Hmm..

We have started with learning about the meaning of Toldot. When we read the Neziv, which mentioned that in the generations from Adam, and then sometimes skips a generation from a reighteous person to a not so very reighteous.

Why does this happen? Did God plan this, and if so, why?

I personaly do not agree with the Neziv since I think that it was the peoples decision to be good or not. Everyone has it in them, and can chose and with their experiences and their character, they will form a decision.

Rainbows!

Good evening everyone,
So, this past week it rained, and as usual, it seemed like just another gloomy, rainy day. But, while I was walking back from art on my way to go home, I saw a rainbow! First of all, rainbows are not daily occurrences, so I stopped and gazed at it for a while, thinking how beautiful it was. Then, I realized how awesome it is that we even have rainbows. In parshat Noach, God made a rainbow as a sign that He would never make such a flood, like the one in this parsha. It is incredible to see a rainbow and realize that God might have wanted to destroy the world, but kept to His promise instead. We are so lucky that despite all of the craziness going on in the world today, God has not chosen to destroy the entire world in a flood. It also seems kind of scary that God wanted to destroy the world that day. So, when we see rainbows, we should be thankful to God for not destroying us like He destroyed the world in the time of Noach!

נח

This week, we discussed the word תולדות, and whether or not it means descendants, or stories. In some cases it means descendants, and in other places it means stories. In our readings, we read about נח and the flood.

I was recently reading a book that proves the truth of the Torah with historical facts, and I thought I would share the following: Many times, people find things in the Torah hard to believe, and therefore do not believe in the Torah at all. Some of the things written seem preposterous. (Quoting from the book now): One of the most famous Biblical stories thought to be sheer fantasy by Torah critics was the story of נח and the flood. Over the decades however, evidence from across the globe supports the account in the Torah. For instance, high on mountains in Michigan, in Vermont, and near Montreal, whale skeletons were found. In Alabama, farmers complained about the abundance of whale bones in their fields. In Georgia, whale bones were discovered. There are a great number of deep sea fish fossils lying on top of mountains. Furthermore, there are inscriptions all over the world about the flood. In 1853, during excavations at Ninveh, tablets were found containing the Epic of Gilgamesh. The pagan gods there are depicted as assembling to pass judgement on the wicked mankind. One righteous man was chosen for deliverance and commanded to erect a ship in which to rescue his kin and every sort of living creature. In the epic of Gilgamesh, the pitch that was used for smearing to waterproof the boat is described, and the dove coming back and forth.

The book goes on to prove more about the Torah and how stories we might not believe are actually written about in other peoples accounts (including the ten plagues).

So, as you read through Sefer Bereishet, keep in mind that all of this happened, even the business with the flood.

A Step Back to Korbanot..

I hate to go back to the topic of Korbanot because I know many of you did not particularly enjoy learning about or blogging about korbanot. However, I do hope you find my blog interesting as I connect perek daled to Sefer Hacninuch's and Rav Hirsch's commentaries on why we bring korbanot.
On Thursday we learned that Cain and Hevel both brought korbanot to Hashem. We learned that G-d found favor in Hevel's sacrifice but not in Cain's. Obviously, Cain would be upset that his korban wasn't accepted by G-d while his brother's was. Hashem responds that it wasn't a good korban and therefore Hashem did not take it. HOWEVER, He explains that if Cain changes his ways/improves for next time then he will experience positive things, but if he doesn't then sin is literally crouching at his door. This explains to us that we all have a desire to sin, its part of being a human! However, we can rule over those desires and we are certainly not bound to sin. Desires are right there, but we are not animals, we can't just act on every desire. We must first recognize/understand our desires and then we need to fight through those desires. Unlike animals, we are given the ability to do that.
This brings me to my next point. The Sefer Hachinuch explains that there is a symbolization in bringing an animal as a korban. Animals lack sechel, they lack a divine purpose. They live only to fulfill their desires-they live based on instinct. What causes us to sin are our desires and lack of ability to refrain from giving into these base animal instincts. This shows that it is symbolic to bring an animal korban because the reflection needs to be an understanding that sin is acting like an animal. So, we must squash our animal instinct. We do have an animal instinct, so we have to use our INTELLECT (what animals don't have) to conquer our base animal instincts. This connects exactly to what Hashem is trying to explain to Cain in perek daled. G-d admits to Cain that man indeed has the ability/desire to sin, but we are higher than animal (as we learned in perek alef), and therefore have the intellect to change our ways and improve on ourselves and ultimately squash those desires. This is something special that G-d has given us and we must utilize it in every way possible.
Rav Hirsch explains that a korban is not a gift, but rather it is a mechanism by which we can draw close to G-d. He explains that bringing a korban is for the person NOT for Hashem. Hashem doesn't need our sacrifice, rather we need it to feel the presence of G-d, come close to Him, and reflect on ourselves. Perhaps Hashem didn't not accept Cain's korban because it wasn't good/nice enough for G-d, but rather because it wasn't good for Cain. I do not think that G-d himself is picky enough to decide, oh I don't want this korban because it's not good enough for me, for I am so great and holy. Rather, I think Hashem saw that it wasn't good for Cain. It wasn't a good korban for him to reflect on himself and to squash his desires or animal instincts. This is why Hashem didn't accept it, as a favor to Cain. Hashem rather gives Cain another chance to bring one and explains to him what he needs to do better so that he can experience positive things.

