[Course
title]
Parashat HaShavua ( פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ)
A Torah scroll
and silver pointer (yad) used in reading.
It is a custom among religious Jewish
communities for a weekly Torah portion to be read during Jewish prayer services
on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, Parashat
HaShavua (Hebrew: פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ), is popularly
abbreviated to parashah (also parshah /pɑːrʃə/ or parsha),
and is also known as a Sidra or Sedra /sɛdrə/.
The parashah is a section of the Torah (Five Books of Moses) used in Jewish liturgy during a particular
week. There are 54 parshas, or parashiyot in Hebrew, and the full cycle is read over the course of one Jewish year.
Contents
o 4.1Alternative triennial cycle
o 4.2Differences between Israel and
the diaspora
Content and number
Each Torah portion consists of two to six
chapters to be read during the week.
There are 54 weekly portions or parashot.
Torah reading mostly follows an annual cycle beginning and ending on the Jewish
holiday of Simchat Torah, with the
divisions corresponding to the lunisolar Hebrew calendar, which contains
up to 55 weeks, the exact number varying between leap years and regular years. One week is
always Passover and
another is always Sukkot, and the final
parashah, V'Zot HaBerachah, is always read on Simchat Torah. Apart
for the "immovable" final portion, there can be up to 53 weeks
available[dubious – discuss] for the
other 53 portions. In years with fewer than 53 available weeks, some readings
are combined to achieve the needed number of weekly readings.
The annual completion of the Torah readings on
Simchat Torah, translating to "Rejoicing in the Law", is marked by
Jewish communities around the world.
Name
Each weekly Torah portion takes its name from
the first distinctive word in the Hebrew text of the portion in question, often
from the first verse.
Practice: who,
when, what
The appropriate parashah is chanted publicly
by a designated reader (ba'al koreh)
in Jewish prayer services, starting with a partial reading on the afternoon
of Shabbat, the Jewish
Sabbath, i.e. Saturday afternoon, again during the Monday and Thursday morning
services, and ending with a full reading during the following Shabbat morning
services (Saturday morning). The weekly reading is pre-empted by a special
reading on major religious
holidays. Each Saturday
morning and holiday reading is followed by an often similarly themed reading (Haftarah) from the Book of Prophets (Nevi'im).
Origin
The custom dates to the time of the Babylonian captivity (6th century BCE).[citation needed] The origin
of the first public Torah readings is found in the Book of Nehemiah, where Ezra the
scribe writes about wanting to find a way to ensure the Israelites would not go
astray again. This led to the creation of a weekly system to read the portions
of the Torah at synagogues.[1]
Alternative triennial cycle
In ancient times some Jewish communities
practiced a triennial cycle of
readings.[citation needed] In the
19th and 20th centuries, many congregations in the Reform and Conservative Jewish movements implemented an alternative triennial cycle in
which only one-third of each weekly parashah was read in a given year; and this
pattern continues. The parashot read are still consistent with the annual
cycle, but the entire Torah is completed over three years. Orthodox Judaism does not
follow this practice.
Differences between Israel and the diaspora
Due to different lengths of holidays in Israel and the Diaspora, the portion that is read on a particular week
will sometimes not be the same inside and outside Israel.
Base for division
into portions
The division of parashiot found
in the modern-day Torah scrolls of all Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Yemenite communities
is based upon the systematic list provided by Maimonides in Mishneh Torah, Laws of Tefillin, Mezuzah and Torah Scrolls, Chapter 8. Maimonides based his division of the parashot for the
Torah on the Masoretic text of
the Aleppo Codex.[2]
Table of weekly
readings
In the table, a portion that may be combined
with the following portion to compensate for the changing number of weeks in
the lunisolar year, is marked with an asterisk. The following chart will show
the weekly readings.
|
Book |
Parsha name |
English equivalent[3] |
Parsha Portion |
|
Bereshit (Genesis): 12 |
Bereshit, בְּרֵאשִׁית |
In the Beginning |
Gen. 1:1-6:8 |
|
Noach, נֹחַ |
Noah |
6:9-11:32 |
|
|
Lech-Lecha, לֶךְ-לְךָ |
Go Forth! |
12:1-17:27 |
|
|
Vayeira, וַיֵּרָא |
And He Appeared |
18:1-22:24 |
|
|
Chayei Sarah, חַיֵּי שָׂרָה |
The Life of Sarah |
23:1-25:18 |
|
|
Toledot, תּוֹלְדֹת |
Generations |
25:19-28:9 |
|
|
Vayetze, וַיֵּצֵא |
And He Went Out |
28:10-32:3 |
|
|
Vayishlach, וַיִּשְׁלַח |
And He Sent Out |
32:4-36:43 |
|
|
Vayeshev, וַיֵּשֶׁב |
And He Settled |
37:1-40:23 |
|
|
Miketz, מִקֵּץ |
At the End |
41:1-44:17 |
|
|
Vayigash, וַיִּגַּשׁ |
And He Approached |
44:18-47:27 |
|
|
Vayechi, וַיְחִי |
And He Lived |
47:28-50:26 |
|
|
Shemot (Exodus): 11 |
Shemot, שְׁמוֹת |
Names |
Ex. 1:1-6:1 |
|
Va'eira, וָאֵרָא |
And I Appeared |
6:2-9:35 |
|
|
Bo, בֹּא |
Come! |
10:1-13:16 |
|
|
Beshalach, בְּשַׁלַּח |
When He Sent Out |
13:17-17:16 |
|
|
Yitro, יִתְרוֹ |
Jethro |
18:1-20:22 |
|
|
Mishpatim, מִּשְׁפָּטִים |
Laws |
21:1-24:18 |
|
|
Terumah, תְּרוּמָה |
Donation |
25:1-27:19 |
|
|
Tetzaveh, תְּצַוֶּה |
You Shall Command |
27:20-30:10 |
|
|
Ki Tisa, כִּי תִשָּׂא |
When You Count |
30:11-34:35 |
|
|
*Vayakhel, וַיַּקְהֵל |
And He Assembled |
35:1-38:20 |
|
|
Pekudei, פְקוּדֵי |
Accountings |
38:21-40:38 |
|
|
Vayikra (Leviticus): 10 |
Vayikra, וַיִּקְרָא |
And He Called |
Lev. 1:1-5:26 |
|
Tzav, צַו |
Command! |
6:1-8:36 |
|
|
Shemini, שְּׁמִינִי |
Eighth |
9:1-11:47 |
|
|
*Tazria, תַזְרִיעַ |
She Bears Seed |
12:1-13:59 |
|
|
Metzora, מְּצֹרָע |
Leprous |
14:1-15:33 |
|
|
*Acharei Mot,
אַחֲרֵי מוֹת |
After the Death |
16:1-18:30 |
|
|
Kedoshim, קְדֹשִׁים |
Holy Ones |
19:1-20:27 |
|
|
Emor, אֱמֹר |
Speak! |
21:1-24:23 |
|
|
*Behar, בְּהַר |
On the Mount |
25:1-26:2 |
|
|
Bechukotai, בְּחֻקֹּתַי |
In My Statutes |
26:3-27:34 |
|
|
Bemidbar (Numbers): 10 |
Bamidbar, בְּמִדְבַּר |
In the Wilderness |
Num. 1:1-4:20 |
|
Naso, נָשֹׂא |
Count! |
4:21-7:89 |
|
|
Behaalotecha, בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ |
When You Raise |
8:1-12:16 |
|
|
Shlach, שְׁלַח-לְךָ |
Send Out! |
13:1-15:41 |
|
|
Korach, קֹרַח |
Korach |
16:1-18:32 |
|
|
*Chukat, חֻקַּת |
Statute |
19:1-22:1 |
|
|
Balak, בָּלָק |
Balak |
22:2-25:9 |
|
|
Pinchas, פִּינְחָס |
Phineas |
25:10-30:1 |
|
|
*Matot, מַּטּוֹת |
Tribes |
30:2-32:42 |
|
|
Masei, מַסְעֵי |
Journeys |
33:1-36:13 |
|
|
Devarim (Deuteronomy): 11 |
Devarim, דְּבָרִים |
Words |
Deut. 1:1-3:22 |
|
Va'etchanan, וָאֶתְחַנַּן |
And I Pleaded |
3:23-7:11 |
|
|
Eikev, עֵקֶב |
As a Consequence |
7:12-11:25 |
|
|
Re'eh, רְאֵה |
See! |
11:26-16:17 |
|
|
Shoftim, שֹׁפְטִים |
Judges |
16:18-21:9 |
|
|
Ki Teitzei, כִּי-תֵצֵא |
When You Go Out |
21:10-25:19 |
|
|
Ki Tavo, כִּי-תָבוֹא |
When You Come In |
26:1-29:8 |
|
|
*Nitzavim, נִצָּבִים |
Standing |
29:9-30:20 |
|
|
Vayelech, וַיֵּלֶךְ |
And He Went |
31:1-31:30 |
|
|
Haazinu, הַאֲזִינוּ |
Listen! |
32:1-32:52 |
|
|
V'Zot HaBerachah, וְזֹאת הַבְּרָכָה |
And This Is the Blessing |
33:1-34:12 |
What Is the
Difference Between a Sidra and a Parshah?
The words sidra (plural sedarim)
and parshah (plural parshiot) are used
interchangeably in the vernacular to refer to the Torah portion that
is read on a particular Shabbat. However,
according to their original definitions they mean different things.
In terms of Jewish law, the word parshah refers to a set of verses that is written in the Torah scroll without any break within the text. Depending on how big the space
needs to be before a particular parshah, it is called a parshah
petucha, “an open portion,” or a parshah setuma, “a closed
portion.” The text of “an open portion” always begins on a new line on the
parchment, and “a closed portion” can begin even on the same line, after an
empty space equaling the width of as few as nine letters from the previous
portion.1
In our printed versions of the Torah, the chumash, the place where an “open
portion” would appear in the Torah scroll is marked with the Hebrew
letter pei (Heb. פ), and a “closed
portion” is marked
with the letter samech (Heb. ס).
The weekly Torah readings do revolve
somewhat around these parshiot, since they mostly begin
and end with these spaces in the text. However, they do not directly correspond
to them, as each weekly portion may contain several such “open” or
“closed” parshiot. Nevertheless, in some places we find that
the Talmud also refers to the weekly reading as a parshah.2
The term sidra is used
several times in the Talmud and
seems to be related to the concept of seder, which means
“order,” or, in this case, the set and consistent pattern of things. We find
that the Talmud refers to different consistent patterns of study by the name sidra.
For example, the practice of including
a few verses from the Prophets with their Aramaic translation in our daily
prayers (in order to make Torah study part of our daily routine)3 is referred to in the Talmud as “kedusha d’sidra.”4
It can be suggested that for this
reason the weekly Torah reading was also called sidra, since the
pattern of reading follows the order of the parshiot as they
are written in the Torah.5
Interestingly, at one point in Jewish
history, there were two cycles followed for the public reading of the Torah:
1. Apparently based on Ezra the Scribe’s institution that “they should
read the curses in Leviticus before the holiday
of Shavuot and those in Deuteronomy before the holiday
of Rosh Hashana,”6 the prevalent custom was that the reading of
the entire Torah was completed annually.7 This custom is universally observed today.8
2. In Israel, there were communities where the Torah was completed
over the course of three years9 (or in three and a half years, as it seems
from some sources10).
It seems that the term seder was
used to refer to the weekly portion in the triennial cycle of Torah reading,11 while the term parshah was
used for the divisions according to the annual cycle.12 This difference is indicated in many of the
printed versions of the chumash where at the conclusion of
each of the five books is a list of how many verses, chapters, parshiot,
and sedarim there are in that book. The parshiot listed
refer to our weekly readings, while the sedarim refer to the divisions
that were used in Israel for the triennial cycle.
In contemporary writing and speech,
both parsha and sidra are used to refer to
the regular weekly reading according to the annual cycle. Parsha is also used to refer to the portions of text as they are divided
in the Torah scroll.
Bereishit
Roundup
"In the beginning G‑d created
the heavens and the earth." In the beginning the world was one big mess;
nothing was in its place. During the six days of creation G‑d put
each thing where it belonged. Let us see how:
On the 1st day, G‑d separated night and
day.
On the 2nd day, G‑d divided the sky from the earth.
On the 3rd day, G‑d separated the land and the sea, and created the trees,
flowers and grass.
On the 4th day, G‑d put the sun, moon and stars in their right places.
On the 5th day, G‑d put the fish, birds and reptiles (like snakes and lizards)
in their places.
On the 6th day, G‑d created land animals like cows and sheep and the very first
human beings — our grandparents, Adam and Eve!
On the 7th day, G‑d stopped working and rested. It was Shabbat.
Adam and Eve marry and go to live in the Garden of Eden, a beautiful
place where everything is available and ready for them. They have beautiful
fruit trees from which to eat and plants, flowers and rivers to enjoy. Adam and
Eve are able to eat of any tree or plant except one: the Tree of Knowledge of
Good and Evil which G‑d does not allow them to eat from.
However, the evil snake convinces Eve
to take a bite, and she gives one to Adam, too. So Adam and Eve are thrown out
of the Garden of Eden as punishment and from that day on they have to work for
a living and do not have it easy as before.
Adam
and Eve have two children, Cain and Abel; one day the two have a
fight and Cain kills Abel.
From then on, G‑d curses Cain and he becomes a wanderer, a person who has no
home and goes all over the world without a place of his own. Adam and Eve have
another child, Shet, from whom the great Noach of whom we will read
in next week’s parshah descends.
Torah
________
Genesis 1:1-6; Genesis
2:8
Haftarah Portion
_________________
Jeremiah 17:12; Proverbs
8:22; Psalm 90:2,
Psalm 90:3;Isaiah 30:33;
Psalm 72:17,
Isaiah 43:7 ;Isaiah
42:5-21
Ha-Berit ha-Hadashah
______________________
John 1: 1 – 10 ; Matthew
3:2 ; 1 Peter 1:20 ,
Revelation 13:8 ;Matthew
13:35;Matthew 25:34
Bereshit (parashah)
The first chapter of the book of Genesis written
on an egg at the Israel Museum
Bereshit, Bereishit, Bereshis, Bereishis, B'reshith, Beresh't, Beresheet,
or Bereishees (בְּרֵאשִׁית — Hebrew for
"in a beginning," the first word in
the parashah) is the first weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה, parashah) in the
annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. The parashah
consists of Genesis 1:1–6:8.
In the
parashah, God creates
the heavens, the world, Adam and Eve, and Sabbath.
A serpent convinces Eve, who then invites Adam, to eat the fruit of tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which God had forbidden to them. So God curses
them and expels them from the Garden of Eden. One of their
sons, Cain, becomes the
first murderer, killing his brother Abel out of jealousy. Adam and Eve have
other children, whose descendants populate the Earth. Each generation becomes
more and more degenerate until God, despairing, decides to destroy humanity. Only one man, Noah, finds God's favor.
The parashah is
made up of 7,235 Hebrew letters, 1,931 Hebrew words, 146 verses, and 241 lines in a Torah Scroll (Sefer Torah).[1] Jews read it on the first Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in
October, or rarely, in late September or early November.[2] Jews also
read the beginning part of the parashah, Genesis 1:1–2:3, as the second Torah reading for Simchat Torah,
after reading the last parts of the Book of Deuteronomy, Parashah V'Zot HaBerachah, Deuteronomy 33:1–34:12.[3]
Contents
o 1.1First reading — Genesis 1:1–2:3
o 1.2Second reading — Genesis 2:4–19
o 1.3Third reading — Genesis
2:20–3:21
o 1.4Fourth reading — Genesis
3:22–4:18
o 1.5Fifth reading — Genesis 4:19–22
o 1.6Sixth reading — Genesis 4:23–5:24
o 1.7Seventh reading — Genesis
5:25–6:8
o 1.8Readings according to the
triennial cycle
·
4In inner-biblical
interpretation
·
5In early nonrabbinic
interpretation
·
6In classical rabbinic
interpretation
·
7In medieval rabbinic
interpretation
o 10.1Connection to the parashah
·
14Notes
Readings
In traditional
Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or עליות, aliyot. In the Masoretic Text of
the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), Parashat
Bereishit has ten "open portion" (פתוחה, petuchah) divisions
(roughly equivalent to paragraphs, often abbreviated with the Hebrew
letter פ (peh)).
Parashat Bereishit has several further subdivisions, called "closed
portion" (סתומה, setumah) divisions
(abbreviated with the Hebrew letter ס (samekh)) within the open portion divisions. The first
seven open portion divisions set apart the accounts of the first seven days in
the first reading. The eighth open portion spans the second and third readings.
The ninth open portion contains the fourth, fifth, sixth, and part of the
seventh readings. The tenth open portion is identical with the concluding maftir (מפטיר) reading. Closed portion divisions further divide the third, fourth,
sixth, and seventh readings.[4]
First reading —
Genesis 1:1–2:3[edit]
Creation of
Light (engraving by Gustave Doré from the
1865 La Sainte Bible)
The Creation of Adam (fresco circa 1509 by Michelangelo in
the Sistine Chapel)
In the first reading, God (Elohim) created the heaven and earth
"in a beginning", the earth was unformed and
void, darkness was
over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved on the face of the water.[5] (Genesis 1:1, Genesis 1:2) God spoke and
created in six days:
·
Day one: God spoke light in existence and separated light from darkness.[6] The first
open portion ends here.[7] (Genesis 1:3, Genesis 1:4, Genesis 1:5)
·
Second day: God created a firmament in the
midst of the waters and separated the waters from the firmament.[8] The second
open portion ends here.[9]
·
Third day: God gathered the water below the sky, creating land and sea,
and God caused vegetation to sprout from the land.[10] The third
open portion ends here.[11]
·
Fourth day: God set lights in the sky to separate days and years, creating the sun, the moon, and the stars.[12] The fourth
open portion ends here.[13]
·
Fifth day: God had the waters bring forth living creatures in sea along
with the birds of the air and blessed them to be fruitful and multiply.[14] The fifth
open portion ends here.[15]
·
Sixth day: God had the earth bring forth living creatures from the land,
and made man in Gods image, male and female, giving man dominion over the animals and the earth, and blessed man to be
fruitful and multiply.[16] God gave
vegetation to man and to the animals for food and declared all creation 'very
good.'[17] The sixth
open portion ends here with the end of chapter 1.[18]
·
Seventh day: God ceased work and blessed the seventh day, declaring it
holy.[19] The first
reading and the seventh open portion end here.[20]
Second reading —
Genesis 2:4–19[edit]
The Garden of
Eden (1828 painting by Thomas Cole)
In the second
reading, before any shrub or grass had yet sprouted on earth, and before God
had sent rain for the earth, a flow would well up from the ground to water the
earth.[21] God formed
man from the dust, blew the breath of life into his nostrils, and made him a
living being.[22] God
planted a garden in the
east in Eden, caused to grow there every good and pleasing tree, and placed
the tree of life and the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden.[23] A river
issued from Eden to water the garden, and then divided into four branches:
the Pishon, which winds through Havilah, where the gold is; the Gihon, which winds through Cush; the Tigris, which flows east of Asshur; and the Euphrates.[24] God placed
the man in the garden of Eden to till and tend it, and freed him to eat from
every tree of the garden, except for the tree of knowledge of good and evil,
warning that if the man ate of it, he would surely die.[25] Announcing
that it was not good for man to be alone and that God would make for him a
fitting helper, God formed out of the earth all the beasts and birds and
brought them to the man to name.[26] The second
reading ends here.[27]
Third reading —
Genesis 2:20–3:21[edit]
The Fall of Man (16th-century
painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder)
In the third
reading, the man Adam named all the animals, but found no
fitting helper.[28] So God
cast a deep sleep upon the man and took one of his sides and fashioned it
into a woman and brought her to the man.[29] The man
declared her bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh, and called her woman.[30] Thus a man
leaves his parents and clings to his wife, so that they become one flesh.[31] The man and the
woman were naked, but felt no shame.[32] The serpent (נָּחָשׁ, nachash), the shrewdest
of the beasts, asked the woman whether God had really forbidden her to eat any
of the fruit in the garden.[33] The woman
replied that they could eat any fruit other than that of the tree in the middle
of the garden, which God had warned them neither to eat nor to touch, on pain
of death.[34] The
serpent told the woman that she would not die, but that as soon as she ate the
fruit, her eyes would be opened and she would be like divine beings who knew good
and evil.[35] When the
woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing in appearance, and
desirable as a source of wisdom, she ate some of
its fruit and gave some to her husband to eat.[36] Then their
eyes were opened and they saw that they were naked; and they sewed
themselves loincloths out of fig leaves.[37] Hearing
God move in the garden, they hid in the trees.[38] God asked
the man where he was.[39] The man
replied that he grew afraid when he heard God, and he hid because he was naked.[40] God asked
him who told him that he was naked and whether he had eaten the forbidden fruit.[41] The man
replied that the woman whom God put at his side gave him the fruit, and he ate.[42] When God
asked the woman what she had done, she replied that the serpent duped her, and
she ate.[43] God cursed the
serpent to crawl on its belly, to eat dirt, and to live in enmity with the woman and her offspring.[44] A closed portion
ends here.[45]
In the
continuation of the reading, God cursed the woman to bear children in pain, to desire her
husband, and to be ruled by him.[46] A closed
portion ends here.[47]
In the
continuation of the reading, God cursed Adam to toil to earn
his food from the ground, which would sprout thorns and thistles, until he returned to the ground from which he
was taken.[48] Adam named
his wife Eve, because she was the mother to all.[49] And
God made skin garments to clothe Adam and
Eve.[50] The third
reading and the eighth open portion end here.[51]
Adam and Eve
Driven out of Eden (engraving by Gustave Doré from the 1865 La Sainte
Bible)
Fourth reading —
Genesis 3:22–4:18[edit]
In the fourth
reading, remarking that the man had become like God, knowing good and bad, God
became concerned that he should also eat from the tree of life and live
forever, so God banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the soil.[52] God drove
the man out, and stationed cherubim and a
fiery ever-turning sword east of the garden to guard the tree of life.[53] A closed
portion ends here with the end of chapter 3.[54]
Death of Abel
(engraving by Gustave Doré from the 1865 La Sainte Bible)
In the
continuation of the reading in chapter 4, Eve bore Cain and Abel, who became
a farmer and
a shepherd respectively.[55] Cain
brought God an offering from the fruit of the soil, and Abel brought the
choicest of the firstlings of his flock.[56] God paid
heed to Abel and his offering, but not to Cain and his, distressing Cain.[57] God asked
Cain why he was distressed, because he had free will, and if he acted
righteously, he would be happy, but if he didn't, sin crouched at the door.[58] Cain spoke
to Abel, and when they were in the field, Cain killed Abel.[59] When God
asked Cain where his brother was, Cain replied that he did not know, asking if
he was his brother's keeper.[60] God asked
Cain what he had done, as his brother's blood cried out to God from the ground.[61] God cursed
Cain to fail at farming and to become a ceaseless wanderer.[62] Cain
complained to God that his punishment was too
great to bear, as anyone who met him might kill him.[63] So God
put a mark on Cain and promised to take sevenfold vengeance on anyone who
would kill him.[64] Cain left
God's presence and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.[65] Cain had a
son, Enoch, and founded a city, and named it after Enoch.[66] Enoch had
a son Irad; and
Irad had a son Mehujael; and Mehujael
had a son Methushael; and
Methushael had a son Lamech.[67] The fourth
reading ends here.[68]
Fifth reading —
Genesis 4:19–22[edit]
In the short
fifth reading, Lamech took two wives: Adah and Zillah.[69] Adah
bore Jabal, the ancestor
of those who dwell in tents and amidst herds, and Jubal, the ancestor
of all who play the lyre and the pipe.[70] And Zillah
bore Tubal-cain, who forged implements of copper and iron. The sister of
Tubal-cain was Naamah.[71] The fifth
reading ends here.[68]
Sixth reading —
Genesis 4:23–5:24[edit]
In the sixth
reading, Lamech told his wives that he had slain a lad for bruising him, and
that if Cain was avenged sevenfold, then Lamech should be avenged
seventy-sevenfold.[72] Adam and
Eve had a third son and named him Seth, meaning
"God has provided me with another offspring in place of Abel."[73] Seth had a
son named Enosh,
and then men began to invoke the Lord by name.[74] A closed
portion ends here with the end of chapter 4.[75]
The Death of
Adam (painting
circa 1452–1466 by Piero della Francesca)
In the
continuation of the reading in chapter 5, after the birth of Seth, Adam had more sons
and daughters, and lived a total of 930 years before he died.[76] A closed
portion ends here.[77]
In the
continuation of the reading, Adam's descendants and their lifespans were: Seth, 912 years; Enosh, 905
years; Kenan, 910 years; Mahalalel, 895 years; and Jared, 962 years.[78] A closed
portion ends after the account of each descendant.[79]
In the
continuation of the reading, Jared's son Enoch had a son Methuselah and then walked with God 300 years, and
when Enoch reached age 365, God took him.[80] The sixth
reading and a closed portion end here.[81]
_-_WGA2572.jpg)
The Fall of the Rebel Angels by Hieronymus Bosch is based
on Genesis 6:1–4
Seventh reading —
Genesis 5:25–6:8[edit]
In the seventh
reading, Methuselah had a son Lamech and lived 969 years.[82] A closed
portion ends here.[81]
In the
continuation of the reading, Lamech had a son Noah, saying that Noah would provide relief from
their work and toil on the soil that God had cursed.[83] Lamech
lived 777 years.[84] A closed
portion ends here.[81]
In the
continuation of the reading, when Noah had lived 500 years, he had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.[85] God set
the days allowed to man at 120 years.[86] Divine beings admired
and took wives from among the daughters of men, who bore the Nephilim, heroes of old, men of renown.[87] The ninth
open portion ends here.[88]
As the reading continues
with the maftir (מפטיר) reading that
concludes the parashah,[88] God saw
how great man's wickedness was and how man's every plan was evil, and God
regretted making man and became saddened.[89] God
expressed an intention to blot men and animals from the earth, but Noah found
God's favor.[90] The
seventh reading, the tenth open portion, and the parashah end here.[91]
Readings according
to the triennial cycle[edit]
Jews who read
the Torah according to the triennial cycle of Torah
reading read the parashah according to the following schedule: [92]
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Year 1 |
Year 2 |
Year 3 |
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2019, 2022, 2025 . . . |
2020, 2023, 2026 . . . |
2021, 2024, 2027 . . . |
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1 |
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2 |
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3 |
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4 |
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5 |
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6 |
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7 |
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Maftir |
Key words[edit]
Words used frequently in the parashah include:
God, gods (67 times),[93] man, men
(41 times),[94] said (37
times),[95] Lord (the
Name of God) (36 times),[96] day, days
(35 times),[97] begot (31
times),[98] years (30
times),[99] live,
lived, living (26 times),[100] hundred
(25 times),[101] eat, eaten
(20 times),[102] tree,
trees (20 times),[103] call,
called (17 times),[104] name,
names (17 times),[105] Cain (16
times),[106] made (16
times),[107] good (15
times),[108] ground (15
times),[109] let (15
times),[110] garden (13
times),[111] light,
lights (13 times),[112] water,
waters, watered (13 times),[113] daughters
(12 times),[114] created
(11 times),[115] see, saw
(11 times),[116] woman (11
times),[117] fruit,
fruitful (10 times),[118] Lamech (10
times),[119] and Adam
(9 times).[120]
In ancient
parallels[edit]
The parashah has parallels in these ancient
sources:
Sargon
Genesis chapter 1[edit]
Noting
that Sargon of Akkad was the
first to use a seven-day week, Professor Gregory S. Aldrete of the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay speculated that the Israelites may have
adopted the idea from the Akkadian Empire.[121]
Genesis chapter 4[edit]
The NIV
Archaeological Study Bible notes that the word translated
"crouches" (רֹבֵץ, roveitz) in Genesis 4:7 is the same as an ancient Babylonian word used to describe a demon lurking behind a door, threatening the
people inside.[122]
In inner-biblical
interpretation[edit]
Genesis chapter 2[edit]
Sabbath candles
The Sabbath[edit]
Genesis 2:1–3 refers to the Sabbath. Commentators note
that the Hebrew Bible repeats the commandment to observe the Sabbath 12 times.[123]
Genesis 2:1–3 reports that on the seventh day of
Creation, God finished God’s work, rested, and blessed and hallowed the seventh
day.
The Sabbath is
one of the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:7–10[124] commands
that one remember the Sabbath day, keep it holy, and not do any manner of work or
cause anyone under one’s control to work, for in six days God made heaven and
earth and rested on the seventh day, blessed the Sabbath, and hallowed
it. Deuteronomy 5:11–14[125] commands
that one observe the Sabbath day, keep it holy, and not do any manner of work
or cause anyone under one’s control to work — so that one’s subordinates might
also rest — and remember that the Israelites were servants in the land of
Egypt, and God brought them out with a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm.
