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The passage opens with that foundational verse, Genesis 1:26: "And God said: Let us make Man in our image, in our likeness, and let them dominate…” But what does it mean? Rabbi Yoḥ...
We might swat them away without a second thought, but according to the Rabbis, even these creatures have a purpose. As we find in Bereshit Rabbah, even these so-called "superfluous...
It’s in Genesis 2:2: "God completed [vayechal] on the seventh day." But wait a minute! Didn't God finish creating everything on the sixth day? The sages of the Midrash grappled wit...
Even Shabbat, the day of rest, felt that way once. Isn't that incredible? Our sages grappled with a question: why did God specifically bless Shabbat? Bereshit Rabbah, a collection ...
There's a fascinating discussion in Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, that tackles this very question. It all starts with the verse ...
Specifically, we're looking at Bereshit Rabbah 12. Rabbi Nehemya of Kefar Sihon starts us off by referencing Exodus 20:11: "For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,...
We see rivers flowing into the sea, day after day, year after year. Shouldn't the oceans be overflowing? It’s a question that puzzled even ancient rabbis, and it leads us to a fasc...
The verse we're focusing on is from Genesis 2:7: "Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground [adama], and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a ...
An apple? Maybe… but our tradition offers a whole orchard of possibilities! The rabbis of the Midrash, in Bereshit Rabbah 15, really sink their teeth into this question. Rabbi Meir...
