Trust is Key

Good evening everybody.

Yesterday in class we discussed a very important point that I would like to expand upon. We learned that Hashem came to Avraham and told him to get up, take his family and belongings and go to a totally new place. At the time, Avraham had absolutely no clue where Hashem was taking him, but he followed anyway. This shows exactly how important Avraham and Hashem's relationship was at the time. Avraham didn't know what he was doing. Hashem promised to make him a great nation and that the land would be for him and his future generations, but how could Avraham believe all of this? After all, he didn't even have any children at the time. This is all proof that their relationship is not based on the promise of the land. It is based on trust. Avraham trusted Hashem the entire time and did not doubt Him. This is an important lesson for us. We should always trust in Hashem, even when we are not exactly sure where He is leading us.

This relationship served as a model relationship for later generations. We see throughout history that the Jews were brought into exile many times, but they made it through. This is because they continued to have faith in Hashem. We are in exile today, but by looking at the relationship between Avraham and Hashem in this perek, we are able to learn that we can have a good relationship with Hashem outside of Israel, the land that He promised to Avraham and to us.

Hello my dear fellow classmates,

So back in Sefer Vayikrah which we learned earlier this year, as well as in Sefer Shmot which we learned last year, it is evident that Hashem commands us to take care of the Ger, Yatom and Almana. I would like to focus on the Ger. It is clearly stated that Hashem expects us to treat the Ger as if he was one of us and to nor persecute him just because he lead a "different" life style before his conversion to our religion. Unfortunately, there are still people today from many different Jewish backgrounds who often tend to mistreat the converts in several different ways. My co-worker, for example, is a convert and he has told me stories about how people treated him which simply made my heart ache. Far away from North America, in Switzerland, my sister-in-law faced the same mistreatment at times. People often say that there is nothing to be done and that there will just always be certain people who will act in a despicable manner and that one must simply ignore it and move on. I tend to disagree with such a statement. i think that it is important to fight against ignorance and stupidity and shed light on the inappropriateness of these peoples' behavior. Now why am i ranting on about this subject? Let me explain. If i ever hear anyone mistreat the Gerim, i will not only bring forth the argument that it is a commandment in the Torah that we are ordered to treat them with respect. We are all descendants of Avraham. Avraham himself, was a convert and destroyed the idols of his previous religion since he knew that that religion had no value. He is seem as a hero to us all for finding God and believing in the true Hashem. Firstly, we are all converts since we emerged from Avraham who is a convert. Secondly, Gerim should be respected since they, like Avraham, are heros who discovered Hashem and the beauty of Judaism while abandoning their prior invalid beliefs. Converts, to me, are people who should be put at a higher level for everything that they decided to overcome and change in their life,as Avraham did, in order to follow Hashem.

G-d and Avraham

As we were doing our partner work and reading through the chumash, I wondered to myself. Why did G-d appear to Avraham so many times, and seemingly say the same thing to him each time. First of all, shouldn't G-d have just come to Avraham and the first time, G-d could have told him evertyhing- about the land, about his children becoming a nation, so on and so forth. Then G-d keeps appearing to Avraham and says the same thing! "You're descendants will become a great nation, they will be many, I will bless them, I will bless you, etc..."

Questions to Ponder:
1. What's the point of G-d appearing so many times?
2. Did G-d appear when He did for specific reasons? (Meaning, G-d appeared at time x because of y)
3. Why does G-d say the same things?
4. G-d promised Avraham his people would be great, but the Jews were only sovereign for a little bit and the whole world kind of dislikes the Jews now, and before that people abused the Jews... they weren't/aren't so great... Or do you disagree?

I shall believe in you because you are totally invisible

The story goes that Avraham woke up one day thinking who created this beautiful world. He went on a hill and saw the big sun and it's power and said AHA! that must be what created the world. Then when he saw that the sun dissappeared, and the moon came along he thought to himself AHA! The moon must be the creator. But also the moon left after the night was over.

Avraham then came to a conclusion that God, who is not visible AT ALL must be the creator of the world.

How does this make sense?The sun and the moon both left, but they also both came back so that could have also made sense that they are the Gods. How did Avraham even come up with this concept of God if it was not even visible and known?

