5,704 texts · Page 91 of 119
The rabbis of old, wrestling with this very question, spun a fascinating tale in Bereshit Rabbah 40, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. The story begi...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. And they found evidence of it woven right into the fabric of the Torah itself. Take the story of Abraham, our forefather. He goes down to Egypt to...
The rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), those brilliant interpreters of our tradition, saw so much more. Bereshit Rabbah, that treasure trove of rabbinic thou...
The ancient rabbis certainly thought so. They saw echoes of the Exodus, the defining moment of Jewish liberation, shimmering even in the life of Abraham. We find this idea beautifu...
The passage opens with a verse from (Genesis 13:10): "Lot raised his eyes and saw the entire plain of the Jordan, that it was all watered, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomor...
Our ancestor, Abraham, knew that feeling well. God promised him descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth and an eternal inheritance of land. But what did that really mean? ...
Our story begins with the seemingly simple phrase: "It was in the days of Amrafel..." (Genesis 14:1). But the Rabbis, masters of interpretation, saw so much more within those words...
Our sages certainly did. to a fascinating exploration from Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 42, where they dissect the phrase "vayhi bimei" (וַיְהִי בִּמֵי), "it was in the da...
We're looking at Chapter 42, which grapples with a seemingly simple verse: "Twelve years they served Kedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled" (Genesis 14:4). It sound...
The Torah is full of such moments, and the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) are masters at unearthing the layers of meaning. Let's take a peek into Bereshit...
The passage opens with Abram, later known as Abraham, learning that his brother has been taken captive. The text connects this to a verse from Isaiah (33:15): "He seals his ears fr...
Who was this Malkitzedek? Why is he offering bread and wine? And what's the deal with Salem? The Rabbis of Bereshit Rabbah, that rich collection of early Jewish interpretations of ...
Our journey begins in (Genesis 14:20): “And blessed is God, the Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand. He gave him a tithe of everything.” This verse is about Abraha...
It's not just the giving, but the way we give, the intention behind it. And in the story of Abram and the King of Sodom, found in Bereshit Rabbah (Genesis Rabbah) 43, we see a mast...
It's like a song with a recurring chorus, reminding us of something vital. Let's look at one of those refrains, the reassurance "Fear not, Abram," and see what echoes it holds. The...
It all starts with God promising Abraham countless descendants: "Look now to the heavens, and count the stars, if you can count them… So will your offspring be." But it's the phras...
Jewish tradition certainly sees echoes of the past in the present, especially when it comes to empires. In Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the ...
The Torah uses powerful imagery to describe just such a feeling in (Genesis 15:11): “Birds of prey descended upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.” But what does it really...
That liminal space is rich with meaning, according to Jewish tradition. And it all starts with a single verse. In (Genesis 15:12), we read: "It was as the sun was setting, and a sl...
One such verse, rich with meaning and implication. In (Genesis 15:14), God tells Abraham, "And also that nation that they will serve, I will judge, and after that they will go out ...
We find ourselves asking this question in Bereshit Rabbah 44, a midrash – a collection of rabbinic interpretations – on the book of Genesis. The verse in question: "On that day, th...
We often think of the Torah as a clear-cut set of instructions, but sometimes, things get a little… complicated. Take the story of God's promise to Abraham in (Genesis 15:19-21). G...
They were promised descendants as numerous as the stars, yet years went by in the land of Canaan, barren and seemingly forgotten by destiny. The Torah tells us, “Sarai, Abram’s wif...
It says, "Abram was ninety-nine years old, and the Lord appeared to Abram; He said to him: I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be faultless.” Ninety-nine years old. It’s never t...
What does it truly signify? And why there? In Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, we find a fascinating discussion between Rabbi Yishmael ...
The Torah tells us in (Genesis 17:5), "Your name will no longer be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations." Seems pre...
What if the very land we stand on, the ground beneath our feet, was conditional? What if it came with strings attached, promises to keep, and a sacred agreement between us and the ...
The passage centers around (Genesis 17:20), where God says, "And regarding Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him. I will make him fruitful, and I will multiply him ...
The ancient rabbis grappled with that all the time, and their discussions, preserved in texts like Bereshit Rabbah, offer some fascinating, and sometimes surprising, insights. We f...
To a passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, specifically section 48. The passage opens with a quote from Isaiah (33:13-14): ...
(Genesis 18:1) tells us, "He was sitting [yoshev] at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day." But there's more to it than meets the eye. Rabbi Berekhya, quoting Rabbi Levi...
It opens with the seemingly simple phrase: "At the entrance [petaḥ] of the tent [ohel]." This refers to Abraham sitting at the entrance of his tent, welcoming guests. But, as is so...
It all starts with Abraham, of course, and his legendary hospitality. The passage opens with Abraham's plea: "My Lord, please, if I have found favor in Your eyes, please do not dep...
I've been pondering just that as I was reading through Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 48, which elaborates on a seemingly simple verse: (Genesis 18:6). It reads, "Abraham hu...
That’s the kind of feeling I get when I think about Abraham and that young bull. Let's set the scene. Remember when three divine guests show up at Abraham's tent in the heat of the...
We find ourselves pondering this in Bereshit Rabbah 49, where Rabbi Eleazar raises a fascinating question. How do we understand instances in the Torah where individuals seem to be ...
How do you BECOME ready? Our exploration starts in Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. Here, in section 49, we find a fascinat...
What does it mean to approach God? That's precisely what the Rabbis grapple with in Bereshit Rabbah 49. The text opens with that powerful line from Genesis, "Abraham approached, an...
The story of Abraham pleading with God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah is more than just a negotiation; it’s a glimpse into the very nature of divine justice and collective responsibil...
It's like a linguistic puzzle, where sometimes a single letter can shift the whole meaning of a word. And that brings us to a curious little detail in the Torah, one that our sages...
The story of Lot and the destruction of Sodom, as explored in Bereshit Rabbah 50, is a stark reminder of how attachment to material possessions can cloud our judgment and even enda...
To a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, that grapples with just that question in the fiery destructi...
The passage begins with a verse from Jeremiah (48:30): "I know its fury, the utterance of the Lord, and its lies [badav] are unfounded [lo khen]." This verse becomes the springboar...
It’s a question that's been wrestled with for millennia, and Jewish tradition offers some fascinating, layered answers. to one such exploration, found in Bereshit Rabbah, a classic...
We’re going to do just that, diving into a fascinating interpretation from Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic commentary on the Book of Genesis. It all starts with a...
(Psalm 119:89) declares, “Forever, Lord, Your word stands firm in the heavens.” But does this mean it doesn’t stand firm here, with us? Our sages grappled with this, finding an ans...
The Torah, and the rabbinic tradition that blossoms from it, is obsessed with this very question. to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah 53, a midrash – a rabbinic interpret...
Jewish tradition certainly thinks so. to a passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, to see just how much weight our Sa...
