CHANGE MAKERS
“…Noach was a righteous man, flawless in his generation, and Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). With these credentials, why wasn’t Noach tapped to be the progenitor of God’s chosen nation? The Alshich notes that Noach walked with God, but wasn’t so connected to the rest of humanity. If we compare him to Abraham, we […]
Hacking the Haftorah: BEREISHIS
This series explores the connection between the weekly Torah portion (Parashat HaShavuah) and its Haftorah. The Five Books of Moses are read publicly in synagogues each Shabbat morning and completed over the course of a year. There is an ancient custom to follow this with a portion from the writings of the Prophets. The most […]
Light up your words
“…A window you shall make for the ark.” (Genesis 6:16) The Hebrew word for window is ‘tzohar’, which can also mean illumination or light. The word for ark is ‘teivah’, which can also mean word. Based on this, the Baal Shem Tov derives a teaching about prayer: You shall illuminate your words! Polish them with […]
Noah and the Paradox of Bad Press
“These are the generations of Noah – Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generation…” (Genesis 6:9). The text could have just told us Noah was righteous. What is added by telling us he was righteous “in his generation”? In his commentary to this verse, Rashi (11th century, France) says that some of our […]
Noah Illuminated
“Make a tzohar for the ark…” (Genesis 6:16). Rashi* cites two views regarding what the tzohar was. One understanding is that it was a window that functioned as a skylight for the ark. The other view is that it was a luminous stone. Previously, Rashi presented two views of what was meant by the qualifier […]
Light vs Darkness
God called the light day and the darkness He called night… (Genesis 1:5) Rabbi Elijah of Vilna, known as the Gaon (genius) of Vilna used this verse from the beginning of the Torah to illuminate a passage from King Solomon’s book of Ecclesiastes: And I perceived that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness (2:13). […]
Now we begin…
“In the beginning God created…” (Genesis 1:1) The Almighty only created the beginning. He left the rest to mankind. (Rabbi Leibele Eiger of Lublin)
First things
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) The first thing you must know is that God created the heavens and the earth! (Rabbi Moshe Leib of Sassov)
First read the instructions!
Adam and Eve were allowed to eat from all the trees in the Garden. Except for the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. They were told that death would ensue if they ate from that tree. Of course, they go right ahead and eat from the forbidden tree. But if that is what they […]
Where are You?
Rav Tzadok HaCohen of Lublin famously taught that the first time a word appears in the Torah is its headquarters. This is an appropriate idea to keep in mind as we begin our study of the Torah again this week with the portion of Bereishis – In the Beginning. In this week’s portion, we find […]