Genesis / Bereshit

Join Rabbi Rachel Bearman and Rabbi Paul Kipnes as they restore the voices of biblical women and men who have not been given the opportunity to speak.

Joseph and His Mothers' Blessing

In this week’s Torah portion, Vayigash, Joseph is reunited with his parents after years of separation. The Torah focuses on Joseph’s...

Why Isaac Refused to Choose Between His Sons

In Torah, Isaac blesses Jacob, the second of his twins, only after his wife Rebecca arranges what appears to be an elaborate ruse to...

How Do You Know?

In this Midrashic Monologue, we join Isaac, Rebekah, and their twins for their evening meal. Imagining the questions these young boys...

Where was Sarah during the Akedah?

In Parashat Chayei Sarah (the life of Sarah), we learn that our biblical matriarch Sarah lived 127 years, she died, and Abraham purchased he

Sacrifice My Son Isaac? What Was I Thinking?

During and after the devastating events of Abraham’s almost-sacrifice of his son, Isaac, the Torah fails to provide insight into the...

We Will Be The Turning Point

In the book of Genesis, Joseph and the pharaoh he served are depicted as a team so effective that they were able to safeguard Egypt...

The Blessing of Dinah

In Parashat Va-y’chi, Jacob blesses his sons as he lies on his deathbed. We note the absence of any blessing for — or mention of — his...

When Ben-Oni Becomes Benjamin

In Parashat Vayishlach, we read of the death of our matriarch, Rachel, who does not survive the birth of her second child, a boy whom she...