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Sometimes, the most sacred journeys require us to confront the most difficult of family ties. Our story begins with Avram, later Abraham, and a seemingly simple command from God: "...
We're talking about the famous verse in (Genesis 12:1), the very beginning of Abraham's journey: "Go you [lekh lekha] from your country, your people and your father’s household to ...
Jewish tradition certainly has something to say about that, especially when it comes to the story of Abraham and his monumental tests of faith. to Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collec...
The Torah portion Lekh Lekha begins with God's instructions to Abraham, "Go forth from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show y...
A powerful promise from God to Abraham: "I will bless those who bless you, and one who curses you, I will curse, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you" (Genesis...
Our ancestors dealt with that too, as we see in the story of Abraham and his nephew Lot. The book of Genesis (12:4) tells us, "Abram went, as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot we...
It’s more profound than you might think. (Genesis 12:5) tells us, “Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot, son of his brother, and all their property that they had acquired, and the pe...
The Torah tells us, "Abram passed through the land to the place of Shekhem, until the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land" (Genesis 12:6). But there's more to ...
We get glimpses, fragments really, in the Torah, but the Rabbis, through their interpretations, give us access to a deeper understanding of his actions. Take, for example, the vers...
It's easy to imagine them springing forth, fully formed, ready to face any challenge. But what about the times before the heroism, the moments of vulnerability, the struggles that ...
Like, you're on your path, feeling good, and then BAM! Suddenly, everything changes. Maybe it's a job loss, a health scare, or just a general feeling of being lost. How do we react...
The book of Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations on the book of Genesis, makes a fascinating claim. It says that there have been ten famines throughout...
Abraham suddenly notices his wife is beautiful – like, really beautiful – and expresses concern that the Egyptians will kill him to get to her. He asks her to pretend to be his sis...
The rabbis of old, wrestling with this very question, spun a fascinating tale in Bereshit Rabbah 40, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. The story begi...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. And they found evidence of it woven right into the fabric of the Torah itself. Take the story of Abraham, our forefather. He goes down to Egypt to...
The rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), those brilliant interpreters of our tradition, saw so much more. Bereshit Rabbah, that treasure trove of rabbinic thou...
Take the tale of Pharaoh and Sarah in Genesis. We know the basic outline: Abraham and Sarah enter Egypt, Abraham says Sarah is his sister, Pharaoh takes Sarah into his house, and t...
The ancient rabbis certainly thought so. They saw echoes of the Exodus, the defining moment of Jewish liberation, shimmering even in the life of Abraham. We find this idea beautifu...
The book of Genesis, Bereshit, is brimming with these moments. Take Lot, Abraham's nephew. We remember him mostly for his unfortunate choice of neighbors: the wicked inhabitants of...
Maybe… maybe there’s more to it than meets the eye. The verse in Genesis tells us there was a big ol' argument brewing between the shepherds of Abram (later Abraham) and the shephe...
It's like a ripple effect, where a squabble between employees reveals a fundamental conflict between the bosses themselves. That's precisely what Bereshit Rabbah (Genesis Rabbah) 4...
The passage opens with a verse from (Genesis 13:10): "Lot raised his eyes and saw the entire plain of the Jordan, that it was all watered, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomor...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating little debate from Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. Specifically, we're looking at C...
Our ancestor, Abraham, knew that feeling well. God promised him descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth and an eternal inheritance of land. But what did that really mean? ...
Turns out, that impulse might be older – and more significant – than you think. We’re talking about land, about ownership, and about the very act of claiming something as your own....
The ancient rabbis certainly did. to a fascinating story from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, and see what we can uncover. We star...
Our story begins with the seemingly simple phrase: "It was in the days of Amrafel..." (Genesis 14:1). But the Rabbis, masters of interpretation, saw so much more within those words...
Our sages certainly did. to a fascinating exploration from Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 42, where they dissect the phrase "vayhi bimei" (וַיְהִי בִּמֵי), "it was in the da...
We start with the line: "It was in the days of Amrafel..." Now, Bereshit Rabbah doesn't just let that lie. Oh no. It immediately asks: who was this Amrafel? Turns out, he was a man...
The ancient Rabbis certainly thought so! to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, specifically section 42, wh...
We're looking at Chapter 42, which grapples with a seemingly simple verse: "Twelve years they served Kedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled" (Genesis 14:4). It sound...
Today, we're diving into Bereshit Rabbah 42, a fascinating passage from the Midrash, the body of ancient rabbinic interpretations of Scripture. This passage looks at Genesis 14, sp...
The Torah is full of such moments, and the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) are masters at unearthing the layers of meaning. Let's take a peek into Bereshit...
That’s the situation Abram faces in (Genesis 14:14): "Abram heard that his brother had been taken captive…” But what’s truly fascinating isn't just the event, but Abram's reaction....
The passage opens with Abram, later known as Abraham, learning that his brother has been taken captive. The text connects this to a verse from Isaiah (33:15): "He seals his ears fr...
The Book of (Genesis 14:15) tells us, "He divided up against them at night, he and his servants, and he smote them and pursued them until Ḥova, which is north of Damascus." But it’...
We all know the story: Lot gets captured, Abraham bravely rescues him, and then… what happens to the spoils? (Genesis 14:16) tells us, "He returned all the goods, and also his brot...
We often imagine triumphant parades and grateful citizens. But what about the really awkward moments? Like when the defeated villains try to become your new best friends? That’s ki...
Who was this Malkitzedek? Why is he offering bread and wine? And what's the deal with Salem? The Rabbis of Bereshit Rabbah, that rich collection of early Jewish interpretations of ...
The verse in question is (Genesis 14:19): "He blessed him, and he said: Blessed is Abram to God, the Most High, Maker of heavens and earth." But another way to read it is "Acquirer...
Our journey begins in (Genesis 14:20): “And blessed is God, the Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand. He gave him a tithe of everything.” This verse is about Abraha...
It's not just the giving, but the way we give, the intention behind it. And in the story of Abram and the King of Sodom, found in Bereshit Rabbah (Genesis Rabbah) 43, we see a mast...
The ancient rabbis certainly thought so. They saw this idea woven into the very fabric of the Torah, even in God's promise to Abraham. to Bereshit Rabbah 44 and explore this fascin...
Turns out, even Abraham, our patriarch, felt that way. Our story comes from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. In this passage, the v...
It's like a song with a recurring chorus, reminding us of something vital. Let's look at one of those refrains, the reassurance "Fear not, Abram," and see what echoes it holds. The...
The Torah tells us that "the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision" (Genesis 15:1). But what kind of word was it? What kind of vision? Our sages in Bereshit Rabbah (44) – that...
God's reassurance to Abraham: "Fear not, Abram." But whom did Abraham fear? Rabbi Berekhya suggests it was none other than Shem himself. The passage then draws a parallel to (Isaia...
Abraham, our patriarch, knew that feeling. In (Genesis 15:2), he cries out, "My Lord God, what will You give me, seeing that I go childless, and the one who has charge of my house ...
