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The rabbis of old grappled with this question, too. And they found answers woven into the very fabric of our sacred texts. Rabbi Abbahu, a fascinating figure from the 3rd century, ...
As Genesis 28:11 tells us, "He took from the stones of the place..." but what did he do with those stones? That's where the Rabbis pick up the story and run with it in Bereshit Rab...
It turns out, this isn't just a modern observation. Our sages recognized this dynamic thousands of years ago. Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina, in Bereshit Rabbah 69, starts us off with a quo...
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...
The story begins with Akilas, a convert to Judaism – a ger tzedek, as we say in Hebrew. He approaches Rabbi Eliezer with a question, a concern, really. Akilas points to the verse i...
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 ...
The Torah tells us, "Rachel saw that she did not bear children for Jacob; Rachel envied her sister and she said to Jacob: Give me children, and if not, I am dead" (Genesis 30:1). B...
It all starts simply enough: "Reuben went during the days of wheat harvest, found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to Leah, his mother. Rachel said to Leah: Please give me ...
