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That’s kind of what happened to Jacob after Joseph disappeared, according to the ancient commentary, Bereshit Rabbah. The Torah tells us, "Jacob saw that there was grain [shever] i...
It's a deep dive into the story of Jacob's sons and their trip to Egypt, and it's full of anxiety, suspicion, and loss. The passage begins with a recap from Genesis 42. Joseph, now...
Our tradition grapples with this too, offering perspectives that might surprise you. to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the ...
Take the tale of Joseph and his brothers. We often focus on the grand reconciliation, the forgiveness, the happy ending in Egypt. But what about the really prickly parts? Bereshit ...
This moment, fraught with tension and brotherly love disguised as animosity, is explored in a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah 93. The story opens with a quote from Ecclesi...
It centers around the verse: "He slaughtered feast-offerings to the God of his father Isaac" (Genesis 46:1). Why Isaac? Why not Abraham, the patriarch of them all? Rabbi Yehoshua b...
It's even woven into the very fabric of the Torah. : we read in (Genesis 47:28), "Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were o...
It wasn't just a simple story; it was a portal to layers of meaning, hidden connections, and profound insights. Take Jacob's blessing to his son Issachar in (Genesis 49:14-15): “Is...
In Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, they dig deep into this verse, connecting it to the story of Samson, the legendary strongman from t...
In Jewish tradition, there are stories about those who tried, and what happened when they did. Our story today comes from Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpre...
Take mourning rituals, for example. The familiar seven-day period of intense mourning, the shivah. Where did that come from? The Rabbis of old grappled with this very question. "Th...
The verse we're looking at is from (Deuteronomy 1:11): "May the Lord, God of your fathers, add to you one thousand times as you are, and He will bless you, as He spoke to you." Sou...
It begins with the phrase "you have circled enough," and then dives into what it really means to be patient, to trust, and to understand the long game of history. The verse in ques...
It turns out, even Moses, the greatest prophet of them all, knew what that was like. Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, explores this ve...
Devarim Rabbah, in section 2, uses the verse from (Ecclesiastes 5:9), "One who loves silver will never be satisfied with silver," as a springboard for exploring this very human des...
It all starts with the verse from Deuteronomy, "You shall know this day, and restore to your heart" (Deuteronomy 4:39). Rabbi Meir interprets this in a fascinating way. He suggests...
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5). It's a commandment to feel something, to direct the entire fo...
We're diving into the word ekev, which means "because" or "in consequence of." But it's not just a simple "A leads to B" kind of situation. It's layered with history, Divine promis...
The Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, wrestles with the verse, "The Lord your God will maintain for you…" What exactly will God maintai...
It seems Devarim Rabbah, in its own unique way, grapples with this very idea. The passage starts with a verse from Deuteronomy: “Hear, Israel: you are crossing the Jordan today" (D...
That feeling of unexpected liberation and joy is at the heart of our story today, drawn from Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy. Th...
Jewish tradition grapples with this tension, too. Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homilies on the Book of Deuteronomy, offers a fascinating glimpse into how our sages understood th...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the book of Deuteronomy, dives right into this thorny issue. It all starts with a verse from (Job 34:30): “He prevents a decei...
The verse in Deuteronomy (20:10) sets the stage: "When you approach a city to wage war against it, you shall call to it for peace." Seems counterintuitive. But in Devarim Rabbah, t...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, opens a window into just such a possibility. It begins with the verse, "When you approach a city…" bu...
We often think of it as the absence of conflict, but Jewish tradition elevates peace – shalom – to something far more profound and active. It’s not just a nice idea; it's a force t...
The story revolves around Miriam's affliction with tzara'at, often translated as leprosy, after she and Aaron speak critically of Moses. When Moses witnesses his sister's suffering...
Water, wine, honey… it's a veritable feast of metaphors! But what's the meaning behind it all? Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the book of Deuteronomy, explor...
It seems so natural, so ingrained in Jewish practice, that we might not even stop to ask why. But the Rabbis of old, they were always asking. They wanted to know the source, the re...
That’s the feeling Rabbi Shmuel bar Rav Naḥman evokes in his teaching on the verse, "Rather the matter is very near to you" (Deuteronomy 30:14). It's a beautiful passage about the ...
In Jewish tradition, we find a fascinating story in Devarim Rabbah that touches upon just such a concept when it comes to the death of Moses. The text starts by asking, "What is he...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the book of Deuteronomy, opens up this very question for us. It begins with the verse, "This is the blessing," and then delves...
It sounds almost unbelievable, doesn't it? Yet, according to Devarim Rabbah, this is precisely the monumental struggle Moses faced at the end of his life. Rabbi Yoḥanan tells us th...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet in Hebrew, wrestles with this too. "The wind goes to the south, and turns to the north; around and around the wind turns, and on its rounds the...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, poses this very question: "All the rivers go to the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place that the rivers go, the...
The sages in Kohelet Rabbah 7 delve into this very question, offering some fascinating possibilities. Rabbi Yehuda paints a picture of something like the Nile River. the Nile doesn...
The Book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, grapples with this very feeling. It's a wisdom text, a philosophical exploration of life's meaning, or sometimes, its ...
Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's called in Hebrew, is full of his reflections, and one line in particular always gets me: "For with much wisdom is much vexation; and one who increa...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, wrestles with this very idea. "Of laughter, I said it is confounded; and of joy, what does it accomplish?" (Ecclesiast...
What does it really mean? Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, digs into this very question, using the verse from (Ecclesiastes 3:1...
Jewish tradition grapples with this question, especially when it comes to the timing of pivotal moments in our history. And sometimes, the answers are more surprising than you'd ex...
The verse from Ecclesiastes (3:16) sets the stage: “Moreover, I have seen, under the sun, in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of justice there is wickedn...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, to explore this very dilemma. The passage ...
We find ourselves grappling with this very question in the ancient text of Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Ecclesiastes. The verse in questi...
Like there's a little angel on one shoulder and... well, something else on the other? Jewish tradition recognizes this internal struggle, personifying it in a fascinating way. to a...
In fact, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Kohelet Rabbah, connects them to something much deeper: the consequences of our actions and, specifically, our...
It’s a topic explored further in the rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, Kohelet Rabbah, and it's a fascinating, and frankly, a little scary. The verse in question is (Ecclesiaste...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, grapples with these very human feelings. It observes, "With the increase of good, those who consume it increase; what use is there for its own...