Number 8

The number eight seems to repeat itself a lot in the Torah. As we learned in Parshat Shmini, the eighth day is chosen for the dedication of the Mishkan. In Parshat Tazria the eighth day is chosen for the brit milah. In Parshat Metzorh the eighth day is chosen for the day on which the cleansed Metzorah, Zav, and Zavah bring their special korbanot. We also know that Shmini Atzeret is the eighth day of succot. As we have just read, in Parshat Lech Lecha we are introduced to the idea of giving a brit to a boy at eight days old (Ishmael and Avram are both circumcised). So I started to wonder, why on the eighth day?? Why not on the seventh day. The number seven seems to be a lot more 'popular' in Judaism. For example, Shabbat is on the seventh day, Shemittah is on the seventh year, seven weeks of counting the omer, seven days of creation, and the list goes on and on. I believe Zahava even did a blog on the number seven in the beginning of the year! Do any of you have any suggestions to the significance of the number eight?

I remember discussing this question in Parsha class with Rabbi Goldberg last year. He told us a nice idea. Seven days is a week and the eighth day is a 'renewal.' The eighth day symbolizes a new beginning. Yes, we do rest on the seventh day, but the week is not complete until shabbat is over-the eighth day. Perhaps a brit milah is done on the eighth day to start 'fresh' in a way. It is pretty exciting after a baby's full week in the world, so on the eighth day he is given a brit milah. The same goes for the dedication of the Mishkan. The Jewish people are preparing the Mishkan and getting ready for its completion for a week and on the eighth day, they were blessed with the beginning of a fully functioning Mishkan.

Who Is Avraham?

Do You Really Know Avraham?

Abraham. Avraham. We all know him as the first on a list of our three forefathers. We know that he made a covenant with God. But what do we really know about Avraham?

We're first introduced to Avraham when we're introduced to his father and his siblings. There's nothing in the passukim that makes it seem like Avraham is anything special. The passukim talk a little bit about his brother dying and then how they leave... and then it ends, right...

And then there's לֶךְ-לְךָ, which starts talking about Avraham like we already know him or something. Literally, לֶךְ-לְךָ starts talking about Avraham like we know him or something. But we don't! Why is Hashem coming out and appearing to Avraham and telling him stuff? What's going on here? Is there something I'm missing? Do you know something that I don't?

I mean, Hashem doesn't appear to just anyone, right? Obviously there's something special about Avraham, I'm not denying it. We clearly witness the awesomeness of Abraham later on, but we know nothing about him before this! And is he really the only one like him? What if there was somebody else who had the same thoughts as Avraham and didn't worship the sun? 

Seriously, we know nothing about Avraham, and all of a sudden Hashem is offering up the land to him. Yeah, that just happened. I feel like it would make us more comfortable if we knew more about him.

This must come to teach us something. So what is it teaching us? I would love to hear your feedback. I could make up something, I suppose. Maybe it comes to show us that there doesn't need to be anything particularly special about a person's background for a person to be particularly special. It doesn't matter what happened to Avraham in the first few years of his life, or any other small little details. What matters s that obviously there was something unique about him that set him apart from the rest of the people of his generation. Clearly he believed in one God and was special enough for Hashem to appear to him. After Hashem appears to him, we see that Hashem made the right decisions because Avrahams behavior throughout shows us what a truly righteous person he was.

Well, that was just my take on it. What do you guys think? 

Here's another Abraham: Abraham Maslow. Some of you guys might recognize him as being that psychology guy. Anyways, maybe this is what Avraham looked like! Who knows? Guess we'll just have to keep on looking at pictures of Abraham until we're done blogging about him! Yay!

