Rabbinic Reflections on Divine– Human Interactions: Speaking in Parables on the Miracle of Pregnancy and Birth

This article approaches the question of tolerance by focusing on the topic of miraculous births, shared by both Jews and Christians. An analysis of chapter 14 of Leviticus Rabbah, dated to the first half of the fifth century, reveals contacts between the rabbinic text and Origen’s homilies on Leviticus, which elaborate on the same biblical texts. Jews and Christians shared the idea of God’s unquestionable power to perform miracles, but whereas the Christian discourse on miraculous birth in general addressed the birth of Jesus, the rabbis diverted the discourse to all human births.