Questions tagged [parashat-bereishit]
The weekly Torah portion of Bereshit (Genesis 1:1-6:8)
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Can you link current events and the parsha
So I saw this post circling online. What exactly would we say about this? Is it just something “cute”, or is it like a valid method of searching for connections between current events and the parsha? ...
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Rabbi Dovid Tzvi Hoffmann: The tree of knowledge of good and evil and morallity
Rabbi Dovid Tzvi Hoffmann in his commentary to Bereishis 2:7 explains (thanks to AlHaTorah for making this available) that originally, it was the will of Hashem that man was going to learn knowledge ...
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70 Souls of Jacob
In Bereshit 46 the Torah tells us that there were 70 descendents of Jacob who came to Egypt with him (excluding the wifes)
33 descendants through Leah
16 through Zilpa
14 throgh Rahel
7 through Bilah
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Textual parallel between Eve and Cain, why?
In Bereishit 3:16, Eve is cursed:
אֶֽל־הָאִשָּׁ֣ה אָמַ֗ר הַרְבָּ֤ה אַרְבֶּה֙ עִצְּבוֹנֵ֣ךְ וְהֵֽרֹנֵ֔ךְ בְּעֶ֖צֶב תֵּֽלְדִ֣י בָנִ֑ים וְאֶל־אִישֵׁךְ֙ תְּשׁ֣וּקָתֵ֔ךְ וְה֖וּא יִמְשׇׁל־בָּֽךְ׃
And to ...
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What was the serpent’s plan?
According to Rashi, the serpent desired Eve and his plan was that Adam eat from the tree and die so that he can have her [Rashi Genesis 3:1, Bereishis Rabbah 18:6]. If that was his plan, why would he ...
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The relationship of Adam and Chavah and what does it mean?
In Parshat B'reishis ch. 3 p. 20 Adam names Chavah. Here Rashi points out that Adam names her earlier and the reason for bringing up the name in this location.
What I'm wondering though is about the ...
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Bereishis and plant growth - why didn't the "אד" help?
We are told in Bereishis 1:12 that on the third day of creation:
וַתּוֹצֵ֨א הָאָ֜רֶץ דֶּ֠שֶׁא עֵ֣שֶׂב מַזְרִ֤יעַ זֶ֙רַע֙ לְמִינֵ֔הוּ וְעֵ֧ץ עֹֽשֶׂה־פְּרִ֛י אֲשֶׁ֥ר זַרְעוֹ־ב֖וֹ לְמִינֵ֑הוּ וַיַּ֥רְא ...
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Translating Genesis 1:1 "בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית" to "in the beginning"
Apologies if this is a stupid question (or belongs in a different group). Since I'm not Jewish & only beginning to learn Hebrew I lack the background to pose an intelligent question.
English uses ...
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Why was Adam created age 20? [duplicate]
The Midrash says Adam and Chava were created age 20.
Why so? Looking mainly for an answer as to why they weren't made babies and raised like we are (rather than asking what's special about 20?).
Happy ...
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What both Hashem and the snake said about death after eating the fruit doesn't seem to match what ended up happening?
Hashem says:
וּמֵעֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע לֹא תֹאכַל מִמֶּנּוּ כִּי בְּיוֹם אֲכׇלְךָ
מִמֶּנּוּ מוֹת תָּמוּת׃
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat
of it: for on the day ...
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What did the animals eat before Adam prayed for the trees to grow?
We learn in chullin 60b that the trees and herbage only began to sprout on the third day and that they only grew fully when Adam prayed for the rain (Genesis 2:5). If none of the plant life grew yet, ...
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Are we forbidden from striving to develop biotech that can make us immortal since that would essentially be like biting off from the Tree of Life?
In the recent years, there has been a lot of talk and investment in the biotech space regarding life extension, with some saying that the eventual goal is to make us live forever. However, to strive ...
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Anyone have an English Translation of Abarbanel on Bereishis 1:27?
Anyone know of an English translation available of the Abarbanel's commentary on Perek 1, Passuk 27 of Bereishis?
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Talmudic legend about the souls refusing to enter Adam's and Hava's bodies?
Ted Hughes, in the Crow collection, has a poem named A Childish Prank (full text), which is a grotesque narration of Adam's and Hava's creation.
In March 1976, at the Adelaide Festival Writers’ Week, ...
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Why don't the birds get the bracha of פְּרוּ?
In the creation of the world when Hashem is creating fish and birds, the verse in Beresheit 1:22 says,"וַיְבָ֧רֶךְ אֹתָ֛ם אֱלֹהִ֖ים לֵאמֹ֑ר פְּר֣וּ וּרְב֗וּ וּמִלְא֤וּ אֶת־הַמַּ֙יִם֙ בַּיַּמִּ֔ים ...
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Should Genesis 1:4 say that the light "was" or "is" good?
As a non-Jew who has very little knowledge of Hebrew, I'm curious as to the following:
Is the Hebrew text clear on this, one way or the other?
If so, which is it?
If not, are there any Jewish ...