In the incident
of the manna in Exodus 16:22–30, Moses told the Israelites that the Sabbath is
a solemn rest day; prior to the Sabbath one should cook what one would cook,
and lay up food for the Sabbath. And God told Moses to let no one go out of
one’s place on the seventh day.
In Exodus 31:12–17, just before giving Moses the second Tablets of Stone, God commanded
that the Israelites keep and observe the Sabbath throughout their generations,
as a sign between God and the children of Israel forever, for in six days God
made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day God rested.
In Exodus 35:1–3, just before issuing the instructions for
the Tabernacle, Moses again told the Israelites that no one should
work on the Sabbath, specifying that one must not kindle fire on the Sabbath.
In Leviticus 23:1–3, God told Moses to repeat the Sabbath
commandment to the people, calling the Sabbath a holy convocation.
The prophet Isaiah taught
in Isaiah 1:12–13 that iniquity is inconsistent with the
Sabbath. In Isaiah 58:13–14, the prophet taught that if people turn away
from pursuing or speaking of business on the Sabbath and call the Sabbath a
delight, then God will make them ride upon the high places of the earth and
will feed them with the heritage of Jacob. And in Isaiah 66:23, the prophet taught that in times to come, from
one Sabbath to another, all people will come to worship God.
The
prophet Jeremiah taught in Jeremiah 17:19–27 that the fate of Jerusalem depended on whether the people abstained
from work on the Sabbath, refraining from carrying burdens outside their houses
and through the city gates.
The prophet Ezekiel told in Ezekiel 20:10–22 how God gave the Israelites God’s
Sabbaths, to be a sign between God and them, but the Israelites rebelled
against God by profaning the Sabbaths, provoking God to pour out God’s fury
upon them, but God stayed God’s hand.
In Nehemiah 13:15–22, Nehemiah told how
he saw some treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and others bringing all manner
of burdens into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, so when it began to be dark
before the Sabbath, he commanded that the city gates be shut and not opened
till after the Sabbath and directed the Levites to keep the gates to sanctify
the Sabbath.
The Expulsion
from Eden (woodcut
by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern)
In early
nonrabbinic interpretation[edit]
The parashah has parallels or is discussed in
these early nonrabbinic sources:
Genesis chapter 2[edit]
The Book of Jubilees interpreted
God's warning to Adam in Genesis 2:17 that
"on the day that you eat of it you shall die" in the light of the
words of Psalm 90:4 that "a thousand years in [God's]
sight are but as yesterday," noting that Adam died 70 years short of the
1000 years that would constitute one day in the testimony of the heavens.[126] And the
Books of 4 Ezra (or 2 Esdras) and 2 Baruch interpreted Genesis 2:17 to teach that because Adam transgressed
God's commandment, God decreed death to Adam and his descendants for all time.[127]
Genesis chapter 4[edit]
Philo
Philo of Alexandria saw Cain
as an example of a "self-loving man" who (in Genesis 4:3) showed his gratitude to God too slowly and
then not from the first of his fruits. Philo taught that we should hurry to
please God without delay. Thus Deuteronomy
23:22 enjoins,
"If you vow a vow, you shall not delay to perform it." Philo
explained that a vow is a request to God for good things, and Deuteronomy 23:22 thus
enjoins that when one has received them, one must offer gratitude to God as
soon as possible. Philo divided those who fail to do so into three types: (1)
those who forget the benefits that they have received, (2) those who from an
excessive conceit look upon themselves and not God as the authors of what they
receive, and (3) those who realize that God caused what they received, but
still say that they deserved it, because they are worthy to receive God's
favor. Philo taught that Scripture opposes all three. Philo taught that Deuteronomy 8:12–14 replies to
the first group who forget, "Take care, lest when you have eaten and are
filled, and when you have built fine houses and inhabited them, and when your
flocks and your herds have increased, and when your silver and gold, and all
that you possess is multiplied, you be lifted up in your heart, and forget the
Lord your God." Philo taught that one does not forget God when one
remembers one's own nothingness and God's exceeding greatness. Philo
interpreted Deuteronomy 8:17 to reprove those who look upon themselves
as the cause of what they have received, telling them: "Say not my own
might, or the strength of my right hand has acquired me all this power, but
remember always the Lord your God, who gives you the might to acquire
power." And Philo read Deuteronomy
9:4–5 to address
those who think that they deserve what they have received when it says,
"You do not enter into this land to possess it because of your
righteousness, or because of the holiness of your heart; but, in the first
place, because of the iniquity of these nations, since God has brought on them
the destruction of wickedness; and in the second place, that He may establish
the covenant that He swore to our Fathers." Philo interpreted the term
"covenant" figuratively to mean God's graces. Thus Philo concluded
that if we discard forgetfulness, ingratitude, and self-love, we shall not
longer through our delay miss attaining the genuine worship of God, but we
shall meet God, having prepared ourselves to do the things that God commands
us.[128]
Rabbi Jonah taught not to investigate what was
before (illustration from Camille Flammarion's 1888 L'atmosphère: météorologie populaire)
In classical
rabbinic interpretation[edit]
The parashah is discussed in these rabbinic sources from the era of the Mishnah and the Talmud:
Genesis chapter 1[edit]
the Hebrew letter bet
Rabbi Jonah
taught in the name of Rabbi Levi that the world was created with a letter bet (the first
letter in Genesis 1:1, which begins בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים, bereishit bara
Elohim, "In the
beginning God created"), because just as the letter bet is
closed at the sides but open in front, so one is not permitted to investigate
what is above and what is below, what is before and what is behind.
Similarly, Bar Kappara reinterpreted
the words of Deuteronomy 4:32 to say, "ask not of
the days past, which were before you, since the day that God created man upon
the earth," teaching that one may speculate from the day that days were
created, but one should not speculate on what was before that. And one may
investigate from one end of heaven to the other, but one should not investigate
what was before this world.[129] Both Rabbi Johanan and Rabbi Eleazar (or other say Resh Lakish) compared this to a human king who
instructed his servants to build a great palace on a dunghill. They built it
for him. Thereafter, the king did not wish to hear mention of the dunghill.[130] Similarly,
the Mishnah taught that one should not teach about the Creation to more than
one student.[131]
First Day of
Creation (illustration
from the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle)
A Midrash (rabbinic commentary) explained that six
things preceded the creation of the world: the Torah and the Throne of Glory were created, the
creation of the Patriarchs was contemplated, the creation of Israel was contemplated, the creation of
the Temple in Jerusalem was contemplated, and the name of the Messiah was contemplated, as well as repentance.[132]
Rav Zutra bar
Tobiah said in the name of Rav that the world was created with ten
things: (1) wisdom, (2) understanding, (3) reason, (4) strength, (5) rebuke,
(6) might, (7) righteousness, (8) judgment, (9) loving-kindness, and (10)
compassion. The Gemara cited verses to
support Rav Zutra's proposition: wisdom and understanding, as Proverbs 3:19 says, "The Lord by wisdom founded the
earth; and by understanding established the heavens"; reason, as Proverbs 3:20 says, "By His reason the depths were
broken up"; strength and might, as Psalm 65:7 says, "Who by Your strength sets fast
the mountains, Who is girded about with might"; rebuke, as Job 26:11 says, "The pillars of heaven were
trembling, but they became astonished at His rebuke"; righteousness and
judgment, as Psalm 89:15 says, "Righteousness and judgment are
the foundation of Your throne"; and loving-kindness and compassion,
as Psalm 25:6 says, "Remember, O Lord, Your
compassions and Your mercies; for they have been from of old."[133]
The First Day of
Creation (woodcut
by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern)
A Midrash taught
that a heretic once asked Rabbi Akiva who
created the world. Rabbi Akiva answered that God had. The heretic demanded that
Rabbi Akiva give him clear proof. Rabbi Akiva asked him what he was wearing.
The heretic said that it was a garment. Rabbi Akiva asked him who made it. The
heretic replied that a weaver had. Rabbi Akiva demanded that the heretic give
him proof. The heretic asked Rabbi Akiva whether he did not realize that a
garment is made by a weaver. Rabbi Akiva replied by asking the heretic whether
he did not realize that the world was made by God. When the heretic had left,
Rabbi Akiva's disciples asked him to explain his proof. Rabbi Akiva replied
that just as a house implies a builder, a dress implies a weaver, and a door
implies a carpenter, so the world proclaims the God who created it.[134]
It was taught in
a Baraita that King Ptolemy brought
together 72 elders, placed them in 72 separate rooms without telling them why,
and directed each of them to translate the Torah. God then prompted each one of
them and they all conceived the same idea and wrote for Genesis 1:1, "God created in the beginning"
(instead of, "In the beginning, God created," to prevent readers from
reading into the text two creating powers, "In the beginning" and
"God").[135]
Rav Haviva of
Hozna'ah told Rav Assi (or some
say that Rav Assi said) that the words, "And it came to pass in the first
month of the second year, on the first day of the month," in Exodus 40:17 showed that the Tabernacle was erected on the first of Nisan. With reference to this, a Tanna taught that the first of Nisan took
ten crowns of distinction by virtue of the ten momentous events that occurred
on that day. The first of Nisan was: (1) the first day of the Creation (as
reported in Genesis 1:1–5), (2) the first day of the princes' offerings
(as reported in Numbers 7:10–17), (3) the first day for the priesthood to make
the sacrificial offerings (as reported in Leviticus 9:1–21), (4) the first day for public sacrifice, (5)
the first day for the descent of fire from Heaven (as reported in Leviticus 9:24), (6) the first for the priests' eating of
sacred food in the sacred area, (7) the first for the dwelling of the Shechinah
in Israel (as implied by Exodus 25:8), (8) the first
for the Priestly
Blessing of Israel (as reported in Leviticus 9:22, employing the blessing prescribed by Numbers 6:22–27), (9) the first for the prohibition of
the high places (as stated
in Leviticus 17:3–4), and (10) the first of the months of the year
(as instructed in Exodus 12:2).[136]
Similarly, a
Baraita compared the day that God created the universe with the day that
the Israelites dedicated the Tabernacle. Reading the
words of Leviticus 9:1, "And it came to pass on the eighth
day," a Baraita taught that on that day (when the Israelites dedicated the
Tabernacle) there was joy before God as on the day when God created heaven and
earth. For Leviticus 9:1 says, "And it came to pass (וַיְהִי, va-yehi) on the eighth
day," and Genesis 1:5 says, "And there was (וַיְהִי, va-yehi) one day."[137]
Second Day of
Creation (illustration
from the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle)
`The Mishnah taught that God created the world
with ten Divine utterances. Noting that surely God could have created the world
with one utterance, the Mishnah asks what we are meant to learn from this,
replying, if God had created the world by a single utterance, men would think
less of the world, and have less compunction about undoing God's creation.[138]
Rabbi Johanan
taught that the ten utterances with which God created the world account for the
rule taught in a Baraita cited by Rabbi Shimi that no fewer than ten verses of
the Torah should be read in the synagogue. The ten verses represent God's ten
utterances. The Gemara explained that the ten utterances are indicated by the
ten uses of "And [God] said" in Genesis 1. To the objection that these words appear only
nine times in Genesis 1, the Gemara responded that the words "In
the beginning" also count as a creative utterance. For Psalm 33:6 says, "By the word of the Lord the
heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth"
(and thus one may learn that the heavens and earth were created by Divine
utterance before the action of Genesis 1:1 takes
place).[139]
The Second Day
of Creation (woodcut
by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern)
Rav Judah said in
Rav's name that ten things were created on the first day: (1) heaven, (2)
earth, (3) chaos (תֹהוּ, tohu), (4)
desolation or void (בֹהוּ, bohu), (5) light,
(6) darkness, (7) wind, (8) water, (9) the length of a day, and (10) the length
of a night. The Gemara cited verses to support Rav Judah's proposition: heaven
and earth, as Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created
heaven and earth"; tohu and bohu, as Genesis 1:2 says, "and the earth was tohu and bohu";
darkness, as Genesis 1:2 says, "and darkness was upon the face
of the deep; light, as Genesis 1:3 says, "And God said, ‘Let there be
light'"; wind and water, as Genesis 1:2 says, "and the wind of God hovered
over the face of the waters"; and the length of a day and the length of a
night, as Genesis 1:5 says, "And there was evening and
there was morning, one day." A Baraita taught that tohu (chaos)
is a green line that encompasses the world, out of which darkness proceeds,
as Psalm 18:12 says, "He made darkness His
hiding-place round about Him"; and bohu (desolation)
means the slimy stones in the deep out of which the waters proceed, as Isaiah 34:11 says, "He shall stretch over it the
line of confusion (tohu) and the plummet of emptiness (bohu)."
The Gemara questioned Rav Judah's assertion that light was created on the first
day, as Genesis 1:16–17 reports that "God made the two great
lights . . . and God set them in the firmament of the heaven," and Genesis 1:19 reports that God did so on the fourth day.
The Gemara explained that the light of which Rav Judah taught was the light of
which Rabbi Eleazar spoke when he said that by the light that God created on
the first day, one could see from one end of the world to the other; but as
soon as God saw the corrupt generations of the Flood and the
Dispersion, God hid the light from them, as Job 38:15 says, "But from the wicked their
light is withheld." Rather, God reserved the light of the first day for
the righteous in the time to come, as Genesis 1:4 says, "And God saw the light, that it
was good." The Gemara noted a dispute among the Tannaim over this
interpretation. Rabbi Jacob agreed with the view that by the light that God
created on the first day one could see from one end of the world to the other.
But the Sages equated the light created on the first day with the lights of
which Genesis 1:14 speaks, which God created on the first
day, but placed in the heavens on the fourth day.[140]
The Third Day of
Creation (woodcut
by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern)
Rav Judah taught that when God created the
world, it went on expanding like two unraveling balls of thread, until God
rebuked it and brought it to a standstill, as Job 26:21 says, "The pillars of heaven were
trembling, but they became astonished at His rebuke." Similarly, Resh
Lakish taught that the words "I am God Almighty" (אֵל שַׁדַּי, El Shaddai) in Genesis 35:11 mean, "I am He Who said to the world:
‘Enough!'" (דַּי, Dai). Resh Lakish
taught that when God created the sea, it went on expanding, until God rebuked
it and caused it to dry up, as Nahum 1:4 says, "He rebukes the sea and makes
it dry, and dries up all the rivers."[141]
Third Day of
Creation (illustration
from the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle)
The Rabbis
reported in a Baraita that the House of Shammai taught that heaven was created first and the earth was created
afterwards, as Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created
the heaven and the earth." But the House of Hillel taught that
the earth was created first and heaven was created afterwards, as Genesis 2:4 says, "In the day that the Lord God
made earth and heaven." The House of Hillel faulted the House of Shammai
for believing that one can build a house's upper stories and afterwards builds
the house, as Amos 9:6 calls heaven God's "upper
chambers," saying, "It is He Who builds His upper chambers in the
heaven, and has founded His vault upon the earth." The House of Shammai,
in turn, faulted the House of Hillel for believing that a person builds a footstool
first, and afterwards builds the throne, as Isaiah 66:1 calls heaven God's throne and the earth
God's footstool. But the Sages said that God created both heaven and earth at
the same time, as Isaiah 48:13 says, "My hand has laid the
foundation of the earth, and My right hand has spread out the heavens: When I
call to them, they stand up together." The House of Shammai and the House
of Hillel, however, interpreted the word "together" in Isaiah 48:13 to mean only that heaven and earth cannot
be separated from each another. Resh Lakish reconciled the differing verses by
positing that God created heaven first, and afterwards created the earth; but
when God put them in place, God put the earth in place first, and afterwards
put heaven in place.[142]
Fourth Day of
Creation (illustration
from the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle)
Rabbi Jose bar
Hanina taught that "heaven" (שָּׁמַיִם, shamayim) means
"there is water" (sham mayim). A Baraita taught that it means
"fire and water" (eish u'mayim), teaching that God brought
fire and water together and mixed them to make the firmament.[143]
Rabbi Yannai taught
that from the very beginning of the world’s creation, God foresaw the deeds of
the righteous and the wicked. Rabbi Yannai taught that Genesis 1:2, “And the earth was desolate,” alludes to the
deeds of the wicked; Genesis 1:3, “And God said: ‘Let there be light,’” to those
of the righteous; Genesis 1:4, “And God saw the light, that it was good,” to
the deeds of the righteous; Genesis 1:4, “And God made
a division between the light and the darkness”: between the deeds of the
righteous and those of the wicked; Genesis 1:5, “And God called the light day,” alludes to the
deeds of the righteous; Genesis 1:5, “And the
darkness called He night,” to those of the wicked; Genesis 1:5, “and there was evening,” to the deeds of the
wicked; Genesis 1:5, “and there was morning,” to those of the righteous.
And Genesis 1:5, “one day,” teaches that God gave the righteous
one day — Yom Kippur.[144] Similarly,
Rabbi Judah bar Simon interpreted Genesis 1:5, “And God called the light day,” to symbolize
Jacob/Israel; “and the darkness he called night,” to symbolize Esau; “and there
was evening,” to symbolize Esau; “and there was morning,” to symbolize Jacob.
And “one day” teaches that God gave Israel one unique day over which darkness
has no influence — the Day of Atonement.[145]
The Fourth Day
of Creation (woodcut
by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern)
Interpreting the
words "God called the light (אוֹר, or) day"
in Genesis 1:5, the Gemara hypothesized that or (אוֹר) might thus be read to mean "daytime." The Gemara further
hypothesized from its use in Genesis 1:5 that or (אוֹר) might be read to mean the time when light begins to appear — that is,
daybreak. If so, then one would need to interpret the continuation of Genesis 1:5, "and the darkness He called night,"
to teach that "night" (לָיְלָה, lailah) similarly must
mean the advancing of darkness. But it is established (in Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 2b[146]) that day
continues until stars appear. The Gemara therefore concluded that when
"God called the light" in Genesis 1:5, God summoned the light and appointed it for
duty by day, and similarly God summoned the darkness and appointed it for duty
by night.[147]
The Rabbis
taught in a Baraita that once Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah was standing on a step on the Temple Mount, and Ben Zoma (who was
younger than Rabbi Joshua) saw him but did not stand up before him in respect.
So Rabbi Joshua asked Ben Zoma what was up. Ben Zoma replied that he was
staring at the space between the upper and the lower waters (described in Genesis 1:6–7). Ben Zoma said that there is only a bare three
fingers' space between the upper and the lower waters. Ben Zoma reasoned
that Genesis 1:2 says, "And the spirit of God hovered
over the face of the waters," implying a distance similar to that of a
mother dove that hovers over her young without touching them. But Rabbi Joshua
told his disciples that Ben Zoma was still outside the realm of understanding.
Rabbi Joshua noted that Genesis 1:2 says that
"the spirit of God hovered over the face of the water" on the first day
of Creation, but God divided the waters on the second day,
as Genesis 1:6–7 reports. (And thus the distance that God
hovered above the waters need not be the distance between the upper and lower
waters). The Gemara presented various views of how great the distance is
between the upper and the lower waters. Rav Aha bar Jacob said that
the distance was a hair's breadth. The Rabbis said that the distance was like
that between the planks of a bridge. Mar Zutra (or some
say Rav Assi) said that the distance was like that between two cloaks spread
one over another. And others said that the distance was like that between two
cups nested one inside the other.[148]
The Fifth Day of
Creation (woodcut
by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern)
Rabbi Judah ben
Pazi noted that a similar word appears in both Genesis 1:6 — where רָקִיעַ, rakiya is
translated as "firmament" — and Exodus 39:3 — where וַיְרַקְּעוּ, vayraku is
translated as "and they flattened." He thus deduced from the usage
in Exodus 39:3 that Genesis 1:6 taught that on the second day of creation,
God spread the heavens flat like a cloth.[149] Or Rabbi
Judah the son of Rabbi Simon deduced from Exodus 39:3 that Genesis 1:6 meant "let a lining be made for the
firmament."[150]
A Baraita taught
that the upper waters created in Genesis 1:6–7 remain suspended by Divine command, and
their fruit is the rainwater, and thus Psalm 104:13 says: "The earth is full of the fruit
of Your works." This view accords with that of Rabbi Joshua. Rabbi Eliezer, however, interpreted Psalm 104:13 to refer
to other handiwork of God.[151]
Rabbi Eliezer
taught that on the day that God said in Genesis 1:9, "Let the waters be gathered together,"
God laid the foundation for the miracle of the splitting of the sea in the Exodus from Egypt. The Pirke De-Rabbi
Eliezer recounted that in the Exodus, Moses cried out to God
that the enemy was behind them and the sea in front of them, and asked which
way they should go. So God sent the angel Michael, who became a wall of fire between the Israelites and the Egyptians.
The Egyptians wanted to follow after the Israelites, but they are unable to
come near because of the fire. The angels saw the Israelites' misfortune all
the night, but they uttered neither praise nor sanctification, as Exodus 14:20 says, "And the one came not near the
other all the night." God told Moses (as Exodus 14:16 reports) to "Stretch out your hand
over the sea, and divide it." So (as Exodus 14:21 reports) "Moses stretched out his
hand over the sea," but the sea refused to be divided. So God looked at
the sea, and the waters saw God's Face, and they trembled and quaked, and
descended into the depths, as Psalm 77:16 says,
"The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You, they were afraid: the
depths also trembled." Rabbi Eliezer taught that on the day that God said
in Genesis 1:9, "Let the waters be gathered
together," the waters congealed, and God made them into twelve valleys,
corresponding to the twelve tribes, and they were made into walls of water
between each path, and the Israelites could see each other, and they saw God,
walking before them, but they did not see the heels of God's feet, as Psalm 77:19 says, "Your way was in the sea, and
Your paths in the great waters, and Your footsteps were not known."[152]
Behemoth and
Leviathan (watercolor
by William Blake from his
1826 Illustrations of the Book of Job)
The Pirke
De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that God created the sun and the moon in Genesis 1:16 on the 28th of Elul. The entire Hebrew calendar — years, months,
days, nights, seasons, and intercalation — were before God, and God intercalated the years and delivered
the calculations to Adam in the Garden of Eden, as Genesis 5:1 can be read, "This is the calculation
for the generations of Adam." Adam handed on the tradition to Enoch, who
was initiated in the principle of intercalation, as Genesis 5:22 says, "And Enoch walked with
God." Enoch passed the principle of intercalation to Noah, who conveyed
the tradition to Shem, who conveyed it to Abraham, who conveyed
it to Isaac, who conveyed it to Jacob, who conveyed it to Joseph and his brothers. When Joseph and his brothers died, the
Israelites ceased to intercalate, as Exodus 1:6 reports, "And Joseph died, and all
his brethren, and all that generation." God then revealed the principles
of the Hebrew calendar to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, as Exodus 12:1–2 reports, "And the Lord spoke to Moses
and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying, ‘This month shall be to you the
beginning of months.’" The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer deduced from the word
"saying" in Exodus 12:1 that God said to Moses and Aaron that
until then, the principle of intercalation had been with God, but from then on
it was their right to intercalate the year. Thus the Israelites intercalated
the year and will until Elijah returns to
herald in the Messianic Age.[153]
Rabbi Johanan
taught that the words "and God created the great sea-monsters"
in Genesis 1:21 referred to Leviathan the slant serpent and Leviathan the
tortuous serpent, also referred to in Isaiah 27:1 Rav Judah taught in the name of Rav that
God created all living things in this world male and female, including
Leviathan the slant serpent and Leviathan the tortuous serpent. Had they mated
with one another, they would have destroyed the world, so God castrated the
male and killed the female, preserving it in salt for the righteous in the
world to come, as reported in Isaiah 27:1 when it
says: "And he will slay the dragon that is in the sea." Similarly,
God also created male and female the "Behemoth upon a
thousand hills" referred to in Psalm 50:10 Had they mated, they also would have
destroyed the world, so God castrated the male and cooled the female and
preserved it for the righteous for the world to come. Rav Judah taught further
in the name of Rav that when God wanted to create the world, God told the angel of the sea to open the angel's mouth and
swallow all the waters of the world. When the angel protested, God struck the
angel dead, as reported in Job 26:12, when it says:
"He stirs up the sea with his power and by his understanding he smites
through Rahab." Rabbi Isaac deduced from this that the name of the angel of the sea was Rahab,
and had the waters not covered Rahab, no creature could have stood the smell.[154]
The Sixth Day of
Creation (woodcut
by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern)
Rabbi Johanan
explained that Genesis 1:26 uses the plural pronoun when God says,
"Let us make man," to teach that God does nothing without consulting
God's Heavenly Court of angels (thus instructing us in the proper conduct of
humility among subordinates).[155]
Noting
that Genesis 1:26 uses the plural pronoun when God says,
"Let us make man," the heretics asked Rabbi Simlai how many deities created the
world. Rabbi Simlai replied that wherever one finds a point apparently
supporting the heretics, one finds the refutation nearby in the text.
Thus Genesis 1:26 says, "Let us make man" (using
the plural pronoun), but then Genesis 1:27 says,
"And God created" (using the singular pronoun). When the heretics had
departed, Rabbi Simlai's disciples told him that they thought that he had
dismissed the heretics with a mere makeshift, and asked him for the real
answer. Rabbi Simlai then told his disciples that in the first instance, God
created Adam from dust and Eve from Adam, but thereafter God would create
humans (in the words of Genesis 1:26) "in Our
image, after Our likeness," neither man without woman nor woman without
man, and neither of them without the Shechinah (the
indwelling nurturing presence of God, designated with a feminine noun).[156]
It was taught in
a Baraita that when King Ptolemy brought together 72 elders, placed them in 72
separate rooms without telling them why, and directed each of them to translate
the Torah, God prompted each one of them and they all conceived the same idea
and wrote for Genesis 1:26, "I shall make man in image
and likeness" (instead of "Let us make," to
prevent readers from reading into the text multiple creating powers).[135]
The Pirke
De-Rabbi Eliezer told that God spoke to the Torah the words of Genesis 1:26, "Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness." The Torah answered that the man whom God sought to create would
be limited in days and full of anger, and would come into the power of sin.
Unless God would be long-suffering with him, the Torah continued, it would be
well for man not to come into the world. God asked the Torah whether it was for
nothing that God is called "slow to anger" and "abounding in
love."[157] God then
set about making man.[158]
Rabbi Eleazar
read the words "since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask
from the one side of heaven" in Deuteronomy 4:32 to read, "from the day that God
created Adam on earth and to the end of heaven." Thus Rabbi Eleazar
read Deuteronomy 4:32 to intimate that when God created Adam
in Genesis 1:26–27, Adam extended from the earth to the sky. But
as soon as Adam sinned, God placed God's hand upon Adam and diminished him,
as Psalm 139:5 says: "You have fashioned me after
and before, and laid Your hand upon me." Similarly, Rav Judah in the name
of Rav taught that when God created Adam in Genesis 1:26–27, Adam extended from one end of the world to the
other, reading Deuteronomy 4:32 to read, "Since the day that God
created man upon the earth, and from one end of heaven to the other." (And
Rav Judah in the name of Rav also taught that as soon as Adam sinned, God
placed God's hand upon Adam and diminished him.) The Gemara reconciled the
interpretations of Rabbi Eleazar and Rav Judah in the name of Rav by concluding
that the distance from the earth to the sky must equal the distance from one
end of heaven to the other.[159]
The Rabbis
taught in a Baraita that for two and a half years the House of Shammai and the
House of Hillel debated, the House of Shammai asserting that it would have been
better for humanity not to have been created, and the House of Hillel
maintaining that it is better that humanity was created. They finally took a
vote and decided that it would have been better for humanity not to have been
created, but now that humanity has been created, let us investigate our past
deeds or, as others say, let us examine our future actions.[160]
Seventh Day of
Creation (illustration
from the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle)
The Mishnah
taught that in Second Temple times,
Jews would acknowledge God's creation and read the verses of the creation story
when representatives of the people would assemble (in watches or ma'amadot)
to participate in sacrifices made in Jerusalem on their
behalf.[161] The people
of the delegation would fast four days during the week that they assembled. On
the first day (Sunday), they would read Genesis 1:1–8 On the second day, they would read Genesis 1:6–13 On the third day, they would read Genesis 1:9–19 On the fourth day, they would read Genesis 1:14–23 On the fifth day, they would read Genesis 1:20–31 And on the sixth day, they would
read Genesis 1:24–2:3[162] Rabbi Ammi taught
that if had not been for the worship of these delegations, heaven and earth
would not be firmly established, reading Jeremiah 33:25 to say, "If it were not for My
covenant [observed] day and night, I would not have established the statutes of
heaven and earth." And Rabbi Ammi cited Genesis 15:8–9 to show that when Abraham asked God how
Abraham would know that his descendants would inherit the Land notwithstanding
their sins, God replied by calling on Abraham to sacrifice several animals.
