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Take the story of Jacob's dream in Genesis 28, where he rests his head on a stone and sees a ladder stretching to heaven. On that ladder, angels ascend and descend. A seemingly sim...
to one fascinating example, found in Bereshit Rabbah 68, which takes a familiar image – Jacob's ladder – and connects it to a very different dream, that of King Nebuchadnezzar. Rem...
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 t...
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...
Specifically, we're looking at Bereshit Rabbah 74, which unpacks the story of Jacob and Laban's contentious parting. The drama unfolds in Genesis 31:47, where we read: “Laban calle...
It’s easy to think of it as a simple sibling rivalry, a fear of physical harm. But when we delve into the ancient commentaries, a much larger, almost cosmic, fear emerges. The vers...
Jewish tradition has some pretty insightful things to say about that, especially when it comes to knowledge and humility. Our story comes from Bereshit Rabbah, a classic midrashic ...
to a fascinating piece of ancient wisdom from Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 83, that does just that. Rabbi Aivu starts us off with an intriguing observation. Before Israel ...
You're reading one story, and suddenly – BAM! – we're in a completely different time or place. It can feel a little jarring. Well, the ancient Rabbis noticed this too, and they dov...
