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Topic: Bereishit

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	Midreshet Lindenbaum (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		Bereishit covers the history of mankind from its inception to the crystallization of the Jewish people with the reunification of the twelve sons of Yakov in Mitzraim.
		Bereishit justifies this distinction by recounting the events that merited the preference of one brother over another- Hevel over Kayin, Noach over his generation, Shem over Yafet and Cham, Avraham over Nachor and Haran, Yitzchak over Yishmael, and Ya'akov over Eisav[1].
		The chiastic structure of characters presented in the Kayin-Hevel story (Kayin-Hevel/Hevel-Kayin II Kayin-Hevel/Hevel-Kayin) emphasize Kayin's seniority in birth and prerogative in bringing an annual sacrifice, yet preference for Hevel in the areas of choice of profession and acceptance of his sacrifice (the latter a consequence of the former).
	www.lind.org.il /features/land.htm (2018 words)

	Parshat Toldot 5764 - OU Torah Insights Project
		Here, then, are the facts: Avraham left Charan for the land of Canaan at the age of 75 (Bereishit 12:4) and he was 100 years of age at the time of Yitzchak’s birth (21:5).
		Bereishit Rabbah 56:11 has two versions regarding the age of Yitzchak at the time of the Akeidah.
		Based on Bereishit 16:3, and as explained in Yevamot 64a, a man who has not had a child with his wife for 10 years — as in the case of Avraham — may take a second wife.
	www.ou.org /torah/ti/5764/toldot64.htm (1277 words)

	High Council of B'nei Noah : Science and Religion (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		Bereishit is a grammatically unusual choice to begin the Torah.
		In the first verse of Bereishit the word ברא (bara) "he created" (which is a verb-past tense third person singular) follows Bereishit.
		This paper was meant to examine one part—the age of the earth according to Science and Bereishit.
	highcouncilofbneinoach.org /resources/Articles/Science_and_Religion.aspx (2220 words)

	Bereishit 5760 - Nishmat
		According to Bereishit Rabbah[2], woman added it herself, while according to Avot d'Rabi Natan[3], man added it when he conveyed G-d's warning to his wife.
		The absence of zilzul between spouses, the recognition of the equal intelligence of man and woman, is a step towards fulfilling G-d's intention that the one strengthen the other in observance of His Word.
		Bereishit Rabbah itself brings this explanation, and see Matnot Kehunah, ad loc.
	www.nishmat.net /article.php?id=11&heading=1 (473 words)

	parshablog: parshat Bereishit: Adam and Eve as Metaphor : thoughts on the weekly parsha (torah portion)
		I dislike the notion of coming to the conclusion that the beginning of Bereishit is metaphor purely on the basis of its clash with modern science's Creation Myth.
		This is especially true if the science is wrong, but there have of course been attempts to explain the text on the basis of contemporary science.
		(Think Tohu vaVohu in parshat Bereishit, of which modern scholars claim the same thing.) The order of these two phrases is unimportant and was not chosen to convey any type of chronological precedence of one over the other.
	parsha.blogspot.com /2005/10/parshat-bereishit-adam-and-eve-as_27.html (4025 words)

	Revelation and Concealment
		The wisdom is also necessarily connected to the rosh at the root of Bereishit, but in terms of function and not chronology.
		Our egocentric perspective begins with Bereishit; any inquiry beyond that point will be subjective and will almost certainly be blasphemous.
		To venture to the other side of Bereishit is to enter a realm of waters uncharted, a place and time unknown, a place with no space and a time with no clock.
	www.aish.com /torahportion/moray/Revelation_and_Concealment.asp (2783 words)

	The Tower of Babel - Print Version - Darche Noam Institutions
		The Torah, when it speaks about the Tower of Babel and the ensuing dispersal of the nations of the world, emphasizes, not so much the evil of what they did, but what they were liable to do.
		The Midrash (Bereishit Rabba 84:2, quoted by Rashi) comments: "R. Acha says: When the righteous dwell in tranquility in this world, the Satan comes and accuses, 'Is it not enough that the World to Come is ready for them; they also want to live tranquilly in this world?.
		Yaakov our father wanted to dwell in tranquility in this world, and he was met with the "Satan" of the Yosef episode."Even the righteous (especially the righteous) should not expect tranquility and peace of mind in this world, but should focus on action and work.
	www.darchenoam.org /articles/web/parsha/ar_noach_babel_pf.htm (1086 words)

