Questions tagged [parashat-bereishit]
The weekly Torah portion of Bereshit (Genesis 1:1-6:8)
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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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How did Noah react to being childless?
Rashi to Genesis 5:32 reads:
אמר רבי יודן מה טעם כל הדורות הולידו למאה שנה וזה לחמש מאות אמר הקב״ה אם רשעים הם יאבדו במים ורע לצדיק זה ואם צדיקים הם אטריח עליו לעשות תיבות הרבה כבש את מעיינו ולא ...
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Difference Between Shamayim and Rakia
In parshas Berashis, the words Shamayim and Rakia keep on coming up. someone asked me what is the difference between the 2, and I had no idea.
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Purpose of Torah in Gan Eden
We know from several midrashim (see first chapter of Midrash Tanchuma to Bereshit) that Torah had already existed before the world was created. It should have contained all the positive and negative ...
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What exactly was Adam and Chava's sin?
Bereshit 2:9-10 tells that HaShem made to spring up every tree (in Gan Eden) pleasing to the sight, and tov for food and the Etz HaChayim (Tree of Life) also in the midst of Gan Eden, and the Etz HaDa’...
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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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Rashi on Adam and on the Snake cunningness
The snake was able to speak from its creation (Likutei Sichos (10) p. 13) so why is man singled out as being capable of speech (דעה ודבור acc. to Rashi) if the snake already had it?
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Did Ralbag's predecessors help him, or make things more difficult for him?
At the end of his commentary to Parshat Bereishit, Ralbag writes that he had difficulty composing his commentary to this parshah because the earlier commentaries practically pushed him away from ...
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Adam 's sin out of deveikut?
I found this online:
In his sefer "Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh," R' Itamar Shwartz emphasizes the important point that our existence in this world is for the purpose of being davuk to our Creator; to be ...
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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 does God curse and how does it align with justice?
וְעַתָּה אָרוּר אָתָּה מִן־הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר פָּצְתָה אֶת־פִּיהָ לָקַחַת אֶת־דְּמֵי אָחִיךָ מִיָּדֶךָ׃ - >Therefore, you shall be more cursed than the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your ...
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Source that Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge because they desired autonomy
I remember hearing once that Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge because they found G-d's presence in the Garden of Eden to be overbearing and they desired autonomy, so they rejected his sole ...
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What is so special about Taninim to be mentioned separately?
וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הַתַּנִּינִם הַגְּדֹלִים וְאֵת כָּל־נֶפֶשׁ הַחַיָּה הָרֹמֶשֶׂת אֲשֶׁר שָׁרְצוּ הַמַּיִם לְמִינֵהֶם וְאֵת כָּל־עוֹף כָּנָף לְמִינֵהוּ וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים כִּי־טוֹב׃
God created ...
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Is man really more similar to HaShem now or did the nachash just lie?
The snake claimed that once you eat from the tree, ‘Your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'
The commentators (I believe the Ramchal) explain that before the sin ...
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Where Ish (איש) comes from and how Adam became Ish?
Adam is called Adam through the whole Torah (I think) except for one time where he calls his wife Ishah to dignify that she was taken from Ish (Ber 2.23):
וַיֹּאמֶר הָאָדָם זֹאת הַפַּעַם עֶצֶם ...
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What's the difference between נכה and הרג?
In בראשית chapter/verse 4:15 and in various other places the words הכות) נכה) and הרג are used which both seem to be interchangeable in english translations.
וַיֹּ֧אמֶר ל֣וֹ יְהוָ֗ה לָכֵן֙ כָּל ־ ...
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Commentaries concerning the meaning of Breishit 1:1
What do the Rabbis say about the meaning of the beginning of the Tanach – specifically, do they read the first verse as a kind of overview of creation (since Shamayim and Aretz did not exist before ...
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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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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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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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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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Making sense of God's different actions of the creation
I'm trying to categorize different actions God takes in the process of creation as appears in Genesis.1:
Part of creation | Said? | Then | Then | Then
1. Heaven and Earth: | No ...
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(Why) Were animals expelled from Eden?
And the LORD God formed out of the earth all the wild beasts and all the birds of the sky, and brought them to the man (in Eden). Genesis.2.19
I'm confused about what happened to the animal: God ...
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Why is the birth of Kayin written strangely?
In Bereishis 4:1, the Pasuk describes the birth of Kayin:
וְהָאָדָם יָדַע אֶת־חַוָּה אִשְׁתּוֹ וַתַּהַר וַתֵּלֶד אֶת־קַיִן וַתֹּאמֶר קָנִיתִי אִישׁ אֶת־יְהוָה
Now the man knew his wife Chava, and she ...
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Does animal soul (Nefesh) come from the divine or the material?
[I assume] it is wildly accepted in Judaism that animals have souls (hence "anima"). In Hebrew, it is called נפש (Nefesh) and the Torah is full of this kind of references:
"וּֽלְכׇל־...
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Beracha and Kedusha referring to the generation of the desert
Rashi in his commentary on Bereishis 2:3 explains that the beracha of shabbos is in the future when the mannah fell during the week and an extra portion fell on Friday and kedusha is also in the ...