Cain and his Terrible Sin

Hi everyone,
This past week in Chumash we learned about the sin of Cain. In class, we talked about how even though God did not directly warn Cain not to kill, it was implied when Adam was told that he must act in "tzelem elokim" and that we are above animals so we should not act like them. When reading over this, it can become clear to us that this means that we should not kill, but was Cain really supposed to know this? We have also learned about the Torah and all of the laws that God gave to the Jews, plus, we also know that it is morally wrong to kill. However, Cain was not exposed to anything like this since he was a part of the first family on earth! So, was Cain at fault for wanting to kill his brother? Maybe he needed this test to show him that he is not allowed to do such things.
But, then we learn about the harsh punishment that God gives to Cain. God is going to send him into exile! Doesn't this punishment seem pretty harsh? And, why wasn't Cain surprised by this punishment? Did he actually know all along that he would be punished for doing something like this? And, if so, why would he kill his brother in the first place? This whole perek seems to be very confusing! Shouldn't the Torah explain the story in a less vague way??

Ideal vs. Reality

Since we have started Bereshit, I have noticed a theme that I think we have seen before in Chumash class. In many situations that Bnei Yisroel have found themselves in, there seems to have been some sort of expectation of how things would go. Hashem has stated, either after the situation or before, that there was a way that things were supposed to go, or an ideal. However in many cases, things do not go as planned. The reality and the ideal do not always match up.

In Devarim and Bamidbar, we learned about what was supposed to happen versus what actually happened. Bnei Yisrael were supposed to enter Israel only a few weeks after leaving Egypt. But instead, they were sentenced to forty years of wandering in the desert until they ultimately entered the land of Israel. There was an ideal, but then there was the reality.

In Bereshit, we see the ideal of Adam and Chava in the garden of Eden and acting almost like infants. They have no desires and are seemingly innocent and maybe even naive. However something goes wrong- they sin. They are expelled from the garden and are faced with the consequences of a life of toil and pain in childbirth.

In both cases, we see a form of punishment. But perhaps these are both actually natural and logical consequences. Is this idea of the ideal versus the reality a theme of the narrative stories in the Torah? Personally, I think that these stories set up the standard in our lives that human nature is prone to mess up. I do not think that Hashem expects the ideal because I think Hashem realizes it is impossible for everyone to behave perfectly and without flaw. Our forefathers made mistakes so maybe Hashem is showing us that maybe we will make mistakes too. However, we cannot forget that when we do, there are consequences that follow. But I think it is important to strive for the ideal, even when sometimes we are stuck with reality.

