…who mistreat our brothers, because if we do, we will all be mistreated. That’s the plain way of reading Sefer Bereishit. But it fails to account for one major textual problem in Sefer Bereishit, which is that already in Bereishit chapter 15, before the birth even of the first Jewish child, Avraham is told already, yado’a teida ki ger yihyeh…
…a slave and serves in Potiphar’s house. There, Potiphar’s wife accuses him of a crime he did not commit, so he is sent to prison. The descriptions of Egypt in Bereishit, unlike those in Shemot, do not speak of violence but, as the Yosef story makes pointedly clear, there is immorality and injustice. The book of Bereishit gives us the…
…below for the answer) This Week’s Parsha Puzzle Answer: Only twice, and both are in parshat Vayishlach. In Bereishit 35:4, Yaakov buries the idols that were in his household under the terebinth tree near Shechem. And Rivka’s nursemaid Devorah is buried under the oak tree near Betel (Bereishit 35:8). This question has been adapted from Torah IQ by David Woolf,…
…to inner happiness. So I thought about this very hard and very reflectively. And I want to share with you some things that helped me along the way. And I’m going to give you seven things because ever since Stephen Covey wrote his seven secrets of whatever it is, seven is a good number. Mind you, after Bereishit, Chapter One,…
…tent. Did Isaac live in a house? No, he lived in a tent. You know who lived in houses? Have a look, source 27. Bereishit 19, you remember? Two angels come to Lot in Sodom. [Bereishit 19:2] Vayomer hineh na-adonay suru na el-bat avadechem… Lot lives in a house. Abraham lives in a tent. You know who else lives in…
…the Sovereign of the universe.” Midrash Bereishit Rabbah 38:13 This is an extraordinary passage. Abraham sees the order of nature, the elegant design of the universe. It’s like a palace. It must have been made by someone, for someone. But the palace is on fire. How can this be? Surely the owner should be putting out the flames. You don’t leave…
…a hairy garment” (Bereishit 25:25). According to the Mishnah, a red thread was tied to the scapegoat, and “red” (Edom) was Eisav’s other name. So there was a tradition that the scapegoat symbolised Eisav. In particular, the phrase “two kids of the goats,” shnei se’irei izim, mentioned in the High Priest’s rites, reminds us of the very similar expression, “two…
…the phrase avadim le-Faro, “slaves to Pharaoh” – one of the key phrases in the Exodus account and in the answer to the questions of the child in the Seder service (Bereishit 47:19, Bereishit 47:25). With this difference: that it was said, not by the Israelites, but by the Egyptians. During the famine itself, the Egyptians say to Yosef, “Buy…
…his leadership approach during the process of his election to leadership? Are these more impressive sources? Why? What values can you conclude are central to Jewish leadership from this principle of Jewish leadership as service? 2. Leadership begins by taking responsibility Bereishit 3:9-12 Bereishit 4:8-10 Bereishit 6:9-22 Rashi on Bereishit 6:9 Bereishit 18:17-33 Shemot 2:11-14 It took a Moses to…
…For the answer, please head to the Education Companion section (below in grey). Educational Companion Torah Trivia: this week’s answer A: In Bereishit 15:15, Hashem promises Avraham, “and you shall come to your ancestors in peace.” Rashi explains that this is a hint to the fact that Avraham would join his father Terach, who had done teshuvah (Bereishit Rabbah 63:12)….