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We often focus on the main narrative, but Jewish tradition is rich with interpretations that fill in the gaps, offering deeper insights into the characters and their motivations. L...
The Torah tells us, "All his sons and all his daughters arose to console him, but he refused to be consoled; he said: For I will descend mourning to the grave, to my son. His fathe...
You're reading one story, and suddenly – BAM! – we're in a completely different time or place. It can feel a little jarring. Well, the ancient Rabbis noticed this too, and they dov...
to a passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, and unpack some of the ideas around yibum, or levirate marriage. The story begin...
The Torah certainly understands that feeling. Take this little phrase we find in (Genesis 38:12): "The days accumulated…" Sounds innocuous. But in Bereshit Rabbah, the classic coll...
She was a widow, promised to Judah's youngest son, Shelah. But Shelah was growing up, and Judah just… wasn't making good on his promise. He was worried, see, because Tamar's first ...
The verse in question is from (Genesis 38:15): “Judah saw her and thought her to be a harlot, because she covered her face.” What's so significant about this seemingly simple obser...
We're looking at Chapter 85, which tackles the complex story of Judah and Tamar. Remember the story? Judah, grieving the loss of his wife, encounters Tamar, disguised as a prostitu...
That’s exactly what happens when we delve into the story of Tamar and Judah in Genesis 38. It's a tale filled with deception, bravery, and some pretty intense family drama. Today, ...
The story of Judah and Tamar, found in Genesis 38, is a powerful exploration of just that. And the Rabbis, in their infinite wisdom, unpack the layers of this narrative in Bereshit...
Sometimes, it takes more than human testimony. Sometimes, it requires a little…divine intervention. Our story begins with Judah, of the tribe of Judah, and Tamar, his daughter-in-l...
It's amazing what you can find when you start digging! Take the story of Tamar giving birth to twins, Perez and Zerah (Genesis 38:27-30). Did you know that even the way the word "t...
to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, and see just how much we can uncover. We're looking at (Genesis 38:2...
We all know the story: Joseph, sold into slavery in Egypt. But the Rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah (86) ask us to consider this: "“[Potiphar…an Egyptian man,] purchased him [from the Ish...
Our story comes from Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section 87. Bereshit Rabbah is a midrash, a collection of rabbinic interpretations and expansions on the Book of Genesis. It's wh...
Specifically, we're looking at section 87, which draws a striking parallel between Joseph and Mordechai. The verse in question is (Genesis 39:10), describing Joseph's unwavering re...
We all know the story: Potiphar's wife tries to seduce Joseph, he resists, and then, scorned, she falsely accuses him, leading to his imprisonment. But the ancient rabbis, never on...
The Torah is brimming with them, and Jewish tradition loves to unpack their layers of meaning. Take the dream of the chief butler in the Joseph story. In (Genesis 40:9), he recount...
We find ourselves in (Genesis 44:16), with Judah facing Joseph – though he doesn’t yet know it's Joseph – after the infamous silver goblet is found in Benjamin's sack. His desperat...
Our guide? None other than Bereshit Rabbah 93, a treasure trove of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis. Specifically, we're looking at the moment Judah "approached" (va...
The Torah tells us, "Joseph saw that his father was placing his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, and it displeased him; he supported his father’s hand, to remove it from the he...
The Torah tells us, "Jacob called to his sons, and he said: Gather, and I will tell you what will befall you at the end of days. Assemble and hear, sons of Jacob, and listen to Isr...
The story starts with a quote from (Genesis 49:5): "Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of villainy are their heritage." But what does it really mean? Bereshit Rabbah, an ancient...
It's (Genesis 49:9): “Judah is a lion cub; from prey, my son, you ascended. He crouches, lies like a lion, and like a great cat, who shall rouse him?” Right away, the image of a li...
The story begins with the tribes of Reuben and Gad. As Israel was in the process of conquering and dividing the land, these tribes, as the midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary...
First, "Naphtali is a doe let loose [sheluḥa]." The Rabbis connect this to the land of Naphtali being full of irrigated fields [beit hashelaḥin]. They point to (Deuteronomy 3:17), ...
It all goes back to Jacob's blessings to his sons on his deathbed, a scene fraught with emotion and anticipation. And within that scene, the blessing to Judah stands out, packed wi...
Take mourning rituals, for example. The familiar seven-day period of intense mourning, the shivah. Where did that come from? The Rabbis of old grappled with this very question. "Th...
It all starts with Moses, and his famous plea, "I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying..." (Deuteronomy 3:23). The Rabbis of old, in their wisdom, saw this verse as a springb...
We’re often told to be good listeners, to value the opinions of those around us. But what happens when those opinions lead us astray? Or, conversely, what if listening to someone –...
And sometimes, in the most unexpected places, it even offers us ways to protect ourselves. Take, for example, the seemingly simple mitzvah (commandment) of sending away the mother ...
They’re more than just tales; they're lenses through which we understand ourselves and the world. Today, let’s peer through one of those lenses, focusing on the biblical figure of ...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homiletic teachings on the book of Deuteronomy, tackles this very issue head-on, using a powerful verse from Psalms: “You sit and speak against your...
We all have. But what if those words had far more power than we imagined? What if they could actually… physically harm us? Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings and in...
In Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, we find a powerful exploration of this very feeling, wrapped in a story about snakes and the proph...
Let's look at Miriam, a pivotal figure in the Exodus narrative. : she was celebrated as a prophetess, a leader, a woman of immense faith. The book of Exodus (15:20) tells us, “Miri...
The story revolves around Miriam's affliction with tzara'at, often translated as leprosy, after she and Aaron speak critically of Moses. When Moses witnesses his sister's suffering...
The Jewish tradition certainly does. In fact, it links our speech directly to our relationship with the Divine. Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homilies on the Book of Deuteronomy,...
Take reading from the Torah, for example. The verse we're looking at is from (Deuteronomy 29:2): "Moses summoned all Israel, and he said to them: You have seen everything that the ...
The sun rises, the seasons turn... it all seems so fixed, so unchangeable. But is it, really? Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the book of Ecclesiastes, ...
In fact, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Kohelet Rabbah, connects them to something much deeper: the consequences of our actions and, specifically, our...
It’s a topic explored further in the rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, Kohelet Rabbah, and it's a fascinating, and frankly, a little scary. The verse in question is (Ecclesiaste...
We all have. But in Jewish tradition, the words we speak – and the intentions behind them – carry immense weight. Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Bo...
The ancient Rabbis certainly did. In Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, we find a series of stories, almost like little parables,...
The Book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, certainly grapples with this very human feeling. And within Kohelet Rabbah, the rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, w...
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, a prominent figure in the Zohar (the foundational text of Jewish mysticism), puts it this way: a good name is more beloved than the Ark of the Covenant itse...
The book of Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, dives right into this question, offering a perspective that might just flip your e...
We often think of God as this distant, powerful being, but Jewish tradition paints a much more intimate picture. It suggests that God is actively involved in our lives, even in the...