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We find ourselves asking this question in Bereshit Rabbah 44, a midrash – a collection of rabbinic interpretations – on the book of Genesis. The verse in question: "On that day, th...
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven." We all know the famous line from Ecclesiastes (3:1). But have you ever stopped to consider just how m...
The scene: God, in Genesis 17:1, reveals Himself to Abraham, saying "I am God Almighty [Shadai]." But what does Shadai really mean? The Rabbis, in Bereshit Rabbah 46, unpack this w...
The sages of the Midrash explored this very human feeling when grappling with God's command to Abraham to be circumcised. In Genesis 17:1, God tells Abraham, "Walk before Me, and b...
Specifically, we're looking at Bereshit Rabbah 46, where the rabbis are puzzling over something quite profound: where in the Torah do we find the use of acronyms? And more importan...
The Torah tells us in Genesis 17:5, "Your name will no longer be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations." Seems prett...
What if the very land we stand on, the ground beneath our feet, was conditional? What if it came with strings attached, promises to keep, and a sacred agreement between us and the ...
But in Bereshit Rabbah, that foundational midrashic text, the rabbis unpack layers of meaning from even a single word. The verse uses the Hebrew word "nemaltem," meaning "you shall...
to a fascinating exploration of just that, as we unpack a verse from Genesis and see what the Rabbis of old found hidden within its folds. Our journey begins with the powerful word...
