1,340 texts · Page 24 of 28
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): ...
The Torah portion Vayera, and specifically (Genesis 18:19), offers a glimpse into this very idea: "For I love him, so that he will command his children and his household after him,...
That’s kind of the vibe we get from a fascinating passage in Bereshit Rabbah (49), a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. It centers around the verse in (...
We'll be looking at Bereshit Rabbah 49, which unpacks Abraham's famous negotiation with God over the fate of Sodom. Remember the story? God is about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah b...
Our ancestor Abraham certainly did. We find him in a tense back-and-forth with God in Genesis, pleading for the city of Sodom. It's a story we all know. God's about to destroy Sodo...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. They saw echoes of legal proceedings in the very interactions between God and Abraham, and their interpretations offer us a fascinating glimpse in...
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 course, is from (Genesis 19:9). Lot, Abraham's nephew, has welcomed two angelic guests into his home. The men of Sodom, consumed by lust and cruelty, surround the hou...
The story revolves around the destruction of Sodom, a city known for its wickedness. Lot, Abraham's nephew, is being led to safety, and the angel says to him, "Hurry; escape there,...
The Book of Genesis (19:24) tells us plainly: "And the Lord rained down brimstone and fire upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah from the Lord, from the heavens." But the rabbis, in their e...
Ever catch a whiff of sulfur and feel a little... uneasy? There's a reason for that, according to ancient Jewish wisdom. It all circles back to the idea of divine justice and the c...
To a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a classical rabbinic commentary on the Book of Genesis, to see how the ancients grappled with the unexpected. The story unfolds in Ge...
It might be more surprising – and down-to-earth – than you think. Our text from Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, dives into...
The idea of being tested, especially by a higher power, is a central theme in Jewish tradition. And one of the most profound examples of this is the story of Abraham. Bereshit Rabb...
Our sages, in the ancient collection of rabbinic homilies known as Bereshit Rabbah, delve deep into this very question. They find an answer woven into the fabric of Torah itself. T...
The Psalmist certainly pondered this. "Even when I am old and gray, God, do not forsake me" (Psalms 71:18). A simple plea. But Rabbi Aḥa, in Bereshit Rabbah, asks a deceptively sim...
It all boils down to a pot of stew. (Genesis 25:29) tells us, "Jacob cooked a stew, and Esau came from the field and he was weary." Simple enough. But within that weariness, and wi...
The Torah, and the wisdom of our Sages, are deeply concerned with justice, with making sure the scales are balanced. And the story of Isaac and his sons, Jacob and Esau, is a power...
The ancients certainly did. And in Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of Rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, we find a fascinating glimpse into their thoughts on death, destiny...
King David certainly did. In Psalms, he repeatedly begs God to rise up and intervene. But what does it really mean for God to "arise"? And when will that moment finally come? Our s...
It’s the story of Jacob, our patriarch, and it's a story that the rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah, that great collection of Genesis interpretations, unpack with fascinating detail. We al...
Take the reunion of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 33. We read how Jacob arranged his family as he approached his brother, placing the maidservants and their children first, Leah and he...
In (Genesis 33:10), Jacob pleads with Esau, saying, "Please, no, if I have found favor in your eyes, receive my gift from me, for therefore, I have seen your face, as the sight of ...
That’s kind of the vibe I get from the encounter between Jacob and Esau after their long separation, as described in Bereshit Rabbah 78. The verse in question is (Genesis 33:14), w...
He starts with a verse from Ezekiel, "Of oaks from Bashan they crafted your oars; [your rudder they made of ivory inlaid in boxwood from the isles of the Kitites]" (Ezekiel 27:6). ...
The ancient rabbis grappled with these questions too, and in Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, we find a fascinating, if somewhat un...
Take the story of Joseph, for example. He's often portrayed as the righteous, almost-too-good-to-be-true figure. But was he always? Bereshit Rabbah, that incredible collection of r...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, specifically section 88. The passage begins wi...
He says, "Woe unto us from the Day of Judgment; woe unto us from the day of rebuke!" It's a powerful statement, isn't it? He uses Joseph as an example. : Joseph, a man of flesh and...
Beyond being one of the twelve tribes of Israel, it carries a unique promise, a prophecy intertwined with leadership, lineage, and ultimately, the coming of the Messiah. to a fasci...
Maybe you'd messed up before, and the consequences stung. It's a very human feeling, that hesitation. And guess what? Even Moses, Moshe Rabbenu himself, felt it too. Our story come...
The book of Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the book of Deuteronomy, tackles this very question, and the answers might surprise you. It all starts with a vers...
We often think of grand things – governments, economies, armies – but what if the foundations are more subtle, more... human? Our story today takes us into the heart of Jewish law,...
We often think of grand gestures, elaborate rituals, and monumental structures. But what if the most precious thing in God's eyes is something far simpler, something we can practic...
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...
Jewish tradition certainly thinks so, especially when it comes to leadership and justice. The book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, is rich with instructions for how to live a righteous li...
It wasn't just a concept; it was built into the very structure of power. Take, for instance, the legendary throne of King Solomon. Rav Aḥa, a sage of the Talmudic period, points us...
It turns out, the tradition has quite a bit to say on the subject, and it might surprise you. We find ourselves diving into Devarim Rabbah, specifically section 5, which grapples w...
The rabbis of old grappled with this very question. They asked: Is it better to be ignorant of the Torah’s demands, or to know them intimately and then… ignore them? It’s a tough o...
We look back with nostalgia, imagining that the giants of the past held all the answers. But Jewish tradition challenges that very notion. The idea that each generation has its own...
It paints a vivid picture of the sun, not just as a celestial body, but as a powerful force carefully managed by the Holy One. Rabbi Natan, as the text tells us, taught that the su...
They found a surprisingly relevant metaphor in the Book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet. The verse says, "all the rivers go to the sea." Kohelet Rabbah, a Midrashic (rabbinic interpret...
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...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, grapples with this very question, stating, "I said in my heart: The righteous and the wicked, God will judge, as there is a time for every pur...
Take this passage from Kohelet Rabbah, a rabbinic commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastes (Kohelet). It grapples with a pretty stark statement: "I praise the dead who are already de...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, wrestles with these kinds of paradoxes. And there’s one verse in particular that always gets me thinking: "There is a ...
One minute you're soaring, the next you're... well, not. Jewish tradition understands this ebb and flow, this dance between joy and sorrow, and offers wisdom on how to navigate it....
The ancient rabbis certainly did. And they wrestled with this tension in some fascinating ways. to a passage from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Bo...
