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The Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, is so concise, that every word, every phrase, even a name, can hold layers of meaning. Take Ketura, for example. Who was she, r...
Jewish tradition certainly sees patterns in the past, especially when it comes to times of hardship. We find a fascinating example of this in Bereshit Rabbah 64, a collection of ra...
The story of Jacob and Esau, and their mother Rebecca, is definitely one for the ages. It's a story ripe with sibling rivalry, parental favoritism, and a mother's desperate attempt...
The scene: Jacob is about to deceive his father Isaac in order to receive the blessing meant for his brother Esau. He's understandably nervous. "Behold," he says to Rebecca, "Esau ...
Take the tale of Esau, brother of Jacob. He wasn't exactly winning any popularity contests with his parents. Genesis 28:8 tells us, "Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan were obje...
Specifically, Bereshit Rabbah 70 wrestles with a tricky part of Jacob's story. After his dream of the ladder, Jacob makes a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me i...
Jewish tradition offers comfort and hope in those moments. It reminds us that even in the depths of despair, we are noticed, and our fortunes can change. The verse in Psalms (145:1...
The verse we're looking at is Genesis 30:23, where Rachel, finally blessed with a son, exclaims, "God has removed my disgrace!" But what exactly is this "disgrace" she's referring ...
Our ancestors wrestled with that very question. Let's delve into a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, specif...