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Zohar's interpretation of Bereshit 1
The Zohar's interpretation of the words 'Bereshit bara Elohim', usually translated as 'In the beginning G-d created', seems not to understand the word Elohim to be the subject of the verb bara, but ...
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What was Adam's private name?
Interestingly, in English and other languages, we treat "Adam" as the private name, not as a noun, but in the Torah it is a noun, for example (Ber 2.25):
וַיִּהְיוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם עֲרוּמִּים הָאָדָם ...
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The Aliyot in Parshat Bereisheet
According to the Hertz (Soncino Press) chumash, the aliyot for Bereisheet are (excuse my poor formatting)
Aliyah...…. begins at
2...…………..1:14
3...………….1:24
4...…………..2:4
5...…………..3:22
6......
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Why does Rashi specifically tell us his interpretation method on 3:8?
In Bereishis 3:8, Rashi makes the following comment about his method of interpretation:
וישמעו. יֵשׁ מִדְרְשֵׁי אַגָּדָה רַבִּים וּכְבָר סִדְּרוּם רַבּוֹתֵינוּ עַל מְכוֹנָם בִּבְ"רַ וּבִשְׁאָר ...
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Does Hashem create a Michshol?
There is a Jewish law forbidding putting a michshol, a stumbling block, in front of a blind person. This is extended also to mean that one should not lead others into sin, including providing the ...
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Does a killer with permission lose his צלם אלקים?
Haamek Davar (ad loc.) explains that צלם אלקים (in Genesis 1:26–27) refers to an angel, also called a person's מזל, which envelops each of us and protects him from harm. He (to 4:14) explains further ...
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A name adding to our development into who we are/become?
In Bereshit 2:19 Adam gets the honorable task to name the animals. The Midrash Genesis/Bereshit Raba 17:4 tells us that the first man, Adam, looked into the essence and nature of every creature and ...
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Does anyone discuss the similarities between these?
I noticed that the משנה ברורה and בראשית both talk about רוח ,מים, clothing, and 'ה seeing all in the beginning. The משנה ברורה seems to be alluding to the חומש here.
The first thing after the famous ...
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In Genesis 6:3, How Should the Context Affect Interpretation of "To Contend/Plead"?
Disclaimer: There are A LOT of pieces to this I don't understand, which is making it very difficult to ask: I would appreciate your suggestions!
1. Question :
Genesis 6:3 -... My Spirit will not ...
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Overpopulation and the Tree of Life
Had it not been for the sin of Adam and Chava, I've read sources that say we would have been able to eat from the Tree of Life, which would means that humanity would never die. What would keep the ...
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Could animals in Eden eat from the tree of life and what would happen to them?
Following "Could animals in Eden eat from the tree of life",
Could animals in Eden eat from the tree of life and what would happen to them?
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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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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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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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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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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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What's the point of the tree of life staying in Eden after Adam's fall?
"He drove the man out, and stationed east of the garden of Eden the cherubim and the fiery ever-turning sword, to guard the way to the tree of life" Genesis.3.24
The tree was left in Eden ...
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Doubling the reason for the flood in the Torah
At the end of Parashat Bereishit (6,7) the Torah repeats two very similar statements twice - in a form of "ABAB" instead of "AABB":
Aוַיִּרְא֤וּ בְנֵי־הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ ...וַיִּקְח֤וּ לָהֶם֙ נָשִׁ֔ים ...
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What does "the tree of life" mean when G-d decides on life solely?
My question is maybe an elaboration on this question "How does the tree of life work?:
The Gemmorah says that G-d decides exclusively on a person’s lifespan. But the Torah says that G-d Himself is ...
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Torah confusion between "daylight" and "a day"
The Torah uses the same word יום in the same verse to denote both "daylight" and "24 hours":
וַיִּקְרָא אֱלֹהִים לָאוֹר יוֹם וְלַחֹשֶׁךְ קָרָא לָיְלָה
וַיְהִי־עֶרֶב וַיְהִי־בֹקֶר יוֹם אֶחָד׃
...
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Why should G-d look at the parts of His creation?
THis part of the story of the Creation seriously puzzles me: G-d looking at His creation and checking/judging/evaluating it. Examples:
וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאוֹר כִּי־טוֹב וַיַּבְדֵּל אֱלֹהִים ...
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Two beginnings related to heavens and earth
IIRC, there is a medrash conecting the first letter of torah (beit) + the word reshit by saying that with 2 beginnings (meaning the heavens and earth) the world came into existence. Does anyone happen ...
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How do Jews view the word "han·nā·ḥāš" in Genesis 3:1?
Genesis 3:1 a. Now THE serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made
b. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You can't eat from any tree in the garden?'"
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Did Adam name all the breeds of the same type of animal?
Breishit (Gen.) 2:20 indicates that Adam named all the animals.
Did he give each class of animals just general names, or was Adam specific to name each breed of animal as well? E.g. - Did he name ...
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