…GO TO THE FAMILY EDITION > Subscribe to our mailing list to receive the weekly parsha commentary. Subscribe Bereishit (Genesis) Genesis, the book of Bereshit, is as its name suggests, about beginnings: the birth of the universe, the origins of humanity, and the first chapters in the story of the people that would be known as Israel or (after the…
…7:7 The fewest of all peoples? What has happened to all the promises of Bereishit, that Abraham’s children would be numerous, uncountable, as many as the stars of the sky, the dust of the earth, and the grains of sand on a seashore? What of Moses’ own statement at the beginning of Devarim? “The Lord your God has increased your numbers…
…is also the most appropriate person from Jewish history to teach Rabbi Pinchas this message because he represented the core values of chessed and hachnasat orchim (hospitality), as shown in the story of the angels who came to visit him (Bereishit chapter 18). One of the themes of Succot is God’s protection and love for us in the desert as…
…Torah Bereishit 9:8-17 Bereishit 17:1-7 Core Questions Why does God make a covenant with humanity through Noach? Why does the Torah tell us about it? Why does God make a specific particular covenant with Avraham? What do these two covenants have to do with Torah and chochmah (general wisdom)? The Two Names of God God has two names. In fact,…
…obligated by the biblical covenant made thousands of years ago? Why? Avraham begins the journey… and education of future generations will continue it Bereishit 18:18-19 Shemot 12:26-27 Shemot 13:8 Shemot 13:14 Haggadah Shel Pesach: The Four Children Core Questions According to Bereishit 18:18-19, why was Avraham chosen to be the progenitor of the Jewish people? When the Israelites were about…
…to go before I sleep.” From the Thought of Rabbi Sacks Neither Bereishit, nor the Torah as a whole, concludes with an ending. They are God’s unfinished symphony. We are left in medias res, in liminal space midway between departure and arrival, tantalisingly close yet unmistakably distant. We have travelled through several centuries and generations on a journey with a…
…context of their parents, and their family? Torah Trivia Q: Yitzchak blesses Eisav “mishmanai ha’aretz yihyeh moshavecha” which Rabbi Sacks translates to mean, “Of the cream of the land you home shall be, of the dew of heaven above.” (See Bereishit 27:39) According to Rashi, which country is Yitzchak referring to in his blessing to Eisav? This question was adapted…
…likeness of God.” (Bereishit 5:1). Ben Zoma preferred, “Shema Yisrael – Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Devarim 6:4) Ben Nannas said “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Vayikra 19:18) was even more fundamental to Judaism. Then Ben Pazzi came up with a verse from this week’s parsha. He quoted the passuk, “One sheep shall be offered…
…verse, “It is not good for man to be alone” (Bereishit 2:18). This is significant. It indicates how much of Judaism is about the shape and structure of our togetherness. We value the individual, but we do not endorse individualism. Ours is a religion of community. This is why our holiest prayers can only be said in the presence of…
…This is what you were born to do. There are many such calls in Tanach. There was the call Abraham heard to leave his land and family (Bereishit 12:1). There was the call to Moshe at the Burning Bush (Shemot 3:4). There was the one experienced by Yeshayahu when he saw, in a mystical vision, God enthroned and surrounded by…