ב"ה

Bereishit 5763 - October 4, 2002

The Hovering Spirit

"And the earth was chaotic and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of G-d hovered upon the face of the waters." A spooky verse, a Talmudic law, and an empowering Midrash.
Parshah
Bereishit in a Nutshell
G‑d creates the world in six days and sanctifies the seventh. The serpent convinces Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, and they are expelled from the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve bear children, and Cain murders Abel.
Shadows in the Daytime

The other night after tucking him in at bedtime, my youngest child called to me from his darkened bedroom. He was frightened
Is Buddhism Kosher?

Interestingly, as much as we have taken from alien cultures in the course of our thousands of years in exile, these cultures were even more affected than we were
Story
Telling the Truth

“You lowly, despicable man!” thundered the Hungarian visitor. “What do you know! You obviously have no understanding of anything holy and spiritual!”
When a father punishes his child, the suffering he inflicts on himself is greater than anything experienced by the child. So it is with G-d: His pain is greater than our pain.
— Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov
Print Magazine

The First Temple, why was it destroyed? Because of idolatry, murder and adultery.

The Second Temple, when they were occupied in studying Torah, doing mitzvahs, and acts of loving-kindness, why was it destroyed?

Because there were those who were intolerant of others without cause. Which teaches us that senseless into...