	Va-Ychi
		Bereishit’s earlier parshiot recount the events which lead to the creation of a special group of people meant to maintain a close relationship with Hashem.
		Sefer Bereishit follows the relationship between Hashem and humanity from its universal beginnings to its focus on a small group, and then through the process of the selection of great individuals (“Avot”) to found and lead that group.
		Since the theme of Sefer Bereishit is the selection of founders for the nation, and since this process of selection seems to have reached completion, the Sefer is complete.
	www.yu.edu /faculty/emayer/parsha_shiurim/13vayhi.html (3589 words)

	Parshas Bo
		The parsha closes with a few laws concerning who is allowed to eat from the korban sacrifice, followed by a collection of laws whose common denominator is that they are designed to serve as remembrances of the Exodus.
		The first Rashi in the torah on the words Bereishit barah Elokim asks the question of why the Torah didn't start here in Parshat Bo with the perek of rosh chodesh ("hachodesh hazeh lachem rosh chodashim").
		After all, this is the first mitzvah in the Torah that the Jews receive, and since the Torah is a code of laws and not a bunch of stories, the Torah should really begin here rather than tell the whole story of bereishit and the lives of the Avot.
	dolphin.upenn.edu /~dbh/parshas/bo/96 (1827 words)

	62bre_new
		This regret results from the evil (ra) of man's thoughts, heart and actions: "And God SAW that the wickedness (ra'at) of man was great in the earth, and that all the impulse of the thoughts of his heart was only evil (ra) continually" (6:5).
		Consequently, the remainder of Parashat Bereishit, the first eleven chapters of the Torah, from Adam until Abraham, and perhaps all of history ever since, must be read in light of the challenge presented in Chapter One.
		By the end of Parashat Bereishit, the Torah states that God saw "that the wickedness (ra'at) of man was great in the earth, and that all the impulse of the thoughts of his heart was only evil (ra) continually" (6:5).
	www.vbm-torah.org /parsha.62/01bereish.htm (3815 words)

	Torah puzzle : Data (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		The text of "Bereishit" (the Book of Genesis) as a table of letters is available from my site (see below).
		namely, "War and Peace", the Book of Isaiah, and artifical texts obtained from Bereishit by random permutations, as well as Bereishit itself, are available from the ftp-archive by Yoav Rosenberg in a less readable format.
		Bereishit (a table of letters): an ascii file, 120 kilobytes long; if you really need it, take it here.
	www.math.tau.ac.il /~tsirel/tpdata.html (197 words)

	INTPARSHA62 -01: Parashat Bereishit
		Thus, "the first child she called by the name of 'acquisition' and the second 'futility,' because a man's possessions perish and disappear." (commentary of the Ramban, 13th century, Spain, to Bereishit 4:1).
		No wonder men like Kayin can be so consumed by their desire for more that they lose sight of the ultimate value of human life, sometimes treating it as another commodity to be peddled in the marketplace.
		The use of the present tense indicates that "all the days of his life were occupied with building that city, for his endeavors were cursed.
	www.hebroots.org /hebrootsarchive/0110/0110f.html (3009 words)

	yk61ek
		The man who struggles with Ya'akov all night - identified by Chazal (Bereishit Rabba 77:3) with Esav's guardian angel - begs, "Send me away," just as the scapegoat is "sent away." Subsequently, Esav himself physically heads back to the wilderness, departing for Mount Se'ir "away from his brother Ya'akov" (Bereishit 36:6).
		In Bereishit, the contrast between Ohel Mo'ed and "the open field" is exemplified by Ya'akov, the "dweller of tents," and Esav, the "man of the field" (Bereishit 25:27).
		The blessing of Ya'akov comes naturally to one whose smell is "like the smell of the field which the Lord has blessed" (Bereishit 27:27).
	www.vbm-torah.org /roshandyk/yk61ek.htm (1600 words)

	Darka Shel Torah: PARSHAT BEREISHIT
		We begin the book of Bereishit, and we could hope that, at least in the beginning, things would run smoothly.
		But no: In Parashat Bereishit, we meet one disaster after another - the snake, the murder of Abel, the complaint of Lemech; from the very first day of the world's existence, God's plan of a perfect creation goes awry.
		The answer is no. Harsh though these verses may be, a verse appears at the very end which turns everything around: "But Noach found grace in the eyes of the Lord".
	www.kahane.org /parsha/1.html (1377 words)