Universal to Particular

Up until the story Avraham we mentioned a lot in class the idea that everything that is going on is universal. The Torah is not just pinpointing at the Jewish nation; we were looking at Bereishit through a universal lens. For example, when we were learning about Dor Hamabul, we talked about the brit, treaty, between man and G-d. The treaty was that G-d will never destroy the world if the people after the mabul follow the sheva mitzvot bnei Noach. We emphasized that this was a UNIVERSAL idea and that everyone must show respect for the hierarchy and follow the sheva mitzvot bnei Noach. However, today, when I was reading through the pessukim of Lech Lecha I realized that we are no longer focused on the world, we are focused on Avram because Avram is the one who will multiply, become a strong nation, and enter the Land of Israel. This is focused on us, the Jewish people. I think we should all realize this important shift in the sefer. However, I am left with a question: why? Why all of the sudden does G-d turn to Avram and decide to make a great nation out of him? I was thinking maybe G-d saw that the world, universally could not live up to his 'standards.' Like we always said in class, it seemed as though we were going from sin to sin and even more sin. Perhaps Migdal Bavel was the last straw. So after Migdal Bavel, G-d realized that He needs a nation, a people that is devoted to Him and his ways and that is where Avram fits in the picture. Obviously, my explanation is a bit childish because I am making it seem like G-d has feelings and made a mistake by thinking the whole world could be his chosen people. However, maybe G-d allowed all of this to happen to lead up to the story of Avram and our people. Just like we all want to know why G-d chose Avram, we also want to know why us? What was wrong with the rest of the world? And perhaps, that is what the first 11 perakim of Bereishit come to teach us.

Hello my dear fellow classmates,

So for the previous perek, we were either presented with a genealogy list or an account. Throughout the Torah, we always see that there are certain members of the family(the "bad" ones) that fade away from history while others(the "good" ones) remain in history. The ones who go down, are always mentioned as a genealogy list whereas the ones that remain are told as an account and story. For example, Yaakov was the son who rose and from whom the descendants of Israel came, whereas Esav faded away. My question is the following:why is there always one person in the family that has to go down while another rises? what is the significance and purpose for this? why is that even important?

Midrashim: What to Trust?

Do You Trust Midrashim?

And More Specifically: Who Is Abraham?

This past week we were introduced to Avraham a little bit.

Or were we? 

I mean, sure, we learn who his father was and his siblings and his wife and that she was barren. We learned that Terach, Avraham, Lot, and Sarai went to Canaan and went to live in Haran. 

I feel like we know more about Charan (who dies) than we do Avraham. What's the deal? It seems a bit odd. Like, we're about to go into this whole story and Avraham (he's technically Avram now) who's going to be the father of Judaism. We have practically no background check on this guy, we hardly know anything about him!

And then the Midrash hops along...

Rashi brings up a midrash that supposedly resembles the pshat. Though he rejects its textual reference, he still thinks its true. The midrash is on the words "al pnei aviv". There's this whole elaborate story about how Avraham wouldn't worship idols and Terach allowed them to put him in the fire and he survived so then Haran follows suit and he dies, and so that was his father's fault for letting that happen. I don't know, but I just don't buy it. There's no proof for this whatsoever. Why would we get insight onto Avraham when the torah is telling us something about his brother? 


Right now I feel a little bit lost because I feel like I know nothing definite about Avraham. I know that there are a lot of things that aren't definite, but it would be nice to have a little background on him, right? He is the father of Judiasm. 
Nachmonodies has this whole explanation as to why the kivshon ha'esh thing really did happen and- as opposed to what Rashi said- how it fits into context. I give him props for his efforts, but I disagree with him. It's very well thought out, but it's still pretty much coming from nowhere. 
My only comfort comes with the Rambam. He always has something smart to say, probably because he's such a logical guy. What's interesting about what the Rambam says is that he actually brings in proof from other sources. As opposed to just going with the Midrash, he pulls in sources from the other side, from a book called The Nabatean Agriculture. He gives a little more information as to the background of Abraham: about how Avraham lived among idol worshipers but didn't believe in that, so he gathered his own followers, but then got arrested, and then there was a miracle and he got out of jail and escaped. 
What I like most about the Rambam's explination is that unlike the other commentators, he doesn't try to come up with a loophole and pretend like this was actually mentioned in the Torah. He says that Avraham is specifically not mentioned in the text to distinguish between Torah and Philosophy. Had it given us the story, people might conclude that there's only one way to worship God. 
In conclusion, I find it hard to believe Midrashim because, although they are interesting, they are hardly backed up by context. Though the Rambam's answer is sufficient for now, I would still like have liked to know a little more about Avraham before we jump into a whole story about him becoming the leader.