Hello my dear fellow classmates,
So now taht we are getting older and closer to reaching adulthood, we can actually look back at our childhood, our super awkward puberty stage and hormone-filled teenage years. I dont know how you guys feel but when i look at the past i always think about how interesting and special those memories were. I miss being a little kid who doesnt have care in the world or thinking that i knew it all when i was like 12. I smile and laugh at those times and remember how great tehy were. However, now taht we are pretty much grown up, we are no longer as naive and innocent as we used to be. Our experiences have caused us to grow and understand so miuch more about ourselves nad our envoronment. Imagine taht you would never be able to reach this stage where i am right now. Imagine being stuck as an innocent child for the rest of your life. Although it does sound appealing at first, you all know deep down that you couldnt possibly endure taht. Adam and Chava were both stuck as innocent and naive beings that could almost be compared to children. Dont you think taht god did them a favor by freeing them of taht life? why is it called a punishment?

Evolution

Since we have now moved on to Bereshit, I thought I would blog about a topic that is probably one of the most controversial topics in religion in general: evolution. In the past, people have had trouble connecting evolution and religion. Sometimes they do not fit so well together. Modern theories of evolution somewhat contradict the teachings of the Torah. The idea of common descent, that all life developed from one organism, certainly does not fit in with what the Torah states in Bereshit. I was surprised to learn that many Jewish rabbis have said that the theories of evolution and Judaism are actually not as incompatible as I originally thought.

In the 19th century, an Italian Kabbalist, Rabbi Eliyahu Benamozegh wrote that evolution did not contradict the Torah as long as one understands that it was guided by G-d. The Netziv used the idea of dinosaur fossils to be the remains of beings who existed in previous worlds, as described by the Midrash and other Kabbalistic texts. While these rabbis seem to be more open towards evolution and scientific theories, more right wing and modern rabbis opposed these theories. Moshe Feinstein was extremely opposed to evolution and even banned the reading of texts describing evolution, calling it heresy. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson was also strongly opposed to evolution. It is interesting to note that the more modern rabbis seemed to be more opposed to evolution, perhaps because more and more theories were discovered that ostensibly contradicted the Torah.

Personally, I do not know enough about evolution to make a decision if it contradicts the Torah or not. But I do know that many rabbis in Jewish history were forerunners of theories of evolution and even wrote about a concept similar to the "big bang theory" hundreds of years ago. It is very interesting to try to analyze how Judaism, or any religion, relates to science and if the two seemingly contradictory notions are actually compatible.

Physical or Not?

As we discussed the idea of Gan Eden and man's role in keeping it up and utilizing what God put there for him, I could not help but wonder if this garden was actually a physical place or not. These days it does not seem to be an actual place on earth, rather, it must be some place out of our world where we go when we die. However, if it is not a part of our world, then why did God make it sound like a physical place? This reminds me of the idea that we learned in machshava about God creating the concept of days and shabbos at the end so that we can relate to it in our lives. Do you think that God did the same when describing the garden? I feel that it is not a physical place in our world because God gave it over to the angels to guard when He kicked Adam and Chava out. This also makes me wonder if Adam and Chava were not actually physical people until God made them leave and made their lives harder to live. This is the way that we live today, not like the angels who are in Gan Eden right now. I doubt we will ever discuss this in class, but this idea really interests me.

Is the Ideal REALLY Ideal?

Learning all about the ideal world that was supposed to be in the garden and then the reality of human life outside the garden has been truly interesting for me. At first, I was in a way 'mad' at Chava for sinning because it ruined our chances of being part of that ideal world in the garden, but then I had a change of thought. Now, I, in a way, feel 'thankful' that Chava sinned. I don't think I could last a day in the garden. The second the snake approaches me, I would probably fall right in to his trap. In our world we have a sense of who the bad people are that we shouldn't follow and who the good people are that we should follow. In the gan it seems it would be nearly impossible to differentiate between the two because we are not as exposed. Yes, G-d did tell Adam and Chava not to eat from the tree of knowledge, but how can they 'understand' that commandment? They've never gone through something like that before. I think it is important that we live in a world that is not perfect and that perfect does not even exist. If something/someone is perfect than why are we here? For me, the beauty of living a Jewish life is the growth an individual makes in any area. For example, a ten year old does not at all have the same religious fervor that a thirty year old does. Going from low points to high points is what ultimately makes us stronger, and makes us appreciate and emulate G-d more. This is why I think it is so genius that G-d doesn't bring about a huge punishment every time we sin.
This is my view, but as I look over the worksheet we did, it doesn't seem like G-d 'agrees' with me. As a result of Chava's sin, great changes/punishments were given. Why is that? Do you think G-d really wants us to live in the Gan?