	Family Parsha Bereishit 5765
		Parshat V'Zot HaBracha will be read on Simchat Torah, which is on Friday, October 8 outside of Israel, and Thursday, October 7 in Israel.
		Parshat Bereishit will be read on Shabbat (Saturday), October 9.
		When we think about the beginning of the world when everything was first created, it was so long ago that it can be hard to relate to.
	www.aish.com /torahportion/family/Family_Parsha_Bereishit_5765.asp (1539 words)

	Hamaayan / The Torah Spring - Bereishit - Torah.org
		Most importantly, the Torah tells us (Bereishit 18:19), Avraham laid the groundwork for his descendants to serve Hashem.
		Our Sages teach that the city's present name is a combination of the name "Shalem" given by Malki-Tzeddek, and the name "Hashem Yireh" given by Avraham (Bereishit 22:14).
		The Gemara teaches that when the Torah refers to the descendants of the Patriarchs, it does not refer to all of their biological offspring but only to their righteous offspring.
	www.torahmail.com /learning/hamaayan/5763/lechlecha.html (1405 words)

	Bereishit 5761 - Nishmat
		I will provide him suitable help."...The man named all the animals, birds of the sky, and beasts of the field, but [G-d] didn't find suitable help for the man. HaShem, G-d, cast a trance on the man and he slept, and He took one of his ribs and closed flesh under it.
		HaShem, G-d, built the rib that He took from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man. (Bereishit 2:15-18, 20-22)
		The biological female was created in chapter one- "He created them male and female" (Bereishit 1:27).
	www.nishmat.net /article.php?id=12&heading=1 (581 words)

	Hidden in the Beginning
		The opening word "bereishit" is not preceded by the phrase "And G-d said".
		Nevertheless, [while the six days of Creation are still contained within the word "bereishit"] the verse does not mention who created them, because this refers to the concealed Higher World.
		This concealed Higher World remains hidden from the created beings of the lower worlds (Or HaChama) and therefore, "bereishit", is not preceded by "And G-d said".
	www.kabbalaonline.org /WeeklyTorah/Zohar/Hidden_in_the_Beginning.asp (770 words)

	Hamaayan / The Torah Spring - Bersishis - Torah.org (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		This is why their book, the Book of Bereishit, is known as Sefer Hayashar.
		We read, for example (Bereishit 2:2), "On the seventh day, G-d completed His work which He had done, and He abstained on the seventh day from all His work which He had done." This implies that something was created on the seventh day itself.
		Rabbi Eliezer bar Chanina said in the name of Rav Acha: For 26 generations [from Adam to Moshe] the letter aleph complained before Hashem's throne.
	www.torah.org /learning/hamaayan/5762/bereishis.html (1854 words)

	Naphtali ben Yaacov Avinu (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		He went as a messenger anywhere the Tribes wished, and he would carry out their missions immediately (Midrash HaGadol, Bereishit 49:21).
		When Judah became angry [during the encounter with Joseph described in the portion of Vayigash], he told Naftali, "Go see how many markets there are in Egypt." Naphtali leaped forward, returned, and told him, "Twelve"...
		He brought the news Joseph is still alive (Genesis 45:26); and he hastened to Egypt and brought the deed of title for the Cave of Machpelah to prove that Esau had no share in it (Targum Yonatan, Bereishit 49:21).
	judaicaplus.com /Tzadikim/naftali.htm (221 words)

	The Torah-Reading Anthology: Bereishit 5766
		Although there appear to be only nine utterances, the Sages conclude that the word "bereishit" (meaning "in the beginning") is also an utterance, even though it is not preceded explicitly by the words "and G-d said..." The Zohar explains this idea more fully, teaching that this hints at the hidden origins of Creation.
		In fact, the word "bereishit" can be read to mean "[He] created six", referring to the six days of Creation.
		This means that, originally, all aspects of the created world were included within one concealed and all-inclusive entity.
	www.kabbalaonline.org /Holydays/shabbat/The_Torah-Reading_Anthology_Bereishit_5766.asp (844 words)

	Dvar Bereishit
		Since all AOL members had to be unsubscribed, feel free to pass this on especially to AOL users, so they don't feel left out (they can re-subscribe anytime now).
		In the beginning, starts the Torah in Bereishit, G-d created the heaven, earth, and everything in between, all by Himself.
		Then, when it came time to create man, G-d asked his council about it, as it says "Let US make man in our image, after our likeness" (1:26).
	www.weeklydvar.com /genesis/bereishit.html (383 words)

