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The philosopher's challenge cuts right to the heart of things. He essentially says, "Your God is impressive, sure, but didn't He have a little help? All that…stuff…the emptiness, t...
Jewish tradition, in its wisdom, offers a gentle, yet firm, hand on our shoulder, guiding us back to the here and now. The very first verse of the Torah, Bereshit, "In the beginnin...
Rabbi Simon, quoting Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, shares something fascinating about the letters mem, nun, tzadi, peh, and kaf. You know, those letters that have different forms depend...
They believed every single letter, every seemingly insignificant word, held profound secrets. Take the very first verse of Genesis, Bereshit (בראשית): "In the beginning, God create...
We're diving into the very beginning, folks. The second passage of Bereshit Rabbah, the great rabbinic commentary on Genesis. It all starts with that famous line: "The earth was em...
The sages of old grappled with this very question. Rabbi Berekhya, quoting Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon, offers a stunning image. “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,” from Ps...
We drink it, we swim in it, we depend on it. But what if that life-giving force turned on us? What if it rose up and swallowed everything whole? That's the kind of question the anc...
And they all seem to stem from one little verse in Genesis (1:17): “God set them in the firmament of the heavens to illuminate upon the earth.” Rabbi Yoḥanan sees something special...
Our tradition acknowledges that feeling, especially when we consider the mysteries of creation. What was it like before the Big Bang of Genesis? What was God "doing"? The Rabbis of...