-What do you guys think about Midrashim? Do you agree or disagree? Why?
-Whose explanation did you like the best?
-Are you content with the whole Avraham situation? Would you like to know more about him? Or is there enough?

I feel like it's awkward getting a drawing of Abraham, so here's another Abraham: Lincoln that is! Hey, maybe they looked the same! We'll never know...

World History + Chumash

I know I have not been in class lately and I am kind of out of sync, but today I was actually in class when we were discussing Avraham and his background compared to the other people of the time. Like many other times in chumash class, world history was coming into the picture. I recognized the name of the Sabeans that are mentioned in Rambam because we covered them in Chapter 9 of world history! It is actually so cool to realize how Judaism is aligned with the history of the world. I know that it is obvious that the histories and the books will overlap, but it is still cool to see.

I think that this can be a proof for us that the Torah is true, and we can trust it as a reliable source. There are so many ways to connect the Torah to other textbooks that we have so much trust in. Despite the fact that many people believe in the Torah because we are taught to, there are ways to actually prove that the Torah is a factual source and that we can believe in the words that are written in the Torah. I think that this is a very important lesson for us to learn, as we all have tendencies to doubt certain aspects of our religion.

Hello my dear fellow classmates,

So when we learned about Dor Haphala, i found the approach we discussed very interesting. Hashem wanted the people to spread and he therefore made sure that the people all spoke different languages. Language barriers automatically separate human beings from each other and basically doesnt allow them to interact fully. You would not be able to communicate completely with someone who didnt speak any english. You could use your hands and feet perhaps but you could never have some deep meaningful conversation with them. My question is the following: Why would god want this separation between human beings to last for all these years. Although it seems like a great plan at the time, was it really a good idea to do this even if it affected us until now?

We learned in class today that the life story of Avraham (and what happened around him) was not included in the torah so that we will not think that there is only one way to approach God and that there is one way to serve God the right way, and therefore we would be able to say that we cannot and are not like Avraham and therefore cannot serve God like that.

I feel like even though this was not in the torah, in other places it gives off that feeling that there is one way to serve God, and many people end up saying they are not able to fufill this and serve God this way.
Did I not understand this clearly or do you agree with me?

Avraham

As we begin to learn about Avraham, still Avram right now, an interesting question was asked in class. Who is Avram? What did he do that he merits G-d speaking to him and giving him a mission to fulfill? The Torah speaks plenty about Avraham's future, but not so much about his past.


I wanted to know why, so I went online and read an article that provides us with and explains an answer. If you want to read it, go to this websitehttp://vbm-torah.org/archive/intparsha71/03-71lekh.htm. 


Rabbi Yaakov Beasley says something we have been discussing ever since we started Bereishet. In the beginning, the hope for the world was that G-d could have a relationship with everyone, and everyone would respect the hierarchy. However, we saw that this simply couldn't happen. When Avraham is introduced, we see a shift from G-d trying to have a relationship with everyone, to G-d choosing an individual to carry out His vision for the world. So why aren't we provided with information about what Avraham did to merit such an honor? Perhaps, says Rabbi Beasley, we are given background information when Hashem deliberates whether or not to inform Avraham of His intention to punish Sedom. The pasuk says, "17 And Hashem said, “Shall I hide from Abraham that which I am doing; 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have known him, to the end that he will command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice." What made Avraham special was his willingness to inform the world about Hashem.


Another question we had was about why we are told about Terach and his family moving to Canaan, and then in the next parsha we pick up with Avraham being told to leave. Rabbi Beasley provided a passage by Rav Soloveitchik to reconcile the two opinions of Ramban and Ibn Ezra:


Ibn Ezra says that Terach went in response to the divine command that Abraham received from God...  If we accept this interpretation, we can solve another riddle.  Our Sages stated that Terach repented and embraced the new faith his son was preaching...  However, what we miss is the story of Terach’s conversion...  when did it happen?...  According to the Aggada, Terach was the one who informed King Nimrod of Abraham’s abusive and blasphemous treatment of the hallowed images and idols...  Later - I don’t know how long it took - the same Terach saw the light and realized that Abraham was right...  This was a tremendous change in Terach.  What prompted Terach to act so strangely?... Surely the great revolution in Terach’s thinking was precipitated by doubts, soul-searching, and reappraisal.  In a word, it was the transformation of a ba’al teshuva that was responsible for the decision to abandon Ur in Chaldea...  When the command of lekh lekha came and Abraham began to pack his bags, he realized to his great surprise that his father’s bags had already been packed long before.  Father and son, hitherto locked in mortal combat, joined hands and together started out on a great march towards Canaan.  Nachmanides challenges the position taken by Ibn Ezra...  I believe the question can be easily resolved ...  Since he [Abraham] felt obligated to give him respect and to revere him, he made it appear to outsides that the one who had taken the initiative was not himself but Terach...  In spite of his good intentions ...  Terach did not succeed.  He did not reach the destination ...  He had not succeeded in transforming himself totally.  He still had great fears and doubts

Jack and the Beanstalk

In class this past week, I thought about the story of Jack and the Beanstalk when we were discussing the people building a tower up to heaven. Although the stories do not directly relate, I have tried to put the two together. First of all, there is the obvious similarity that the two "towers" went up to heaven. Hashem and the Ogre, who lived in heaven, are similar in the sense that they both were upset with Jack, or the people for doing what they did. Jack tried to steal golden eggs, and he got away with it, but the Ogre was not happy. And, in the end, he had to cut the beanstalk down because the Ogre caught him running away with his gold. The people of this generation wanted to show their authority, which was going against everything that Hashem told them to do. They built a tower that they believed would reach heaven, but they were very wrong. Their attempt only led to punishment because they disrespected the natural hierarchy that Hashem put in place. In Jack's case, the Ogre followed him down the Beanstalk, so he had to cut it down. In the case of the people and the tower, they were unable to complete their mission and Hashem punished them by mixing up their languages so that they could not understand each other. In a way, Hashem was helping them by scattering them throughout the land in order to help them repopulate the world. It seems that both of these stories end well. Jack cuts down the Beanstalk and is successful in killing the Ogre, and in our case, Hashem helps the people spread out. Even though they could no longer understand each other, Hashem helped push them in the right direction instead of destroying them again.

Before & After

As we were racing through Noach - we learned about the Mabul (obviously). We saw the differences between before the mabul and after:
Before: there was this moral code that was never explicitly stated but that we implied. Clearly, the people really didn't fully comprehend this moral code because the sinned. So...

After: Hashem decided to explicitly state laws that were for everyone - now we know them as the Sheva Mitzvot B'nei Noach. This applied to everyone living in the world.

Personally, I really liked the idea that Hashem 'realized' that we weren't perfect - and that we must be explicitly told something in order to actually fulfill Hashem's wishes. As a child, we are taught many things - however, if we were never told these things, we would most likely never end up doing these things. This shows just how important it was that Hashem explicitly stated the commandments and the importance of having set laws (the Sheva Mitzvot B'nei Noach). Although we much later received the Torah, and along with it many mitzvot, we had these 7 laws at this time - and that allowed us to strive towards Hashem's image of how the world should work, and although we don't always reach this ideal, the laws and Hashem's explicit statement of them, helped us better ourselves as individuals and as a nation.

Is A Rainbow Just A Simple, Everyday Thing?

We all know that we are constantly "taking our lives for granted" and we take such simple things in our lives for granted. We often acknowledge that we have things, but we don't really take a minute to really think "wow it's so amazing that I have this."
A rainbow - an arch of colors formed in the sky in certain circumstances, caused by the refraction and dispersion of the sun's light by rain or other water droplets in the atmosphere - as defined in the dictionary. However, did anyone sit and look at a rainbow, and see how beautiful it is and really wonder why we have rainbows? I know this isn't true for me. One morning, as I walked into my kitchen I saw this rainbow reflected on the lamp. I realized that it was a result of the sun hitting the crystal piece we have hanging from our fan. However, I didn't really think of the meaning of a rainbow - even though this wasn't necessarily a rainbow in the sky as a result of a storm, it's still important that we understand the true meaning of a rainbow.
After the Mabul, when Hashem destroyed the world because the people were sinning, Hashem saw that man sins naturally. It's a man's natural reaction to sin and to do wrong and to not live up to what Hashem maybe expects from them. So, Hashem made a brit, promise, to never destroy the world by way of flood ever again - and as a symbol of this brit, He puts a rainbow in the sky after a storm to remember this Brit, and to reassure us that it will not be broken.
It's really a miracle that Hashem gives us this sign, to show us that maybe He wanted to destroy the world, but since He made this brit - He didn't. When just looking at a rainbow and thinking, "oh wow it's beautiful," you don't delve into the deep meaning that this rainbow really entails. However, once realizing, and acknowledging that true meaning of a rainbow - it enhances it's beauty so much more.