The Tree of Knowledge

This week we talked about creation and the sin of Adam and Chava. G-d told them that they could eat from all trees other than the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad, and yet the serpent enticed Chava and she convinced Adam to eat from the tree. We talked about many, many, interesting concepts that brought up many questions which we discussed at length. However, as I was trying to decide which one of these topics I should cover, I realized that although the events concerning the sin of Adam and Chava were all because of the Tree, we didn't really discuss the Tree!

Some say that the tree and the garden and the whole story of Adam and Eve is some kind of metaphor, but let's say that this all happened. (Or if it is a metaphor, the question still aplies). What type of tree was this Tree of Knowledge? What kind of fruit did it grow? What fruit did Chava eat? I did some research, and I found that the Talmud cites three different opinions.

1) Rabbi Meir says that the Tree of Knowledge was a grapevine, because nothing causes more heartbreak than wine.

2) Rabbi Nehemiah maintains that it was a fig tree. The Torah tells us that after the sin, Adam and Eve "knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves and made themselves girdles."2 Rabbi Nehemiah maintains that "that which caused their downfall, was then used to rectify them."

3) Rabbi Judah says it was actually wheat stalks! He bases his contention on the fact that "a child knows not how to call out to his father and mother until he has tasted grain." As such, the Tree of Knowledge was actually grain.

Another opinion cited in the Midrash6 is that "G‑d did not disclose the identity of the tree's species, and He never will." This in order to protect the honor of a species that would otherwise be tarnished—through no fault of its own.

Which opinion do you like best? Do you think that it is important to know what type of tree the tree of knowledge was? Do you think it was a unique tree, and not one that we know or one that grows on earth? Do you think that the tree actually existed?

I hope this was interesting and that you too wanted to know more about the tree itself!

*sources from chabad

Second Chance

The snake is one of the reasons for why Adam and Chava sinned. I have previously learned that another reason for why Adam and Chava were punished was because of the folllowing: when God asked them why they ate from the tree, they both blamed it on eachother: Adam blamed it on Chava and Chava blamed it on the snake.

When Kain sinned, by killing his brother, God also gave him a second chance by asking him where Hevel is. There, God wanted to give Chain a chance to tell God what he had done, and repent, but since his answer was that he didnt know, God decided to punish him.

From these things we can learn that from the beginning, God gave the sinners (Kain, Adam and Chava) a chance to repent, but they unfortunately failed.

Heaven and Earth

Today in Machshava class we were learning the brachot and we got to a bracha we say every day. I don't know about you guys, but I never actually thought about the Bracha. The bracha goes as follows:

ברוך אתה ה'....רוקע הארץ על המים.."

"Blessed are you Hashem.. who spreads out the earth upon the waters"

This is reminiscent of day 2 of creation, when God separated the water and sky. As in, after "day" 2 there was now a land part and a sea part.

This was all part of fixing the chaos that used to exist.

So I'm trying to blog about this but I'm at a blank.. I can't think about how this is so important. What do you guys think?Why do we say a bracha every day to thank Hashem for this? What is the higher significance? Or do you not think that this bracha has to do with Bereshit? 

Well, I've been searching the web and prayingwithfire.org said the following about the bracha: "The nature of water is that it tends to spread and flood everything in its path. In His great compassion, G-d overrode water’s nature, confining it to its designated place and leaving dry land for man, plants and animals to inhabit. One need only view images of the devastation brought by a tidal wave or tsunami to understand what happens when, for just a few hours, G-d releases his hold on the waters." This is very insightful, but do you think it connects to bereshit?

