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"Happy is the man who has not walked…" – and then it lists the paths we should avoid: the counsel of the wicked, the way of sinners, the company of the insolent. According to Beres...
He shows us that even in old age, we can still blossom and bear fruit. It all starts with a beautiful verse from Psalms (92:14-15): "Planted in the House of the Lord, they blossom ...
The Torah, and later rabbinic texts, offer some fascinating, and comforting, glimpses. Let’s start with Abraham. Genesis 25:7 tells us, "These are the days of the years of Abraham’...
Our story begins with the verse: "It was after the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son, and Isaac lived beside Be’er Laḥai Ro’i" (Genesis 25:11). Be’er Laḥai Ro’i, meaning ...
It’s a question that perplexed some of our sages, too. Take Ishmael, for example. Genesis 25:12 starts out: "These are the descendants of Ishmael son of Abraham, whom Hagar the Egy...
The verse in Genesis 25:22 tells us "The children were agitated within her, and she said: If this is so, why do I exist? She went to inquire of the Lord." But what exactly does "ag...
Take the birth of Jacob and Esau, for example. Seems straightforward. But Bereshit Rabbah, the ancient rabbinic commentary on Genesis, dives deep, revealing layers of interpretatio...
We find a fascinating, and perhaps unsettling, answer in Bereshit Rabbah 63, a section of the ancient Midrash that delves into the lives of Abraham and Isaac, and the troublesome f...
We often hear it as a simple transaction: Esau was hungry, Jacob offered food in exchange for the birthright, end of story. But, as always, the Rabbis see layers upon layers, depth...
