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To a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah 32, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. The verse that kicks it all off is God's instruction to Noah: "Co...
The rabbis of old grappled with this very question. How high did the water actually get? The Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, dives int...
Wouldn't you know it, our sages wrestled with it too, finding fascinating answers hidden in the verses of Torah. Our journey begins with the story of Noah and the flood. (Genesis 8...
Maybe you're in a job you don't love, a relationship that's run its course, or even just a prolonged period of feeling…blah. Well, Noah, yes that Noah of ark fame, knew that feelin...
Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, tackles this very question, and it turns out, it's a battle as old as time. The text starts with a...
The verse at the heart of this discussion is (Genesis 9:6): "One who sheds the blood of man, by man his blood shall be shed, as He made man in the image of God." Simple enough on t...
The Torah tells us that the rainbow is a sign of the covenant between God and humanity after the flood, a promise that the world will never again be destroyed in that way. As it sa...
It's more than just a colorful arc in the sky. In fact, according to Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of Rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, the rainbow holds pro...
The passage starts with a seemingly simple verse: "And to Shem, father of all the children of Ever, brother of Yefet the eldest, children were also born" (Genesis 10:21). But hold ...
The Torah portion Lekh Lekha begins with God's instructions to Abraham, "Go forth from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show y...
It’s more profound than you might think. (Genesis 12:5) tells us, “Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot, son of his brother, and all their property that they had acquired, and the pe...
Abraham suddenly notices his wife is beautiful – like, really beautiful – and expresses concern that the Egyptians will kill him to get to her. He asks her to pretend to be his sis...
Our ancestor, Abraham, knew that feeling well. God promised him descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth and an eternal inheritance of land. But what did that really mean? ...
We often think of them as paragons of faith, figures of unwavering strength. But what about their doubts, their fears about the future? The ancient rabbis, in their beautiful and i...
That liminal space is rich with meaning, according to Jewish tradition. And it all starts with a single verse. In (Genesis 15:12), we read: "It was as the sun was setting, and a sl...
It centers on Sarai (later Sarah) and Abram (later Abraham), a couple whose journey to parenthood was anything but straightforward. We find them facing a heartbreaking reality: Sar...
Our story centers on Sarai (later Sarah) and Abram (later Abraham), a couple facing the heartbreaking reality of childlessness. Sarai, in a desperate attempt to fulfill the divine ...
It centers around a single verse, (Genesis 17:14), which deals with brit milah, the covenant of circumcision. The verse reads: “And the uncircumcised male who shall not circumcise ...
It’s a question that the ancient rabbis grappled with, and their answers are, well, The Book of Job (23:13) gives us a starting point: "He acts through one, and who can respond to ...
Ever catch a whiff of sulfur and feel a little... uneasy? There's a reason for that, according to ancient Jewish wisdom. It all circles back to the idea of divine justice and the c...
The passage comes from Bereshit Rabbah 55, a treasure trove of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis. It all starts with a verse from the prophet Micah (6:6): “With what ...
Jewish tradition is full of stories that remind us that sometimes, salvation comes on the third day. It’s a recurring motif, a whisper of hope that echoes through our texts. Think ...
We all know the story: Abraham, tested by God, is asked to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. He obeys, bringing Isaac to Mount Moriah. Just as Abraham raises his knife, an angel in...
The story of Abraham and the binding of Isaac, the Akeidah, is a cornerstone of Jewish tradition, and within it, a tiny detail holds profound meaning. It's in the repetition of Abr...
It’s a beautiful image, isn't it? But what does it really mean? Our sages, grappling with this very verse, connected it to something we say every day: a blessing. Specifically, the...
It might sound surprising, but the ancient Rabbis certainly thought so! The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Bereshit Rabbah 59, delves into a fascinating i...
As we learn in Bereshit Rabbah 60, it's a theme that runs through some pretty significant stories in our tradition. The passage opens by quoting (Genesis 24:13-15), the story of El...
The Torah, and later rabbinic texts, offer some fascinating, and comforting, glimpses. Let’s start with Abraham. (Genesis 25:7) tells us, "These are the days of the years of Abraha...
It all boils down to a pot of stew. (Genesis 25:29) tells us, "Jacob cooked a stew, and Esau came from the field and he was weary." Simple enough. But within that weariness, and wi...
We find a fascinating, and perhaps unsettling, answer in Bereshit Rabbah 63, a section of the ancient Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) that delves into the lives of Abrah...
Take the story of Jacob and Esau and that fateful bowl of lentil stew. We often think of it as a simple transaction, a hungry Esau trading away his birthright for a quick meal. But...
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 Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Bereshit Rabbah 65, really digs into why that bitterness is directed at Isaac first. Why Isaac first? That's the questi...
We're looking at (Genesis 27:3), where Isaac tells his son Esau, "Now, please take your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game for me." Seems simple...
The scene is set: Jacob, disguised as his brother Esau, deceives his aging and blind father Isaac to receive the blessing meant for the firstborn. The Torah tells us, "He came to h...
Our story begins with Esau, the elder twin of Jacob. He approaches his father, Isaac, with a request, a plea for a blessing. (Genesis 27:31) tells us, "He, too, prepared delicacies...
It all starts with a dream. Jacob, fleeing his brother Esau, lays down to sleep, using a stone as a pillow. And he has a vision. A ladder stretching to heaven, angels ascending and...
We're looking at (Genesis 28:14), a blessing given to Jacob: "Your descendants will be as the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out to the west, and to the east, and to the n...
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 o...
It’s a feeling as old as time, and it resonates deeply within the story of Jacob. We find him in (Genesis 31:3), receiving a direct message from the Almighty: "Return to the land o...
King David certainly did. In Psalms, he repeatedly begs God to rise up and intervene. But what does it really mean for God to "arise"? And when will that moment finally come? Our s...
The passage begins with Jacob, poised to meet his brother Esau after years of separation. “Jacob sent messengers” (Genesis 32:4). But it's not just a simple act of diplomacy. The R...
Rabbi Ḥama ben Rabbi Ḥanina suggests that Jacob wasn't wrestling just anyone; he was battling Esau’s guardian angel! Remember when Jacob says, "For therefore I have seen your face,...
That feeling, that resilience, is at the heart of a beautiful teaching about Jacob, our patriarch. The Torah tells us that Jacob "arrived intact" (Genesis 33:18) after his long jou...
The Torah teaches us about showing appreciation for the benefits we receive, and this sentiment is beautifully explored in Bereshit Rabbah, the classic rabbinic commentary on the B...
Jewish tradition certainly has. to a fascinating, if unsettling, tale from Bereshit Rabbah (Genesis Rabbah) 80 that explores just that. The verse we’re unpacking is from (2 Kings 1...
That feeling is ancient, etched into the very stories that form our identity. to a moment of that silence, a moment laden with consequence, from the Book of Genesis. We're in the s...
We're in Genesis 34, the story of Dina, Jacob's daughter, and Shechem, the son of Hamor, the prince of the land. Shechem has taken Dina, and now Hamor is trying to negotiate a marr...