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The Tomb of the Matriarch 'Rachel Imenu'
וַתָּ֖מׇת רָחֵ֑ל וַתִּקָּבֵר֙ בְּדֶ֣רֶךְ אֶפְרָ֔תָה הִ֖וא בֵּ֥ית לָֽחֶם׃
Bereshit 35:16
Why was Rachel Imenu not buried in Machpelah's cave?
Was her burial in Ephrata a punishment?
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Were there any so to speak "divine conceptions," physically or spiritually, or conceptions by angels?
This question has been edited to add sources.
Bereshit 4:1 states, Now the man knew his wife Chava, and she conceived and bore Cain, and she said, "I have acquired a man with the Lord."
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Are there any opinions about Yitzchak's parentage, or other children from Sarah?
Are there any opinions that either Abimelech and Sarah, or Pharaoh and Sarah, had children together? And if so, I would never suggest that would have any bearing on Yitzchak, since he's one of the ...
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What's the simple meaning, per Rashi, of the "upper waters", and where are they?
B"H
In the simple meaning of the verse of "He separated between the water that is below the sky (/beginning of "outer space"/"firmamemt") to the water that is above it&...
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Why didn't Hashem tell the snake that his power of speech would be removed?
B"H
In the curses Hashem tells the snake it says "because you have done this, you are cursed from all beasts of the field..", without specifying exactly what that means.
If you would ...
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In the wake of the banishment from Eden, Adam and Eve start their family
In the wake of the banishment from Eden, Adam and Eve start their family:
וְהָאָדָם יָדַע אֶת־חַוָּה אִשְׁתּוֹ וַתַּהַר וַתֵּלֶד אֶת־קַיִן וַתֹּאמֶר קָנִיתִי אִישׁ אֶת־יהוה׃
Bereshit 4:1 "And ...
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In Parshas Barashis (4:21) Noah's wife Namah was born before 130 AM. How could she have children at 1,160 yrs? How can she live longer than 1,000 yrs?
We find from The Simple reading of Chumash/Rashi Parshas Barashis:
Perek 4 Pusuk 21 "..Tubal-cain's sister was Naamah" Rashi "Naamah: She was Noah's wife"
On Pasuk 25 "And ...
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How could Adam HaRishon have contained all the souls that would ever be inside of him, including evil, even before the sin?
I recall a concept from the teachings of the Arizal and elsewhere that before eating of the tree of knowledge, Adam HaRishon contained all the souls that would ever exist within him, but the good and ...
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Trying to understand this Tzafnat Pa'neach
I am intrigued by this verse (Genesis 6:3):
יהוה said, “My breath shall not abide in humankind forever, since it too is flesh; let the days allowed them be one hundred and twenty
years.”
I see there ...
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G-d formed man, why not right after creation?
The Torah tells us that on the sixth day of creation, G-d decided to create mankind (Bereishis 1:26-27):
And G-d said, Let Us make Mankind in Our image, after Our likeness
So G-d created Mankind in ...
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Where exactly does R' Saadia Gaon explain why a woman marrying two men is מתנגד לשכל?
ר' סעדיה גאון על בראשית ד׳:י״ח
"וכבר ביארנו קודם בפרשת מעשה אדם שהשכל מתנגד לנשואי אשה אחת לשני אנשים, אבל אינו מתנגד לנשואי שתי נשים לאיש אחד"
Can someone give me an exact location for the &...
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How does Saadia Gaon explain עדה וצילה?
אבן עזרא על בראשית ד׳:י״ט:א׳ implies that Saadia Gaon has an explanation of the names עדה וצלה. Do you know where I could find that?
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What sin was Hevel killed for? [duplicate]
In Judaism we believe that someone who is murdered is being killed as punishment for his sins. What sin did Hevel commit to deserve to be put to death?
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Does Genesis 1:29 forbid ferns (fiddleheads) as food?
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִ֗ים הִנֵּה֩ נָתַ֨תִּי לָכֶ֜ם אֶת־כׇּל־עֵ֣שֶׂב ׀ זֹרֵ֣עַ זֶ֗רַע אֲשֶׁר֙ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י כׇל־הָאָ֔רֶץ וְאֶת־כׇּל־הָעֵ֛ץ אֲשֶׁר־בּ֥וֹ פְרִי־עֵ֖ץ זֹרֵ֣עַ זָ֑רַע לָכֶ֥ם יִֽהְיֶ֖ה לְאׇכְלָֽה׃
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Beracha of Knowledge
We say in the 4th beracha of shemoneh esrei that G-d gave us knowledge and we thank him for this. Yes, obviously everything comes from G-d, but in the beginning of humankind we had no knowledge, and ...
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What is the meaning of this Midrash about Eve in the Garden?
In the Zohar Hadash 91D, Midrash Ha-Ne-elam on Ekhah, in reference to Eve and the serpent (who is described as female), it states:
"קָרֵיב הַהוּא נָחָשׁ לְגַבֵּי אִיתְּתָא, דְּדַעְתָּא קַלָּה ...
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How is it physically possible for all four of the rivers in parshas breishis to come from Gan Eden?
