893 texts · Page 44 of 100
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 ...
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 Torah is full of moments that, on the surface, might seem straightforward, but when we delve deeper, we uncover layers of meaning and significance. Take, for instance, the stor...
The Torah tells us, "Rachel saw that she did not bear children for Jacob; Rachel envied her sister and she said to Jacob: Give me children, and if not, I am dead" (Genesis 30:1). B...
It all comes to mind when we look at the story of Rachel and Leah, and those fateful dudaim, the mandrakes. The scene is set in Genesis 30:15. Rachel, unable to conceive, is desper...
But the rabbis of the Talmud saw something more. Rabbi Yudan offers one explanation: Rachel died first "because she spoke before her sister." It's a fascinating idea, suggesting pe...
Something that maybe... came back to haunt you? In the Torah, Jacob certainly has a moment like that. We find ourselves in Genesis, chapter 31. Jacob is leaving his father-in-law L...
The Torah is full of stories of resilience, and one that particularly resonates with this idea is Jacob's return to Canaan. In Genesis 33:18, we read: "Jacob arrived intact to the ...
The Torah teaches us about showing appreciation for the benefits we receive, and this sentiment is beautifully explored in Bereshit Rabbah, the classic rabbinic commentary on the B...
