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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 ...
Our Sages, delving deep into the Torah, grapple with this very idea in Bereshit Rabbah 97, a section of the ancient Midrash. They begin with a verse from Genesis (48:16), where Jac...
It’s a beautiful custom, wishing them the qualities we admire in these two brothers. But there's something even more interesting hidden within that blessing, something that goes ba...
Specifically, we're going to look at section 97, which unpacks Jacob's final words to Joseph. The verse in question is Genesis 48:21: "Israel said to Joseph: Behold, I am dying, an...
The Torah tells us, "Jacob called to his sons, and he said: Gather, and I will tell you what will befall you at the end of days. Assemble and hear, sons of Jacob, and listen to Isr...
The verse in Genesis 49:2 reads, "Assemble and hear, sons of Jacob." But the Rabbis of old, wrestling with the text, saw something more. Rabbi Berekhya, sometimes quoting Rabbi Ḥiy...
It's a wild ride of interpretations, isn’t it? The passage opens with Jacob's words: "Reuben, you are my firstborn." Now, Rabbi [Yehuda HaNasi], the compiler of the Mishnah, offers...
The story starts with a quote from Genesis 49:5: "Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of villainy are their heritage." But what does it really mean? Bereshit Rabbah, an ancient c...