Rabbi Ammi then reported that Abraham asked God what would happen in times to
come when there would be no Temple at which to offer sacrifices. Rabbi Ammi
reported that God replied to Abraham that whenever Abraham's descendants will
read the sections of the Torah dealing with the sacrifices, God will account it
as if they had brought the offerings, and forgive all their sins.[163]
The Sabbath (woodcut
by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern)
It was recorded
in Rabbi Joshua ben Levi's notebook that
a person born on the first day of the week (Sunday) will lack one thing. The
Gemara explained that the person will be either completely virtuous or
completely wicked, because on that day (in Genesis 1:3–5) God created the extremes of light and
darkness. A person born on the second day of the week (Monday) will be
bad-tempered, because on that day (in Genesis 1:6–7) God divided the waters (and similarly division
will exist between this person and others). A person born on the third day of
the week (Tuesday) will be wealthy and promiscuous, because on that day
(in Genesis 1:11) God created fast-growing herbs. A person born
on the fourth day of the week (Wednesday) will be bright, because on that day
(in Genesis 1:16–17) God set the luminaries in the sky. A person
born on the fifth day of the week (Thursday) will practice kindness, because on
that day (in Genesis 1:21) God created the fish and birds (who find their
sustenance through God's kindness). A person born on the eve of the Sabbath
(Friday) will be a seeker. Rav Nahman bar
Isaac explained: a seeker after good deeds. A person born on
the Sabbath (Saturday) will die on the Sabbath, because they had to desecrate
the great day of the Sabbath on that person's account to attend to the birth.
And Rava son of Rav Shila observed
that this person shall be called a great and holy person.[164]
Genesis chapter 2[edit]
Rava (or some
say Rabbi Joshua ben Levi) taught that even a person who prays on the eve of
the Sabbath must recite Genesis 2:1–3, "And the
heaven and the earth were finished . . ." (וַיְכֻלּוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ, va-yachulu
hashamayim v'haaretz . . .), for Rav Hamnuna taught that
whoever prays on the eve of the Sabbath and recites "and the heaven and
the earth were finished," the Writ treats as though a partner with God in
the Creation, for one may read va-yachulu (וַיְכֻלּוּ) — "and they
were finished" — as va-yekallu —
"and they finished." Rabbi Eleazar taught that we know that speech is
like action because Psalm 33:6 says, "By the word of the Lord were
the heavens made." Rav Hisda said
in Mar Ukba's name that when one prays on the eve of the
Sabbath and recites "and the heaven and the earth were finished," two
ministering angels place their hands on the head of the person praying and say
(in the words of Isaiah 6:7), "Your iniquity is taken away, and your
sin purged."[165]
It was taught in
a Baraita that when King Ptolemy brought together 72 elders, placed them in 72
separate rooms without telling them why, and directed each of them to translate
the Torah, God prompted each one of them and they all conceived the same idea
and wrote for Genesis 2:2, "And he finished on the sixth day, and
rested on the seventh day" (instead of "and He finished on the
seventh day," to prevent readers from reading that God worked on the
Sabbath).[166]
Similarly, Rabbi asked
Rabbi Ishmael the son
of Rabbi Jose if he had learned from his father the actual meaning of Genesis 2:2, "And on the seventh day God finished the
work that He had been doing" (for surely God finished God's work on the
sixth day, not the Sabbath). He compared it to a man striking a hammer on an
anvil, raising it by day and bringing it down immediately after nightfall. (In
the second between raising the hammer and bringing it down, night began. Thus,
he taught that God finished God's work right at the end of the sixth day, so
that in that very moment the Sabbath began.) Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai taught
that mortal humans, who do not know exactly what time it is, must add from the
profane to the sacred to avoid working in the sacred time; but God knows time
precisely, can enter the Sabbath by a hair's breadth. Genibah and the Rabbis
discussed Genesis 2:2–3. Genibah compared it to a king who made a
bridal chamber, which he plastered, painted, and adorned, so that all that the
bridal chamber lacked was a bride to enter it. Similarly, just then, the world
lacked the Sabbath. (Thus by means of instituting the Sabbath itself, God
completed God's work, and humanity's world, on the seventh day.) The Rabbis
compared it to a king who made a ring that lacked only a signet. Similarly, the
world lacked the Sabbath. And the Midrash taught that this is one of the texts
that they changed for King Ptolemy (as they could not expect him to understand
these explanations), making Genesis 2:2 read,
"And He finished on the sixth day, and rested on the seventh." King
Ptolemy (or others say, a philosopher) asked the elders in Rome how many days
it took God to create the world. The elders replied that it took God six days.
He replied that since then, Gehenna has been burning for the wicked. Reading
the words "His work" in Genesis 2:2–3, Rabbi Berekiah said in
the name of Rabbi Judah the son of Rabbi Simon that with neither labor nor toil
did God create the world, yet Genesis 2:2 says,
"He rested . . . from all His work." He explained that Genesis 2:2 states it that way to punish the wicked
who destroy the world, which was created with labor, and to give a good reward
to the righteous who uphold the world, which was created with toil. Reading the
words "Because that in it He rested from all His work which God created to
make," in Genesis 2:3, the Midrash taught that what was created on
the Sabbath, after God rested, was tranquility, ease, peace, and quiet. Rabbi
Levi said in the name of Rabbi Jose ben Nehorai that as long as the hands of
their Master were working on them, they went on expanding; but when the hands
of their Master rested, rest was afforded to them, and thus God gave rest to
the world on the seventh day. Rabbi Abba taught that when a mortal king takes
his army to their quarters, he does not distribute largesse (rather, he does
that only before the troops go into battle), and when he distributes largesse,
he does not order a halt. But God ordered a halt and distributed largesse,
as Genesis 2:2–3 says, "And He rested . . . and He
blessed." (Not only did God afford humanity a day of rest, but God also
gave humanity the gift of a sacred day.)[167]
.jpg)
The Blessing of
the Seventh Day (13th-century mosaic in St Mark's Basilica)
Reading Genesis 2:2, "And on the seventh day God finished his
work," the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that God created seven
dedications (for the creation of each of the seven days). God expressed six of
them, and reserved one for future generations. Thus, when God created the first
day and finished all God's work on it, God dedicated it, as Genesis 1:5 says, "And it was evening, and it was
morning, one day." When God created the second day and finished all God's
work in it, God dedicated it, as Genesis 1:8 says, "And it was evening, and it was
morning, a second day." Similar language appears through the six days of
creation. God created the seventh day, but not for work, because Genesis does
not say in connection the seventh day, "And it was evening and it was
morning." That is because God reserved the dedication of the seventh day
for the generations to come, as Zechariah 14:7 says, speaking of the Sabbath, "And
there shall be one day which is known to the Lord; not day, and not
night." The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer compared this to a man who had precious
utensils that he did not want to leave as an inheritance to anyone but to his
son. The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that it is likewise with God. God did
not want to give the day of blessing and holiness that was before God as an
inheritance to anyone but Israel. For when the Israelites left Egypt, before
God gave them the Torah, God gave them the Sabbath as an inheritance (as
reported in Exodus 16:23). Before God gave Israel the Torah, they kept
two Sabbaths, as Nehemiah 9:14 says first, "And You made known to
them Your holy Sabbath." And only afterwards did God give them the Torah,
as Nehemiah 9:14 says as it continues, "And commanded
them commandments, and statutes, and Torah by the hand of Moses, Your
servant." God observed and sanctified the Sabbath, and Israel is obliged
only to observe and sanctify the Sabbath. For when God gave the
Israelites manna, all through the 40 years in the wilderness,
God gave it during on the six days during which God had created the world,
Sunday through Friday, but on the Sabbath, God did not give them manna. Of
course, God had power enough to give them manna every day. But the Sabbath was
before God, so God gave the Israelites bread for two days on Friday, as Exodus 16:29 says, "See, for the Lord has given
you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two
days." When the people saw that God observed the Sabbath, they also
rested, as Exodus 16:30 says, "So the people rested on the
seventh day." Reading Genesis 2:3, "And God
blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it," the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer
taught that God blessed and hallowed the Sabbath day, and
Israel is bound only to keep and to hallow the Sabbath day.
Hence the Sages said that those who says the benediction and sanctification
over the wine on Friday evenings will have their days increased in this world,
and in the world to come. For Proverbs 9:11 says,
"For by me your days shall be multiplied," signifying in this world.
And Proverbs 9:11 continues, "and the years of your
life shall be increased," signifying in the world to come.[168]
Rabbi Simeon noted that
nearly everywhere, Scripture gives precedence to the creation of heaven over
earth.[169] But Genesis 2:4 says, "the day that the Lord God made
earth and heaven" (listing earth before heaven). Rabbi Simeon concluded
that Genesis 2:4 thus teaches that the earth is equivalent
to heaven.[170]
The Tosefta
taught that the generation of the Flood acted arrogantly before God on account
of the good that God lavished on them, in part in Genesis 2:6. So (in the words of Job 21:14–15) "they said to God: ‘Depart from us; for
we desire not the knowledge of Your ways. What is the Almighty, that we should
serve Him? And what profit should we have, if we pray unto Him?'" They
scoffed that they needed God for only a few drops of rain, and they deluded
themselves that they had rivers and wells that were more than enough for them,
and as Genesis 2:6 reports, "there rose up a mist from
the earth." God noted that they took excess pride based upon the goodness
that God lavished on them, so God replied that with that same goodness God
would punish them. And thus Genesis 6:17 reports,
"And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth."[171]
The Creation of
Eve (1825
drawing by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld)
The Mishnah
taught that God created humanity from one person in Genesis 2:7 to teach that Providence considers one who
destroys a single person as one who has destroyed an entire world, and
Providence considers one who saves a single person as one who has saved an
entire world. And God created humanity from one person for the sake of peace,
so that none can say that their ancestry is greater than another's. And God
created humanity from one person so that heretics cannot say that there are
many gods who created several human souls. And God created humanity from one
person to demonstrate God's greatness, for people stamp out many coins with one
coin press and they all look alike, but God stamped each person with the seal
of Adam, and not one of them is like another. Therefore, every person is
obliged to say, "For my sake the world was created."[172] It was
taught in a Baraita that Rabbi Meir used to
say that the dust of the first man (from which Genesis 2:7 reports God made Adam) was gathered from
all parts of the earth, for Psalm 139:16 says of
God, "Your eyes did see my unformed substance," and 2 Chronicles 16:9 says,
"The eyes of the Lord run to and fro through the whole earth."[173]
Similarly, the
Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told that when God began to create the first person, God
began to collect dust from the four corners of the world — red, black, white,
and yellow. Explaining why God gathered the first person's dust from the four
corners of the world, God said that if a person should travel from the east to
the west, or from the west to the east, and the time should come for the person
to depart from the world, then the earth would not be able to tell the person
that the dust of the person's body was not of the earth there, and that the
person needed to return to the place from which the person had been created.
This teaches that in every place where a person comes or goes, should the
person approach the time to die, in that place is the dust of the person's
body, and there the person's body will return to the dust, as Genesis 3:19 says, "For dust you are, and to dust
shall you return."[174]
Creation of Eve (early
14th-century marble bas-relief by Lorenzo Maitani on
the Orvieto
Cathedral)
Rav Nahman bar
Rav Hisda expounded on the words, "Then the Lord God formed (וַיִּיצֶר, wa-yitzer) man,"
in Genesis 2:7. Rav Nahman bar Rav Hisda taught that the word וַיִּיצֶר, wa-yitzer is written
with two yuds (יי) to show that God created people with two inclinations (yetzerim),
one good and one evil. Rav Nahman bar Isaac demurred, arguing that according to
this logic, animals, of which Genesis 2:19 writes וַיִּצֶר, wa-yitzer with a
single yud, should have no evil inclination (yetzer hara), but we see
that they injure, bite, and kick, plainly evincing an evil inclination. Rather,
Rabbi Simeon ben Pazzi explained that the two yuds by saying,
"Woe is me because of my Creator (yotzri), woe is me because of my
evil inclination (yitzri)!" Rabbi Simeon ben Pazzi thus indicated
that the two yuds indicate the human condition, where God
punishes us for giving in to our evil inclination, but our evil inclination
tempts us when we try to resist. Alternatively, Rabbi Jeremiah ben Eleazar
explained that the two yuds reflect that God created two
countenances in the first man, one man and one woman, back to back, as Psalm 139:5 says, "Behind and before have You
formed me."[175]
A Midrash
deduced from similarities in the language of the creation of humanity and the Sabbath
commandment that God gave Adam the precept of the Sabbath. Reading the report
of God’s creating Adam in Genesis 2:15, “And He put
him (וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ, vayanihehu) into the Garden
of Eden,” the Midrash taught that “And He put him (וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ, vayanihehu)” means that
God gave Adam the precept of the Sabbath, for the Sabbath commandment uses a
similar word in Exodus 20:10 (20:11 in NJPS), “And rested (וַיָּנַח, vayanach) on the seventh
day.” Genesis 2:15 continues, “to till it (לְעָבְדָהּ, le’avedah),” and the
Sabbath commandment uses a similar word in Exodus 20:8 (20:9 in NJPS), “Six days shall you labor
(תַּעֲבֹד, ta’avod).” And Genesis 2:15 continues, “And to keep it (וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ, ule-shamerah),” and the
Sabbath commandment uses a similar word in Deuteronomy 5:11 (5:12 in NJPS), “Keep (שָׁמוֹר, shamor) the Sabbath
day.”[176]
The Creation of
Eve (1792
Russian Lubok woodcut)
Similarly, a
Midrash recounts that Rabbi Jeremiah ben Leazar taught that when God created
Adam, God created him a hermaphrodite — two bodies, male and female, joined
together — for Genesis 5:2 says, "male and female created He
them . . . and called their name Adam." Rabbi Samuel bar
Nahman taught
that when God created Adam, God created Adam double-faced, then God split Adam
and made Adam of two backs, one back on this side and one back on the other
side. An objection was raised that Genesis 2:21 says, "And He took one of his
ribs" (implying that God created Eve separately from Adam). Rabbi Samuel
bar Nahman replied that the word read as "rib" — מִצַּלְעֹתָיו, mi-zalotav — actually
means one of Adam's sides, just as one reads in Exodus 26:20, "And for the second side (צֶלַע, zela) of the
tabernacle."[177]
The Creation of
Eve (fresco circa
1509–1510 by Michelangelo in
the Sistine Chapel)
Reading God's observation
in Genesis 2:18 that "it is not good that the man
should be alone," a Midrash taught that a man without a wife dwells
without good, without help, without joy, without blessing, and without
atonement. Without good, as Genesis 2:18 says that
"it is not good that the man should be alone."
Without help, as in Genesis 2:18, God says, "I will make him a help meet
for him." Without joy, as Deuteronomy
14:26 says,
"And you shall rejoice, you and your household" (implying
that one can rejoice only when there is a "household" with whom to
rejoice). Without a blessing, as Ezekiel 44:30 can be read, "To cause a blessing to
rest on you for the sake of your house" (that is, for the sake
of your wife). Without atonement, as Leviticus 16:11 says, "And he shall make atonement
for himself, and for his house" (implying that one can make
complete atonement only with a household). Rabbi Simeon said in the name of
Rabbi Joshua ben Levi, without peace too, as 1 Samuel 25:6 says, "And peace be to your
house." Rabbi Joshua of Siknin said in the name of Rabbi Levi, without
life too, as Ecclesiastes 9:9 says, "Enjoy life with the wife whom
you love." Rabbi Hiyya ben Gomdi said, also incomplete, as Genesis 5:2 says, "male and female created He
them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam," that is,
"man" (and thus only together are they "man"). Some say a
man without a wife even impairs the Divine likeness, as Genesis 9:6 says, "For in the image of God made
He man," and immediately thereafter Genesis 9:7 says, "And you, be fruitful, and
multiply (implying that the former is impaired if one does not fulfill the
latter).[178]
The Gemara
taught that all agree that there was only one formation of humankind (not a
separate creation of man and woman). Rav Judah, however, noted an apparent
contradiction: Genesis 1:27 says, "And God created man in His own
image" (in the singular), while Genesis 5:2 says, "Male and female created He
them" (in the plural). Rav Judah reconciled the apparent contradiction by
concluding that in the beginning God intended to create two human beings, and
in the end God created only one human being.[179]
Adam and Eve
were both naked and were not ashamed (illustration from the 1728 Figures de la Bible)
.jpg)
The Garden of
Eden (illustration
from Bible card published 1906 by the Providence Lithograph Company)
Rav and Samuel
offered different explanations of the words in Genesis 2:22, "And the rib which the Lord God had taken
from man made He a woman." One said that this "rib" was a face,
the other that it was a tail. In support of the one who said it was a
face, Psalm 139:5 says, "Behind and before have You
formed me." The one who said it was a tail explained the words,
"Behind and before have You formed me," as Rabbi Ammi said, that
humankind was "behind," that is, later, in the work of creation, and
"before" in punishment. The Gemara conceded that humankind was last
in the work of creation, for God created humankind on the eve of the Sabbath.
But if when saying that humankind was first for punishment, one means the
punishment in connection with the serpent, Rabbi taught that, in conferring
honor the Bible commences with the greatest, in cursing with the least
important. Thus, in cursing, God began with the least, cursing first the
serpent, then the people. The punishment of the Flood must therefore be meant,
as Genesis 7:23 says, "And He blotted out every
living substance which was upon the face of the ground, both man and
cattle," starting with the people. In support of the one who said that Eve
was created from a face, in Genesis 2:7, the word וַיִּיצֶר, wa-yitzer is written
with two yuds. But the one who said Eve was created from a tail
explained the word וַיִּיצֶר, wa-yitzer as Rabbi
Simeon ben Pazzi said, "Woe is me because of my Creator (yotzri),
woe is me because of my evil inclination (yitzri)!" In support of
the one who said that Eve was created from a face, Genesis 5:2 says, "male and female created He
them." But the one who said Eve was created from a tail explained the
words, "male and female created He them," as Rabbi Abbahu explained when he contrasted the
words, "male and female created He them," in Genesis 5:2 with the words, "in the image of God
made He man," in Genesis 9:6. Rabbi Abbahu reconciled these statements by
teaching that at first God intended to create two, but in the end created only
one. In support of the one who said that Eve was created from a face, Genesis 2:22 says, "He closed up the place with
flesh instead thereof." But the one who said Eve was created from a tail
explained the words, "He closed up the place with flesh instead
thereof," as Rabbi Jeremiah (or as some say Rav Zebid, or others say Rav
Nahman bar Isaac) said, that these words applied only to the place where God
made the cut. In support of the one who said that Eve was created from a tail, Genesis 2:22 says, "God built." But the one
who said that Eve was created from a face explained the words "God
built" as explained by Rabbi Simeon ben Menasia, who interpreted the
words, "and the Lord built the rib," to teach that God braided Eve's
hair and brought her to Adam, for in the seacoast towns braiding (keli'ata)
is called building (binyata). Alternatively, Rav Hisda said (or some say it was taught
in a Baraita) that the words, "and the Lord built the rib," teach
that God built Eve after the fashion of a storehouse, narrow at the top and
broad at the bottom so as to hold the produce safely. So Rav Hisda taught that
a woman is narrower above and broader below so as better to carry children.[180]
The Rabbis
taught in a Baraita that if an orphan applied to the community for assistance
to marry, the community must rent a house, supply a bed and necessary household
furnishings, and put on the wedding, as Deuteronomy 15:8 says, "sufficient for his need,
whatever is lacking for him." The Rabbis interpreted the words
"sufficient for his need" to refer to the house, "whatever is
lacking" to refer to a bed and a table, and "for him (לוֹ, lo)" to refer
to a wife, as Genesis 2:18 uses the same term, "for him (לוֹ, lo)," to
refer to Adam's wife, whom Genesis 2:18 calls
"a helpmate for him."[181]
Rabbi Jeremiah
ben Eleazar interpreted the words, "and he brought her to the man,"
in Genesis 2:22 to teach that God acted as best man to
Adam, teaching that a man of eminence should not think it amiss to act as best
man for a lesser man.[175]
Interpreting the
words "And the man said: ‘This is now bone of my bones, and
flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman'" in Genesis 2:23, Rabbi Judah ben Rabbi taught that the first
time God created a woman for Adam, he saw her full of discharge and blood. So
God removed her from Adam and recreated her a second time.[182]
Rabbi José taught
that Isaac observed three years of mourning for his mother Sarah. After three years he married Rebekah, and forgot the mourning for his mother. Hence
Rabbi José taught that until a man marries a wife, his love centers on his
parents. When he marries a wife, he bestows his love upon his wife, as Genesis 2:24 says, "Therefore shall a man leave
his father and his mother, and he shall cleave unto his wife."[183]
Adam Is Tempted
by Eve (watercolor
circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)
Genesis chapter 3[edit]
Hezekiah noted
that in Genesis 3:3, Eve added to God's words by telling the
serpent that she was not even permitted to touch the tree. Hezekiah deduced
from this that one who adds to God's words in fact subtracts from them.[184]
God admonishes
Eve regarding the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (early
14th-century marble bas-relief by Lorenzo Maitani on the Orvieto Cathedral)
A Midrash
explained that because the serpent was the first to speak slander in Genesis 3:4–5, God punished the Israelites by means of
serpents in Numbers 21:6 when they spoke slander. God cursed the
serpent, but the Israelites did not learn a lesson from the serpent's fate, and
nonetheless spoke slander. God therefore sent the serpent, who was the first to
introduce slander, to punish those who spoke slander.[185]
Judah ben Padiah
noted Adam's frailty, for he could not remain loyal even for a single hour to
God's charge that he not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, yet
in accordance with Leviticus 19:23, Adam's descendants the Israelites waited three
years for the fruits of a tree.[186]
Rabbi Samuel bar
Nahman said in Rabbi Jonathan's name that we
can deduce from the story of the serpent in Genesis 3 that one should not plead on behalf of one
who instigates idolatry. For Rabbi Simlai taught that the serpent had
many pleas that it could have advanced, but it did not do so. And God did not
plead on the serpent's behalf, because it offered no plea itself. The Gemara
taught that the serpent could have argued that when the words of the teacher
and the pupil are contradictory, one should surely obey the teacher's (and so
Eve should have obeyed God's command).[187]
A Baraita
reported that Rabbi taught
that in conferring an honor, we start with the most important person, while in
conferring a curse, we start with the least important. Leviticus 10:12 demonstrates that in conferring an honor,
we start with the most important person, for when Moses instructed Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar that they should not conduct themselves
as mourners, Moses spoke first to Aaron and only thereafter to Aaron's sons
Eleazar and Ithamar. And Genesis 3:14–19 demonstrates
that in conferring a curse, we start with the least important, for God cursed
the serpent first, and only thereafter cursed Eve and then Adam.[188]
God's Curse (watercolor
circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)
Rabbi Ammi
taught that there is no death without sin, as Ezekiel 18:20 says, "The soul that sins . . . shall
die." The Gemara reported an objection based on the following Baraita: The
ministering angels asked God why God imposed the death penalty on Adam
(in Genesis 3). God answered that God gave Adam an easy
command, and he violated it. The angels objected that Moses and Aaron fulfilled
the whole Torah, but they died. God replied (in the words of Ecclesiastes 9:2), "There is one event [death] to the
righteous and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean and to the unclean; .
. . as is the good, so is the sinner." The Gemara concluded that the
Baraita refuted Rabbi Ammi, and there is indeed death without sin and suffering
without iniquity.[189]
Adam and Eve
Driven from Paradise (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)
Rabbi Joshua ben
Levi taught that when in Genesis 3:18, God told Adam,
"Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to you," Adam began to
cry and pleaded before God that he not be forced to eat out of the same trough
with his donkey. But as soon as God told Adam in Genesis 3:19, "In the sweat of your brow shall you eat
bread," Adam's mind was set at ease. Rabbi Simeon ben
Lakish taught
that humanity is fortunate that we did not remain subject to the first
decree. Abaye (or others say Simeon ben Lakish)
observed that we are still not altogether removed from the benefits of the
first decree, as we eat herbs of the field (which come forth without effort).[190]
Rabbi Hama son
of Rabbi Hanina taught that Genesis 3:21 demonstrates
one of God's attributes that humans should emulate. Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi
Hanina asked what Deuteronomy 13:5 means in the text, "You shall walk
after the Lord your God." How can a human being walk after God, when Deuteronomy 4:24 says, "[T]he Lord your God is a
devouring fire"? Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina explained that the command
to walk after God means to walk after the attributes of God. As God clothes the
naked — for Genesis 3:21 says, "And the Lord God made for Adam
and for his wife coats of skin, and clothed them" — so should we also
clothe the naked. God visited the sick — for Genesis 18:1 says, "And the Lord appeared to him
by the oaks of Mamre" (after Abraham was circumcised
in Genesis 17:26) — so should we also visit the sick. God
comforted mourners — for Genesis 25:11 says,
"And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac
his son" — so should we also comfort mourners. God buried the dead —
for Deuteronomy 34:6 says, "And He buried him in the
valley" — so should we also bury the dead.[191] Similarly,
the Sifre on Deuteronomy 11:22 taught
that to walk in God's ways means to be (in the words of Exodus 34:6) "merciful and gracious."[192]
.jpg)
The Story
of Cain and Abel (illustration
from a Bible card published 1906 by the Providence Lithograph Company)
Genesis chapter 4[edit]
It was taught in
a Baraita that Issi ben Judah said
that there are five verses in the Torah whose grammatical construction cannot
be decided. (Each verse contains a phrase that a reader can link to the clause
either before it or after it.) Among these five is the phrase "lifted
up" (שְׂאֵת, seit) in Genesis 4:7. (One could read Genesis 4:7 to mean: If you do well, good! But you
must bear the sin, if you do not do well. Or one could read Genesis 4:7 to mean, in the usual interpretation: If
you do well, there will be forgiving, or "lifting up of face." And if
you do not do well, sin couches at the door. In the first reading, the reader
attaches the term "lifted up" to the following clause. In the second
reading, the reader attaches the term "lifted up" to the preceding
clause.)[193]
Cain and Abel (19th-century
illustration)
The Rabbis read
God's admonition to Cain in Genesis 4:7 to
describe the conflict that one has with one's Evil Inclination (yetzer hara).
The Rabbis taught in a Baraita that Deuteronomy 11:18 says of
the Torah, "So you fix (וְשַׂמְתֶּם, ve-samtem) these My words
in your heart and in your soul." The Rabbis taught that one should read
the word samtem rather as sam tam (meaning
"a perfect remedy"). The Rabbis thus compared the Torah to a perfect
remedy. The Rabbis compared this to a man who struck his son a strong blow, and
then put a compress on the son's wound, telling his son that so long as the
compress was on his wound, he could eat and drink at will, and bathe in hot or
cold water, without fear. But if the son removed the compress, his skin would
break out in sores. Even so, did God tell Israel that God created the Evil
Inclination, but also created the Torah as its antidote. God told Israel that
if they occupied themselves with the Torah, they would not be delivered into
the hand of the Evil Inclination, as Genesis 4:7 says: "If you do well, shall you not
be exalted?" But if Israel did not occupy themselves with the Torah, they
would be delivered into the hand of the Evil Inclination, as Genesis 4:7 says: "sin couches at the door."
