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The ancient rabbis certainly did, and they found wisdom in the story of Judah and Joseph in the book of Genesis to guide us. Our story begins with a tense encounter. Judah, pleadin...
Our guide? None other than Bereshit Rabbah 93, a treasure trove of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis. Specifically, we're looking at the moment Judah "approached" (va...
The scene is intense. Joseph, after years of separation and playing a cat-and-mouse game with his brothers, is about to reveal his true identity. But let’s back up a little. Rememb...
The verse says, "He raised his voice in weeping…. And his brothers could not answer him" (Genesis 45:2-3). It's a powerful moment! But what does it really mean? Well, Abba Kohen (a...
We find a fascinating example of this in the story of Joseph and his brothers, a tale filled with drama, reconciliation, and the enduring strength of family. The verse in (Genesis ...
So, Pharaoh tells Joseph: "Say to your brothers: Do this: Load your animals, and go, and come to the land of Canaan, and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I...
Out of the blue, his sons return from Egypt with news that Joseph is not only alive, but a powerful ruler! It's a moment of incredible joy, but also… disbelief. The Torah tells us ...
Jewish tradition is just teeming with those kinds of moments. Take Jacob, for instance, as he's about to head down to Egypt to reunite with his son Joseph. The Torah tells us, "Isr...
It all begins with Jacob, now also known as Israel, standing at a crossroads. God speaks to him "in the visions of the night," a phrase that already sets a mystical tone. "Jacob, J...
The verses state, "All the people who were coming with Jacob to Egypt, the products of his loins, aside from the wives of Jacob's sons; all the people were sixty-six" (Genesis 46:2...
The verse in Isaiah (11:13) says, "The jealousy of Ephraim will cease." Now, Bereshit Rabbah, that incredible collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, sees a connection h...
Take the story of Joseph and his brothers in Egypt. In (Genesis 47:2), we read, "From among his brothers he took five men, and he presented them before Pharaoh." Okay, seems simple...
The ancient Rabbis certainly noticed it. They saw it woven into the very fabric of the Torah, these moments where authority seems to… loosen. Our story today comes from Bereshit Ra...
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 (rabbinic interpretive commentary). They begin with a ve...
The verse in question is (Genesis 48:21): "Israel said to Joseph: Behold, I am dying, and God will be with you, and He will restore you to the land of your fathers." It seems strai...
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...
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 (the ea...
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...
The Torah gives us stories of such people again and again, and one of the most striking is Samson. Our text from Bereshit Rabbah (98) delves into the strength – and the thirst! – o...
The story begins with the tribes of Reuben and Gad. As Israel was in the process of conquering and dividing the land, these tribes, as the midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary...
First, "Naphtali is a doe let loose [sheluḥa]." The Rabbis connect this to the land of Naphtali being full of irrigated fields [beit hashelaḥin]. They point to (Deuteronomy 3:17), ...
The Torah describes Joseph as a "fruitful tree, a fruitful tree alongside a spring; branches run over the wall" (Genesis 49:22). But what does that really mean? The rabbis in Beres...
It wasn't just a random selection, you know. According to Bereshit Rabbah, the classic collection of Rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, there was some serious competi...
The Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) take this idea and run with it, suggesting that Jacob and Moses, in their own ways, foreshadowed the battles between th...
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...
The story of Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, is a powerful illustration of just that – a tale of lost potential, impulsive actions, and the consequences that ripple through generations....
Today, we’re diving into one particularly intense moment: Jacob's words about Simeon and Levi. It all starts with the verse: "Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of villainy are ...
The Torah portion Vayechi gives us a glimpse into just that, through the blessings Jacob bestows upon his sons. to the unique dynamic between Zebulun and Issachar. Jacob, nearing t...
We start with Asher. Jacob's blessing, "From Asher, his bread is rich, and he will provide royal delicacies," (Genesis 49:20) seems straightforward enough. But the rabbis in Beresh...
(Psalm 100:3) declares, "Know that the Lord is God." But it's the next part that really sparked their interest: "He made us, and we are His" (Psalm 100:3). Or is it? See, the Hebre...
The verse in (Genesis 50:3) tells us, "Forty days were completed for him, as so are the days of embalming completed. Egypt wept for him for seventy days.” Then, just a verse later,...
We often read the Torah focusing on the big picture, but sometimes, it's in the details that we find the most fascinating human drama. Take the story of Jacob's death and burial in...
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...
It's easy to read the Torah as a collection of individual stories, but the rabbis of old saw something more: echoes, parallels, and meaningful connections woven throughout the gene...
It’s a theme that runs deep in Jewish tradition, and it surfaces in the story of Joseph, the favored son of Jacob, who rose to prominence in Egypt. We find ourselves at the end of ...
The verse in question is (Genesis 49:28): "This is what their father Jacob spoke to them." But the Rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah notice something subtle. It doesn't say, "This is what ...
The book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, opens with the simple phrase, "These are the words…" And immediately, the ancient interpreters of our tradition, the rabbis of the Midrash (rabbin...
It’s not just about pointing out flaws. According to Jewish tradition, it’s a profound act, potentially more valuable than empty praise. Let’s delve into a fascinating interpretati...
Did they really get away with it? The Book of Devarim—Deuteronomy—opens with the phrase, "These are the words that Moses spoke…" And the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary),...
It’s baked right into Jewish tradition. to a fascinating idea from Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homiletic interpretations of the Book of Deuteronomy. The very first verse of Deu...
A fascinating idea: that the speaker's life and experience lend weight to their words. It's not just what you say, but who you are that matters. Imagine someone else rebuking the I...
In Hebrew, it’s Eleh hadevarim – Eleh meaning "these," and devarim meaning "words." But as with so much in Jewish tradition, there's a whole universe of meaning packed into those f...
Like the amazing thing you have to offer just isn't... quite good enough?It touches on exactly that feeling. Rabbi Tanhuma, a well-known sage, tells a story. Imagine a merchant haw...
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...
It all stems from the opening of Devarim, the Book of Deuteronomy. Moses stands before the Israelites, ready to deliver his final, powerful speeches. And the very first verse we en...
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...
