12
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Was Avrohom really born in 1948?
For example, the posuk (5:32) says that Noach begot Sheim (Chom and Yefes) when he was 500 so I added 500 on to 1056 and got 1556.
But it doesn't say what order they were born in. Rashi later on (10:...
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12
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What was the serpent’s plan?
The מהר"ל (גור אריה ג-טו) asks your question and he suggests that the snake thought that Chava, as a good wife, would offer the fruit to her husband first. The serpent expected him to die ...
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10
votes
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When was water created?
Pirkê D'Rabbi Eliezer (ch. 3) states that water was created on the first day:
שמונה דברים נבראו ביום ראשון, ואלו הן: .... ורוח ומים, שנאמר ורוח אלהים מרחפת על פני המים
Trans.:
Eight things were ...
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Where was Adam when Chava cheated with the snake?
Bereishis Rabbah 19:3:
וְהֵיכָן הָיָה אָדָם בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה, אַבָּא בַּר קוֹרְיָיה אָמַר נִתְעַסֵּק בְּדֶרֶךְ אֶרֶץ וְיָשַׁן לוֹ. רַבָּנָן אַמְרֵי נְטָלוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא וְהֶחֱזִירוֹ ...
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10
votes
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"Amar Rabbi Yitzchak" - Who is Rabbi Yitzchak?
Lots of acharonim theorized about this, but it turns out that this is essentially a Midrash Tanchuma (Buber edition Parshat Bereishit #11):
אמר ר' יצחק לא היה צריך לכתוב את התורה אלא מהחדש הזה לכם ...
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10
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Do any commentators say that Adam was not literally the first human being?
R Israel Lipschitz, the Tiferet Yisrael, author of a classic commentary on the Mishna, wrote in 1842 in his essay Ohr HaChayim, that there were other men before Adam
The Kabbalah teaches that in ...
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9
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When did G-d create darkness?
The Ohr hachaim on the beginning of bereshit quotes the Talmud Chagigah 12a. There it lists 10 things were created in the first day, and one of them is Choshech.
ואמר רב יהודה אמר רב עשרה דברים נבראו ...
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9
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What does Judaism teach about Eve's addition to divine commandment that she not touch the fruit?
The biblical commentator Rashi references the talmud when he writes:
and you shall not touch it: She added to the command; therefore, she came to diminish it. That is what is stated (Prov. 30:6): “...
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Shadal Gen.2,24.1
In short, he is suggesting that these words were written as an editorial comment by Moshe, as opposed to something that Adam said at the time. Here's a rough translation:
Therefore a man... "Al Ken"...
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How was Eve "flesh of my flesh"?
It wasn't necessarily a rib. The Talmud (Berachos 61a) presents two opinions: one is that Eve was created as a fully-formed human, with she and Adam attached back-to-back, and then G-d separated them; ...
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8
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How do we explain genaelogy differences between Genesis 4 and 5?
Rav Hirsch goes over the names and discusses the meaning of the names and the significance for the basic traits of the generation that name is used for. He points out (4:18-22 and 5:11-27). For ...
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8
votes
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Apple as Forbidden Fruit?
This article suggests a bunch of explanations for where the misconception came from. The suggestions are:
Latin confusion: the Latin translation of the word "evil" (in Tree of Knowledge of good and ...
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8
votes
Why was Adam Embarrassed
The OP asks, why did Adam hide in fear because of his nakedness even though he had already made clothing (the fig leaves) for themselves? Note that Rav Hirsch and Art Scroll translate this as aprons, ...
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8
votes
How could Kayin have married his sister, if it was prohibited?
Yerushalmi Yevamos 11:1 (quoted by Rashi to Vayikra 20:17):
"אמר רבי אבין, שלא תאמר קין נשא את אחותו, הבל נשא את אחותו, חסד הוא, חסד עשיתי עם הראשונים שייבנה העולם מהן, כי אמרתי עולם חסד יבנה&...
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8
votes
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Men's Earth vs. Women's Bone
The Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 17:8) makes a similar point, but regarding being appeased, rather than when they’re still in conflict.
מִפְּנֵי מָה הָאִישׁ נוֹחַ לְהִתְפַּתּוֹת וְאֵין הָאִשָּׁה ...