Moreover, the Rabbis taught, the Evil Inclination is altogether preoccupied to
make people sin, as Genesis 4:7 says: "and to you shall be his
desire." Yet if one wishes, one can rule over the Evil Inclination,
as Genesis 4:7 says: "and you shall rule over
him." The Rabbis taught in a Baraita that the Evil Inclination is hard to
bear, since even God its Creator called it evil, as in Genesis 8:21, God says, "the desire of man's heart is
evil from his youth." Rav Isaac taught that a person's Evil Inclination
renews itself against that person daily, as Genesis 6:5 says, "Every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil every day." And Rabbi
Simeon ben Levi (or others say Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish) taught that a person's
Evil Inclination gathers strength against that person daily and seeks to slay
that person, as Psalm 37:32 says, "The wicked watches the
righteous, and seeks to slay him." And if God were not to help a person,
one would not be able to prevail against one's Evil Inclination, for as Psalm 37:33 says, "The Lord will not leave him in
his hand."[194]
Cain leads Abel
to death (watercolor
circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)
Rav taught that
the evil inclination resembles a fly, which dwells between the two entrances of
the heart, as Ecclesiastes 10:1 says,
"Dead flies make the ointment of the perfumers fetid and putrid." But
Samuel said that the evil inclination is a like a kind of wheat (חִטָּה, chitah), as Genesis 4:7 says, "Sin (חַטָּאת, chatat) couches at the
door."[195] (The
Talmudic commentator Maharsha read
Samuel's teaching to relate to the view that the forbidden fruit of which Adam
ate was wheat.[196])
Reading the
words of Genesis 4:8, "And Cain spoke to Abel his
brother," a Midrash imagined the subject of their discussion. The Midrash
taught that they divided the world between them. The first took the land and
the second took the movables. The first told the second that he was standing on
the first's land. The second retorted that the first was wearing the second's
clothes. The second told the first to strip off his clothes. The first retorted
that the second should fly off his ground. Out of this quarrel, as Genesis 4:8 reports, "Cain rose up against his
brother Abel." Rabbi Joshua of Siknin said in Rabbi Levi's name, however,
that Cain and Abel quarreled because one said that the Temple would have to be
built in his area, while the other claimed that it would have to be built in
his. For Genesis 4:8 says, "And it came to pass, when they
were in the field," and "field" refers to the Temple, as Micah 3:12 equates the two when it says, "Zion
(that is, the Temple) shall be plowed as a field." Out of this argument
(in the words of Genesis 4:8), "Cain rose up against Abel his brother,
and slew him." Judah the son of Rabbi, however, said that their quarrel
was about the first Eve. But Rabbi Aibu said that the first Eve had by then
returned to dust. Rav Huna taught
that Cain and Abel quarreled over an additional twin daughter who was born with
Abel, whom each brother claimed for his own. Cain said that he would have her,
because he was the firstborn, while Abel maintained that he would have to have
her, because she was born with him.[197]
Cain Kills His
Brother Abel (woodcut
by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern)
Reading the
words of Genesis 4:8, "And Cain rose up against his brother
Abel," Rabbi Johanan taught that Abel was stronger than Cain, for the
expression "rose up" implies that Cain lay beneath Abel (as if they
had already fought and Abel had thrown Cain down). From the ground, Cain asked
Abel what he would tell their father if Abel killed him. At this, Abel was
filled with pity for Cain and relented, and immediately Cain rose against Abel
and killed him. Out of that incident was born the proverb, "Do not do good
to an evil man, then evil will not befall you."[198]
The Mishnah
taught that court officials admonished witnesses testifying in capital cases to
beware that the blood of the defendant and all the defendant's offspring to the
end of the world depended on the witness, for Genesis 4:10 says concerning Cain that "the bloods
of your brother cry . . . from the ground," using the plural
"bloods" to signify the victim's blood and the blood of the victim's
offspring. And thus Providence considers one who destroys a single person as
one who has destroyed an entire world, and Providence considers one who saves a
single person as one who has saved an entire world. The Mishnah reported that another
interpretation of "brother's bloods" was that Abel's blood spattered
in several places on the surrounding trees and stones.[199]
Rabbi Simeon bar
Yohai compared Cain and Abel to two gladiators fighting before a king. Had the
king wished, he could have separated them, but he did not do so. One overcame
the other and killed him. Before he died, the victim cried out to the king for
help. Rabbi Simeon thus noted that changing one letter in Genesis 4:10 would cause God's statement to read,
"The voice of your brother's blood cries out against Me."
Rabbi Simeon said that it is difficult to say this thing, and the mouth cannot
utter it plainly (but by God's inaction, God was involved in Abel's murder).[200]
Naamah, the Teacher,
with Her Half-brother Jubal, a Father of Music (14th-century marble bas relief at Orvieto
Cathedral)
Reading in Genesis 7:4 that God said, "every living
substance (יְקוּם, yekum) that I have
made will I blot out," Rabbi Abin taught that this included the one who
rose up (יָּקָם, yakam) against his
brother — Cain. Rabbi Levi said in the name of Resh Lakish that God kept Cain's
judgment in suspense until the Flood and then God swept Cain away. And thus
Rabbi Levi read Genesis 7:23 to say, "And He blotted out every one
that had arisen."[201]
Rabbi Abba bar
Kahana said that Naamah, the
sister of Tubal-cain, mentioned in Genesis 4:22, was Noah's wife. She was called Naamah,
because her deeds were pleasing (ne'imim). But the Rabbis said that
Naamah was a woman of a different stamp, for her name denotes that she sang (man'emet)
to the timbrel in honor of idolatry.[202]
Genesis chapter 5[edit]
Ben Azzai taught
that the words of Genesis 5:1, "This is the book of the descendants of
Adam," teach a great principle of the Torah. But Rabbi Akiva replied that
the words of Leviticus 19:18, "you shall love your neighbor as
yourself," teach an even greater principle. Hence, one must not say,
"Since I have been put to shame, let my neighbor be put to shame."
And Rabbi Tanhuma taught
that those who do so must know Whom they put to shame, for Genesis 1:27 reports of humankind, "In the
likeness of God made He him."[203]
The Mishnah
taught that Genesis 5:1–31 enumerated ten generations from Adam to
Noah to demonstrate how patient God is, for according to the Mishnah, all those
generations provoked God, until God brought on them the waters of the flood.[204]
Rabbi Tanhuma
taught in Rabbi Banayah's name, and Rabbi Berekiah taught in Rabbi Eleazar's
name, that God created Adam a shapeless mass, and Adam lay stretching from one
end of the world to the other, as Psalm 139:16 says, "Your eyes did see my shapeless
mass." Rabbi Judah ben Rabbi Simon taught that while Adam lay a shapeless
mass before God, God showed Adam every succeeding generation of mankind and its
Sages, judges, scribes, interpreters, and leaders. God told Adam, in the words
of Psalm 139:16, "Your eyes did see unformed
substance," Adam's potential descendants, and God told Adam that all of
those descendants had already been written in the book of Adam, as Genesis 5:1 says: "This is the book of the
generations of Adam."[205]
Rabbi Eleazar
read the words of Genesis 5:2, "male and female created He them, and
called their name ‘man,'" and deduced that one cannot be a complete
"man" unless one is married.[206]
The Mishnah
taught that a man should not give up trying to be fruitful and multiply unless
he has children. The House of Shammai said unless he has two boys. The House of
Hillel said unless he has a boy and a girl, since Genesis 5:2 says, "male and female created He
them."[207]
It was taught in
a Baraita that when King Ptolemy brought together 72 elders, placed them in 72
separate rooms without telling them why, and directed each of them to translate
the Torah, God prompted each one of them and they all conceived the same idea
and wrote for Genesis 5:2, "Male and female He created him"
(instead of "created them," to prevent readers from reading that God
created more than one person at the start).[166]
God Took Enoch (illustration
from the 1728 Figures de la Bible)
Rabbi Jeremiah
ben Eleazar read Genesis 5:3, "And Adam lived a hundred and thirty
years and begot a son in his own likeness, after his own image," to imply
that until that time, Adam did not beget after his own image. Rabbi Jeremiah
ben Eleazar thus concluded that in the 130 years after Adam’s expulsion from
the Garden of Eden, Adam begot ghosts and demons. But the Gemara raised an
objection from a Baraita: Rabbi Meir taught that Adam was a great saint.
According to Rabbi Meir, when Adam saw that through him death was ordained as a
punishment, he spent 130 years fasting, severed connection with his wife, and
wore clothes of fig leaves. Thus the Gemara asked how Adam could have begotten
evil beings. The Gemara suggested an explanation to harmonize the two
positions: The semen that Adam emitted accidentally caused ghosts and demons to
come into being.[208]
Enoch walked
with God; then was no more, because God took him (Genesis 5:24) (1807 lithograph by William Blake)
In contrast, the
Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer read Genesis 5:3, "And Adam
lived a hundred and thirty years and begot a son in his own likeness, after his
own image," to imply that Cain was not of Adam’s seed, nor after his
likeness, nor after his image. The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that Adam did
not beget in his own image until Seth was born, who was after his father Adam’s
likeness and image. Thus Rabbi Simeon taught that from Seth arose and were
descended all the generations of the righteous. And from Cain arose and were
descended all the generations of the wicked.[209]
Noting
that Genesis 5:24 says of Enoch not that he died, but that
"God took him," some sectarians (Judeo-Christians or Christians)
challenged Rabbi Abbahu, saying that they did not find that Enoch died, but
that God "took" him, just as 2 Kings 2:1 says that God would "take"
Elijah. Rabbi Abbahu reasoned that one could read the verb "took"
in Genesis 5:24 just as "take" is used in Ezekiel 24:16, which says, "Behold, I take away from you
the desire of your eyes," and there "take" definitely refers to
death.[210]
Also
interpreting Genesis 5:24, Rabbi Aibu taught that Enoch was a hypocrite,
acting sometimes righteously and sometimes wickedly. So God removed Enoch while
Enoch was acting righteously, judging Enoch on Rosh Hashanah, when God
judges the whole world.[210]
The Earth Was
Corrupt before God and Filled with Violence (illustration from the 1728 Figures
de la Bible)
.jpg)
The Earth Was
Corrupt before God and Filled with Violence (illustration from the 1728 Figures
de la Bible)
Genesis chapter 6[edit]
Rabbi Levi, or
some say Rabbi Jonathan, said that a tradition handed down from the Men of
the Great Assembly taught
that wherever the Bible employs the term "and it was" or "and it
came to pass" (וַיְהִי, va-yehi), as it does
in Genesis 6:1, it indicates misfortune, as one can read wa-yehi as wai, hi,
"woe, sorrow." Thus the words, "And it came to pass when man
began to multiply," in Genesis 6:1, are followed
by the words, "God Saw that the wickedness of man was great,"
in Genesis 6:5. And the Gemara also cited the instances
of Genesis 11:2 followed by Genesis 11:4; Genesis 14:1 followed by Genesis 14:2; Joshua 5:13 followed by the rest of Joshua 5:13; Joshua 6:27 followed by Joshua 7:1; 1 Samuel 1:1 followed by 1 Samuel 1:5; 1 Samuel 8:1 followed by 1 Samuel 8:3; 1 Samuel 18:14 close after 1 Samuel 18:9; 2 Samuel 7:1 followed by 1 Kings 8:19; Ruth 1:1 followed by the rest of Ruth 1:1; and Esther 1:1 followed by Haman. But the Gemara
also cited as counterexamples the words, "And there was evening and there
was morning one day," in Genesis 1:5, as well
as Genesis 29:10, and 1 Kings 6:1. So Rav Ashi replied that wa-yehi sometimes
presages misfortune, and sometimes it does not, but the expression "and it
came to pass in the days of" always presages misfortune. And for that
proposition, the Gemara cited Genesis 14:1, Isaiah 7:1 Jeremiah 1:3, Ruth 1:1, and Esther 1:1.[211]
Reading the
words of Genesis 6:2, "the sons of God (בְנֵי-הָאֱלֹהִים, bene elohim) saw the
daughters of men," Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai called them "the sons
of nobles," and Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai cursed all who called
them "the sons of God." Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai taught that all real
demoralization proceeds from the leaders, as they are in a position to stop it.
Rabbi Haninah and Resh Lakish reasoned
that Genesis 6:2 calls them "the sons of God"
because they lived a long time without trouble or suffering.[212]
Rav Huna said in
Rav Joseph's name that the generation of the flood were not blotted out from
the world until they composed nuptial songs (or others say, wrote marriage
contracts) in honor of pederasty and bestiality.[213]
The Mishnah
concluded that the generation of the Flood and the generation of the dispersion
after the Tower of Babel were both
so evil as to have no share in the world to come.[214] Rabbi
Akiva deduced from the words of Genesis 7:23 that the generation of the flood will have
no portion in the world to come; he read the words "and every living
substance was destroyed" to refer to this world and the words "that
was on the face of the ground" to refer to the next world. Rabbi Judah ben
Bathyra deduced from the words "My spirit will not always enter into
judgment with man" of Genesis 6:3 that God
will neither revive nor judge the generation of the flood on Judgment Day.[215]
Building
the Ark (watercolor
circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)
Noting
that Genesis 6:9 calls Noah "a man" (אִישׁ, ish), a Midrash
taught that wherever Scripture employs the term "a man" (אִישׁ, ish), it indicates
a righteous man who warned his generation. The Midrash taught that for 120
years (deduced from Genesis 6:3), Noah planted cedars and cut them down. When
they would ask him what he was doing, he would reply that God had informed him
that God was bringing a flood. Noah's contemporaries replied that if a flood
did come, it would come only on Noah's father's house. Rabbi Abba taught that
God said that one herald arose for God in the generation of the Flood — Noah.
But they despised him and called him a contemptible old man.[216]
Reading in Genesis 7:10 that "it came to pass, after seven
days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth," the Gemara asked
what the nature of these seven days was (that God delayed the flood on their
account). Rav taught that
these were the days of mourning for Methuselah, and thus that lamenting the
righteous postpones retribution. Another explanation is that during "the
seven days" God reversed the order of nature (בְּרֵאשִׁית, bereishit) (established
at the beginning of creation), and the sun rose in the west and set in the east
(so that sinners might be shocked into repentance). Another explanation is that
God first appointed for them a long time (the 120 years to which Genesis 6:3 alludes), and then a short time (a
seven-day grace period in which to repent). Another explanation is that during
"the seven days," God gave them a foretaste of the world to come, so
that they might know the nature of the rewards of which they were depriving
themselves.[217]
Scene of
the Deluge (1827 painting by Joseph-Désiré Court)
The Tosefta
taught that the flood killed people before animals (as seen in the order
of Genesis 7:23), because man sinned first (as shown in Genesis 6:5).[218]
Rabbi Johanan
taught that because the corruption of the generation of the Flood was great,
their punishment was also great. Genesis 6:5 characterizes their corruption as great (רַבָּה, rabbah), saying,
"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth."
And Genesis 7:11 characterizes their punishment as great (רַבָּה, rabbah), saying,
"on the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up."
Rabbi Johanan reported that three of those great thermal fountains remained
open after the Flood — the gulf of Gaddor, the hot-springs of Tiberias, and the great well of Biram.[219]
In Genesis 6:6, the heart grieves. A Midrash catalogued the
wide range of additional capabilities of the heart reported in the Hebrew
Bible.[220] The heart
speaks,[221] sees,[221] hears,[222] walks,[223] falls,[224] stands,[225] rejoices,[226] cries,[227] is
comforted,[228] is
troubled,[229] becomes
hardened,[230] grows
faint,[231] fears,[232] can be
broken,[233] becomes
proud,[234] rebels,[235] invents,[236] cavils,[237] overflows,[238] devises,[239] desires,[240] goes
astray,[241] lusts,[242] is
refreshed,[243] can be
stolen,[244] is
humbled,[245] is
enticed,[246] errs,[247] trembles,[248] is
awakened,[249] loves,[250] hates,[251] envies,[252] is
searched,[253] is rent,[254] meditates,[255] is like a
fire,[256] is like a
stone,[257] turns in
repentance,[258] becomes
hot,[259] dies,[260] melts,[261] takes in
words,[262] is
susceptible to fear,[263] gives
thanks,[264] covets,[265] becomes
hard,[266] makes
merry,[267] acts
deceitfully,[268] speaks
from out of itself,[269] loves
bribes,[270] writes
words,[271] plans,[272] receives
commandments,[273] acts with
pride,[274] makes
arrangements,[275] and
aggrandizes itself.[276]
The School of Rabbi Ishmael deduced
from Genesis 6:8 that death was decreed against Noah too,
but that he found favor in the eyes of God.[277]
In medieval
rabbinic interpretation[edit]
The Title Page
of the Zohar
The parashah is
discussed in these medieval rabbinic
sources:
Genesis chapter 1[edit]
According to
the Zohar, the "Tree bearing fruit with its seed in
it" in Genesis 1:12 signifies the "Light" of God
mentioned in Genesis 1:3, which early in creation impregnated the Rose
of the Shechinah.[278]
Baḥya ibn Paquda noted that Genesis 1:27, "So God
created man in His own image, in the image of God, He created man,"
and Genesis 6:8, "in the eyes of God," imply that God
has physical form and body parts, and Genesis 6:5–6, "And the Lord saw . . . and the Lord
regretted," implies that God takes bodily actions like human beings. Baḥya explained that necessity brought people to anthropomorphize God and
describe God in terms of human attributes so that human listeners could grasp
God in their minds. After doing so, people can learn that such description was
only metaphorical, and that the truth is too fine, too sublime, too exalted,
and too remote from the ability and powers of human minds to grasp. Baḥya advised wise thinkers to endeavor to remove the husk of the terms and
their corporeality and ascend in their minds step by step to reach the true
intended meaning according to the power and ability of their minds to grasp.[279] Baḥya cautioned that one must be careful not to take descriptions of God's
attributes literally or in a physical sense. Rather, one must know that they
are metaphors, geared to what we are capable of grasping with our powers of
understanding, because of our urgent need to know God. But God is infinitely
greater and loftier than all of these attributes.[280]
Genesis chapter 4[edit]
Judah Halevi
Judah Halevi taught
that Adam lived on the land that contained the Cave of Machpelah, and it was the first object of jealousy and envy between Cain and
Abel. The two brothers wanted to know which of them would succeed Adam and
inherit his essence, intrinsic perfection, and land — who would stand in
connection with the Divine Influence, while the other would be a nonentity.
When Cain killed Abel, the realm was without an heir. Judah Halevi interpreted
the words of Genesis 4:16, "Cain went out of the presence of
Lord," to mean that Cain left that land, telling God (in the words
of Genesis 4:14), "Behold, You have driven me out this day
from the face of the earth, and from Your Face shall I be hidden."[281]
Nachmanides
Rashi interpreted God's words "at the
entrance sin is lying" in Genesis 4:7 to mean
that at the entrance of one's grave, one's sin is preserved.[282]
Nachmanides read God's
words "And unto you is its longing" in Genesis 4:7 to teach that sin longs to cleave to a
person at all times. Nevertheless, Genesis 4:7 teaches "you may rule over it"
if one so desires, for one may mend one's ways and remove it. Thus in Genesis 4:7, Nachmanides read God to teach Cain concerning
repentance, that it lay within Cain's power to return anytime he desired, and
God would forgive him.[283]
Maimonides
Maimonides read Genesis 4:7 to refer to the evil inclination (yetzer
ha-ra). Maimonides taught that the three terms — the adversary (הַשָּׂטָן, ha-satan), the evil
inclination (yetzer ha-ra), and the angel of death — all designate the
same thing. And actions ascribed to these three are in reality the actions of
one and the same agent. Maimonides taught that the Hebrew term שָּׂטָן, satan was
derived from the same root as the word שְׂטֵה, seteh, "turn
away," as in Proverbs 4:15, and thus implies the notion of turning and
moving away from a thing. Thus, the adversary turns people away from the way of
truth, and leads them astray in the way of error. Maimonides taught that the
same idea is contained in Genesis 8:21, "And the
imagination of the heart of man is evil from his youth." Maimonides
reported that the Sages also said that people receive the evil inclination at
birth, for Genesis 4:7 says, "at the door sin
crouches," and Genesis 8:21 says, "And the imagination of the
heart of man is evil from his youth." The good inclination, however, is
developed. Maimonides taught that the Sages refer to the evil inclination and
the good inclination when they tell[284] that every
person is accompanied by two angels, one on the right side and one on the left,
one good and one bad.[285]
In modern
interpretation[edit]
_-_Wall_painting_in_Acre,_Israel.jpg)
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (wall painting in Acre, Israel)
The parashah is discussed in these modern
sources:
Genesis chapter 1[edit]
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (the RaMCHaL) posited that God's purpose in creation was to give a
gift from God's good to another being. Since God is perfect, it would have been
insufficient for God to give merely a partial good. Rather, God would have to
give the ultimate good that God's creation — humankind — could receive. As God
is the true good, that ultimate good is found in God. Allowing God's creatures
to become more attached to God would thus allow them to experience this ultimate
receivable good. Thus, the purpose of creation was to bring into existence a
creature who could derive pleasure from God's own good. God further recognized
that for humanity to most enjoy this good, humanity would have to feel that
humanity had earned it. God therefore arranged that humanity be able to
perceive right and wrong, and have access to both. God thus gave humanity the
means to earn the attachment to God that God sought to give.[286]
Professor Walter Brueggemann, formerly of Columbia Theological Seminary, saw a chiastic
structure in the separate days of creation in Genesis 1:3–25, meant to show the good order of the created
world under God’s serene rule:[287]
A: Time: "There was evening and morning . . ."
B: Command: "God said, ‘Let there be . . .’"
C: Execution: "And it was so."
B1: Assessment:
"God saw that it was good."
A1: Time:
"There was evening and morning . . ."
Mendelssohn
The 18th-century German Jewish philosopher Moses
Mendelssohn alluded to God’s creation of people in God’s image in Genesis 1:26–27 in comparing church and state. Government
and religion, Mendelssohn asserted, have for their object the promotion, by
means of public measures, of human felicity in this life and in the life to
come. Both act upon people’s convictions and actions, on principles and their
application; the state, by means of reasons based on the relations between
people, or between people and nature, and religion by means of reasons based on
the relations between people and God. The state treats people as the immortal
children of the earth; religion treats people as the image of their Creator.[288]
Genesis chapter 2[edit]
Professor Robert A. Oden, formerly
of Dartmouth
College, taught that the Jahwist's creation
story in Genesis 2–3 reflects that human beings are
dissatisfied by our status as mortals, knowing less than we would like to know.
In the Jahwist's Genesis, this dissatisfaction repeatedly gets people into
trouble, but the author still, in Oden's reading, finds this human trait
admirable, the source of cultural advances. Oden taught that Judaism never read
the story as Original Sin or
the Fall of Man, but as just
one more instance of human beings getting into trouble, and God rescuing them
and giving them another chance.[289]
Poole
Genesis chapter 3[edit]
The 17th
century English Biblical commentator Matthew Poole referred
to a hendiaduo in Genesis 3:16, a form of speech where two nouns are used instead of one noun described
with an adjective or adjectival
clause: 'God said
"I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception"' instead of
'your sorrow in conception', and similarly in Isaiah 19:20 the text states that '[God] shall send
them a saviour, and a great one' instead of 'a great saviour'.[290]
Spinoza
Genesis chapter 6[edit]
The
17th-century Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza argued
that Scripture often uses the term "Spirit of the Lord" as equivalent
to the human mind, as in Genesis 6:3, “My Spirit
shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh,” which Spinoza
read to mean “since man acts on the dictates of his body, and not the spirit
that I gave him to discern the good, I will let him alone.”[291]
Professor Amy-Jill Levine of Vanderbilt University Divinity School suggested that the reference in Genesis 6:4 to the "sons of God" who abused
their position may refer disapprovingly to "the young men who grew up
with" Israelite King Rehoboam referred to in 1 Kings 12:8–10 who counselled Rehoboam to increase the
burdens on the people.[292]
Commandments[edit]
According to
the Sefer ha-Chinuch,
a noted authority on the commandments, there is one
positive commandment in the parashah:[293]
To "be fruitful and multiply"[294]
Maimonides,
however, attributes the commandment to Genesis 9:7.[295]
Most rabbis
agree, based on the Shulchan Aruch, that one does
not have to have children but merely try to. Raising
adopted children as your own also fulfils this mitzvah.[296]
Haftarah[edit]
Isaiah (1509
fresco by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel)
The haftarah is a text selected from the books of Nevi'im ("The Prophets") that is read
publicly in the synagogue after the reading of the Torah. The haftarah usually
has a thematic link to the Torah reading that precedes it. The haftarah for
Bereishit is:
·
for Ashkenazi Jews: Isaiah 42:5–43:10
·
for Sephardi Jews, Frankfurt am Main, and Chabad Lubavitch: Isaiah 42:5–21
·
for Yemenite Jews: Isaiah 42:1–16
·
for Italian Jews: Isaiah 42:1–21
·
for Karaite Jews: Isaiah 65:7–66:13
Connection to the
parashah[edit]
The parashah and
haftarah in Isaiah 42 both report God's absolute power. Genesis 1:1–2:4 and Isaiah 42:5 both tell of God's creation of heaven and
earth. The haftarah in Isaiah 42:6–7, 16 echoes the word "light" (and
God's control of it) from Genesis 1:3–5, but puts the
word to broader use. And the haftarah puts the idea of "opening . . .
eyes" (in Isaiah 42:7) in more favorable light than does the parashah
(in Genesis 3:5–7).
In the liturgy[edit]
The first word
of Genesis 1:1, בְּרֵאשִׁית, bereishit, and thus God's
role as Creator, is recited in the Aleinu prayer near the end of each of
the three daily prayer services.[297]
God's creation
of heaven and earth in Genesis 1:1 is reflected in Psalm 96:5,11, which is in turn one of the six Psalms recited
at the beginning of the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service.[298]
A page from the Kaufmann Haggadah
The waters of
creation in Genesis 1:2 may be reflected in Psalm 29:3, which is in turn one of the six Psalms recited
at the beginning of the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service.[299]
At the beginning
of the K'riat Sh'ma prayer
service, following the Barchu, Jews recite a blessing that
acknowledges God's miracle of creation, noting, among other acts, God's
"separating day from night," as recounted in Genesis 1:18.[300]
In the Passover Haggadah, if the Seder takes
place on Friday night, then many Jews recite Genesis 1:31–2:3 or 2:1–3 at the beginning of the Kiddush section of the Seder.[301]
Following the
Kabbalat Shabbat service and prior to the Friday evening (Ma'ariv) service, Jews traditionally read
rabbinic sources on the observance of the Sabbath, including an excerpt
from Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 119b.[165] In Shabbat
119b, Rava instructed that one should recite Genesis 2:1–3 on the eve of the Sabbath.[302]
The Lekhah Dodi liturgical poem of the
Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service reflects the role of the Sabbath described
in Genesis 2:2–3, characterizing the Sabbath as the "last of
the work (of Creation)" (sof ma'aseh).[303]
Reuven Kimelman
found in the "awake and arise" stanza of the Lekhah Dodi poem a play
between the root or, from which stems the word for "skin"
or "leather," and the homonym or that means
"light." In Genesis 3:21, Adam exchanged garments of light for garments
of leather; the Lekhah Dodi poem calls on God to exchange our current garments
of skin for garments of light.[303]
The "Divine
beings" or "sons of God" mentioned in Genesis 6:2 are reflected in Psalm 29:1, which is in turn one of the six Psalms recited
at the beginning of the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service.[299]
The Weekly Maqam[edit]
In the Weekly Maqam, Sephardi Jews each week
base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parashah. For
Parashat Bereshit, which begins the Torah, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Rast, the
maqam that shows a beginning or an initiation of something.[304]
Creation: Hidden and Revealed
In the beginning [in Hebrew, "bereishit", beginning with the
letter beit] G‑d created the heavens and the
earth. (Gen. 1:1)
Why did the Torah begin with
the letter beit [the second letter of the alef-beit] and
not with an alef [the first letter]? Why was the alef saved for
the first letter of "Anochi" ["I"], the
first word of the Ten Commandments?The peshat of
the Torah is its body, while the sod of the
Torah is its soul…
[The fact that the Torah begins with
the letter beit of "Bereishit"] teaches
that the Torah has or contains two aspects: peshat (its simple
or literal meaning) and sod (its deeper meaning).
The peshat of the
Torah is its "body", while the sod of the Torah is
its "soul". Its "body" corresponds to This World",
while its "soul" corresponds to the World to Come. The important
thing to know is that, although the complete revelation of the "soul"
level of the Torah is reserved for the World to Come, this does not mean that "drops" or "inklings" of
that deeper level are not accessible now.The Torah…that
the tzadikim learn in Gan Eden, is none other than
its level of sod…
For the Torah in which the Holy One
took delight [before creating the world], as well
as the Torah that the tzadikim learn
in Gan Eden, is none other than its level of sod.
Indeed, the Torah studied in Gan Eden was the initial Torah.
Therefore, [the fact that the Torah begins with the letter beit] also
teaches that the Torah [that we have here in the physical dimension] is
the "second" Torah, the one that was enclothed [assumed the
lower form of this world] and which is a "garment" for the
initial Torah [its soul]. Again, for this reason the Torah begins
with a beit, which itself is the second letter of the alef-beit.
[Our Sages cautioned (Chagiga 14b) that] we
do not have permission to speak about what precedes alef, for this
relates to questions such as: What is above? [What preceded this
world?] What is below? Etc. Alef corresponds to the
dimension of Atzilut, the "first" world, in that it
precedes Beriya, the "second" world. This teaches that
the Torah that we have comes from Beriya.
Accordingly, it uses the word "bara" [Hebrew for
"created"], since it is only up to this world [the level
of Beriya] that we do have permission to speak. For this
reason, the Torah begins with the letter beit.
Atzilut, and all the more so, anything that precedes it, in contrast, we may
only contemplate, in thought [in Hebrew, "machshava"].