I read that Gihon is actually the Nile and I was wondering how that’s physically possible considering that the Nile flows from Lake Victoria which isn’t remotely close to the Tigris or the Euphrates.
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What Rabbinic interpretations of the Garden of Eden narrative treat "the serpent" as more the protagonist, instead of the antagonist?
Most interpretations of the Garden narrative treat Adam and Even as protagonists, and the serpent as the antagonist. I am interested here in interpretations that flip some roles. As one example, I ...
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How did Adam and Eve sin before they ate from the Tree of Knowledge?
We see in chapter three of Genesis that although Adam and Eve were commanded not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge by G-d, the serpent was able to make it desirable in their eyes and lead them to sin.
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What does the introduction of ה' אלהים change in the creation narrative?
The second chapter of Genesis makes consistent use of ה"א, instead of אלהים in the first chapter (see here).
The researchers famously attribute the discrepancy to different sources.
How is this ...
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ויהיה ערב ויהיה בוקר - what's the nature of those emergences?
"וַיִּקְרָא אֱלֹהִים לָאוֹר יוֹם וְלַחֹשֶׁךְ קָרָא לָיְלָה וַיְהִי־עֶרֶב וַיְהִי־בֹקֶר יוֹם אֶחָד׃"
"God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.
And there was evening ...
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Why did God plan to create both "בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ" but only created "בְּצֶלֶם"?
"וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ..."
"וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אֹתוֹ...׃"
"And God said, “Let us make ...
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Why didn’t the sages sense a problem with "in God's image"?
The Talmud (Megillah.9b and Tractate_Sefer_Torah.1.9) lists the 13 places/verses that felt problematic in the translation into Greek.
"י״ג דברים שינו בה:
אלהים ברא בראשית.
אעשה אדם בצלם ודמות
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Why does plant life come after the earth, waters and the firmament, but before the planets?
This question only addresses the blueprint of the creation as described in the first chapter of Bereshit. It does not address the sequence of the actual creation, as described in Bereshit 2, or the ...
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Order of Creation: why the creation of man was grouped with animals and did not stand alone?
On the 6th day, God created both animals and humans, according to the main creation narrative (Gen 1). I would speculate that it would be more reasonable to dedicate each day to a specific niche: a ...
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Why was Chanoch/Enoch taken but Noach/Noah was not?
In Beresheith/Genesis 5:24 it states:
וַיִּתְהַלֵּ֥ךְ חֲנ֖וֹךְ אֶת־הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים וְאֵינֶ֕נּוּ כִּֽי־לָקַ֥ח
אֹת֖וֹ אֱלֹהִֽים׃
Enoch walked with G-d; then he was no more, for G-d took him
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Walking behind a woman if you can't see her
The gemara in עירובין יח has a very interesting discussion, it wants to know according to the מ"ד that אדם and חוה were created together back-to-back שני פרצופים, who walked first (i.e. which ...
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When did עבודה זרה start?
Rashi says on the posuk (בראשית,ד,כ) of:
וַתֵּ֥לֶד עָדָ֖ה אֶת־יָבָ֑ל ה֣וּא הָיָ֔ה אֲבִ֕י יֹשֵׁ֥ב אֹ֖הֶל
וּמִקְנֶֽה
וּמִדְרַשׁ אַגָּדָה בּוֹנֶה בָתִּים לַעֲ"זָ, כְּמָה דְּאַתְּ אָמַר
סֵמֶל ...
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How did Rashi come to the conclusion that the heavens were created from fire and water?
In his commentary of Beresheith/Genesis 1:1, Rashi states:
And a further proof that the heavens and earth were not the first
thing created is that the heavens were created from fire (אש) and
water (...
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How did Serpent the animal know the wrong before Adam?
This question deals exclusively with the literal interpretation of the Serpent as a biological species, not as metaphorical evil (see my previous question "Stripping-satan-of-his-legs").
In ...
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Meaning of stripping Satan of his legs and walking on his belly
This question deals exclusively with the metaphorical interpretation of the Serpent as Satan/evil inclination/Devil/etc, not as a biological species.
The Serpent was cursed by God with :
"...
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Why Shemot 20:11 (4th commandment) refers to Bereshit's history of six days earth creation and Devarim 5:15 doesn't refer to it?
Why Shemot 20:11 refers to Bereshit's history of six days earth creation and Devarim 5:15 doesn't refer to it?
In Shemot it refers to Bereshit's history of six days of creation,and in Devarim 5:15 it ...
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How are humans that were formed "from dust" different from animals that were formed "from earth"?
"וַיִּיצֶר ה"א אֶת־הָאָדָם עָפָר מִן־הָאֲדָמָה" Genesis.2.7
"וַיִּצֶר ה"א מִן־הָאֲדָמָה כָּל־חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה..." ibid. 19
So according to Rashi and others, Adam was ...
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Why "God formed Adam dust" and not "from dust"?
"וַיִּיצֶר ה"א אֶת־הָאָדָם עָפָר מִן־הָאֲדָמָה" Genesis.2.7
Literally, the verse reads "God formed Adam dust from the earth", like if "dust" was an adjective. ...
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