Patriarchs

3,059 texts · Page 147 of 340

Explore 3,059 Jewish texts related to the theme of Patriarchs, drawn from Midrash, Kabbalah, Apocrypha, and classical Jewish literature.

Joseph: Abraham and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

The Torah, in the book of Numbers (30:2), grapples with this very idea: "Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying: This is the matter that the Lord ...

David and the First Humans

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

And as we'll see, it's a feeling that resonates profoundly within Jewish tradition. Our journey begins with the Book of Numbers, Bamidbar (במדבר), specifically Numbers 33:1: "These...

Forefathers of Israel and Israelites

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

And maybe, just maybe, there's a hidden message in those seemingly random journeys. In the Book of Numbers – in Hebrew, Bamidbar – we find a detailed list of all the places the Isr...

Marriage of Moses and Gehenna

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

When the Torah says, “Command the children of Israel, and say to them: For you are coming to the land of Canaan; this will be the land that will fall to you as an inheritance” (Num...

Moses and the Origins of the World

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

The Torah is full of promises, both of blessings and of curses. And sometimes, it seems like things don't quite line up. In Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on t...

Pillars of Existence

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

That’s kind of the vibe we get right at the very beginning of Bereshit Rabbah, the classic rabbinic commentary on the Book of Genesis. The text opens with a powerful, almost fierce...

Shammai and Creation of Beit

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

This seeming contradiction sparked quite the debate amongst our Sages. Specifically, between the schools of Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel. These two houses, or schools, were known f...

Adam and Creation of Flood

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

It sees echoes of the very first moments of creation rippling through time, playing out in the lives of individuals and entire generations. Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon, in Bereshit Rabb...

Abraham Isaac and Jacob of Chodesh

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabbah

Take the creation story in Genesis, for example. We read in Genesis 1:16 that God made "two great lights" – the sun and the moon – to rule the day and the night. Seems straightforw...