Atzilut thus corresponds to machshava. Beriya corresponds
to oscillating thought [in Hebrew,
"hirhur", the intermediate stage that takes place as we
translate pure thought into words]. Yetzira corresponds to
speech ["dibur"], and Asiya corresponds
to deed ["maaseh"].
This set of correspondences is alluded
to in the verse, "He saw it, and He declared it; He measured it; yes, and
He examined it" (Job 28:27).
This verse in context: "A pouch of
Wisdom is better than rubies… pure gold cannot be weighed against it. But
whence does Wisdom come? Where is the source of understanding? It is hidden
from the eyes of all beings, concealed from the fowl (angelic beings) of the
heavens… G‑d understands the way to it; He knows its source. For He sees to the
ends of the earth; He observes all that is beneath the heavens. When He fixed
the weight of the winds, set the measure of the waters; when He set an
ordinance for the rain, and a course for the thunder; He saw it, and He
declared it; He measured it, yes, and He examined it. See, the fear of G‑d is
wisdom. To shun evil is understanding" (Job 28:18-28).
|
. |
Hebrew |
Activity cited |
Corresponding World |
Related sefira |
|
"He saw" |
machsava |
pure thought |
Atzilut |
chochma |
|
"He declared" |
hirhur |
oscillating thought |
Beriya |
bina |
|
"He measured" |
dibur |
speech |
tiferet |
|
|
"He examined" |
maaseh |
deed |
Asiya |
malchut |
Alternatively, the reason the Torah
begins with the beit of "bereishit" is
because the letter beit is breached [open] on one side, and
enclosed on three sides. In this sense, its form is like that of the world.
The intention behind this was that, if
any man would think to declare himself a deity, people would challenge him to
create [i.e. complete] the fourth
"side" of the world. Caius Caligula is one such example.
Regarding Caius Caligula, we find in
the Talmud: "It happened once that Shimon HaTzadik heard a
Voice from Heaven issue forth from the Holy of Holies announcing,
'The enemy's decree [to place a statue of himself] in the Temple has
been annulled.' At that moment, in another part of the world, Caius Caligula
was slain and his decrees annulled. They noted down the time [when the Voice
from Heaven spoke] and it tallied [with the time of Caligula's
assassination]" (Sotah 33a; see Josephus, The
Jewish War, Book II 9:1).How great
is the good that You have hidden away…
This breached side is none other than
the tzafon, the north side of the world, as the verse indicates,
"He stretches forth the north over tohu and suspends the
earth upon nothingness" (Job 26:7). That is, the Blessed One placed the firmament over all the other
directions - east, west and south - as a dome is placed over walls. Only over
the breached north side of the world is the firmament suspended over
nothingness.
Physical evidence for this [spiritual principle] may be found in the fact that ships
wishing to travel from the north-east to the north-west cannot travel west
along the northern border. Instead, they must take a long, round about route, traveling
south along the eastern border, then west along the southern border, and then
north along the western border, until they reach their destination in the
north-west.
Clearly, if they could travel straight
along the northern border, they would do so, for it is a much shorter route.
Rather, that border is breached, like a city whose northern wall has been
destroyed. Ships therefore cannot travel there.
Behold, the entire thickness of the
Earth, compared to the depth of the Atlantic Ocean, is like that of a mustard
seed. For the Atlantic Ocean is five hundred years deep [i.e. it would take five hundred years to span it by foot], whereas
the thickness of earth is a mere seven years.
Kabbalistic tradition always clothed
information about the hidden spiritual dimension in the "scientific"
facts of that time. In the words of the Maharal of Prague: "The Sages did
not concern themselves in the least with physical phenomena, but with
[underlying spiritual] essence…" (Maharal, Beer HaGolah, Be'er
HaShishi, p. 128).
[Note of the Ramchal, Maamar HaAggadot,
Introduction to Ein Yaakov: Our Sages encoded much of the esoteric
tradition that they had received in matters relating to nature or astronomy. In
other words, they utilized the knowledge of nature and astronomy that was
accepted among Gentile scholars of their time [in order to transmit hidden
knowledge]. Thus, they never intended to teach the 'physical' facts concerning
these phenomena, but rather to utilize these facts as garments or vehicles for
esoteric secrets. One should therefore not think that they were wrong because a
particular [scientific] model that they used is no longer accepted. Their
intention was to clothe the hidden tradition in the accepted knowledge of their
generation. That very tradition could have been clothed in a different garment
according to what was accepted [as scientific fact] in other generations. And,
in fact, the originator of that particular haggadic statement would have done
so himself had he stated it in those other generations.]
Rav Chaim now returns to the
original problem at hand, namely, the nature of the fourth, breached side of
the world. In one sense, this side seems to be identified with evil,
desolation, etc. On the other hand, he will now quote verses to the effect that
there is another, extremely positive aspect to the north:
[In order to further clarify the nature
of this breached north side of the world,] we can pit one verse against
another. One verse states, "Evil will emerge from the north upon all the
inhabitants of the land" (Jeremiah 1:14). From here,
it seems that the north represents Gehinom.
Another verse, however, states,
"How great is the good [i.e. the
light] that You have hidden [in Hebrew, "tzafanta",
from the same root as the word for 'north', 'tzafon'] away for
those who fear You…" (Psalms 31:20). And
another verse states, "Whose stomachs You fill from that which is
hidden" (Psalms
17:14). The word "tzafon" in
these two latter verses refers to Gan Eden, for it is there that
the Hidden Good is stored away for the righteous. And another verse states,
"I will say to the north, 'Give forth!'" (Isaiah
43:6), that is, in the Future, G‑d will tell
the north ["tzafon", i.e. Garden
of Eden] to yield all of its goodness to the righteous.
Gehinom and Garden of Eden are opposites. How can one word represent both?
And what does this have to do with the breached side of the world?Chesed is…associated with the element
of water…
Rather, the truth is that "tzafon" [north] is the side of gevura and Isaac,
just as "darom" [south] is the side of chesed and Abraham. Chesed is also associated with
the element of water [which expands and spreads forth]. Similarly, Abraham did chesed for the whole world.
Isaac, on the other hand, embodies gevura and
the element of fire, i.e. the tzafon [north side], of the world. [Gevura is the opposite
of chesed; whereas chesed gives forth, gevura restrains.] For
this reason, Isaac didn't want to bless Jacob. He didn't even want to
bless Esau, except as a reward [i.e. in return for a kindness].
This is the meaning of what Isaac said to Esau: "Now take your sword and your bow, and go out to the field to
trap me some game. Make it into a tasty dish, the way I like it, and bring it
to me to eat. My soul will then bless you before I die." (Gen. 27:3-4)The righteous who keep the Torah will
be rewarded…
[The explanation for this seeming
anomaly is this:] Just as Jacob and Esau both emerged from Isaac, so also the Garden of Eden
and Gehinom emerge from the tzafon [north], breached side of the world.
Similarly, just as Gan Eden and Gehinom both
preceded the world, so also did G‑d precede the Torah with the beit of
"bereishit". In this way, He informed us that these two places
that emerged from the breached northern side of the world, both preceded the
world.
We know that Gan Eden preceded
the world from the verse, "G‑d planted a Garden in Eden from
before" (Gen. 2:8). Similarly, we know that Gehinom preceded the world
from the verse, "For its hearth is ordained of old…G‑d's
breath, like a stream of brimstone, kindles it" (Isaiah
30:33).
This, then, is the meaning of "Bereishit":
[the letter] beit [meaning "two"] "Reishit"
[meaning "beginnings"]. It thus reinforces the knowledge that the
righteous who keep the Torah will be rewarded, while those who nullify and
negate the Torah will receive their due punishment.
Lighten Up,
Partner!
"G‑d saw that man's
wickedness on earth was increasing. Every impulse of his innermost thought was
only for evil, all day long." (Gen. 6:5,
"Living Torah" translation)
In the translation
below, Rebbe Shimon addresses the question as to why G‑d created the evil inclination in a person. If a person didn't have
an urge to sin, there wouldn't be sinful acts committed that require
rectification through repentance and corrective action.
Rebbe Shimon said that if it is the case [that G‑d knew that mankind would be led to sin by their evil
inclination] why all this?
Why did He create the world?
Rebbe Shimon said to his friends that
if G‑d had not created the good and bad inclinations in a person [that are like light and darkness in the universe] a
person wouldn't have been created with the ability to receive reward and
punishment. Man was instead created with both inclinations, and it is because
of that [it is written], "see I have set before you this day,
life and good, and death and evil" (Deut.
30:15). [These "options" reflect a person's ability to make
a free choice.]
They said to him that this explanation
is fine, but would it not have been better had [the evil inclination] not been created at all? Then a person
wouldn't sin and the [negative] effects caused in the
spiritual worlds would not occur. Then, too, there would be no reward and no
punishment.The Torah of the created world is the clothing of the Shechina...
He replied to them that it is proper
according to the rules of judgment that man be created in this manner [with freedom of choice, reward and punishment]. The Torah was
created for mankind and has written in it punishment for the wicked and reward
for the righteous. There would be no need for reward for the righteous and
punishment for the wicked other than for created man. It was not chaos that was
created, rather [an ordered state] with control of the
inclination [to do good or bad].
Thus man becomes a partner with G‑d who
created light and darkness. In choosing good man creates light; in choosing bad
he creates darkness. This also explains why the first light was created on
first day of Creation, before the sun and stars. That light is called
"good" and here is equated with the light generated by acts of
kindness.
They said to him that here we have
heard something that we certainly have not heard up till now. Certainly G‑d
would not have created something there was no need for.
Not only that, but the Torah of the
created world is the clothing of the Shechina.
This is because the person who chooses
light (by learning Torah and doing good deeds) is dressing and adorning the
Divine Presence in the lowest world with beautiful garments, bringing her into
a state fitting for union with her divine source.
And if man were not created in the
future [after the Torah], the Shechina would
have been without clothes, like a pauper [in rags]. Because of
this, one who sins is, as it were, disrobing the Shechina, and this
is the reason why a person is punished.
Furthermore,
all who perform the commandments of the Torah dress, as it were, the Shechina in
her robes. This is as we have explained [about the commandment] to
wear the garments of tzitzit and tefillin. [As
it is written] "It is her only covering [alluding to
the talit]. It is a garment for his skin [which
alludes to tefillin that are made of leather]. In what will he
sleep at night?" (Ex. 22:26) ["In
what will he sleep at night?" hints at] the exile of the Shechina,
as we have explained. Adam's
Super-Consciousness
Chasidic
Masters
And G‑d Elokim said:
"Man has become like one of us, aware of good and evil, and now he may
extend his hand [and take from the tree of
life]." (Gen. 3:22)
Before the sin, Adam and Eve
did not know evil. They were no more ashamed to procreate than they were to eat
and drink. They knew cohabitation only as the fulfillment of a divine command;
they were not aware of any lustful element. Thus they remained unclothed; they
cohabited to bring children into the world.
All this changed when they partook of
the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Adam and Eve knew good and evil, like G‑d and the angels.Divine
knowledge is detached and transcendent…
But man's newfound knowledge differed
fundamentally from divine knowledge. In divine knowledge, good and evil remain
separate. All is clearly defined. One is evil, and one is good. Divine
knowledge is detached and transcendent, and therefore does not confuse good and
evil, G‑d forbid. Good and evil remain separate.
Not so with human knowledge. The human
internalizes knowledge; good and evil become a part of him.
Without detachment, confusion ensues. Good and evil become intermingled. It
becomes a challenge to set them apart.
The blending of good and evil in the
human being causes the same to occur throughout all of Creation. Evil now
receives sustenance from good and vice versa. They have become one. It is now a
fierce battle - one side is up the other is down. The victor varies from time
to time. Throughout history there were generations with lofty souls who
triumphed over evil and others who saw horrible villains that allowed evil to
defeat goodness. The vacillations of man throughout history are a reflection of
the battle within their progenitor, Adam, who sometimes overcame and sometimes
was overcome.
That's why G‑d did not want Adam and
Eve to taste from the Tree of Knowledge. He did not want them to know of evil's
existence, since such knowledge would be detrimental to them. G‑d wished for
him to be entirely holy, free of the fierce battle.One who has never fallen into sin will not pursue righteousness with the
same zeal as someone who has…
Nonetheless, there is an advantage to
subjective knowledge of good and evil: that of contrast. One who has never
fallen into sin will not pursue righteousness with the same zeal as someone who
has. As exalted and exhilarating as the life of the fully righteous individual
can be, it lacks the pathos and passion of that of the fallen individual who
ardently seeks his restoration and reinstatement into divine grace. Thus,
paradoxically, without subjective knowledge of evil, the perfect man is flawed,
unable to actualize his potential for intense aspiration for holiness. This is
why the forbidden fruit contained the knowledge of both good and evil (and not
just evil) - good can be "known", i.e. appreciated, and valued by
someone who has tasted evil than it can by someone who has not.
This is not to mitigate in any way the
greatness or vigor of existence without this knowledge. There is heavy price to
be paid for the passion of the Fall, and that is the loss of innocence and
purity. We should not fall into the trap certain thinkers have fallen into of
one-sidedly glorifying the anguished pathos of the knowledge of evil while
conceiving of the pristine, sinless existence being somehow boring or flat. On
the contrary, there are real dangers involved in the descent into subjective
knowledge of evil, not the least being the danger of failing in the struggle,
at least temporarily. Thus, both modes of existence have their advantages and
disadvantages.The divinity revealed in the world is
immeasurably greater…when elicited by the anguish of falling…
The question, then, is: do the prospective
benefits of the descent into subjective knowledge of evil outweigh the dangers
involved in taking the risk? The answer, paradoxically, is both yes and no.
Yes, the divinity revealed in the world (and let us not forget that this is the
purpose of creation!) is immeasurably greater and "deeper" when
elicited by the anguish of falling than it is otherwise. But no, because the
mutual pain of exile for Creator and creature, not to mention the suffering to
which mankind would be exposed in the wake of this knowledge, is so agonizing
that no ends can justify it.
Thus, it is clear that G‑d both wanted
man to live without this knowledge (and He therefore forbade eating the fruit)
and to have it (and He therefore planted the tree in his backyard). Since these
seem mutually exclusive, it was necessary to devise a way for this seeming
impossibility to be achieved. G‑d therefore created man a priori absolutely
void of subjective knowledge. In this way, the awareness of this prior state of
grace would forever remain in his consciousness as a possibility that could
serve as an ideal to strive for. He then, through the temptation of the snake,
plunged man headlong into the maelstrom of the conflict between subjective good
and subjective evil. By overcoming the evil within him, man could then realize
his Divine potential in the fullest.
When the process is finished, and good
is fully extricated and once again completely separate from evil, mankind and
creation will have returned to the spiritual state of the Garden of Eden before
the sin. However, man will still retain the appreciation of and drive toward
divinity he acquired during his stay outside the garden. Even though basking in
divinity, he will be able to hunger for it with the same intensity he knew in
the darkest nights of exile. In the future, redeemed world, the advantages of
both states of being - pristine naïveté and wisdom born of sad experience -
will be wed. (based on Likutei Sichot, vol. 16, pp. 412
ff; Sefer HaMa'amarim 5666)
The Tree of Life
Adam and Eve were supposed to live
forever. They were told not to taste the Tree of Knowledge so that they should
not die. But now they would have to die.
Because they had brought evil into
themselves, they had to be removed from the garden lest they partake of the tree
of life and live forever, perpetuating the evil they had consumed.
The Tree of Life exists beyond the
source of death. Were they to partake of this light they would live forever,
notwithstanding their impure state. This could not be, for it would be contrary
to the divine plan in which death is eventually, in the messianic age,
swallowed forever.
In between the beginning and the end is
the time of separating (in Hebrew, "birur"). Good and evil
must be identified and separated until all wickedness will dissolve like smoke.
The separation is achieved through the light of chochma, wisdom.
Although chochma is from
the right side, the side of chesed, here it acts in the capacity
of din, judgment. (Indeed chochma is called din,
contrary to the opinion of the early Kabbalists who thought that chochma is
entirely chesed,
since it is the source of chesed. Originally, the task of separation was to have been achieved…through the
revelation of immense light…But the
"Tailor"1 revealed that chochma contains din as
well, and the Arizal praised him for it.)
To this end Adam is banished from the
Garden, to work the ground whence he was taken - to engage in the work of
separation, by planting, plowing, reaping and then eating the food and
elevating it by using its energy for holiness. In this way, Adam and his
descendants separate the sparks of goodness that are scattered throughout the
earthly reality and elevate them.
Plan A
The question however remains: how was
this elevation of evil supposed to happen if Adam would not have sinned and
would not have been banished to the ground? The same question can be asked in
regard to the exile, the purpose of which was to disperse the Jews throughout
the world in order to extract the sparks of holiness that lie there. How would
the elevation of the sparks have been achieved had the Jews not sinned, and
remained in the Land of Israel?
Originally, the task of separation was
to have been achieved in a totally different manner: not by way of a battle,
but rather through the revelation of immense light. Then the sparks would have
been gathered of their own accord, like a large torch that subsumes within
itself the smaller flames that surround it.
This is how it worked in the days of
the Temple, before the exile: The sparks came of their own accord, such as
Naama the Amonite. [She was the wife of Solomon and the mother of his
son Rehabeam. She was married to Solomon during the lifetime of his father David.] All the nations
came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, as the prophet tells us about
the Queen of Sheba. At that time the torch of holiness was great and was
therefore able to draw the sparks from all over. If the Holy Temple had not
been destroyed, all the sparks would have eventually been gathered in this way.
Rising from the Dust
"G‑d then formed man out
of dust of the ground, and He blew into his nostrils a soul of life, and man
became a living being." (Gen. 2:7)
"G‑d then formed": We do not find any mention of "creation" in this verse,
for both the body and the soul were formed of pre-existing matter: the body
from earth, and the soul from the essence of G‑d. (Sefer HaMa'amarim 5748,
p. 14) Adam (and Eve) were created in the form of mature, twenty-year
old adults. (Bereishit Rabbah 14:7)
Man is the primary purpose of
Creation while everything else is secondary and ancillary to him
"And He breathed": In contrast to the rest of Creation, which was created with G‑d's speech,
man's soul was given to him through G‑d's breath. We all breathe
constantly and can talk for hours on end. But after blowing for just a short
time a person becomes exhausted. This is because when blowing, the breath comes
from deeper in the lungs than it does with simple breathing or talking. Thus,
the idiom of G‑d "breathing" man's soul into him indicates that man's
soul originates from deeper "within" G‑d than the rest of Creation.
This simply means that man is the primary purpose of Creation while everything
else is secondary and ancillary to him. Man's divine soul is a spark - i.e. a
part -of G‑d. This soul can never lose its intrinsic connection with G‑d. Man's
challenge is to ensure that this connection remains manifested within his
physical being. Just as when one blows, the air will only reach its destination
if there are no obstructions, so can the G‑dly soul shine only if there are no
obstacles that obscure it. (Tanya, ch. 2; Iggeret
HaTeshuvah, ch. 4-5)
"A living being": this idiom is identical to that used of the animals (ibid 1:20,
21, 24). What distinguishes man from the animals is the "soul of
life" G‑d breathed into him before he "became a living being".
The fact that the blowing in of the "soul of life" precedes or
perhaps even activates his being becoming "a living being" indicates
that man's spiritual nature is meant to be ascendant over his physical nature.
G‑d created all other creatures in only
one phase: He spoke and they came to be. In contrast, He created man in two
steps. His body was first formed from earth lifeless and inanimate. Only
afterwards was the soul introduced to give life. This is because in all other
creatures there is enough of a relationship between body and soul that both may
be formed simultaneously. The soul of man and his body, however, share no
intrinsic connection. His soul is of a higher spiritual order than anything
else in existence, while his body consists of non-living dust, inferior even to
animals and plants. They are of such opposite extremes that G‑d "had
to" create them separately. (Torah Or 3d)
This concept is also reflected in the
name "Adam". On a simple level, the Hebrew word "adam" is
derived from the word "adamah" (meaning "earth"),
the origin of the body. However, it can also be etymologically linked to the
word "adameh", which means "I will be compared".
This signifies the destiny and capacity of mankind: to be compared - and
comparable - to G‑d Himself. (Sefer HaMa'amarim Melukat, vol.1, pp.
295-6)
G‑d created man in this way for two
reasons:
If an entity is to ascend, even its
lowest part must ascend with it…
Firstly, if an entity is to ascend,
even its lowest part must ascend with it. Similarly, in order for man to
fulfill his destiny of spiritually completing and perfecting the world, he must
possess a bond with every aspect of Creation. Therefore, man's body was formed
of the lowest common denominator, so that even the lowest elements on the
spiritual hierarchy can be rectified through him. (Torah Ohr, p. 7. Sefer HaMa'amarim 5714,
pp. 126-7) This gives us additional insight into Rashi's statement
that G‑d collected earth from all over the world to create man's body. By doing
this, G‑d made man encompass the entire material world he was to elevate.
Secondly, humankind's mission is to
combine two opposites: the spiritual consciousness of G‑dliness with the
darkness of the physical world. By creating man through a similar fusion of
extremes, G‑d infused him with the natural capacity to do this. (Hitva'aduyot
5750, vol. 1, p.301; Sefer HaMa'amarim 5721,pp. 343-4)
Man's creation from dust of the earth,
as well as his being the last among all of creation, served to introduce
humility into all of humanity. Although we are indeed the purpose of creation
if we live up to our potential, if we do not we are left only with a body that
was preceded both in time and level by all other creatures. (Sefer
HaMa'amarim Kuntreisim, vol. 1, pp. 7-8)
This also serves as a practical lesson.
In attempting to serve G‑d, we are often tempted to reach for great levels of
spiritual feeling and insight. The Torah reminds us that the first facet of our
being was dust of the earth. We must begin with a simple unassuming acceptance
of G‑d's will, and only then can we aspire to "a soul of
life." (Sefer HaMa'amarim 5744, p. 202)
This can also be taken as proof of
man's connectedness with G‑d. Even though G‑d "blew into his nostrils a
soul of life," this does not rule out the possibility that man somehow
conceals and obstructs the Divine light. Therefore, the Torah continues and
tells us that "man became a living being," i.e., that the G‑dly
infusion was indeed successful, and that the Divine soul was fully manifest in
man's being. (Sefer HaMa'amarim 5732, p. 154)
In the beginning G‑d created the heavens and
the earth. The earth was formless and void,
and darkness was on the face of the deep; and the spirit of G‑d hovered above the surface of the waters. G‑d
said: “Let there be light,” and there was
light. G‑d saw the light, that it was good; and G‑d divided the light from the
darkness. G‑d called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night; and there
was evening and there was morning, one
day.
G‑d said: “Let there be a firmament in
the midst of the waters, and let it divide water from water.” G‑d made the firmament, and divided the waters
which were below the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and
it was so. G‑d called the firmament Heaven; and there was evening and there was
morning, a second day.
G‑d said: “Let the waters under the
heavens be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear,” and it
was so. G‑d called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters
he called Seas; and G‑d saw that it was good. G‑d said: “Let the earth sprout
grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit trees yielding fruit after its kind,
whose seed is in itself, upon the earth,” and it was so. The earth brought
forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and trees yielding fruit whose
seed was in itself, after its kind; and G‑d saw that it was good. There was
evening and there was morning, a third day.
G‑d said: “Let there be luminaries in
the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for
signs, for seasons, for days and for years. Let them be for luminaries in the
firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth”; and it was so. G‑d
made the
two great luminaries: the great luminary to rule the day,
and the small luminary to rule the night; and the stars also. G‑d set them in
the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and
over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and G‑d saw that it
was good. There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
G‑d said: “Let the waters swarm
abundantly with moving creatures that have life, and let birds fly above the
earth in the open firmament of heaven.” G‑d created the great sea-creatures,
and every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth
abundantly, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and G‑d saw
that it was good. G‑d blessed them, saying: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill
the waters in the seas, and let the birds multiply in the earth.” There was
evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
G‑d said: “Let the earth bring forth
living creatures after their kind, cattle, creeping things and beasts of the
earth after their kind,” and it was so. G‑d made the beasts of the earth after
their kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the
earth after its kind; and G‑d saw that it was good.
G‑d said: “Let us make Man in Our
image, after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
the birds of the air, the cattle, all the earth, and every creeping thing that
creeps on the earth.”
G‑d created Man in His own image, in
the image
of G‑d He created him; male
and female He created them.
G‑d blessed them, and G‑d said to them:
“Be fruitful, and multiply, fill the earth and conquer it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air and every living
thing that moves on the earth.” G‑d said: “Behold, I have given you every herb
bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree on which
is the fruit yielding seed; to you it shall be for food. To every beast of the
earth and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth,
wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.
G‑d saw everything that He had made,
and behold, it was very good. There
was evening and there was morning, the sixth
day.
The heavens and the earth were
completed, and all their hosts. G‑d completed on the seventh day His work which
He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. G‑d
blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it he rested from all his
work which G‑d had created, to make.
The Creation
of Man
These are the chronicles
of the heaven and of the earth when
they were created, in the day that G‑d made the earth and the heavens.
No plant of the field was yet on the
earth, and no herb of the field had yet grown, for G‑d had not caused it to
rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went
up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the earth.
G‑d formed man from the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a
living soul.
G‑d planted a garden eastward in Eden;
and there He put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground G‑d made to
grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food; the Tree of
Life also in the midst of the garden, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good
and Evil.
A river went out of Eden to water the
garden; and from thence it was parted, and branched into four streams. The name
of the first is Pishon; that is the one which compasses the whole land of
Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good; there is bdellium
and the shoham stone. The name of the second river is Gichon; it compasses the
whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Chidekel; that is the one
which goes toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Perat.
G‑d took the man, and put him into the
Garden of Eden to work it and to keep it.
G‑d commanded the man, saying: “Of every
tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good
and Evil, you shall not eat of it, for on the day that you eat of it you shall
surely die.”
G‑d said: It is
not good that the man should be alone; I will
make him a helpmeet opposite him.
Out of the ground G‑d had formed every beast
of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what
he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was
its name. The man gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air and to every
beast of the field; but for the man there was not found a helpmeet opposite
him.
G‑d caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; He took one of his sides, and
closed up the flesh in its place. G‑d built the side which He had taken from
the man into a woman, and brought her to the man.
The man said: “This is now bone
of my bones, and flesh
of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because
she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother,
and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.
They were both naked, the man and his
wife, and they felt no shame.
The Sin
Now the serpent was craftier than all
the beasts of the field which G‑d had made. He said to the woman: “Has G‑d
said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent: “We may
eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. But of the fruit of the tree which
is in the midst of the garden, G‑d has said, ‘You shall not eat of it, neither
shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
The serpent said to the woman: “You
shall not surely die. For G‑d knows that on the day you eat of it, then your eyes
shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
The woman saw that the tree was good
for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise; she took of its fruit and ate, and gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
The eyes of them both were opened, and
they knew that they were naked; so they sewed
fig leaves together, and made themselves loincloths. They
heard the voice of G‑d walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and the
man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of G‑d amongst the trees of
the garden.
G‑d called to the man and said to him:
“Where
are you?”
He said: “I heard Your voice in the
garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
And He said: “Who told you that you are
naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you that you should not
eat?”
The man said: “The woman, whom You gave
to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I ate.”
G‑d said to the woman: “What is this
that you have done?” And the woman said: “The serpent beguiled me, and I ate.”
G‑d said to the serpent: “Because you
have done this, cursed shall you be above all cattle and above every beast of
the field; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of
your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed
and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Unto the woman He said: “I will greatly
multiply the pain of your childbearing; in sorrow you shall bring forth
children. Your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
And to the man he said: “Because you
have listened to the voice of your wife, and ate from the tree of which I
commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the earth because
of you; in sorrow shall you eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns
and thistles shall it bring forth to you, and
you shall eat the herb of the field. By the sweat of your brow shall you eat
bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it were you taken; for dust
you are, and to dust shall you return.”
The man called his wife’s name Eve
(Chavah), because she was the mother of all living (chai). G‑d
made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them.
Then G‑d said: “Behold, the man is
become like one of us, knowing
good and evil. And now, what if he puts forth his
hand, and takes also of the Tree of Life, and eats and lives forever?”
So G‑d banished him from the Garden of
Eden, to till the earth from which he was taken. He drove out the man; and he
placed the cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden, and the bright blade of
a revolving sword, to guard the way to the Tree of Life.
Cain and
Abel
The man knew Eve his wife; she conceived, and bore Cain, saying, “I have acquired a man from G‑d.” And she again
bore his brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the
earth.
In the process of time it came to pass
that Cain brought of the fruit of the earth an offering to G‑d. And Abel, he
also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat parts thereof; G‑d
paid heed to Abel and to his offering. But
to Cain and to his offering He paid no heed; and Cain was very angry, and his
face fell.