	Jacobson, Yossi \| Chabad.org > Authors
		Chabad.org » Parshah » Parshah Archive » Bereishit - Genesis » Vayechi » Parshah Columnists » Parshah Insights » Spirituality vs. Leadership
		Chabad.org » Parshah » Parshah Archive » Bereishit - Genesis » Mikeitz » Parshah Columnists » Parshah Insights » Joseph's Wisdom
		He would remain alone after the event, just as he was alone before it.
	www.mychabad.org /search/keyword.asp?kid=198 (665 words)

	Targum Press - Excerpt from A Bridge to Heaven
		Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, “By this I will ascertain whether you are truthful people: One of your brothers leave with me...and bring your youngest brother to me...” Their father, Yaakov, said to them, “I am the one whom you bereaved!
		Consequently, he developed a scheme to pull Binyamin away from his father, in which case Yaakov alone would unite with the attribute of Yesod, a process which would lead Yaakov to rediscover Yosef, the original embodiment of the attribute of Yesod.
		The tzaddik is also identified with the attribute of compassion, for his role — through his prayers — consists of triggering the heavenly flow of abundance upon mankind.
	www.targum.com /excerpts/bridge.html (1016 words)

	KBY.org: Torat Yavneh
		Noach, who kept to himself and didn’t care for his generation, deserved to be destroyed along with his generation, as it says: "But Noach found grace (chen) in the eyes of Hashem." (Bereishit 6:8) Chen indicates "chinam" (gratis) – he was saved due to G-d's grace, but did not really deserve to survive the flood.
		(See Bereishit Rabbah 29 and Sforno.) Therefore, at first he was called "a righteous man," but because he cared only for himself he was later lowered to be called "man of the earth."
		He has special Divine assistance that allows him to reach new understandings in the Torah, more than the person who keeps to himself and is not concerned about the nation as a whole.
	www.kby.org /torah/article.cfm?articleid=2320 (594 words)

	Vedibarta Bam — And You Shall Speak of Them: Bereishit
		Hillel wanted to show this proselyte, at the very beginning of his journey to Judaism, that the basis of the entire Torah is to avoid selfishness and to care about others.
		Hashem inspired them all to produce the exact same translation, known among non-Jews to this day as the Septuagint, from the Greek word meaning "seventy." All 72 sages made certain identical changes from the literal meaning of the Torah in several places to forestall possible misunderstandings by non-Jews seeking to confirm their own mistaken beliefs.
		It answers, since the beginning of Hashem's words (Bereishit bara Elokim) emphasize the concept of truth, therefore, the Torah starts with beit, as it is the beginning of the sequence of groups of letters adding up to 9.
	www.sichosinenglish.org /books/vedibarta-bam/01.htm (5775 words)

	The beginning of the Torah, the beginning of Life - Avi Eisen (11/05)
		I would like to look at one of my favorite commentators on Parashat Bereishit: Stephen Schwartz, composer and lyricist of the musical Children of Eden.
		In the musical, he relates Parashat Bereishit to a more family-like relationship; God is called "Father" and Adam and Hava are his "children." When Adam and Hava eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, God is angry with them and tells Hava to leave the Garden.
		And you are a child no more." (Children of Eden, Papermill Playhouse Production, Disc 1 Track 10 (Childhood’s End) (In the show, Adam eats the fruit when he chooses to be with Hava over his "father." In Bereishit, Adam eats the fruit before God throws them out of the garden).
	www.koach.org /kocnov05a-eisen.htm (651 words)

	Vedibarta Bam — And You Shall Speak of Them: Shabbat Bereishit
		He prepares and educates them about the great hidden light by giving a foretaste on Chanukah of that illumination which they will merit to enjoy speedily in the days of Mashiach.
		It is interesting to note that according to the above that in the beginning of Bereishit there is an allusion to Chanukah, it is particularly appropriate to read Parshat Bereishit at the conclusion of the Sukkot-Shemini Atzeret festival, and the first Shabbat afterwards, since Chanukah is the next festival after Sukkot.
		In fact it has a connection to Sukkot, and in the Torah portion concerning the festivals, Chanukah is alluded to immediately after Sukkot.
	www.sichosinenglish.org /books/vedibarta-bam/130.htm (2209 words)

	Spark of the Week 5756-6: Binyamin: A Definition of Youth
		Still, according to both these views, Yosef's age of seventeen is a problem.
		It is perhaps interesting to note that Binyamin is always referred to as "the
		Yosef, on the other hand, in Bereishit 37:2 is called a
	www.nishma.org /articles/insight/spark5756-6.html (867 words)

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