Bereishit (Genesis)
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Bereishit
The Book of books starts with the beginning of beginnings: the creation of the universe and life. The story is told from two different perspectives, first as cosmology (the origins of matter), then as anthropology (the birth of humanity). The first narrative (Gen. 1:1-2:3) emphasises harmony and order. God creates the universe in six days and dedicates the seventh as…
Tu BiShvat
…know that Bereishit 1:28, “does not mean the domination of a harsh ruler, who afflicts his people and servants merely to fulfil his personal whim and desire, according to the crookedness of his heart.” Could God have really created such a complex and magnificent world solely for the caprice of humans? Bereishit chapter 1 is only one side of the…
Faith Lectures: What is Faith? (1)
…in Bereishit chapter 1 and Bereishit chapter 2. Bereishit chapter 1 and chapter 2 are the same events seen from two different perspectives: one from the point of view of the universe; one from the point of view of mankind. Bereishit 1 and 2 are to linear narrative what Cubism is to representational art. Bereishit 1 and 2 are the…
The Art of Listening
…how Judaism is a guilt culture, not a shame culture? In what way is listening an important Jewish value? What lessons can you learn for your life from the difference between shame and guilt? These questions come from this week’s Family Edition to Rabbi Sacks’ Covenant & Conversation. For additional interactive, multi-generational study, check out the full edition at www.rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation-family-edition/bereishit/the-art-of-listening/…
Interfaith Dialogue
…4 biblical verses: Bereishit 16:9-10 Bereishit 17:20 Bereishit 21:12-13 Bereishit 21:17-20 Note first that God does not reject Hagar. He hears and heeds her distress. He saves her and Yishmael from death. Next, he repeats to Hagar what he had already said to Avraham, that Yishmael will become ‘a great nation’. Third, note the name the child bears. Yishmael means…
Environmentalism
…any limits on humanity’s dominion of the natural world? How has this text influenced our approach to world around us? Humankind’s Responsibility to Creation Read Bereishit 2:4-17 Read Bereishit Chapter 3 Bereishit I is, however, only one side of the complex biblical equation. It is balanced by a narrative, quite different in tone, in Bereishit 2, in which the first…
The God of Creation and the Land of Israel
…times to Yaacov. Soon after we complete the book of Bereishit, we will read of Moshe hearing about “the land flowing with milk and honey.” After that, the entire Torah is about Israel, the destination of the Jewish journey. If the central theme of the Torah is the promise of the Land, the beginning must in some way be related…
The Blessed Power of Order
…as the similarity. Sefer Bereishit began with an act of Divine creation. Sefer Shemot ends with an act of human creation. The closer we examine the two texts, the more we see how intricately the parallel has been constructed. The creation account in Sefer Bereishit is tightly organised around a series of sevens. There are seven days of creation. The…
Tikkun Leil Shavuot: A Tale of Two Women
This Study Sheet contains biblical sources (mekorot), discussion questions, and ideas from Rabbi Sacks zt”l based on a shiur he gave in 2016 to introduce his Shavuot Machzor. The original shiur is available to view here. You can also download this Study Sheet in PDF. First, let us examine the similarities between key elements of Megillat Rut and Sefer Bereishit……