G‑d said to Cain: “Why are you angry,
and why are you crestfallen? If you do well, shall you not be accepted? And if
you do not do well, sin crouches at the door, and to you shall be his desire;
yet you may rule over him.”
Cain had words with Abel his brother;
and it
came to pass, when they were in the field, that
Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
G‑d said to Cain: “Where is Abel your
brother?” And he said: “I know not; am I my brother’s keeper?”
And He said: “What have you done? The
voice of your brother’s blood cries to Me from the ground.
“And now, cursed are you from the
earth, which has opened her mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your
hand. When you till the earth, it shall not henceforth yield to you her
strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shall you be on the earth.”
Cain said to G‑d: “Is my sin too great
to forgive? Behold, You have driven me out this day from the face of the earth,
and from Your face I shall be hidden; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in
the earth, and it shall come to pass that anyone that finds me will kill me.”
G‑d said to him: “Therefore, whoever
slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” G‑d set a mark upon
Cain, lest anyone finding him should strike him. Cain went out from the
presence of G‑d, and dwelt in the land of Nod, to the east of Eden.
Cain knew his wife, and she conceived,
and bore Enoch; and he was building a city, and called the name of the city
after the name of his son, Enoch.
To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad begot
Mechuyael, and Mechuyael begot Metushael, and Metushael begot Lemech.
And Lemech took for himself two wives;
the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Tzillah. Adah bore
Yaval; he was the father those who dwell in tents and keep herds. His brother’s
name was Yuval; he was the father of those who handle the harp and the flute.
And Tzillah, she also bore Tuval-Cain, forger of every sharp instrument in
brass and iron; and the sister of Tuval-Cain was Naamah.
Lemech said to his wives: “Adah and
Tzillah, hear my voice; wives of Lemech, hearken to my speech; for I have slain
a man by wounding, a child by hurt. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly
Lemech seventy and sevenfold.”
Adam knew his wife again, and she bore
a son and called his name Seth, “For G‑d has set (shath) me
another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.” To Seth also there was born a
son, and he called his name Enosh; then men began to call upon G‑d by name.
The First
Ten Generations
This is the book of the chronicles
of Man; in the day that G‑d created mankind,
in the likeness of G‑d he made him. Male and female He created them; and He
blessed them, and called their name Man, in the day when they were created.
Adam lived a hundred and thirty years,
and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and called his name Seth.
The days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years; and he
begot sons and daughters. All the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and
thirty years; and he died.
Seth lived a hundred and five years,
and begot Enosh. Seth lived after he begot Enosh eight hundred and seven years,
and begot sons and daughters. All the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve
years; and he died.
Enosh lived ninety years, and begot
Kenan. Enosh lived after he begot Kenan eight hundred and fifteen years, and
begot sons and daughters. All the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five
years; and he died.
Kenan lived seventy years, and begot
Mahalalel. Kenan lived after he begot Mahalalel eight hundred and forty years,
and begot sons and daughters. All the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten
years; and he died.
Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and
begot Jared. Mahalalel lived after he begot Jared eight hundred and thirty
years, and he begot sons and daughters. All the days of Mahalalel were eight
hundred and ninety-five years; and he died.
Jared lived a hundred and sixty-two
years, and he begot Enoch. Jared lived after he begot Enoch eight hundred
years, and begot sons and daughters. All the days of Jared were nine hundred
and sixty-two years, and he died.
Enoch lived sixty-five years, and he
begot Metushelach. Enoch walked with G‑d after he begot Methuselah three
hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. All the days of Enoch were three
hundred and sixty-five years. Enoch walked with G‑d; and he was not, for G‑d
took him.
Metushelach lived a hundred and
eighty-seven years, and begot Lemech. Metushelach lived after he begot Lemech
seven hundred and eighty-two years, and begot sons and daughters. All the days
of Metushelach were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died.
Lemech lived a hundred and eighty-two
years, and begot a son. He called his name Noah (“comfort”), saying: “This one
shall comfort us for our work and the toil of our hands, because of the earth
which G‑d has cursed.” Lemech lived after he begot Noah five hundred and
ninety-five years, and begot sons and daughters. All the days of Lemech were
seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died.
Noah was five hundred years old; and
Noah begot Shem, Ham and Japheth.
A World Gone
Awry
It came to pass, when men began to
multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the
sons of G‑d saw that the daughters of men were fair; and they took for
themselves wives of all whom they chose.
G‑d said: My spirit shall not always
strive on account of man, for that he also is flesh; and his days shall be a
hundred and twenty years. There were Nefilim in the earth in those days, and
also after that, when the sons of G‑d came in to the daughters of men, and they
bore children to them; these were the mighty men of old, men of renown.
G‑d saw that the wickedness of man was
great in the earth, and that all the impulse of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil, all day long continually. G‑d regretted that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His
heart. G‑d said: “I will obliterate man whom I have created from the face of
the earth, man, beast, creeping things and the birds of the air; for I regret
that I have made them.”
But Noah found favor in the eyes of G‑d.
In the beginning G‑d created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1)
The Torah says: “I was the tool of G‑d’s
artistry.” An architect who builds a palace does not do so on his own; he has
scrolls and notebooks which he consults regarding how to place the rooms, where
to set the doors. So it was with G‑d: He looked into the Torah and created the
world.
(Midrash Rabbah)
G‑d looked
into the Torah and created the world. Man looks into Torah and sustains the
world.
(Zohar)
The Torah’s
first word, bereishit, is an acronym for beit reishit—“two
firsts” (the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, beit, stands for
the number two). This is to say that the world was created for the sake of two
things called “first” (reishit)—the Torah (Proverbs 8:22) and the people of Israel (Jeremiah 2:3).
(Rashi; Midrash Rabbah)
In the beginning G‑d created the
heavens and the earth (1:1)
Said Rabbi Yitzchak: The Torah ought to
have started with “This month shall be to you . . .” (Exodus 12:2), which is the first mitzvah commanded to the people of Israel. Why,
then, does it begin with “In the beginning [G‑d created the heavens and the
earth]”? . . . So that if the nations of the world say to
Israel, “You are thieves, for having conquered the lands of the seven nations,”
they can reply to them: “The entire world is G‑d’s; He created it, and He
grants it to whoever He desires. It was His will to give it to them, and it was
His will to take it from them and give it to us.”
(Rashi, Genesis 1:1)
The above
dialogue between the “nations of the world” and the “people of Israel” also
takes place in the “miniature universe” within the heart of man.
The Jew serves G‑d in two ways: 1) by
fulfilling the divine commandments (mitzvot) of the Torah, and 2) by living his
or her ordinary life—eating, sleeping, doing business, etc.—as an exercise in
experiencing the divine and serving G‑d’s purpose in creation (as expressed by
the ideals “All your deeds should be for the sake of Heaven” [Ethics of the
Fathers 2:12] and “Know Him in all your ways” [Proverbs 3:6]).
It is regarding the second area that
the Jew’s internal “nations of the world”—his worldly outlook—argues: You are
thieves, for having conquered the lands of the seven nations! What business
have you commandeering the “secular” areas of life? Must you turn everything
into a religious issue? Serve G‑d in the ways He has explicitly told us to
serve Him, and leave the rest to their rightful, worldly owners!
To answer this argument, the Torah
begins not with its first mitzvah, but with the statement “In the beginning G‑d
created the heavens and the earth.” The entire world is G‑d’s; He created it,
the Torah is saying—not just the matzah eaten on Passover or the percentage of
one’s income given to charity.
With its opening statement, the Torah is
establishing that it is not merely a rulebook, a list of things to do or not to
do. It is G‑d’s blueprint for creation, our guide for realizing the purpose for
which everything in heaven and earth was made. Every creature, object and
element; every force, phenomenon and potential; every moment of time was
created by G‑d toward a purpose. Our mission in life is to conquer the lands of
the seven nations and transform them into a Holy Land—a world permeated with
the goodness and perfection of its Creator.
(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
“In the beginning” refers to the
beginning of time—the first, indivisible moment, before which time did not exist.
(Sforno)
Therein lies
the answer to the question, posed by certain philosophers, as to why did G‑d
create the world only when He did. Why not one year, a hundred years or a
million years earlier, since whatever reasons He had for creation were
certainly just as valid then? But time is itself part of G‑d’s creation. We
cannot ask why the world was not created earlier, since there is no stretch of
time that can be termed before creation.
(Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi)
Time was the
first creation; thus the first mitzvah is kiddush hachodesh—the
sanctification of time by setting the months and seasons of the Jewish
calendar.
(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
In the beginning G‑d created (1:1)
The Hebrew verb bara (“created”)
employed by this verse specifically means the creation of something
from nothing.
(Ibn Ezra; Nachmanides)
The heavens and the earth (1:1)
The School of Shammai says: First the
heavens were created, and then the earth, as it is written, “In the beginning G‑d
created the heavens and the earth.” The School of Hillel says: First the earth
was created, and then the heavens, as it is written, “In the day that G‑d made
the earth and the heavens” (Genesis
2:4).
Said the School of Hillel to the School
of Shammai: According to your interpretation, would one build a loft before one
builds the house? For it is written (Amos 9:6), “Who builds His upper chambers in the heavens, and has founded His
stairway upon the earth.” Said the School of Shammai to the School of Hillel:
According to your interpretation, would one make the footstool and then make
the chair? For it is written (Isaiah
66:1), “So said G‑d: Heaven is My throne and
the earth is My footstool.”
The sages say: Both were created
together, as it is written (Isaiah
48:13), “My hand also founded the earth, and
My right hand spanned the heavens; when I call to them, they stand up
together.”
(Talmud, Chagigah 12a)
In the
beginning G‑d created the heavens and the earth (1:1)
Why does the Torah begin with a beit (i.e.,
the number two)? Because G‑d said: I built two palaces—one above and one below.
I formed the laws of nature, and I established the life of the world to come.
(Otiyot d’Rabbi Akiva)
He lifted
the revolver which lay on the table and pointed it at me, saying: “This toy
does away with ‘principles.’ Fear of it has opened many a mouth—even the dumb
have become talkative before it.”
“You are mistaken,” I replied. “That
toy impresses those who have one world and many gods. But as for us, who have
but a single G‑d and believe in two worlds, the toy which you are brandishing
makes no impression whatsoever.”
(From the memoirs of Rabbi Yosef
Yitzchak of Lubavitch)
The earth was formless and
void . . . (1:2)
Said Rav Yehudah in the name of Rav:
Ten things were created on the first day: heaven and earth, formlessness and
void, light and darkness, wind and water, the measure of day and the measure of
night.
(Talmud, Chagigah 12a)
The earth was formless and void, and
darkness was on the face of the deep (1:2)
First comes darkness, then light.
(Talmud, Shabbat 77b)
And the
spirit of G‑d hovered above the surface of the waters (1:2)
“The spirit of G‑d hovered”—this is the
spirit of Moshiach.
(Midrash Rabbah)
G‑d said,
“Let there be light!” and there was light . . . G‑d said, “Let
there be a firmament” . . . G‑d said, “Let the earth sprout
grass” . . . (1:3, etc.)
The world was created with ten
utterances.
(Ethics of the Fathers 5:1)
It is
written: “Forever, O G‑d, Your word stands firm in the heavens” (Psalms 119:89). Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, of blessed memory, explained the verse
thus: Your word which You uttered, “Let there be a firmament”—these very words
and letters stand firmly forever within the firmament of heaven, and are
forever clothed within the heavens to give them life and
existence. . . . For if these letters were to depart even for an
instant, G‑d forbid, and return to their source, all the heavens would become
naught and absolute nothingness, and it would be as if they had never existed
at all, exactly as before the utterance “Let there be a firmament.”
And so it is with all created things,
down to the most corporeal and inanimate of substances. If the letters of the
“ten utterances” by which the earth was created during the six days of creation
were to depart from it for but an instant, G‑d forbid, it would revert to
absolute nothingness.
This same thought was expressed by the Ari (master Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac
Luria) of blessed memory, when he said that even in completely inanimate
matter, such as earth and stones and water, there is a soul and spiritual
life-force—that is, the letters of divine “speech” clothed within it which
continually grant it life and existence.
(Tanya)
The world
was created with ten utterances. What does this come to teach us? Certainly, it
could have been created with a single utterance. However, this is in order to
make the wicked accountable for destroying a world that was created with ten
utterances, and to reward the righteous for sustaining a world that was created
with ten utterances.
(Ethics of the Fathers 5:1)
In other
words, there are two dimensions to our existence:
1) Its essential being. G‑d brought all things into existence out of a
prior state of absolute nothingness, so that together they should form the
world He desired. This is the essence of their “somethingness”—a feature that
they all share equally, their individual traits fading to insignificance before
this fact. This most basic dimension of creation derives from the divine
“could.”
2) The individual qualities and features of the different creations.
These are the product of the “ten utterances” (corresponding to the ten sefirot which
constitute the spiritual “building blocks” of creation).
Of course, G‑d could have created our world, in all its infinite detail,
with a singular expression of his desire for a world. But had He done so, the
only truly meaningful aspect of our existence would have been the common
denominator of all reality—the fact that it exists to serve the ultimate
realization of G‑d’s purpose in creation. The particulars of each existence
would not possess any significance of their own. That G‑d “bothered” to create
the world with ten different utterances means that the particular traits of
each being are significant—not just as a means to the ultimate end, but as
things of value in their own right.
(The Chassidic Masters)
G‑d said, “Let there be light!” and there was light (1:3)
The Midrash compares G‑d’s creation of
the universe to the work of a human architect. When a person wishes to build
something, first he fixes his purpose in his mind. Then he starts his labor.
“Let there be light” was the first
statement in Creation, because “light” is the true purpose of existence:
through the study of Torah and the fullfilment of mitzvot, divine radiance is
revealed.
“Light” is the purpose of existence as
a whole. Further, each individual is a microcosm of the world. “Light” is
therefore the purpose of each Jew: that he or she transforms his or her
situation and environment from darkness and negativity to light and goodness.
(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
And let it
divide water from water (1:6)
Why doesn’t it say “it was good” on the
second day? Because on that day divisiveness was created.
(Midrash Rabbah)
G‑d . . .
divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were
above the firmament (1:7)
The lower
waters weep: We wish to be in the presence of the
King.
(Tikkunei Zohar)
A covenant
was made, in the days of creation, with the “lower waters,” that they will be offered
up on the altar, in the salt brought with each offering, and in the water
poured upon the altar on the festival of Sukkot.
(Rashi, Leviticus 2:13)
G‑d made the
two great luminaries: the great luminary to rule the day, and the small
luminary to rule the night (1:16)
It says, “G‑d made the two great
luminaries,” but then it says, “the great luminary and the small luminary”?
Indeed, at first they were both great,
but then the moon said to G‑d: Master of the Universe! Can two kings wear the
same crown?
Said G‑d to her: Go diminish yourself.
Said she to Him: Master of the
Universe! Because I have said a proper thing, I must diminish myself?
Said He to her: You may rule both
during the day and at night.
Said she to Him: What advantage is
there in that? What does a lamp accomplish at high noon?
Said He to her: The people of Israel
shall calculate their dates and years by you.
Said she to Him: But the sun, too,
shall have a part in that, for they shall calculate the seasons by him.
Said G‑d: The righteous shall be called
by your name—Jacob the Small, Samuel the Small, David the Small.
Still G‑d saw that the moon was not
appeased. So G‑d said: Offer an atonement for My sake, for My having diminished
the moon. This is the significance of what Reish Lakish said: Why does the
he-goat offered on Rosh Chodesh (the first of the month) differ from the others
in that it is specified as “for G‑d”? G‑d is saying: This he-goat shall atone
for My diminishing of the moon.
(Talmud, Chullin 60b)
Male and female He created them (1:27)
G‑d created the first man as a
two-sided creature—one face male, and one face female. He then hewed him in two
and made a back for each half.
(Midrash Rabbah)
If G‑d
desired mankind to be comprised of both male and female, why did He not create
them that way in the first place—as He did with the other animals?
Because if they were to be originally
and intrinsically two, each would be trapped in the exclusivity of his or her
identity. Their encounter would be a relationship at best, a war at worst.
Neither would have it in them to transcend the individuality into which they
were born. The two would remain two, however integrated.
But neither did G‑d desire man to be a
singular being. As a single individual, man was without match, without
challenge, and thus without potential for growth and creation. “It is not good
that man be alone,” said the Creator; he requires a “helpmeet” and an
“opposite.”
So G‑d created them one, and then split
them into two. Thus man searches for woman, and woman yearns for man. Thus each
has it within their power to reach within their splintered self and uncover
their primordial oneness. Thus man and woman cleave to each other and become
one.
(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
G‑d looked
upon all that He made, and behold it was very good (1:31)
“Behold it was very good”—this is the
good inclination; “and behold it was very good”—this is the
inclination for evil.
“Behold it was very good”—this is good
fortune; “and behold it was very good”—this is suffering.
“Behold it was very good”—this is
paradise; “and behold it was very good”—this is hell.
“Behold it was very good”—this is the
angel of life; “and behold it was very good”—this is the angel of
death.
(Midrash Rabbah)
And there
was evening and there was morning, the sixth day (1:31)
The six days of creation embody the
whole of history, for the world shall exist six thousand years (Talmud, Rosh
Hashanah 31a), which is why it is said that “G‑d’s day is a thousand years”
(Midrash Rabbah).
The first day of creation, which saw
the creation of light, corresponds to the first millennium of history—the
millennium of Adam, the light of the world, when the world was still saturated
with knowledge of its Creator and was sustained by the indiscriminate
benevolence of G‑d. The second day, on which the Creator distinguished between
the spiritual and the physical elements of His creation, yielded a second
millennium of judgment and discrimination—as reflected in the flood which wiped
out a corrupt humanity and spared only the righteous Noah and his family. The
third day, on which the land emerged from the sea and sprouted forth greenery
and fruit-bearing trees, encapsulates the third millennium, in which Abraham
began teaching the truth of the One G‑d, and the Torah was given on Mount
Sinai. The fourth day, on which G‑d created the sun and the moon, the two great
luminaries, the greater luminary and the lesser luminary, corresponds to the
fourth millennium, during which the First Temple and the Second Temple in
Jerusalem served as the divine abode from which light emanated to the entire
world. The fifth day, the day of fish, birds and reptiles, represents the
lawless and predatory Dark Ages of the fifth millennium. The sixth day, whose
early hours saw the creation of the beasts of the land, followed by the
creation of man, is our millennium—a millennium marked by strong, forceful
empires, whose beastly rule will be followed by the emergence of Moshiach, the
perfect man who brings to realization the divine purpose in creation and ushers
in the seventh millennium—the world to come—a time of perfect peace and
tranquility.
(Nachmanides)
Ten things
were created on the eve of Shabbat at twilight. These are: the mouth of the
earth (where it swallowed Korach); the mouth of the well (of Miriam, that
provided water for the Israelites in the desert); the mouth of (Balaam’s) ass;
the rainbow; the manna; (Moses’) staff; the shamir (that cut
the stones of the altar in the Holy Temple); and the writing, the inscription and
the tablets [of the Ten Commandments].
(Ethics of the Fathers 5:6)
G‑d
completed on the seventh day His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh
day from all His work which He had done (2:2)
What was the world lacking? Rest. When
Shabbat came, rest came.
[This is to explain the apparent
contradiction between the first and second parts of this verse: Did G‑d
conclude His work on or before the seventh day? Were there six or seven days of
creation? The answer is that rest, too, is a creation.]
(Rashi)
G‑d took the
man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to work it and to keep it (2:15)
“To work it”—these are the positive
commandments; “and to keep it”—these are the prohibitions.
(Zohar)
A helpmeet opposite him (2:18)
If he is worthy, she is a help to him;
if he is not, she opposes him.
Rabbi Yosei encountered Elijah the
prophet, and asked him: “It is written, ‘I will make him a helpmeet’; in what
does a woman help a man?” Said he to him: “A man brings home wheat—does he chew
wheat? He brings home flax—does he wear flax? Does she not then light up his
eyes and set him on his feet?”
(Talmud, Yevamot 63a)
G‑d formed
every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man
to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living
creature, that was its name (2:19)
When G‑d came to create man, He
consulted with the angels. He said to them: “Let us make a man.” Said they to
Him: “This man, what is his worth?” Said He to them: “His wisdom is greater
than yours.”
G‑d brought before them the beasts, the
wild animals and the birds and asked them, “This, what is its name?” and they
did not know. He then brought them before the man and asked him, “This, what is
its name?” and the man said, “This is a shor (ox), this is
a chamor (donkey), this is a sus (horse) and
this is a gamal (camel).”
Said G‑d to him: “And you, what is your
name?”
Said he: “Me it is proper to call Adam,
since I was created from the earth (adamah).”
“And I, what is My name?”
“You it is proper to call A‑do‑nai (‘Lord’),
for You are Master of all Your creations.”
(Midrash Rabbah)
G‑d caused a deep sleep to fall upon
the man, and He took one of his sides, and closed up the flesh in its place (2:21)
An unbeliever said to Rabban Gamliel:
“Your G‑d is a thief, as it is written, ‘G‑d caused a deep sleep to fall upon
the man, and He took one of his sides.’”
Said the man’s daughter, “Allow me to
reply.” Said she to him: “Summon me a guardsman.”
“Why do you require one?” asked her
father.
“Thieves came upon us in the night,
took a silver flask, and left us a golden flask.”
“If only they would come every night.”
“And was it not beneficial for Adam
that a side was taken from him, and a handmaid to serve him was given him in
its place?”
“What I mean to ask,” said the man,
“is: why could it not have been taken in his presence?”
Said she: “Bring me a piece of raw
meat.”
It was brought her; she charred it in
the ashes of the hearth, handed it to him and said: “Eat of this!”
Said he to her: “It is repulsive to
me.”
Said she to him: “Adam, too, if the
woman had been formed in his sight, she would be repulsive to him.”
(Talmud, Sanhedrin 39a)
And she took
of its fruit and ate (3:6)
What was the tree from which Adam and
Eve ate? Rabbi Meir says it was wheat . . . Rabbi Judah ben Ilai
says it was grapes . . . Rabbi Abba of Acco says it was an ethrog (citron) . . .
Rabbi Yosei says they were figs.
Rabbi Azariah and Rabbi Judah ben Rabbi
Shimon said in the name of Rabbi Joshua ben Levi: G‑d forbid that we should
conjecture which tree it was! G‑d did not, and will not, reveal its
name . . .
(Midrash Rabbah)
The woman
saw that the tree was good to eat, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and a
tree to be desired to make one wise; and she took of its fruit and ate (3:6)
The fearsome things You bring upon us,
You bring about by contrivance. Look: when G‑d created the world, He created
the angel of death on the very first day . . . as it is written,
“And darkness was upon the face of the abyss” (Genesis 1:2). Man was created only on the sixth day, and it is a plot that was
contrived against him that he is the one who brought death upon the world [by
eating from the Tree of Knowledge], as it is written, “For on the day that you
eat from it, you shall die” (ibid. 2:17).
What is this comparable to? To one who
wishes to divorce his wife. On the way home, he has a bill of divorce written
up. He comes home with the bill of divorce in his hand, plotting a way to give
it to her. He says to her: “Pour me a cup, that I may drink.” She pours out a
cup for him. As soon as he takes the cup from her hand, he says to her: “Here
is your divorce.” Says she to him: “What is my crime?” Says he to her: “Leave
my house, for you have poured me a lukewarm cup.” Says she to him: “You knew in
advance that I would pour you a lukewarm cup—you have already written the bill
of divorce and brought it with you in your hand!”
By the same token, Adam said to G‑d:
“Master of the World! For two thousand years before You created Your world, the
Torah was safeguarded with You . . . and in it is written, ‘This
is the law: If a man should die in a tent . . .’ (Numbers 19:14). Had You not prepared death for Your creatures, would You have so
written? And then You come and attach the blame to me.” Hence (Psalms 66:5): “His fearsome plot upon the children of man.”
(Midrash Tanchuma)
G‑d called out to the man and said to
him: “Where are you?” (3:9)
In 1798, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi
was imprisoned on charges that his teachings undermined the imperial authority
of the czar. For 53 days he was held in the Peter-Paul Fortress in Petersburg.
Among the rebbe’s interrogators was a
government minister who possessed broad knowledge of the Bible and of Jewish
studies. On one occasion he asked the rebbe to explain the verse, “G‑d called
out to the man and said to him: ‘Where are you?’” Did G‑d not know where Adam
was?
Rabbi Schneur Zalman presented the
classic explanation offered by the commentaries: the question “Where are you?”
was merely a “conversation opener” on the part of G‑d, who did not wish to
unnerve Adam by immediately confronting him with his wrongdoing.
“What Rashi says, I already know,” said
the minister. “I wish to hear how the rebbe understands the verse.”
“Do you believe that the Torah is
eternal?” asked the rebbe. “That its every word applies to every individual,
under all conditions, at all times?”
“Yes,” replied the minister.
Rabbi Schneur Zalman was extremely
gratified to hear this. The czar’s minister had affirmed a principle which lies
at the basis of the teachings of Chassidism, founded by Rabbi Israel Baal Shem
Tov—the very teachings for which he, Rabbi Schneur Zaman, was standing trial.
“‘Where are you,’” explained the rebbe,
“is G‑d’s perpetual call to every man. Where are you in the world? What have
you accomplished? You have been allotted a certain number of days, hours and
minutes in which to fulfill your mission in life. You have lived so many years
and so many days”—here Rabbi Schneur Zalman spelled out the exact age of the
minister—“where are you? What have you attained?”
(Told by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of
Lubavitch)
Thorns and
thistles shall it bring forth to you (3:18)
Kotz (“thorns”)
is artichokes, while dardar (“thistles”) is cardoon.
(Midrash Rabbah)
And G‑d
said: Behold, the man is become like one of us, knowing good and evil (3:22)
Freedom of choice has been granted to
every man: if he desires to turn to the way of good and be righteous—he has
that ability; and if he desires to turn to the way of evil and be wicked—he has
that ability. This is what it says in the Torah, “Behold, the man is become
unique, of himself knowing good and evil,” meaning: this species, man, has
become unique in the world, and there is no other species similar to him in
this matter—that he, on his own, from his own mind and thought, knows good and
evil and does whichever he desires, and there is none that prevents him from
doing either good or evil . . .
[Maimonides follows Onkelos’ rendition
of the Hebrew words k’achad mimenu—commonly translated “like one of
us”—to mean “unique, of himself.”]
This concept is a fundamental principle
and a pillar of the Torah and its commandments. As it is written (Deuteronomy 30:15): “See, I have set before you life and good, and death and
evil” . . . For were G‑d to decree that a person be righteous or
wicked, or if there were to exist something in the essence of a person’s nature
which would compel him toward a specific path, a specific conviction, a
specific character trait or a specific deed . . . how could G‑d
command us through the prophets, “Do this” and “do not do this,” “improve your
ways” and “do not follow your wickedness” . . . ? What
place would the entire Torah have? And by what measure of justice would G‑d
punish the wicked and reward the righteous . . . ?
(Maimonides)
Evil, and
freedom of choice, existed before Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge. But then
evil was something external from the person, and the two domains were
completely separate. Man’s mission in life was to “work and keep the Garden”—to
cultivate the good and keep out the bad. By eating from the Tree, man gained
intimate knowledge (daat) of evil, ingesting it into himself
and—man being a microcosm of creation—into his world. From that point on the
two realms were confused, there being no evil without good and no good without
evil. The task of man became the “work of refinement” (avodat habirurim)—to
distinguish and separate good from evil and evil from good.
(Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi)
G‑d made
garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them (3:21)
In Rabbi Meir’s Torah it was found
written, “garments of light.”
[In Hebrew, the word or spelled
with an ayin means “skin,” while or spelled
with an aleph means “light.”]
This refers to Adam’s garments, which
were like a torch [shedding radiance], broad at the bottom and narrow at the
top.
Isaac the Elder said: They were as
smooth as a fingernail and as beautiful as a jewel.
Rabbi Yochanan said: They were like the
fine linen garments which come from Bet Shean, “garments of skin” meaning those
that are nearest to the skin.
Rabbi Elazar said: They were of goats’
skin.
Rabbi Joshua said: Of hares’ skin.
Rabbi Yosei bar Rabbi Chanina said: It
was a garment made of skin with its wool.
Resh Lakish said: It was of Circassian
wool, and these were used [later] by the firstborn.
Rabbi Samuel ben Nachman said: They
were made from the wool of camels and the wool of hares, “garments of skin”
meaning those which are produced from the skin.
Rabbi Levi said: The Torah teaches you
here a rule of worldly wisdom: Spend according to your means on food, less than
you can afford on clothing, but more than you can afford on a dwelling. Spend
according to your means on food, as it is written, “Of every tree of the garden
you may freely eat” (Genesis
2:16). Less than you can afford on clothing,
as it is written, “G‑d made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and
clothed them” (i.e., simple clothes). More than you can afford on a dwelling, for they were but two, yet they dwelled in the whole
world . . .