Hello my dear fellow classmates,
i would like to talk about the fact that in Perek Bet it is pretty much proven that man is needed in order to put the potential created into action. Perek Alef states teh basic things taht are created but in Perek Bet it shows us that man is needed in order to "activate" what was created. There was vegetation, but man needs to work the land in order to turn it from potential to actual.
In addition, man gives us such power and responsibility by claiming taht we were created Bezelem Elokim and taht we are not like teh animals and are above them. My question is the following: why would god give us so much power and control? If human beings are powerful and have control over their own lives they often tend to forget god's role and his presence. This is proven throughout history and even today. When teh African Americans were enslaved and were forced to live in cruel and horrible conditions, they were very pious and believed in god(and did that awesome clapping and singing stuff.) They needed god because they were so miserable and having faith in him perhaps relieved their pain and gave them hope. However, nowadays we often tend to forget gods presence in every single thing taht we do. We do not appreciate him because we have so much power and control over our own lives. It is only wehn god takes something from us and causes us to have no control over something taht we really remember his might and power over us. Therfore i would like to know why god would risk giving us such responsibility and power wehn the chances are very high taht we will abuse taht power and forget god compltely?!

Names of G-d

From my knowledge from Perek 19 in Sefer Vayikra and my new knowledge from the first two perakim in Sefer Beraishit, I have recognized the power and meaning behind the choice of G-d's name in the Torah. In perek 19 we spent an immense amount of time trying to figure out the difference between "Ani Hashem" and "Ani Hashem Elokechem." With the help of the meforshim, we learned that there is indeed a distinct difference between the mitzvot categorized under "Ani Hashem" and the mitzvot categorized under "Ani Hashem Elokechem." "Ani Hashem" is used for mitzvot that express morality and goodness. It shows G-d as the paradigm of good. For example, do not put a stumbling block in front of a blind man is under "Ani Hashem." "Ani Hashem Elokechem" shows G-d as divine and as the authority. These are the religious demands that G-d makes of us (the Jewish people). For example, don't turn to or make idols.
In perek 1 of Sefer Bereishit, G-d is referred to as Elokim. This portrays G-d as just/justice. Perek 1 describes the creation of nature by G-d. G-d is in control of nature. Elokim or justice is used here because there is no personal relationship, yet. Man is 'higher' than animals and is SUBSERVIENT TO G-D. Elokim is the universal G-d of everything. Perek 2 gives a new perspective on the same event. The name of G-d here is Hashem Elokim. Here, we are in a way combining two aspects of G-d. Hashem is the connotation of the relationship between man and G-d. Perek 2 focuses a lot more on man and his role in the world. However, there is also a Elokim element. He is the universal G-d of everything. Not about the relationship between man and G-d. We are still subservient to G-d. He created the world, and now He is actualizes its potential.
From all of this I have learned to pay more attention to wording in the Torah. But even further, I have learned that noticing these key phrases and unique wording is so crucial in finding the theme and putting everything together. Nothing is random! I have also learned that although Hashem is one, Divine G-d, He has so many aspects to Him. Everything G-d is relates to every aspect of our lives. Just like your relationship with your elders, it is important to have that relationship but we also must understand our place in that relationship.

The Beginning

Hello everyone,
I would first like to point out that I am excited to learn Bereishit because I do not think we have ever learned it in depth before. Just from the first two prakim we are able to see how much God did in the span of six days. Although we do not know exactly how much time that was, it is fascinating that God decided to all of a sudden create this new world. From this we can see how much was put into creating the world. Perek Alef describes the very basic elements that were created. We might take this for granted in our lives today. We see all of the different parts of nature that God created, but imagine what the world would be like if it was still in a state of chaos where the sky and sea weren't separated etc. It would be so different! Perek Bet is even more insightful because it provides even more details of creation and focuses on the role of man over all of the animals. Does anyone ever wonder why man was not created before animals? It is cool to me to see how everything was in the very beginning. We always know in the back of our minds that the world was created by God at one point and was not always there, but by learning it now, we are able to really focus on what happened and how awesome it really was. We can also remember how important our role in this world is because God instructed us to be leaders over the animals from the very beginning.

