The Literary Bridge As we saw last time, Genesis 2:4 is the opening verse of the second account of Creation: it begins the second “story of heaven and earth when God created earth and heaven”. This verse is very interesting for several reasons: first of all, it occurs several times in the Torah, opening some […]
Two Accounts There is no secret that there are two different accounts of creation in Scripture: in Genesis chapter 1 and in Genesis chapter 2. So far, we have discussed the first account (it took us a month, and we only touched the surface of this truly bottomless chapter – Genesis 1). Today, we will […]
“Peru U’revu” As promised, in this post we will have the answer regarding the sixth day. Before we do that however, we will contemplate a famous blessing that God gave to the first couple: “Peru U’revu” – “be fruitful and multiply”. We read in Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and God said to them, […]
Image and Shadow We all know that “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him.” But what does this mean? These words have produced endless commentaries over the centuries. Clearly, we are not created in the physical image of God, because Judaism steadfastly maintains that God has no […]
Breaking the Pattern Last time we saw the ascent of the cosmic drama in Genesis 1, culminating in the creation of man. Who is this special creature? Along with the Scriptures, we wonder over him and his absolutely special status in creation; along with the Scriptures, we can ask: When I consider Your heavens, the […]
As we advance with the days of this year, we are also advancing with the days of Bereishit and continuing to watch in awe God’s work of creation. Today, first of all let us consider different verbs that describe His work during these days. VaYomer – and He said And God said: “Let there be […]
TL;DR This blog post begins a series exploring the first eleven chapters of Genesis, highlighting how reading the original Hebrew text reveals deeper meanings about creation and humanity’s origins. The New Year is always a time of new resolutions, new decisions – and of course, new beginnings. Therefore, it seems only natural for us to […]
The Profound Connection Last time, we spoke about Christmas – but also about the profound connection between Hanukkah and Christmas. Even though for many people in the diaspora—both Jews celebrating Hanukkah and Gentiles observing this celebration— Hanukkah seems to be all about dreidels and latkes, the most important thing about Hanukkah is that this is […]
As Christmas and Hanukkah both draw near, I would like to take some time to contemplate these two winter festivals. We all know that neither of them is in Leviticus 23 – which means that neither of them is a biblical Festival, neither of them was commanded by God. So, why do we observe […]
In the previous Torah Portion, we saw Jacob fleeing from the wrath of his brother. Now we see him returning to the Land – but in order to secure the future, Jacob has to face the past: he must reconcile with Esau. Twenty years have passed, many things have changed, and all the external circumstances […]
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