(Midrash Rabbah)
The man knew
Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, saying, “I have acquired a man
from G‑d” (4:1)
Adam was created from the ground, and
Eve from Adam; but henceforth it shall be “in Our image, after Our
likeness”—neither man without woman nor woman without man, nor both of them without
the Shechinah (divine presence).
(Midrash Rabbah)
And Abel, he
also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat parts thereof; and G‑d
paid heed to Abel and to his offering (4:4)
By the same token, everything that is
for the sake of G‑d should be of the best and most beautiful. When one builds a
house of prayer, it should be more beautiful than his own dwelling. When one
feeds the hungry, he should feed him of the best and sweetest of his table.
When one clothes the naked, he should clothe him with the finest of his
clothes. Whenever one designates something for a holy purpose, he should
sanctify the finest of his possessions, as it is written (Leviticus 3:16), “All the fat is to G‑d.”
(Maimonides)
And G‑d paid
heed to Abel (4:4)
“G‑d seeks out the victim” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). Whether a righteous person persecutes a righteous person, a wicked
person persecutes a wicked person, a wicked person persecutes a righteous
person, or even if a righteous person persecutes a wicked person—G‑d will
always heed the victim. See: Abel was persecuted by Cain, and G‑d paid heed to
Abel.
(Midrash Tanchuma)
Cain had
words with Abel his brother (4:8)
About what did they quarrel? “Come,”
said they, “let us divide the world.” Cain took the land, and Abel took the
movables (the cattle). Said Cain: “The land you stand on is mine”; retorted
Abel, “The clothes you are wearing are mine.” One said: “Strip!”; the other
said “Fly!” Out of this quarrel, Cain rose up against his brother Abel.
Rabbi Joshua of Siknin said in Rabbi
Levi’s name: Both took land and both took movables, but about what did they
quarrel? One said: “The Holy Temple must be built in my area,” while the other
claimed, “It must be built in mine.”
Judah ben Ami said: Their quarrel was
over the first Eve. Said Rabbi Aibu: The first Eve had returned to dust. Then
about what was their quarrel? Said Rabbi Huna: An additional twin was born with
Abel, and each claimed her. (According to the Midrash, twin sisters were born
together with Cain and Abel for them to marry—one with Cain and two with Abel.)
The one claimed: “I will have her, because I am the firstborn”; while the other
maintained: “She is mine, because she was born with me.”
(Midrash Rabbah)
The voice of
your brother’s blood cries to Me from the ground (4:10)
His blood, and the blood of all his
descendants. Another explanation: Cain made many wounds in him, not knowing how
he might be killed.
[In the Hebrew original, the words for
“blood” and “cries” are written in the plural form, so that a literal
translation would read, “The voice of your brother’s bloods cry out to Me.”]
(Rashi)
The voice of
your brother’s blood cries to Me from the ground (4:10)
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said: It is
difficult to say this thing, and the mouth cannot utter it plainly. Think of
two athletes wrestling before the king; had the king wished, he could have
separated them. But he did not so desire, and one overcame the other and killed
him, and the victim cries out: “Who will plead my
case against the king?”
[The verse can also be read, “The voice
of your brother’s blood cries against Me.”]
(Midrash Rabbah)
This is the
book of the chronicles of man (5:1)
Said Reish Lakish: This comes to teach
us that G‑d showed Adam each and every generation of history and its leaders.
(Talmud, Sanhedrin 38b)
G‑d
regretted that He had made man on the earth (6:6)
To say that G‑d regrets something is
obviously at odds with our understanding of His omniscience and omnipotence.
Regret implies that one now knows something that one did not know before; that
one’s earlier decision or deed was flawed or ill-informed; that one has now
matured to the point that he can look back and reject a deficient past. None of
this, of course, can be related to G‑d. In the words of the verse, “G‑d is not
a man that He should lie, nor a son of Adam that He should regret” (Numbers 23:19).
Attributing regret to G‑d represents a
further problem: if G‑d regrets the creation of something, how could that thing
continue to exist for even a single instant? As the chassidic masters explain,
creation is a perpetual act on the part of G‑d. When the Torah tells us that “G‑d
said: ‘Let there be light!’ and there was light,” it isn’t describing a
one-time event which took place on the first day of creation; it is telling us
that what we experience as light is the embodiment of G‑d’s continued
articulation of His desire that there be light. In every fraction of every
moment of time, G‑d says, “Let there be light!” and it is this divine utterance
that constitutes the essence of physical light. For no being or phenomenon can
possibly exist independently of G‑d’s constant involvement in its creation.
In discussing G‑d, we inevitably use
terms whose meaning is colored by the dynamics of our experience—an experience
bounded by time, space and our human limitations. Our only other option would be
not to speak of G‑d at all (which is not an option, since G‑d has commanded us
to not only believe in His existence, but also to know and comprehend it to the
extent to which we are capable). So in using these terms, we must always take
care to strip them of their mortal trappings and apply only their pure,
noncorporeal essence to our understanding of G‑d’s relationship to our
existence.
Thus, when the Torah tells us that G‑d
regrets something, it expects us to strip the term “regret” down to its bare conceptual
bones, to divest it of all connotations of failing and past ignorance—indeed,
of time itself—before applying it to G‑d.
Regret, to us, means that something is
both desired and not desired—desired in the past, but not desired in the
present. Applied to a time-transcendent G‑d, regret implies both these states
simultaneously: something that is both desired and not desired, with the desire
belonging to the more distant dimension of the thing (its past), and the
non-desire belonging to its more apparent and immediate dimension (its
present) . . .
(From the teachings of the Lubavitcher
Rebbe)
“In the beginning,
two thousand years before the heaven and the earth, seven things were created:
the Torah written with black fire on white fire, and lying in the lap of God;
the Divine Throne, erected in the heaven which later was over the heads of the
Hayyot; Paradise on the right side of God, Hell on the left side; the Celestial
Sanctuary directly in front of God, having a jewel on its altar graven with the
Name of the Messiah, and a Voice that cries aloud, “Return, ye children of
men.” When God resolved upon the creation of the world, He took counsel
with the Torah. Her advice was this: “O Lord, a king without an army and
without courtiers and attendants hardly deserves the name of king, for none is
nigh to express the homage due to him.” The answer pleased God exceedingly.
Thus did He teach all earthly kings, by His Divine example, to undertake naught
without first consulting advisers. The advice of the Torah was given with
some reservations. She was skeptical about the value of an earthly world, on
account of the sinfulness of men, who would be sure to disregard her precepts.
But God dispelled her doubts. He told her, that repentance had been created
long before, and sinners would have the opportunity of mending their ways.
Besides, the Temple service would be invested with atoning power, and Paradise
and hell were intended to do duty as reward and punishment. Finally, the
Messiah was appointed to bring salvation, which would put an end to all
sinfulness.”
In Judaism however, the subject of ‘the Messiah’ is
historically far more than this. Torah literature speaks of messiah as
‘something’ existing from before the earth was created. In this Talmudic section,
the messiah’s ‘name’ is said to pre-exist creation. The concept of ‘name’ in
Torah literature having to do with themes of ‘authority, power and function.’
“Surely it was taught: Seven things were created before
the world was created, and these are they: The Torah, repentance, the Garden of
Eden, Gehenna, the Throne of Glory, the Temple, and the name of the Messiah.”
Talmud, Pesachim 54a
The
concept of “before the world was created,’ is also referred to as, ‘the
foundation of the world.’ This is directly connected to the idea of
the ‘tzaddik,’ the righteous person serving G-d, as well as to the Messiah
Mention of Messiah as a ‘force’ of creation is found in
other places.
“AND THE SPIRIT OF G-D HOVERED (Genesis 1:2): this alludes
to the spirit of Messiah, as you read, And the spirit of the Lord shall rest
upon him (Isaiah 11:2). In the merit of what will [this spirit] eventually
come? [For the sake of that which] HOVERED OVER THE FACE OF THE WATERS, i.e. in
the merit of repentance which is likened to water, as it is written, Pour out
thy heart like water (Lamentations 2:19).”
Midrash Rabbah, Genesis 2:4
Another key text is the 13th century work, “Sha’are Orah”
(“Gates of Light”), where we find the power of the soul of messiah energizing
all living creatures:
“Let the earth bring forth every kind of living
creature.”(Gen. 1:24). For this verse, by virtue of the upper wisdom, includes
the soul of all that moves and crawls on the earth, the life-force of all
species of fish, fowl, beasts and domesticated animals as well as the animal
soul that dwells within man. One must also include the upper soul that dwells
within man which is called the Neshamah. … The verse is referring to the soul
of the Messiah.”
“Sha’are Orah,” Rabbi Joseph Gikatilla, translated by Avi
Weinstein, Altimira Press, London, 1994, p. 55.
This
‘power of messiah’ is further shown to be unique in that it extends beyond all
worlds of existence and pre-existence, back to the source of all things.
“In the beginning…….”
The word-for-word of
Genesis 1:1 reads:
Bereshit bara Elohim
[aleph-tav] hashamayim ve-et ha-eretz.
Torah: The
Genesis account proceeds from G-d, through the heavenly realm, down to man on
earth.
Prophets: Ezekiel’s
vision is the converse, from man on earth, through the spiritual realm, up to
G-d.
Ha-Berit
ha-Hadashah: In the beginning was the Word
[Torah], and the Word was with G-d, and the Word was G-d
********************************************************
________
Genesis
1:1-6; Genesis 2:8
Haftarah
Portion
_________________
Jeremiah
17:12; Proverbs 8:22; Psalm 90:2,
Psalm
90:3;Isaiah 30:33; Psalm 72:17,
Isaiah
43:7 ;Isaiah 42:5-21
Ha-Berit
ha-Hadashah
______________________
John
1: 1 – 10 ; Matthew 3:2 ; 1 Peter 1:20 ,
Revelation
13:8 ;Matthew 13:35;Matthew 25:34
****************************************************
Notes:
By trusting(Emunah), we
understand that the universe was created through a spoken word
of Most High, so that what is seen
did not come into being out of existing phenomena – Hebrews 11 :3
Seven things were created
before the world was created, and these are they: The Torah, Repentance, the
Garden of Eden, Gehenna, the Throne of Glory, the Temple, and the name of the
Messiah.
Soncino Zohar, Bereshith,
Section 1, Page 230b-232a – R. Jose discoursed on the verse:
Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened ? (Job XXXVIII(38), 6). He
said: ‘When G-d created the world, He established it on seven pillars.
Rav Chizkiya sat before
Rav Elazar. He said to him: How many lights were created before the world was
created? He said to him: Seven, as follows: the light of Torah, the light of
Gehinom, the light of the Garden of Eden, the light of the Throne of Glory, the
light of the Temple, the light of repentance, and the light of the Messiah.
(Zohar, Tzav, 34b)
The Talmud refers to
several things pre-existing the world and the Talmud also speaks of the name
of Messiah (His teachings, authority, function, etc.), pre-existing the
created world.
Talmud, Pesachim 54a –
Surely it was taught: Seven things were created before the world was created,
and these are they: The Torah, repentance, the Garden of Eden, Gehenna, the
Throne of Glory, the Temple, and the name of the Messiah. The Torah, for it is
written, The Lord made me [sc. the Torah] as the beginning of his way.
Repentance, for it is written, Before the mountains were brought forth, and it
is written, Thou turnest man to contrition, and sayest, Repent, ye children of
men. The Garden of Eden, as it is written, And the Lord planted a garden in
Eden from aforetime. The Gehenna, for it is written, For Tophet [i.e., Gehenna]
is ordered of old. The Throne of Glory and the Temple, for it is written, Thou
throne of glory, on high from the beginning, Thou place of our sanctuary. The
name of the Messiah, as it is written, His [sc. the Messiah’s] name shall
endure for ever, and has exited before the sun.
Name of Messiah/
The Light of Messiah
The name of the Messiah,
as it is written, His [sc. the Messiah’s] name shall endure for ever, and has
exited before the sun (Ps. LXXII, 17)
His name shall endure for
ever; his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and [men] shall bless
themselves in him; all nations shall call him blessed – psalm
72 : 17
The goal of Creation is
that the Kingdom of G-d (represented by the Temple) shall be established on
earth, as it is in heaven; and finally, the name of the Messiah, i.e., the
assurance that G-d’s purpose will ultimately be achieved.
The “name” of Messiah (as
with the “name” of other key figures and also the “Name” of G-d) has to do with
attributes, authority and function (in G-d’s plan).
This “Name/Authority”
of Messiah has existed since before the physical world (Ref: Revelation
13:8, Hebrews 4:3, 9:26, John 17:24, Matthew 13:35, 25:34, 1Peter 1:20 ).
Talmud – Mas. Sanhedrin
98b – What is his [the Messiah’s] name? — The School of R. Shila said: His name
is Shiloh, for it is written, until Shiloh come. The School of R. Yannai said:
His name is Yinnon, for it is written, His name shall endure for ever: e’er the
sun was, his name is Yinnon. The School of R. Haninah maintained: His name is
Haninah, as it is written, Where I will not give you Haninah. Others say: His
name is Menahem the son of Hezekiah,for it is written, Because Menahem [‘the
comforter’ ], that would relieve my soul, is far. The Rabbis said: His name is
‘the leper scholar,’ as it is written, Surely he hath borne our griefs, and
carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God, and
afflicted. (Isaiah 53:4)
“But you, Bethlehem Ephratah,
being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come forth to me that
is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old (mi’Kedem), from
the days of old (i.e from the days of creation).”
-Micah 5:2
The phrase ‘from days of
old’ refers to the Six Days of Creation. Rashi, R’ Shlomo Yitzhaki (1040CE
– 1105CE), commenting on Micah 5 states, “and his origin is from of old:
“Before the sun his name is Yinnon” (Psalms 72:17).
In commenting upon
Genesis 1:2 “And the Spirit of Elohim moved over the face of the deep.” Midrsah
Rabbah identifies this as having been “the Spirit of King Messiah” (Midrsh
Rabba 2).
The Midrash Pasiqta says:
From the beginning of the creation of the world,King Messiah was
revealed; foe he entered into the mind of G-d, even before the creation of the
world.(Midrsh Pasiqta 152a)
The concept of a divine
Messiah is firmly grounded in Hebraic writings. As Moshe Idel Messianic
Mystics, Moshe Idel, Yale University Press, London, 1998, p. 23.states:
In a Talmudic text the
Messiah is called by the name Tetragrammaton (YHVH), in a Midrash he is called
by the divine name “Adonai, My Lord,” while elsewhere he is designated “El.” On
the other hand, G-d is widely described in Judaism as the Redeemer, go’el, a
term sometimes applied to an angel or a human redeemer. These common
appellations, as well as the different views on the preexistence of the
Messiah, may point to a much more substantial link between the divine and a
Messianic personae.
Turning to Matthew’s
writings, we see the high priest questioning Yeshua, during which time he (the
High Priest) associates the “Messiah” with being the Son of Most High, and
indirectly, Son of the living G-d:
But Yeshua held his
peace, And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the
living G-d, that thou tell us whether thou be the Messiah, the Son of Most
High– Matthew 26:63
The Zohar offers a
connection between the Tzaddik and title of “son of G-d,” or “son of a living
man,” associating this with the Divine title of “Zaddik, the life of the
universe”.
Soncino Zohar, Bereshith,
Section 1, Page 6a – He thereupon began to discourse on the verse: And Benaiah
the son of Jehoiada, etc. (II Sam. XXIII, 20). ‘This verse’, he said, ‘has been
well explained-in addition to its literal meaning-to signify high mysteries of
the Torah. “Benaiah the son of Jehoiada” (i.e. son of G-d, son of knowing-God)
contains an allusion to wisdom, and is a symbolic appellation which influences
its bearer. “The son of a living man” indicates the “Zaddik, the life of the
universe”
In two places, Yeshua (the
divine Tzaddik, Righteous one), is specifically
called “Son of the Living G-d,” by His Talmidim:
And Simon Peter answered
and said, Thou art the Messiah, the Son of the living God- Matthew 16:16 –
And we believe and are
sure that thou art that Messiah, the Son of the living Most High- John 6:69
The Light of Torah
As it is written: “Adonai
made me as the beginning of his way,the first of his ancient works- proverbs
8:22.
The Torah, for it is
written, The Adonai made me [sc. the Torah] as the beginning of his way (Prov.
VIII, 22)
Midrash on Genesis
(Bereshit), which explains how G-d “consulted” the Divine Torah during the
process of creation. “
Bereshit Rabbah I.1 – R.
Oshaya began (his exposition in this way): “Then I was by Him, as an amon; and
I was daily all delight” (Prov. 8:30). Amon means tutor; amon means covered;
amon means hidden; and some say, amon means great. Amon is a tutor, as you
read, “As an omen (= nursing father) carried the sucking child” (Num 11:12).
Amon means covered, as in the verse, “ha’emunim (= those who were covered) in
scarlet” (Lam 4:5). Amon means hidden, as in the verse, “And he omen (=
concealed) Hadassah” (Est 2:7). Amon means great, as in the verse, “Are you
better than No-amon?” (Nah 3:8) — which is rendered, “Are thou better than
Alexandria the Great, that is situate among the rivers?” Another
interpretation: Amon is a workman (uman). The Torah (= Wisdom) declares: “I was
the working tool of the Holy One, blessed be He.” In human practice, when a
mortal king builds a palace, he builds it not with his own skill but with the
skill of an architect. The architect moreover does not build it out of his
head, but employs plans and diagrams to know how to arrange the chambers and
the wicket doors. Thus God consulted the Torah and created the world, while the
Torah declares, “In/by/with the Beginning (be-reshit) God created” (Gen 1:1),
“Beginning” (reshit) referring to the Torah, as in the verse, “The Lord made me
as the beginning (reshit) of His way” (Prov. 8:22).
In the beginning was
the Word (The Voice of Yahweh Elohim), and
the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim – John
1:1
Targum Onkelos on Gen
3:8: ‘And they heard the voice of the
Word (Memra) of the Lord G-d walking in the
garden in the evening of the day and Adam and his wife hid themselves from
before the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Bereshit 3:8 And they
heard the sound (The Word) of
יהוה
Elohim walking about in the garden in the cool of the day, and Aḏam and his wife
hid themselves from the presence of יהוה
Elohim among the trees of the garden.
Gen 3:8 And
they heard the sound of יהוה Elohim walking (from the Hebrew
word: H1980
הלך hâlak haw-lak’ Akin to H3212;
a primitive root; to walk) about in the garden in the cool of the day, and Aḏam and his wife
hid themselves from the presence (from the Hebrew word: H6440 פּנים
pânı̂ym paw-neem’Plural (but always
used as a singular) of an unused noun (פּנה pâneh, paw-neh’; from 6437); the
face (as the part that turns) ofיהוה Elohim among the trees of the
garden.
What is that? ‘the sound
of יהוה
Elohim walking about
in the garden’
In rabbinical
translations (Targumim) is many times used the Aramaic word ‘Memra’ מימרא From
מימר
m.ch = h. מאמר
1) word, command Targum: the Word, i.e. The Lord. (MARCUS JASTROW
dictionary of the Talmud )
Targum Onkelos on Gen
3:8: ‘And they heard the voice of the
Word (Memra) of the Lord God walking in the
garden in the evening of the day and Adam and his wife hid themselves from
before the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Word (Memra): By
the Word of YHWH were the heavens made, And all the hosts of them by the Spirit
of His mouth. (Psalms 33:6)
“Word of YHWH” was,
according to Targum :
And the Word
[Memra] of YHWH created man in his likeness,in the likeness of YHWH,
YHWH created,male and female created He them.(Targ. Jonathan Gen. 1:27)
Noah: The
Word was also the covenant maker.
And YHWH said to Noah, “This is the token of the covenant which
I have established between My Word [Memra] and between all flesh that is upon
the earth. (Targum Onkelos Gen. 9:17)
Abraham: The
Word also made the Abrahamic covenant as Targum Onkelos also
paraphrases: And I will establish my covenant between My Word [Memra] and
between you… (Targum Onkelos Gen. 17:7)
And Abraham trusted in
the Word [Memra] of YHWH, and He counted it to him for righteousness. (Targum
Onkelos Gen. 15:6)
Moreover Abraham
prayed:
And Abraham worshipped
and prayed in the name of the Word [Memra] of YHWH, and said, “You are YHWH who
does see, but You cannot be seen.” (Jerusalem Targum Gen. 22:14)
in the name of the Word
[Memra] Of YHWH who had revealed Himself to her…
(Jerusalem Targum Gen. 16:3)
Jacob also trusted
in:
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If the Word [Memra] of YHWH will
be my support, and will keep me in the way that I go,and will give me
bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house
in peace; then shall the Word [Memra]of YHWH be my G-d. (Targum Onkelos on
Gen. 28:20-21)
Our father Jacob said:
“My soul does not wait for salvation such as that wrought by Gideon, the son of
Joash, for that was but temporal; neither for a salvation like that of Samson,
which was only transitory;but for that salvation which You have promised to
come through Your Word unto Your people, the children of Israel; for your
salvation my soul hopes.”
(Targum Jonathan Gen. 49:18)
YHWH said to Moses: This
idea is also put forward in the Jerusalem Targum: And the Word [Memra] of
YHWH said to Moses:”I am He who said unto the world ‘Be!’ and it was: and
who in the future shall say to it ‘Be!’ and it shall be.” And He said: “Thus
you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘I Am’ has sent me to you.” (Jerusalem
Targum Ex. 3:14)
King David also
urged Israel to trust in the Word of YHWH as the Targum of
Psalm 62 reads: Trust in the Word of Yah at all times,O people of the house of
Israel! Pour out before Him the sighings of your heart;Say, G-d is our trust forever.
(Targum on Psalm 62:9)
the Word of YHWH:
But Israel shall be saved by the Word of YHWH with an
everlasting salvation…By the Word of YHWH shall all the seed
of Israel be justified…(Targum Jonathan Isaiah 45:17, 25)
But I will have mercy
upon the house of Judah ,and I will save them by the Word of YHWH,
their G-d. (Targum Jonathan Hosea 1:7)
The Divine Mandate
of Messiah Ben Yosef( Deuteronomy 30: 1 – 10 ), the Voice of Yahweh
Elohim.
[…….Then you and your
children will return to the Lord your G-d, and you will ·obey him [listen
to his voice] with ·your whole being[L all your
heart/mind and all your soul] in everything I am commanding you today. At that
point, Adonai your G-d will reverse your exile and show you mercy; he will
return and gather you from all the peoples to which Adonai your G-d scattered
you. He may ·send [drive] you to the ends of the ·earth [ heavens], but he
will gather you and bring you back from there, back to the land that belonged
to your ·ancestors [fathers] …..]
Bereshit 3:8 And they
heard the sound (The Word) of
יהוה
Elohim walking about in the garden in the cool of the day, and Aḏam and his wife
hid themselves from the presence of יהוה
Elohim among the trees of the garden.
………….And…… Rabbi Yochanan
said, ‘John 1:14 And the Word (the
Voice of Yahweh Elohim) became flesh and pitched His tent among us, and we saw
His esteem, esteem as of an only brought-fourth of a father, complete in favor
and truth.
Pitched His tent’
translated from the Greek word, G4637 σκηνόω skēnoō skay-no’-o From
G4636; to tent or encamp, that is, (figuratively) tooccupy (as a mansion) or
(specifically) to reside (as G-d did in the Tabernacle of old, a symbol for
protection and communion): – dwell.
In the Hebrew New
Testament translated by 19th century German scholar Franz Delitzsch (1813-1890)
is it translated, to dwell, to reside, to be located.
Yes He ‘pitched His tent’
among us as in the days of old.
And they heard the sound
of יהוה
Elohim walking ….Gen
3:8 What is that? ‘the sound of יהוה
Elohim walking about
in the garden’
Targum Onkelos on Gen
3:8: ‘And they heard the voice of the Word (Memra) of the
Lord God walking in the garden in the evening of the day and Adam and his wife
hid themselves from before the Lord God among the trees of the garden .
Messiah Ben
Yoseph(The Voice of Most High) =
Yahweh ‘circumcise your heart and the heart of your seed’:
‘You go near and hear all
that יהוה
our Elohim says, and speak to us all that יהוה
our Elohim says to you, and we shall hear and
do it.’…… You should say it again Ephraim and Manasseh when
Messiah Ben Yoseph ‘knock’s on the ‘door’ of your heart.’ – Devarim 5:27
“And יהוה your
Elohim shall circumcise your heart and the heart of your seed, to love יהוה your
Elohim with all your heart and with all your being, so that you might live, and
יהוה
your Elohim shall put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate
you, who persecuted you. “And you
shall turn back and obey the voice of יהוה and
do all His commands which I command you
today – Deut 30 : 6- 8
I am now standing at the
door and am knocking. If any one listens to My
voice and opens the door, I will go
in to be with him and will feast with him, and he shall feast with Me – Rev 3 :
20
Therefore, in reply,
Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said, My Torah (teaching) is not mine but of the One
having sent me – John 7 : 16
As it is written: He was
wearing a robe that had been soaked in blood, and the name by
which he is called is, “THE WORD OF Most High.” –
Revelation 19 : 13
As it is written: And
they were amazed at his Torah, because Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach’s dvar torah was
with samchut (authority) – Luke 4 :32
Many of the teachings of
Yeshua, could deal with this deep (sod) level of teaching with authority
. Yeshua, His disciples, and the prophets of old, always pointed to Torah
as the path of salvation.
Matthew 19:16-17 – And,
behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do,
that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good?
there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life,
keep the commandments. [Torah]
Paul directly ties Yeshua
to the Torah, describing Him in the same language G-d did of Torah through
Moses. And that the Torah points to the Messiah and His teaching’s on Torah.
G-d did not change when Yeshua came. (Matthew 5:17-21, Romans 3:31).
“Confessing Yeshua,” and “believing in your heart” that He resurrected, does
not simply mean that acknowledging certain historical realities brings
salvation (even if done “sincerely, with all of one’s heart,” etc.) .
Therefore, leaving behind
the initial lessons about the Messiah, let us go on to maturity, not laying
again the foundation….. – Hebrews 6 :1-4
Rather, it means to
accept and follow His teachings — i.e., being “hearers and doers” of the Torah,
as both Paul and “James” taught:
Romans 10:4-11 – For
Messiah is the goal of the Torah to everyone who believes. For Moses writes
about the righteousness which is of the Torah, “The man who does those things
shall live by them.” And the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not
say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?”‘ (that is, to bring Messiah
down from above) or, “”Who will descend into the abyss?”‘ (that is, to bring
Messiah up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your
mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if
you confess with your mouth the Lord Yeshua and believe in your heart that God
has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one
believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to
shame.”
Deuteronomy 30:11-16a –
For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you,
nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will ascend
into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Nor is
it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will go over the sea for us and
bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you,
in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. “See, I have set before
you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love
the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His
statutes, and His judgments, that you may live …
John, in his epistle,
makes an explicit connection between “knowing Yeshua” and keeping Torah:
1 John 2:3-5 – And in
this we know that we have known him, if his commands [Torah] we may keep; he
who is saying, `I have known him,’ and his command [Torah] is not keeping, a
liar he is, and in him the truth is not; and whoever may keep his word [Torah],
truly in him the love of God hath been perfected; in this [Torah] we know that
in him we are.
One of his sod level
teaching is about “flesh and blood – His closest disciples however understood
that He meant His “flesh and blood” as being described in (John 6:60-69), “the
words of eternal life” — the Torah:
When Yeshua speaks of
“eating His flesh and His blood,” this is refering to the Torah, as He was/is
the “Torah in the flesh.” The manna eaten by the Children of Israel was a
physical representation of the Torah, which was what truly sustained them.
Thy words were
found, and I did eat them,
and thy words were unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called
by thy name, Adonai-Tzva’ot – Jeremiah 15 : 16
In Hebraic thinking, when
one accepts the teachings of Torah, it is said to “become a person’s flesh and
blood.” Therefore, to fully accept the teachings of Yeshua, is to
partake of His “flesh and blood” – which is the Torah.
He was wearing a robe that
had been soaked in blood, and the name by which he is called
is, “THE WORD OF Most High.” –
Revelation 19 : 13
When Yeshua is the Word
of Yahweh (The Voice of Yahweh Elohim)
what is He saying all 5793 times in the The Scriptures? Is that not Torah?
And came His Torah in your live/heart when you asked Yeshuah (that Yahweh saves
you) in your life?
When Yeshuah (the Yeshuah
from Yahweh) came in your life came than in fulfillment? .. My Torah in their
inward parts..
