Questions tagged [parashat-bereishit]
The weekly Torah portion of Bereshit (Genesis 1:1-6:8)
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Why does the shva in Bereishit 1:2 express "vav" as an adverb (Now) in JPS 1917 translation?
Why does the shva cause the "vav" to be expressed in English as an adverb Now : "Ve" (וְ) instead of the conjunction And : "Va" (וַ), "Ve" (וְ), "U" (...
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Why don't we start reading Parshat Bereshis at the beginning of the year, from Rosh Hashana? [duplicate]
It just doesn't seem to make sense to me. Why start later?
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Did Adam commit an act of Ahavas Yisroel or self-sacrifice to eat from the Tree of Knowledge?
I've seen on non-Jewish websites explaining the fact that Adam ate from the tree was because he loved Eve more than he loved God, or that he did an act of self-sacrifice so that Eve wouldn't suffer ...
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On what day was the air created?
Since we're back to Bereyshis, I was wondering,
the air is not mentioned in the Torah, besides the wind, of course.
THe Hebrew "אויר" is actually the Greek "aero"
as they ...
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Why should G-d correct His Creation as He goes?
THe Torah and the commentaries clearly suggest in several places that G-d corrected His Creation while still in the process:
וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאוֹר כִּי־טוֹב וַיַּבְדֵּל אֱלֹהִים בֵּין הָאוֹר ...
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Did Adam and Chava have a house in Eden?
I remember Adam was put in Eden and Chavah was created and they hid in bushes, but I don't recall them building a house or a shelter.
I also remember a Midrash saying G-d made a Chupah for them and ...
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Naming animals - different names for males, females and offspring?
My last question "Adam's about naming taxonomy" wasn't so popular, but it presented my view on the logic of naming the animals.
Acc. to Bereishit_Rabbah.17.4 naming the animals represents the ...
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Were the domesticated animals created domesticated or wild?
"וַיִּצֶר ה"א מִן־הָאֲדָמָה כָּל־חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה וְאֵת כָּל־עוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם"
"And the LORD God formed out of the earth
all the wild beasts and
all the birds of the sky..." ...
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Which of the three forbidden fruits was the opinion of the Arizal; grapes, wheat or figs and why?
We were asked earlier this week about what the Arizal's opinion was on which forbidden fruit was on the Etz HaDaat. Does anyone know what it might be?
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Is believing in G-d guided evolution a valid belief in Orthodox Judaism? [duplicate]
Like the title dictates. Does the theory of evolution hold legitamacy in light of Maaseh Bereishis? That being said, are there ramifications of having that understanding towards one's Avodas HaShem? ...
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Who is the Serpent in Genesis? [duplicate]
I've read in the book "The Essential Zohar" by Rav Philip Berg that the Serpent was none other than the "Klipah"mentionned by name in Isiaiah 34:14.
Yet Rabbi Mordechai Kraft appeared in a youtube ...
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Elohim plural singular [duplicate]
Reading many questions relating to mine and the comments that were given, made me wonder.
When Elohim thought of creating the human being (Bereshit 1:26) He spoke (singular): “Let Us make… and after ...
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An unformed and unfilled earth covered
I was looking at Genesis 1:2 the other day and I was wondering if I understood it correctly was the earth unformed and unfilled and covered (surrounded) by water and darkness?
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Abel was a shepherd, wasn't it a crime?
Shepherds kill animals, and make food from their meat. It wasn't allowed in the antediluvian era. Abel was a shepherd, wasn't it a crime? Wasn't it at least problematic?
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How does the definition of reishit differ from bereishit?
If I am not mistaken, the Hebrew word for "in the beginning" in Bereishit 1:1, could have been reishit. However, the word used was bereshit. It is my understanding that the use of bereshit (reishit ...
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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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Contents of Genesis chapter 6 [duplicate]
What does the original Hebrew say about Genesis chapter 6, where in the Christian bible, angels came down from heaven and had children with man? Does the Torah say that this happened, and that it was ...
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Is there any evidence of Nephilim?
Numbers 13:33 Numbers 13:32–33 includes a description by the Twelve Spies of giant "Nephilim" that they saw in Canaan:
32 And they spread an evil report of the land which they had spied out
unto ...
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Applications of word tzipor
Can the Hebrew word "tzipor" mean any kind of flying creature in Genesis 1, or is the word only referring to fowls such as sparrows, hawks, etc.?
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Which verse is correct? Genesis 1:14 or Leviticus 23:27? [duplicate]
Genesis 1:14 says that all Appointed Times (מועדים) are determined by the Sun and the Moon Phases. For example, all Holy Meetings (מקרא קדש) in the 1st or 7th months fall on moon phases.
However, ...
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Contesting the line between Torah and secular knowledge [closed]
Isn't it the case that the Rambam, for one, thought that astronomy, medicine, mathematics, for examples, were a part of Torah knowledge? At least the line for him is not simple and clear cut (eg see ...
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About Va yehi in bereshit
We learn from Chazal that whenever the Torah uses the word 'vayehi', it means something significant and awful is about to happen.
We find in Bereshit that when Hashem created the world and all ...
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Bereshit 2:9 all trees or one tree?
Bereshit 2:9 reads 'kol etz' which is revering to the whole tree species, so rendered as 'all trees'.
I wondered if a literal (word-by-word) translation could read 'kol etz' as a 'whole tree': And ...
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Did G-d and angels appeared dressed or naked to Adam in Eden?
First, we know that Adam and Eve were naked in Eden and didn't feel ashamed (Ber 2.25).
"וַיִּהְיוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם עֲרוּמִּים הָאָדָם וְאִשְׁתּוֹ וְלֹא יִתְבֹּשָׁשׁוּ׃
The two of them were naked, ...
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The descendants of kayin are going to be destroyed according to Baraishis, but we know descendants of kayin so how can this be?
Rashi (Beraishis 4:24) writes that the descendants of Kayin are to be decimated as it is indicated in the Pasukim, but we know people that are descendants of Kayin, so how can this be?
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Why the term "Lord God" in Genesis 2–4?
We sometimes see the term "YHVH Elohim", like in Genesis 2-4. I don't understand why it doesn't just say one or the other, like in many other places in the torah.
According to the Documentary ...
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What does it mean "a man leaves his father and mother"?
Please help me understand the meaning of this phrase (Gen 2.24:
עַל־כֵּן יַעֲזָב־אִישׁ אֶת־אָבִיו וְאֶת־אִמּוֹ וְדָבַק בְּאִשְׁתּוֹ וְהָיוּ לְבָשָׂר אֶחָד׃
Hence a man leaves his father and ...
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What are the origins of Qayin?
This article is expressing that "Qayin" derived from the 1st millenium BC South Arabic word Qyn, and that Cain is not a name old enough in Bible times of the 2nd millenium. Is it plausible that this ...
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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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