Bereishit

Hi,

The Torah portion for this Shabbat is Bereishit, the beginning of the Torah. There is a lot to say in Bereishit; I will be as concise as I can manage:

The portion begins with the creation of the universe in 6 days. It is clear that at least some of this account is intended to be understood allegorically rather than as a literal historical account. The Talmud declares that the Torah's account of Creation is one of those areas which are shrouded in mystery, and its secrets are not for public consumption.

Adam and Eve are instructed to guard the Garden of Eden, and to refrain from eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Commentators offer varying explanations of the Tree's role; one popular view is that eating from the fruit meant internalizing good and evil, so that one would lose the ability to objectively evaluate choices, and one would now feel a personal desire for good and for evil.

A serpent convinces Eve to eat from the Tree, arguing that this would make them Creators like Gd. Eve eats, and then gives the fruit to Adam to eat. Gd evicts them from the Garden. He gives them punishments which make their creative abilities painful and difficult - Eve in bringing life into the world, Adam in producing life from the ground.

Adam and Eve have two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain kills Abel in jealousy over Abel's relationship with Gd; Cain then performs the world's first act of repentance, and Gd alleviates some of his punishment.

The Torah then records the generations between Adam/Eve and Noah. There is much more here, of course...

Have a great day,
Mordechai