-Jer 31:31-33 “See,
the days are coming,” declares יהוה, “when I shall make
a new covenant with the house of Yisrael and with the
house of Yehudah, See Heb. 8:8-12, Heb.
10:16-17. 32 not like the covenant I made with their fathers in the day when I
took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Mitsrayim, My covenant
which they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares יהוה.
33 “For this is the covenant I shall make with the
house of Yisra’el (Ephraim the Ten
Tribes of the Northern Kindom) after those days, declares
יהוה:
I shall put My Torah in their inward parts, and write it on
their hearts. And
I shall be their Elohim, and they shall be My people.
This new covenant : ‘declares
יהוה:
I shall put My Torah in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts. And I shall be their Elohim, and
they shall be My people.‘
The Yeshuah (salvation) from Yahweh in your life!
Thus, had not the Holy
One, blessed be He, foreseen that after twenty-six generations1 Viz., 10 from
Adam to Noach, 10 from Noah to Abraham (Aboth V, 2), and then Isaac, Jacob,
Levi, Kohath, Amram and Moses, making twenty-six in all Israel would receive
the Torah, He would not have written therein, Command the children of Israel!2
Num 28:1 And יהוה spoke
to Mosheh, saying, Num 28:2 “Command the children of Yisra’ĕl (Yehudah
and Ephraim) (Gen Rabba 1:4)
Isa 63:9 In all their
distress He was distressed, and the
Messenger of His Presence saved them.
In His love and in His compassion He redeemed them, and He lifted them up and
carried them all the days of old.
And he showed me a river
of water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of Elohim and
of the Lamb. ‘the
presence of יהוה Elohim’….. Rev
22:1-2
‘the
Messenger of His Presence saved them‘
brought from His own blood in above Mishkan:
Heb 9:11-12 But Messiah,
having become a High Priest of the coming good matters, through the greater and
more perfect Tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, 12
entered into the Most Set-apart Place once for all, not with the blood of goats
and calves, but with His own blood, having obtained everlasting redemption.
Ephraim/Manasseh please:
‘obey the voice of יהוה your
Elohim, Messiah Ben Yoseph, to guard His commands and His laws which are
written in this Book of the Torah.
In the Targum the Memra
figures constantly as the manifestation of the divinepower or as G-d’s
messenger.
Instead of the Scriptural
“You have not believed in the Lord,” Targ. Deut. i. 32 has “You have not
believed in the word of the Lord”; instead of “I shall require it [vengeance]
from him,” Targ. Deut. xviii. 19 has “My word shall require it.” “The Memra,”
instead of “the Lord,” is “the consuming fire” (Targ. Deut. ix. 3; comp. Targ.
Isa. xxx. 27). The Memra “plagued the people” (Targ. Yer. to Ex. xxxii. 35).
“The Memra smote him” (II Sam. vi. 7; comp. Targ. I Kings xviii. 24; Hos. xiii.
14; et al.). Not “God,” but “the Memra,” is met with in Targ. Ex. xix. 17
(Targ. Yer. “the Shekinah”; comp. Targ. Ex. xxv. 22: “I will order My Memra to
be there”). “I will cover thee with My Memra,” instead of “My hand” (Targ. Ex.
xxxiii. 22). Instead of “My soul,” “My Memra shall reject you” (Targ. Lev.
xxvi. 30; comp. Isa. i. 14, xlii. 1; Jer. vi. 8; Ezek. xxiii. 18). “The voice
of the Memra,” instead of “God,” is heard (Gen. iii. 8; Deut. iv. 33, 36; v.
21; Isa. vi. 8; et al.). Where Moses says, “I stood between the Lord and you”
(Deut. v. 5), the Targum has, “between the Memra of the Lord and you”; and the
“sign between Me and you” becomes a “sign between My Memra and you” (Ex. xxxi.
13, 17; comp. Lev. xxvi. 46; Gen. ix. 12; xvii. 2, 7, 10; Ezek. xx. 12).
Instead of God, the Memra comes to Abimelek (Gen. xx. 3), and to Balaam (Num.
xxiii. 4). His Memra aids and accompanies Israel, performing wonders for them
(Targ. Num. xxiii. 21; Deut. i. 30, xxxiii. 3; Targ. Isa. lxiii. 14; Jer. xxxi.
1; Hos. ix. 10 [comp. xi. 3, “the messenger-angel”]). The Memra goes before
Cyrus (Isa. xlv. 12). The Lord swears by His Memra (Gen. xxi. 23, xxii. 16,
xxiv. 3; Ex. xxxii. 13; Num. xiv. 30; Isa. xlv. 23; Ezek. xx. 5; et al.). It is
His Memra that repents (Targ. Gen. vi. 6, viii. 21; I Sam. xv. 11, 35). Not His
“hand,” but His “Memra has laid the foundation of the earth” (Targ. Isa.
xlviii. 13); for His Memra’s or Name’s sake does He act (l.c. xlviii. 11; II
Kings xix. 34). Through the Memra God turns to His people (Targ. Lev. xxvi. 90;
II Kings xiii. 23), becomes the shield of Abraham (Gen. xv. 1), and is with
Moses (Ex. iii. 12; iv. 12, 15) and with Israel (Targ. Yer. to Num. x. 35, 36;
Isa. lxiii. 14). It is the Memra, not God Himself, against whom man offends
(Ex. xvi. 8; Num. xiv. 5; I Kings viii. 50; II Kings xix. 28; Isa. i. 2, 16;
xlv. 3, 20; Hos. v. 7, vi. 7; Targ. Yer. to Lev. v. 21, vi. 2; Deut. v. 11);
through His Memra Israel shall be justified (Targ. Isa. xlv. 25); with the
Memra Israel stands in communion (Targ. Josh. xxii. 24, 27); in the Memra man
puts his trust (Targ. Gen. xv. 6; Targ. Yer. to Ex. xiv. 31; Jer. xxxix. 18,
xlix. 11).
The Light of Repentance
Thou turnest man to
contrition, and sayest, Repent,
ye children of men (Ps. XC, 2f. ‘Before’ etc. applies to ‘repent’) – Psalm
90:3
David repented of
his sin and G-d forgave him(2 Samuel 12:13, Psalms 51:16-19)
First, recall the days of
Noah. Man had become so sinful that God, after first removing the righteous
(Torah-observant) people, such as Enoch and Methuselah, spared Noah and seven
others to repopulate the earth. However, before He did this, out of mercy, He
gave man 120 years to repent. (Genesis
6:1-8) They failed and the flood came. Note that Noah knew what animals were
unclean (Genesis 7:2), even though this was well before Moses received the
Torah which contained those instructions. Therefore, we know that G-d’s
revelation of the Torah, in some way, was given to man from the beginning.
G-d makes Abraham a
promise to inherit certain lands that are presently occupied by evil people.
However, God tells him that the time for their destruction has not yet arrived,
as they have not reached the fullness of their wickedness (Genesis 15:16). G-d,
out of mercy, gave those people another 400
years to
turn from sin back to Him — which they did not do.
Man has continually
strayed from God. Ignorance of God’s will, His Torah,
Finally, move forward to
the arrival of the Yeshua the Messiah. “For G-d so loved the world, that He
gave His only begotten Son …” (John 3:16)
G-d, in His mercy, hasn’t
destroyed the earth every other generation since Noah, or continually struck
individuals with lightning bolts — though some may have deserved it. Yeshua has
been involved here, acting as propitiation (an advocate or buffer) — not only
for believers, but also for the rest of the world. (1 John 2:2)
If a man said, “I will
sin and repent,
and sin again and repent”, he will be given no chance to repent. [If he said,]
“I will sin and the Day of Atonement will effect atonement”, then the Day of
Atonement effects no atonement.
For transgressions that are between man and God the Day of Atonement effects
atonement, but for transgressions that are between a man and his fellow the Day
of Atonement effects atonement only if he has appeased his fellow – Mishnah:
Yoma 8:9
So if you are offering
your gift at the Temple altar and you remember there that your
brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift where it is by the altar,
and go, make peace with your brother. Then come back and offer your gift –
Matthew 5:23-24
The Time has come,” he
said. “The kingdom of G-d has come near. Repent and
believe the good news!” – Mark 1 : 15
Therefore, repent and
turn to Most High, so that your sins may be erased; –
Acts 3 : 19
The Light of the
Throne of Glory and The Light of the Temple
The Temple, as it is
written: “A glorious throne exalted from the beginning is the place of our
sanctuary” (Jermeiah 17:12). (Pesachim 54a)
The Throne of Glory and
the Temple, for it is written, Thou throne of glory, on high from the
beginning, Thou place of our sanctuary (Jer. XVII, 12).
And opened was the sanctuary
of G-d in the heaven, and there was seen the ark of His covenant in His
sanctuary, and there did come lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an
earthquake, and great hail – Revelation
11 : 19
In the Midrashim[i] we
can find:
‘Thus G-d consulted the
Torah and created the world, while the Torah declares, ‘In the Beginning God
Created (1,1), Beginning’ referring to the Torah, as in the verse, The Lord
made me as the beginning of His way (Prov. VIII, 22). Here too the speaker is
the Torah. Thus the verse is translated: By means of the ‘beginning’, sc. The Torah
– God created, etc.’ (Gen Rabbah 1:1[ii])
‘And the light dwelleth
with Him (Dan. Loc. Cit.) refers to the deeds of the righteous, as is written,
Light is sown for the righteous Ps. XCVII, II). R. Abba of Serungayya3 A place
near Tiberias said: ‘And the light dwelleth with him’4 With a small h, in view
of his interpretation. Alludes to the royal Messiah. (Gen Rabbah 5:6)’
‘Six things preceded the
creation of the world; some of them were actually created, while the creation
of the others was already contemplated.2 And, generally speaking, contemplating
and decision are identical and simultaneous with God. The Torah and the
Throne of Glory were created. The Torah, for it is written, The Lord made
me as the beginning of His way, prior to His works of old (Prov. VIII, 22). 3
The speaker is the Torah personified, ‘works of old’ means the Creation.’ (Gen
Rabbah 1:4)
Midrash expounds on
Ekekiel’s
Midrash Rabbah –
Lamentations II:3 – The Holy One, blessed be He, never associates His name with
what is bad, but only with what is good. Hence it is not written here, ‘And
concerning these God said in my hearing,’ but, ’And concerning these He said in
my hearing: Go ye through the city after him, and smite; let not your eye
spare, neither have ye pity; slay utterly the old man, the young man and the
maiden, and little children and women; but come not near any man upon whom is
the mark; and begin at My sanctuary (ib. 5 f.). How can this be? At that time
the prosecution sprang before the Throne
of Glory and
spake before Him: ‘Lord of the universe, which of them was slain for Thy name?
Which of them had his head split open for Thy name? Which of them gave his life
for Thy name?’
Ezekiel 9:4-6 – And the
LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of
Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry
for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And to the others
he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not
your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids,
and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the
mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were
before the house.
“Wisdom (Hokmah) and
glory (Tifereth) in His sanctuary:
The interesting text
regarding an “Ascent” into the heavenlies comes from the book of Proverbs:
Proverbs 30:4 – Who went
up to heaven, and came down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has
bound waters in a garment? Who established all ends of the earth? What [is] His
name? and what His son’s name? Surely thou knowest!
Soncino Zohar, Shemoth,
Section 2, Page 79b – ‘R. Jose applied the verse, “Who hath ascended, etc.”,
first to Moses, then to the Holy One, and finally to the four elements, and I
saw that thou, Master, didst bless him!’ Said R. Simeon: ‘What he said was
perfectly true. All the applications signify one and the same thing, since
they all have their root and fulfilment in the Holy One, and they are all
practically equivalent.’
The “New Testament”
speaks of this one, who descended and ascended, as being Yeshua:
And no man hath ascended
up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is
in heaven – John 3:13
He that descended is the
same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things
– Ephesians 4:10
In Proverbs 30, “What is
His son’s name?”, is given as Tipheret in zohar writings, who represents the
“Son” of Chokmah-Wisdom (the Father) and Binah-Understanding (the Mother):
Soncino Zohar, Shemoth,
Section 2, Page 79b – R. Jesse was deeply impressed by these words and said:
‘Now I see that this is indeed so. And I have also heard it on another occasion
from the mouth of the Master. But what is the meaning of the words, “And what
is his son’s name?” ‘ R. Simeon replied: ‘The inner meaning of this I myself
have taught my son, R. Eleazar.’ ‘I pray thee, tell it to me, for I did ask
thee concerning it in a dream, but when I awoke I had forgotten thine answer.’
‘And now, when I tell thee, wilt thou remember it?’ ‘I surely will,’ replied R.
Jesse, ‘I always remember what my Mastor tells me.’ Said R. Simeon: ‘The words
must be understood in the light of the expression, “My first-born son Israel”
(Ex. IV, 22), and “Israel, in whom I am glorified” (Isa. XLIX, 3). “Israel”
here refers to the supernal world, and it is this which is called “son”.
Whereupon R. Jesse replied: ‘With all due respect to the Master, this is a
secret which I already know.’ But yet again he forgot it. He was much
perturbed. But when he went into his house and lay down to sleep, he saw in his
dream an haggadic book, wherein it was written: “Wisdom (Hokmah) and glory
(Tifereth) in His sanctuary.” When he awoke, he straightway went to R. Simeon,
kissed his hand, and said: ‘This night I saw in my dream an haggadic book
wherein were written the words: “Wisdom and glory in His sanctuary”, “Wisdom”
above, “Glory” below, and “in His sanctuary” at the side. This I saw in a
dream, and I found it on my lips when I awoke.’ Said R. Simeon to him: ‘Until
this time thou wast too young to join the company of the “reapers of the
field”, but now everything has been shown unto thee! Thus the meaning
is: Wisdom (Hokmah) is His Name and Glory (Tifereth) the name of His son.’
The Light of the Garden
of Eden
The Garden of Eden, as it
is written, And the Lord planted a garden in Eden from aforetime (Genesis
2: 8)
Those who have ears, let them
hear what the Spirit is saying to the Messianic communities. To him winning the
victory I will give the right to eat from the Tree of Life which is in G-d’s
Gan-‘Eden – Revelation 2:7
Yeshua said to him, “Yes!
I promise that you will be with me today in Gan-‘Eden.” –Luke
23:43
The Gehenna
The Gehenna, for it is
written, For Tophet [i.e., Gehenna] is ordered of old (Isa. XXX, 33).
For the Tofet (Gehenna)
fire pit has long been ready,prepared for the king, made large and deep,with
plenty of wood and blazing with fire;like a stream of sulfur, Adonai’s breath
sets it aflame – Isaiah 30:33
Do
not fear those who kill the body but are powerless to kill the soul. Rather,
fear him who can destroy both soul and body in Gei-Hinnom.- Matthew 10:28.
Bereshit – Secret in Bereshit
In the Beginning
|
בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ |
In
the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Gen 1:1) |
The gematria of the 1st and 2nd word is 999:
|
God
in the beginning |
בְּרֵאשִׁית אֱלֹהִים |
999 |
And 999 x 5 = 4995, which is the sum of all 22
Hebrew letters (including sofit) by which all things were created:
|
22
letters |
אבגדהוזחטיכלמנסעפצקרשת |
1495 |
|
5
letters with final forms |
ךםןףץ |
3500 |
|
|
4995 |
The gematria of the 2nd, 4th, and 5th word is also
999:
|
He
created the heaven |
בָּרָא אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם |
999 |
The gematria of the 3rd, 5th and 6th word is
888:
|
God
the heaven and “Alef Tav” |
אֱלֹהִים הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְאֵת |
888 |
The gematria of the 3rd, 5th and 7th word is
777:
|
God,
the heaven the earth |
אֱלֹהִים הַשָּׁמַיִם הָאָרֶץ |
777 |
The gematria of the first 5 words is 1998:
|
In
the beginning God created the heaven |
בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם |
1998 |
1998 = 2 x 999 = 3 x 666
Mashiach The Word
The secret is revealed in John 1:1 with Hebrew
rendering as follows:
|
In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. |
|
בְּרֵאשִׁית הָיָה הַדָּבָר וְהַדָּבָר הָיָה עִם-אֵל וְהַדָּבָר הָיָה אֵל |
Word דָּבָר
in gematria is 206, which is the same gematria of “His essence” עַצְמוֹ, as the Word spoken expresses the essence of the
Speaker.
The “atbash” of the first three words in gematria
is 1459, as follows:
|
In
the beginning was the Word |
בְּרֵאשִׁית הָיָה הַדָּבָר |
|
|
“atbash” |
שגתבמ*א צמ”ץ צקש”ג |
1459 |
1459 is exactly the gematria of the all 22 Hebrew
letters, as follows:
|
22
letters |
אבגדהוזחטיכלמנסעפצקרשת |
1495 |
This comes to reveal that the 22 Hebrew letters are
the building blocks of the creation, which can be condensed into the first and
final letters known as Et אֵת.
|
He
created the heaven with “Et” |
בָּרָא אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם |
999 |
The gematria of the last seven words is 646:
|
…and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God |
וְהַדָּבָר הָיָה עִם-אֵל וְהַדָּבָר הָיָה אֵל |
646 |
646 is the gematria of Elohim אֱלֹהִים, if 600 (instead of 40) is counted for the final
Mem.
The name El אֵל denotes loving kindness on the right side, and the
name Elohim אֱלֹהִים denotes severity on the left side.
The gematria of the entire verse is 1790, which is
5 times the gematria of Mashiach, also the same gematria of Mashiach spelled
out progressively and regressively, as follows:
|
Mashiach |
מָּשִׁיחַ |
358 |
|
Spelled
progressively and regressively |
מ מש משי משיח משיח שיח יח ח |
1790 |
The difference of the first verse in
Torah and the first verse in John is 911, which is exactly the gematria of
Reshit רֵאשִׁית, the beginning:
2701 – 1790 = 911
911 is the same gematria of
“beginning of wisdom” תְּחִלַּת חָכְמָה.
Reshit רֵאשִׁית can be understood at four levels, i.e. Mashiach,
Torah, wisdom, and Israel, by which creation was made. The four are one, their
ordinal number is 206, the gematria of the Word דָּבָר,
and their gematria is 1853, as follows:
|
|
|
Gematria |
Ordinal
number |
|
Mashiach |
מָּשִׁיחַ |
358 |
52 |
|
Torah |
תּוֹרָה |
611 |
53 |
|
Wisdom |
חָכְמָה |
73 |
37 |
|
Israel |
יִשְׂרָאֵל |
541 |
64 |
|
|
1853 |
206 |
1853 is the gematria of:
|
אֲנִי-אָמַרְתִּי, אֱלֹהִים אַתֶּם וּבְנֵי עֶלְיוֹן כֻּלְּכֶם |
I
have said, you are God, and all of you are children of the Most High (Psalm 82:6) |
As it is written:
|
He
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (Colossians
1:15) |
“Image of the invisible God” in Hebrew isצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים
הַנֶּעְלָם , which in gematria is 441, the
gematria of “truth” אֱמֶת,
which is the final letters of the first three words of the first verse of
Torah:
|
בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים |
In
the beginning God created Heaven… |
And “Mashiach the first born of all creation” in
gematria is exactly the same gematria of the first word “Bereshit” in Torah:
|
In
the beginning |
בְּרֵאשִׁית |
913 |
|
Mashiach
the firstborn of all creation |
מָּשִׁיחַ בְּכֹר לְכָל נִבְרָא |
913 |
The remaining six words of the first verse in Torah
in ordinal number is exactly 222, the gematria of “firstborn” בְּכֹר, as follows:
|
הָאָרֶץ |
וְאֵת |
הַשָּׁמַיִם |
אֵת |
אֱלֹהִים |
בָּרָא |
|
|
44 |
29 |
62 |
23 |
41 |
23 |
222 |
|
The
earth |
<> |
The heaven |
<> |
God |
created |
According to Zohar, the first three
letters of Torah can be understood hyperliterally as “With Reshit___ created
Elohim” בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא
אֱלֹהִים. This means the subject is unnamed,
and the object is Elohim which has the same gematria of “The nature” הַטֶבַע,
as the true source of creation is beyond human comprehension therefore He is
unnameable.
The Triple Numbers
As relating to God (YHVH)
|
My
Lord My God (Psalm 38:16) |
אֲדֹנָי אֱלֹהָי |
111 |
|
God
from above (Job 3:4) |
אֱלוֹהַּ מִמָּעַל |
222 |
|
Our
God (in atbash) אֱלֹהֵינוּ |
אלף למד הה יוד נון וו |
333 |
|
You
are YHVH (Jeremiah 14:22) |
אַתָּה-הוּא יְהוָה |
444 |
|
To
YHVH of hosts (Isaiah 2:12) |
לַיהוָה צְבָאוֹת |
555 |
|
God
of death and God of life |
אֱלֹהֵי הַמֵּתִים וֵאלֹהֵי הָחַיִּים |
666 |
|
You
are YHVH our father, our redeemer from everlasting (Isaiah 23:16) |
אַתָּה יְהוָה אָבִינוּ גֹּאֲלֵנוּ מֵעוֹלָם |
777 |
|
For
I YHVH change not (Mal 3:6) |
אֲנִי יְהוָה, לֹא שָׁנִיתִי |
888 |
|
God
Almighty אֵל שַׁדָּי (spelled
out) |
אלף למד שין דלת יוד |
999 |
|
YHVH
God is the salvation of our God |
יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים יְשׁוּעַת אֱלֹהֵינוּ |
1000 |
As relating to the Mashiach the Son (the Singular יְחִידָה):
|
Wonderful (Isaiah 9:6) |
פֶלֶא |
111 |
|
First-born |
בְּכֹר |
222 |
|
Son
of God, God part of YHVH |
בֵּן אֱלֹהִים אֵל חֵלֶק יְהוָה |
333 |
|
Mashiach
of God |
מָּשִׁיחַ אֱלֹהִים |
444 |
|
Mashiach
is God with us |
מָּשִׁיחַ עִמָּנוּ אֵל |
555 |
|
Chief
cornerstone (Psalm 118:22) |
לְרֹאשׁ פִּנָּה |
666 |
|
YHVH
in Yeshua the Mashiach |
יְהוָה בְּיֵשׁוּע הַמָּשִׁיחַ |
777 |
|
…as
a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before her
shearers…(Isaiah 53:7) |
כַּשֶּׂה לַטֶּבַח יוּבָל, וּכְרָחֵל לִפְנֵי גֹזְזֶיהָ |
888 |
|
The
Mashiach, the King of Israel |
הַמָּשִׁיחַ הַמֶּלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל |
999 |
|
Mashiach
ben Yosef, Mashiach ben David |
מָּשִׁיחַ בֵּן יוֹסֵף מָּשִׁיחַ בֵּן דָּוִיד |
1000 |
As relating to Israel the Son (the living חַיָּה):
|
Sons
of the living God (Hosea 2:1) |
בְּנֵי אֵל-חָי |
111 |
|
From
Jacob (Num 24:17) |
מִיַּעֲקֹב |
222 |
|
Like
a lost sheep (Psalm 119:176) |
כְּשֶׂה אֹבֵד |
333 |
|
Jacob
a people unto YHVH your God |
יַעֲקֹב לְעָם, לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ |
444 |
|
Hand
of Israel (Judges 3:30) |
יַד יִשְׂרָאֵל |
555 |
|
From
the priests of Israel |
מַכֹּהֲנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל |
666 |
|
And
Israel mine elect (Isaiah 45:4) |
וְיִשְׂרָאֵל בְּחִירִי |
777 |
|
Backsliding
Israel (Jeremiah 3:8) |
מְשֻׁבָה יִשְׂרָאֵל |
888 |
|
Behold
the salvation in Israel |
הִנֵּה הַיְשׁוּעָה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל |
999 |
|
And
Israel trusted in Mashiach his son |
וַיִּבְטְחוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּמְשִׁיחַ נְבוֹ |
1000 |
The unification in gematria is exactly the same of
Elohim אֱלֹהִים which is 86, as follows:
|
YHVH
(father) |
YHVH |
יְהוָה |
26 |
|
Mashiach
(son) |
Yechidah (singular) |
יְחִידָה |
37 |
|
Israel
(bride) |
Chayah (living) |
חַיָּה |
23 |
|
|
86 |
Israel and Nations
It is without a shadow of a doubt
that Israel יִשְׂרָאֵל is the chosen people.
The suffix of Israel is El אֵל, which is the suffix for the name of angels, such
as Michael מִיכָאֵל, Gabriel גַּבְרִיאֵל, etc., hence Israel means the “Upright of God”.
Israel is also called Jeshurun יְשֻׁרוּן, the first three letters are the same as Israel,
but the suffix is Vav Nun, which is also the suffix for the name of angels,
such as Metatron מֵטַטְרוֹן, or Sandalphon סָנְדַלְפוֹן, etc.
When Israel and Jeshurun are unified in Mashiach,
the result is Israel reborn, as follows:
|
Israel |
יִשְׂרָאֵל |
541 |
|
Jeshurun |
יְשֻׁרוּן |
566 |
|
Mashiach
ben David |
מָּשִׁיחַ בֶּן דָּוִיד |
434 |
|
|
1541 |
1541 is the gematria of Israel יִשְׂרָאֵל when Alef is counted as both 1 and 1000.
How do the people of the nations become part of
Israel?
|
And
if you are of Mashiach, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to
the promise. (Gal 3:29) |
“Abraham’s seed” זֶרַע
אַבְרָהָם in gematria is 525, which is the
secret of calling the nations to the promise to Israel, as it is written:
|
וְזַרְעוֹ, יִהְיֶה מְלֹא-הַגּוֹיִם |
and
his seed shall become the fullness of the nations (Gen 48:19) |
The secret of Israel and nations is
concealed in the Hebrew word “Achen” אָכֵן,
which means “indeed”. The Alef denotes the one nation
which is Israel, and Kaf Nun in gematria is 70, hinting to the 70 nations.
If we add “indeed” to the promise above, the
gematria is exactly 525, the gematria of “Seed of Abraham” זֶרַע אַבְרָהָם:
|
אָכֵן וְזַרְעוֹ, יִהְיֶה מְלֹא-הַגּוֹיִם |
and
his seed shall “indeed” become the fullness of nations (Gen 48:19) |
Mashiach is the door, and the
gematria of “the righteous from the nations” הַצַּדִּיקִים מִגּוֹיִם
is 358, which is the exact gematria of Mashiach מָּשִׁיחַ.
The mirror image of 358 is 853, which
is exactly the gematria of “Nations in his salvation” גּוֹיִם בִּישׁוּעָתוֹ.
853 is also the gematria of “And he
believed in Yeshua Mashiach” וְהֶאֱמִן
בִּישׁוּעַ הַמָּשִׁיחַ.
The gematria of “and they shall
become Israel”וְהָיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל is 568, which is the exact same gematria of “Chosen by Mashiach” בָּחַר
מָּשִׁיחַ.
“Chosen by YHVH” בָּחַר
יְהוָה in gematria is 236, which is the
same gematria of “His
chosen ones” בְּחִירָיו, which is also the gematria of the
two signs of his chosen people:
|
Circumcision |
מִילָה |
85 |
|
Baptism |
מִקְוָה |
151 |
|
|
236 |
236 is the same gematria of God of Jews and God of
Nations, which is one, for there is one God:
|
God
of the Jews |
אֱלֹהֵי הַיְּהוּדִים |
126 |
|
God
of the Nations |
אֱלֹהֵי הַגּוֹיִם |
110 |
|
|
236 |
The Heirs
As it is written:
|
and
if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Mashiach, if indeed
we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. (Rom 8:17) |
Israel יִשְׂרָאֵל can be permuted to spell יָרַשׁ אֵל,
meaning: to inherit God, i.e. heir of God in singular.
“The heirs” in plural is הַיׂרְשִׁים, which can be rearranged as follows, and with the
addition of El, the first part becomes Israel, and the second part becomes Elohim:
|
The
heirs |
הַיׂרְשִׁים |
|
|
Split
in half |
הים |
ישר |
|
With
the addition of El |
אֱלֹהִים |
יִשְׂרָאֵל |
|
|
Elohim |
Israel |
The secret of inheritance is revealed as follows:
|
that
the Nations should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise
in Mashiach through the gospel (Eph 3:6) |
“Nations as inheritance” גּוֹיִם לְנַחֲלָה
in Hebrew in gematria is 182, the same gematria of Jacob יַעֲקֹב. In the same way that Jacob must be elevated to
become Israel, so do the Nations as inheritance.
“That the Nations should be fellow heirs” in Hebrew
would be שֶׁיִּהְיוּ הַגּוֹיִם גַם-הֵם הַיׂרְשִׁים,
which in gematria is 1048, which is the same gematria of “and the Nations shall be of House of
Israel” וְגוֹיִם לְבֵית
יִשְׂרָאֵל.
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