offers some fascinating insights. a passage from Bereshit Rabbah 74, which delves into the nature of prophecy ...
A discussion about "messengers" (malakhim). Were they ordinary people, or something more? Some Rabbis suggest they were actual angels! It blurs the lines between the mundane and th...
We pick up the story in (Genesis 32:4), where it says: "Jacob sent messengers." But before we get to that, (Genesis 32:3) tells us something crucial: "Jacob said, when he saw them:...
The story of Jacob wrestling with an angel, found in Genesis 32, is one of the most enigmatic and powerful scenes in the Torah. But what was really going on that night by the river...
Rabbi Ḥama ben Rabbi Ḥanina suggests that Jacob wasn't wrestling just anyone; he was battling Esau’s guardian angel! Remember when Jacob says, "For therefore I have seen your face,...
It’s the story of Jacob, our patriarch, and it's a story that the rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah, that great collection of Genesis interpretations, unpack with fascinating detail. We al...
The Torah tells us in (Genesis 32:28) that after wrestling with a mysterious figure, Jacob is told, "No more shall Jacob be said to be your name; rather, Israel, for you have striv...
It all starts with Jacob, that famous figure from the Book of Genesis. Remember when Jacob wrestles with a mysterious figure all night long? After this epic struggle, Jacob asks hi...
To a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of Jacob's reunion with his brother Esau, years after their fraught parting. The story, as told in Bereshit Rabbah 78, isn't just about b...
The passage begins by quoting (Psalm 24:3-5): “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand…? He who has clean hands…. He will receive the blessing from the Lord…” The Ra...
We find him at a crucial point in his life, facing a Divine encounter that echoes a previous one. The text in Bereshit Rabbah 82: “God appeared…again.” That little word "again" is ...
The verse in question is from (Genesis 38:15): “Judah saw her and thought her to be a harlot, because she covered her face.” What's so significant about this seemingly simple obser...
Remember the story? Joseph, wrongly imprisoned, interprets the dreams of Pharaoh's chief butler. He asks the butler, once restored to his position, to remember him and mention him ...
Our Sages, delving deep into the Torah, grapple with this very idea in Bereshit Rabbah 97, a section of the ancient Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary). They begin with a ve...
The verse in (Genesis 49:2) reads, "Assemble and hear, sons of Jacob." But the Rabbis of old, wrestling with the text, saw something more. Rabbi Berekhya, sometimes quoting Rabbi Ḥ...
Sometimes, a single verse can unlock a whole world of meaning, revealing connections between different figures and events throughout Jewish history. to one such verse from (Genesis...
(Deuteronomy 1:10) states, "The Lord your God has multiplied you, and, behold, you are today as the stars [of the heavens in abundance larov]." Seems straightforward. God has made ...
It's not always as simple as a direct hand from above. Sometimes, there's a cosmic chess game happening behind the scenes. Devarim Rabbah, in its very first section, opens with a p...
The Book of Proverbs nails it: "Expectation deferred sickens the heart" (Proverbs 13:12). But what does that really mean, especially when we're talking about something bigger than ...
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...
A quote from Deuteronomy, saying God is "near it." But who is "it"? The verse itself speaks of a nation that has God near to it. Devarim Rabbah, in its characteristic fashion, find...
This is a theme that echoes powerfully through Jewish tradition, and it's something we see vividly in the Devarim Rabbah. This particular passage delves into the profound consequen...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, that explores just that, through the lens o...
The passage centers on the most core of Jewish declarations: “Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad” – "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One" (Deuteronomy 6:...
The story begins with Moses, our great leader, ascending to the heavens. Imagine the scene: clouds parting, a divine ladder stretching upwards, and Moses, step by step, approaching...
It all starts with the verse, “You shall know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God” (Deuteronomy 7:9). Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba uses a parable to unpack this idea. Imagi...
It's a poignant moment, and the book of Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, sheds light on the depth of that experience. "You are crossin...
The verse in Deuteronomy (20:10) sets the stage: "When you approach a city to wage war against it, you shall call to it for peace." Seems counterintuitive. But in Devarim Rabbah, t...
We all have. But what if those words had far more power than we imagined? What if they could actually… physically harm us? Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings and in...
In Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, we find a powerful exploration of this very feeling, wrapped in a story about snakes and the proph...
The ancient rabbis did, and their answer, found within the pages of Devarim Rabbah, is both surprising and deeply comforting. The verse from Deuteronomy (28:12) sets the stage: “Th...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, tackles this very question. It starts with a verse from Proverbs (2:1): "My son, if you take my sayin...
We often focus on the manna, the miraculous food from heaven. But what about something as basic as clothing? I mean, forty years is a long time. Did their clothes just… last? That'...
It seems so natural, so ingrained in Jewish practice, that we might not even stop to ask why. But the Rabbis of old, they were always asking. They wanted to know the source, the re...
In (Deuteronomy 31:14), God says to Moses, "Behold, your days are approaching to die; summon Joshua, and stand in the Tent of Meeting and I will command him." This verse, "Behold, ...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, digs deep into the verse from Ecclesiastes (8:8): “There is no person who rules the spirit, to retain...
Even Moses, the great lawgiver, felt it. In Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, we find a poignant moment where Moses pleads with God. He...