Bereshit

Since we are learning about creation now, I was wondering about a few things.
Why do you think God decided to create the world in the first place?
Why did God do this, in the specific order it is in?
Do you think the explenation of how the world was created could have been clearer? How

I think this is a very important part of the Torah, especially since it is the beginning and it gives an explenation for how the world was created. Do you guys agree?Why?

When do We Begin

Hello,

This semester, we have begun to learn Bereishet. The Juniors and Seniors are also taking a Bereishet class with Rabbi Gersten. What I have realized is that we have a very limited knowledge about the Torah. When we are young we are taught the Torah, and we learn things such as "The world was created in 7 days." We accept this, because we are 6, and move on. But this can be harmful as we grow up. We learn more and more about the world, and hear that there is scientific proof that the Earth is millions of years old. This is a huge problem. Now, we think that the Torah isn't true. It doesn't make sense, it isn't possible. From there the doubt grows and grows, and for some people, it can be the reason that they stop practicing Judaism. Now that I am taking the Bereishet class with my dad, I see that the Torah actually goes along with science. Rashi, a thousand years ago, interpreted the creation given in the Torah, and it actually is what we currently understand to be the way the world was created. Days dont actually mean days- one day could have been a million years, which is why the earth is so old. Basically, there is a lot more to the Torah, and so many proofs that it isn't false, but we don't learn them. And by the time we are 20 and people try to tell us there is proof, we are already disbelieving.

Clearly, we need to start learning the Torah in a sophisticated manner before it is to late. But when do we start? 6th grade? 7th? It should be before 9th...

What do you guys think?

Hello my dear fellow classmates,
oh how wonderful it is to blog again!
i have truly missed this. So as everyone probably noticed, since my presence lights up the room, i have been MIA in class lately and it has been gloomy and sad. Therefore, i have decided to blog about the torah as a whole as an introduction to this semester since we are learning the first sefer rather than just talking about what we have learned so far. As we know, we can interpret the Torah in many different ways and we can learn so much for it; it serves as our moral code among many other things. Over the past few decades, different kinds of people broke off from the "original" Judaism due to the fact that they interpreted the Torah differently. For example, the Karaites decided to take everything that was said in the Torah literally. They broke off from Judaism because they interpreted the Torah differently. Over the years, new groups have developed such as the Reform or Conservative Jews who view the Torah differently and what we consider wrong nad not strict enough. This caused me to wonder whether that is right or wrong. Is it unnecessary to create different groups and perhaps cause a strain between Jews simply because they interpret things differently than we do and perhaps disagree with the way we do it. Should we just accept everyone and all be one no matter how they interpret the values and ideas presented in our Torah. Should we be a society in which we all have different opinions and do things differently and simply accept that. Maybe we will even discuss our differences and come to common grounds and understand one another. Or do you think that that is simply impossible since we cannot all possibly get along if we all have different viewpoints and will just cause us to fight all the time and not be one.

Kindergarten

Firstly, I am extremely excited about posting the first post about Bereishit! I am very happy that we are moving on and so far, Bereishit has been very interesting. I always wonder about what we learned when we were younger and how that fits in with what we learn now that we are "older." It seems that everyone tells us whatever we learned when we were younger is completely wrong and much of that information is a misconception. When we are in high school, we basically have to re-learn everything that we previously learned. So my question is why.

I know that when we are young, we need things to be simplified in order that we understand the concept at a basic level. Obviously you cannot teach a child in kindergarten about creation the way that we learn it now. It would be way over their heads. But at the same time, there is a way to teach it so that we do not have to be "re-teached" in high school. How do yall think that we could fix this idea? How is there a way so that when children learn about the six days of creation in kindergarten, they do not reach high school and then say, Wow everything I learned when I was younger was wrong...

I think that Berishit is a perfect example of when we may think about this idea. It is such a fundamental part of Judaism, the first pessukim of the Torah and sometimes it is the first thing we learn as children. We learn that there were 6 days of creation and on each day, something different was created. Now we are learning that the idea of days might not even be accurate. Our mindset is so different now but what about when we were kids?