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The verses state, "All the people who were coming with Jacob to Egypt, the products of his loins, aside from the wives of Jacob's sons; all the people were sixty-six" (Genesis 46:2...
The verse in Isaiah (11:13) says, "The jealousy of Ephraim will cease." Now, Bereshit Rabbah, that incredible collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, sees a connection h...
What it means to truly come "home?" The Torah touches on this very human longing as Jacob, nearing the end of his life, makes a heartfelt request of his son, Joseph. "The time for ...
The ancient Rabbis certainly noticed it. They saw it woven into the very fabric of the Torah, these moments where authority seems to… loosen. Our story today comes from Bereshit Ra...
Jewish tradition grapples with this question in fascinating ways, particularly when we look at the deaths of our patriarchs. Take Jacob, for example. The Torah tells us, “The time ...
It seems like a strange thing to worry about when, well, we're no longer around to worry about anything. But the story of Jacob, as he nears the end of his life in Egypt, gives us ...
We're in chapter 97, diving into Jacob's blessing of Joseph. The scene: Jacob, nearing the end of his life, blesses Joseph, saying, "The God before whom my fathers, Abraham and Isa...
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...
That’s the sense I get reading Bereshit Rabbah 98, a beautiful passage from the ancient midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) collection, which interprets a verse from (Psal...
The passage centers around Jacob's blessing to his son Judah: "Judah, you shall your brothers acknowledge; your hand will be at the nape of your enemies; your father’s sons will pr...
It's (Genesis 49:9): “Judah is a lion cub; from prey, my son, you ascended. He crouches, lies like a lion, and like a great cat, who shall rouse him?” Right away, the image of a li...
Beyond being one of the twelve tribes of Israel, it carries a unique promise, a prophecy intertwined with leadership, lineage, and ultimately, the coming of the Messiah. to a fasci...
Peel back the layers, and you'll find a fascinating tapestry of interpretations woven by our sages. The Rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah 98, for example, don't just see a vineyard. They s...
The Torah gives us stories of such people again and again, and one of the most striking is Samson. Our text from Bereshit Rabbah (98) delves into the strength – and the thirst! – o...
In Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, they dig deep into this verse, connecting it to the story of Samson, the legendary strongman from t...
It’s a universal feeling, and it echoes even within the ancient texts of our tradition. The verse in question is (Genesis 49:23), part of Jacob's blessing to his sons: "They embitt...
We all know the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife, but the ancient rabbis saw layers of complexity there, hints of struggle just beneath the surface. to a fascinating passage fro...
It wasn't just a random selection, you know. According to Bereshit Rabbah, the classic collection of Rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, there was some serious competi...
The story of Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, is a powerful illustration of just that – a tale of lost potential, impulsive actions, and the consequences that ripple through generations....
It all goes back to Jacob's blessings to his sons on his deathbed, a scene fraught with emotion and anticipation. And within that scene, the blessing to Judah stands out, packed wi...
To a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah 99, a midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) commentary on the Book of Genesis, and unpack some of the hidden gems within Jacob'...
(Psalm 100:3) declares, "Know that the Lord is God." But it's the next part that really sparked their interest: "He made us, and we are His" (Psalm 100:3). Or is it? See, the Hebre...
The verse in question is (Genesis 49:28): "This is what their father Jacob spoke to them." But the Rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah notice something subtle. It doesn't say, "This is what ...
Did they really get away with it? The Book of Devarim—Deuteronomy—opens with the phrase, "These are the words that Moses spoke…" And the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary),...
A fascinating idea: that the speaker's life and experience lend weight to their words. It's not just what you say, but who you are that matters. Imagine someone else rebuking the I...
It all stems from the opening of Devarim, the Book of Deuteronomy. Moses stands before the Israelites, ready to deliver his final, powerful speeches. And the very first verse we en...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the book of Deuteronomy, opens our eyes to some fascinating insights. It all starts with the verse, "the Lord your God has mul...
(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 ...
In the very first section, the rabbis grapple with the verse, "You have circled this mountain enough" (Deuteronomy 2:3). What does it mean to circle a mountain "enough?" They see i...
It begins with the phrase "you have circled enough," and then dives into what it really means to be patient, to trust, and to understand the long game of history. The verse in ques...
The story of Esau and Jacob is a classic example, and the Rabbis in Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homiletic interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, unpack it with incredible ...
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...
It all starts with Moses, and his famous plea, "I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying..." (Deuteronomy 3:23). The Rabbis of old, in their wisdom, saw this verse as a springb...
Deuteronomy, or Devarim in Hebrew, is full of Moses' final words, his reflections on a lifetime of leadership. And within the rabbinic compilation called Devarim Rabbah, a midrash ...
Our story revolves around a verse from Deuteronomy (3:24): "Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand, for what god is in the heavens or on ...
The ancient rabbis grappled with this feeling too – the feeling of connection, or disconnection, from the Divine. They asked: What does it mean to say God is near? And how can we k...
Our story comes from Devarim Rabbah, a compilation of rabbinic teachings on the book of Deuteronomy. It begins with the verse from (Psalm 20:2), "May the Lord answer you on a day o...
We've all been there. But what does Jewish tradition really say about the power and accessibility of prayer? Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homiletic teachings on the Book of Deut...
how God treats us? Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homilies on the Book of Deuteronomy, offers a powerful contrast. It says, "That has God near it." If a person has a wealthy relat...
It’s a question that has echoed through generations, a yearning to understand the divine timing of the universe. And while there’s no simple formula, our Sages offer some fascinati...
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...
We often hear about the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the mighty hand of God... But what about the internal processes, the spiritual shifts that paved the way for that monum...
Jewish tradition actually has a lot to say about that, especially the power of teshuvah (repentance), or repentance. And let me tell you, some of these stories are wild. Devarim Ra...
Devarim Rabbah, in section 2, uses the verse from (Ecclesiastes 5:9), "One who loves silver will never be satisfied with silver," as a springboard for exploring this very human des...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating discussion from Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, focusing on the Shema, Judaism's central...
That feeling, that singular connection, is at the heart of Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy. Specifically, the second section, where it...
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5). It's a commandment to feel something, to direct the entire fo...
Take this passage from Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy. It all starts with a verse: "It will be, because you heed these ordinances, an...
