Bereishit

In the chronicling of creation, one detail strikes us with the force of mystery: Why was light created before everything else, when there was nothing to benefit from it? The Rabbinical explanation only adds to the mystery, for we are told that the light w...

The Torah begins with the narrative of creation, how G-d brought the world into being from absolute nothingness. That is an awesome lesson. Whenever an entity is made - brought into being although it did not exist before - a question is immediately raised...

Bereishis; Genesis 1:1-6:8

The Sin of The tree of Knowledge: Why couldn't Adam show restraint, and how does the whole story relate to us? The importance of facing up to the challenge of our own evil inclination, the vital role of a woman and the immense effect it has on a Jewish Ho...

The way a writer opens his work reveals much about his fundamental thrust and intent. This is certainly true when speaking about a Torah giant like Rashi, whose precise choice of wording has attracted the careful attention of scholars over the course of h...

Any parent who has deliberated over the choice of a name for his or her child appreciates how significant names are. As the Midrash emphasizes, the ability to give a name is a unique potential vested in mankind, a sign that man’s wisdom surpasses that of ...

Light fascinates and intrigues. Plants are drawn to light, and people also seek it out. Anyone who goes out on a sunny day after a few days of clouds and fog will tell you that the sun’s rays are inviting and invigorating. Why it has that effect we do not...

The name of the first section of the Book of Genesis is taken from its first words, “In the beginning” (Bereishit, in Hebrew), and opens with G-d’s creation of the world. Humanity was created with the ability to choose between good and evil, but the first...

The Gemara in tractate Shabbos156a. says: “He who is born on a Thursday will be a benevolent individual, for on that day, the fish and birds were created,”Bereishis 1:20ff. i.e., on that day — as Rashi explainsShabbos, ibid. — G-d created beings that are ...

The Torah begins with the words, “In the beginning, G-d created…,”Bereishis 1:1. and goes on to recount the details of Creation. In commenting on these opening words, RashiIbid. notes: “By right, the Torah should have specifically begun from ‘This month i...