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The scene: Isaac is hanging out in the land of the Philistines, near Gerar. Remember, his father Abraham had his own…issues there. And wouldn’t you know it, history seems to be rep...
It turns out, even the clothes in the Torah have a tale to spin. to a fascinating Midrash about Esau's special garments, found in Bereshit Rabbah 65. In Genesis 27:15, we read, “Re...
In the story of Jacob and Esau, as told in Genesis 27:23, that sense of smell takes on a whole new, almost mystical, significance. The verse tells us, "He did not recognize him, be...
The ancient rabbis wrestled with this very idea, and they came up with a fascinating little lesson hidden within the stories of our ancestors. Bereshit Rabbah, that incredible coll...
There's something to that. In fact, the rabbis saw that connection way back when. We find ourselves in Genesis 29:1, where it says, "Jacob lifted his feet, and went to the land of ...
We often think of the big players – kings, prophets, warriors – as isolated figures. But Jewish tradition reminds us that even the mightiest oak grows from the smallest acorn, and ...
Take the story of Jacob, Leah, and some very potent mandrakes in Genesis 30:16-17. Seems like a simple domestic scene. But the sages of the Bereshit Rabbah (Genesis Rabbah), a clas...
The Torah, in the story of Jacob, gives us a masterclass in reading those unspoken cues. It all starts when Jacob, working for his less-than-honest father-in-law Laban, begins to p...
Our ancestors did too. In fact, there's a fascinating passage in Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, that digs into just that feeling....