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8
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Hashem's will is not "nihilo", so why is it "creatio ex nihilo"?
Creation "ex nihilo" is a [mis] translation of the Jewish idea of "ברא יש מאין" where אין here does not mean "nothing, it just means "לית ביה תפיסא" - we don't have ...
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How can constant creation of new stars explained theologically?
They are not created, they are formed by means of the natural laws from preexisting matter. This has nothing to do with yesh mai-ayin (creation from nothing) which occurred at the very beginning.
...
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7
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Why did Chava give Adam the fruit to eat?
In a comment to the OP's question Fred cites the well-known Rashi (see above). The Bartenura on the Torah expands on this Rashi (text borrowed from Sefaria.org, produced here in full):
ותתן גם ...
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7
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Source Midrash - why the first letter of the Tenach is a Bet
Yerushalmi Chagigah 2:1,
דבר אחר ולמה בבי"ת שהוא בלשון ברכה ולא באל"ף שהוא לשון ארירה אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא איני בורא את עולמי אלא בבי"ת שלא יהו כל באי העולם אומרין היאך העולם יכול לעמוד ונברא בלשון ...
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What are the 10 utterances in Pirkei Avot 5:1
Chazal give a listing of the ten utterances is given in Bereishit Rabba 17:1, together with what to swap out.
ויאמר ה' אלהים לא טוב היות
תנינן:
בעשרה מאמרות נברא העולם, ואלו הן:
...
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7
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What does Judaism teach about Eve's addition to divine commandment that she not touch the fruit?
According to the explanation in Avot DeRav Natan 1:5, it was actually Adam, not Eve, that made this extra restriction as a "fence" סיג against Eve's violating G-d's commandment.
It's hard to ...
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7
votes
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On the interpretation of Genesis 1: 1
This was one of the hottest topics in medieval Jewish philosophy.
Saadia Gaon devoted the first treatise of Emunot V'Deiot to proving creatio ex nihilo and refuting the opposing arguments.
Here is ...
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7
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How did Rashi come to the conclusion that the heavens were created from fire and water?
Chagigah 12a:
מַאי שָׁמַיִם אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בַּר חֲנִינָא שֶׁשָּׁם מַיִם בְּמַתְנִיתָא תָּנָא אֵשׁ וּמַיִם מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהֱבִיאָן הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא וּטְרָפָן זֶה בָּזֶה וְעָשָׂה מֵהֶן ...
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6
votes
Who was Methuselah?
According to Sukkah 52b, one of the seven shepherds mentioned in Micah 5:4 is Methuselah who, along with Adam and Seth, is to the right of David.
According to Sanhedrin 108b (commenting on Genesis 7:...
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Did Hevel slaughter his sacrifice?
Radak says that Hevel left his Korban tied up, and was awaiting for a fire to come down from heaven to devour it.
כמדומה לי שלא שחט הקרבן אלא הניחו חי קשור באותו מקום הקבוע לו כדי שירד
עליו אש מן ...
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6
votes
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Why does אבות cite Gen. 9, not Gen. 1, for נברא בצלם?
It seems to me that the key is "חִבָּה יְתֵרָה נוֹדַעַת לוֹ שֶׁנִּבְרָא בְצֶלֶם"
In Bereishit 9, G-d is directly commanding mankind not to kill people, because they were created in the image of G-d. ...
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6
votes
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The light hidden in Torah?
Perhaps surprisingly, this is discussed in Reshimot Shiurim of Rav Soloveitchik to Berakhot 34a. He writes that the "hidden light" is the light of knowledge that is found in the Torah and will be ...
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6
votes
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Why was Adam Embarrassed
Hizkuni (3:10) Rabbenu Hayyim Paltiel (3:10), Tur (3:10), and Abravanel (Genesis ch. 3) suggest that their loincloths were minimal and they were therefore still embarrassed. Radak (3:8) writes that ...
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6
votes
Birthmarks - What are they?
It has been quoted in the name of The Great Rebbe Moshe Tetelbaum of Uhel, Author of YISMACH MOSHE, that he said he remembered the different gilgulim (incarnations) which he had been in in his past ...
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