Questions tagged [jacob]
Biblical figure who is one of the main characters in the second half of the book of Genesis. The third of the Patriarchs, son of Isaac and Rebecca, grandson of Abraham and Sarah, husband of Leah and Rachel, and father of the twelve tribes.
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Angelic wrestling and the intergenerational transmission of rights and priestly duties
In Gen. 32:26, during Ya'aqobh's struggle with a malakh (angel/emissary), he is struck. The Ba'al ha-Turim there offers two explanations for the location that the malakh chose to strike his body. The ...
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Malachim climbing ladders
When Yaakov Avinu has the dream of the malachim climbing the ladder,
Why do malachim need a ladder? Can't they fly or have some other form of supernatural transportation?
I thought that the reason ...
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Does this pasuk imply G-d will leave us?
Bereshit 28:15 has G-d telling Jacob that He will not forsake him until He fulfills what He promised to Abraham. Doesn’t this seem to imply G-d will leave us after that? Do any commentators say ...
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Where can I learn about Serach bat Asher?
Looking for any books on the topic that go into all the aspects to her. Thanks.
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What is the meaning of Genesis 28:14?
I love this forum because I learn too much with all you. One of the most enigmatic psukim in my view is Bereshit 28:14:
וְהָיָ֤ה זַרְעֲךָ֙ כַּעֲפַ֣ר הָאָ֔רֶץ וּפָרַצְתָּ֛ יָ֥מָּה וָקֵ֖דְמָה וְצָפֹ֣נָה ...
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Why was Yaackov punished for answering Pharaoh's Question, "How old are you?"
Why was Yaackov punished for answering Pharaoh the way he did when pharaoh asked him how old he was?
I am sure Yaakov knew how to answer this easy to figure out question quite well. Well enough not to ...
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Does the covenant with Abraham affect any of his children besides the children of Jacob?
If God established the covenant he made with Abraham first with Isaac, and then with Jacob, does that covenant have any effects at all upon the other children in the family of Abraham such as Ishmael ...
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Does the language of Genesis 31:38 - 41 allow for Jacob to be speaking of two seperate 20 year periods?
A few times, I've come across this idea that Jacob's two descriptions of the 20 year period he spent in Haran is actually describing two seperate periods of 20 years, to effect of extending his stay ...
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Did Jacob do right by Essau?
When a family member is on the brink of death and is desperate for food and drink it seems rather harsh to extort his birth-right from him. I would just share my food with the person if they are that ...
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What Rabbinic interpretations of the Garden of Eden narrative treat "the serpent" as more the protagonist, instead of the antagonist?
Most interpretations of the Garden narrative treat Adam and Even as protagonists, and the serpent as the antagonist. I am interested here in interpretations that flip some roles. As one example, I ...
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Is there significance in the Torah calling Yaakov "Yaakov" at the start of Miketz, then switching to "Yisrael" in the middle
In parsha Miketz, in chapter 42 Jacob is referred to by the name יעקב several times. then in chapter 43, starting in sentence 6, it switches to ישראל and uses that a couple of times. Is there any ...
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Yaakov's travel from Be'er Sheva to Haran: a spiritual journey?
The Torah tells us that Yaakov went from Be'er Sheva towards Haran (Bereishit 28:10).
If you look at the map, Haran is somewhere in modern day Turkey (if I'm correct), so the journey was upwards. When ...
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Was the man who wrestled with Jacob, God?
It seems to me that the most plain reading of the passage in Genesis 32:22-32 suggests the man who wrestled with Jacob was somehow God, as crazy or as insane as it may sound. I'm looking for ...
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Do Jews today not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip as per Genesis 32:32-33?
Genesis 32:32-33
Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.
Is this still practiced by ...
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On tunneling to Israel after death
I don't understand this passage in the Talmud:
The righteous outside of Eretz Yisrael will be resurrected and roll [until they reach Eretz Yisrael]… Rabbi Abba Salla Rava strongly objects to this: ...
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