Will We Ever Be "Perfect"?

We have discussed many times in class, that Hashem had a picture of how the world was going to work, and it obviously didn't happen when Adam and Chava ate the fruit from the tree. We have also discussed that after these events, Hashem again thought that maybe the world could go on as it was planned. This doesn't only happen in this instance. We always in a way "disappointing" Hashem, and ruining his initial picture of what was supposed to happen, even today.
Adam and Chava were put in the Garden "l'avdah ool'shamrah." They didn't have any desires and they were supplied with what they needed, but they still sinned. As a result, they are expelled from the garden and now have to work the land and toil for what they were previously simply supplied with.
Obviously, we know that Hashem is all-knowing and that he doesn't really get "disappointed" - so I often find myself asking "then why does he punish us for not being perfect, when he has to know that we won't actually be like this?" We discussed in class that when Hashem makes the Brit - saying that he will never destroy the world again, he is showing that he knows that man will not be "perfect" and that it's a recognition that it's almost natural for man to sin. However, we have to understand that there are consequences to our actions, and although G-d knows we might not reach perfection, we have to at least push ourselves towards that "ideal" even though we may fail.

The Various Names of Hashem

We all remember looking into the various named used for Hashem in Perek Yud Tet in Sefer Vayikra, of course. We learned the difference between Ani Hashem Elokechem and Ani Hashem, and we concluded that there's a distinct difference in the mitzvot that are categorized under these two names. Ani Hashem is often associated with mitzvot that express morality and goodness - and shows Hashem as the paradigm of good. When Ani Hashem Elokechem is associated with a mitzvah it shows Hashem as divine, and as an authoritative figure. These mitzvot are often religious demands from Hashem.
Right at the start of Bereishit - in Perek Alef - the word Elokim is used to refer to Hashem. This name implies justice. How does this make sense in Perek Alef? Well, Perek Alef is describing Hashem's creation of nature, and we see that Hashem is in control of nature. We see the hierarchy where man is higher than animals, but is still below, or subservient to, Hashem. So, the name Elokim is perfect because there isn't a personal relationship between man and G-d just yet - Elokim shows us that Hashem is the universal G-d of everything created.
In Perek Bet, we have seemingly a repetition of the events from Perek Alef. However, it really gives us a different PERSPECTIVE on these events. The name used in this perek is Hashem Elokim - which seems to be combining two different names. Hashem implies the relationship between man and G-d. In Perek Bet, we see a bigger focus on man's role in the world, but we still have this idea of "Elokim." This further instills this 'hierarchy' - it shows that we have a role (unlike animals) as hinted by Hashem, but G-d is still above man, and we are still subservient to Him - as implied by Elokim.

דור המבול Today

Since we have been zooming through Bereshit, it has been easy to pick up on some themes that can also apply to other areas of the Torah and to all areas of life. We learned about the features that set apart the different sins that we have learned so far, and how that feature corresponds to the consequences of the actions. Door Ha'mabol committed a moral sin by a community while Cain committed a moral sin by an individual. On the other side, we have religious sins committed by Adam and Chava and Door Ha'flaga (sorry for the spelling!)

It is difficult for me to understand the magnitude of the punishments or consequences that these people faced. We today have no sense of a consequence of our actions. When we speak lashon hara, Hashem does not come down to us immediately and deliver our punishment. Instead, we are left in a state of unknowing and, in my opinion, injustice. We have no sense of immediate consequences as the people in the beginning of Bereshit had. When Adam and Chava sinned, Hashem immediately came to them and gave their consequence. When Cain killed his brother, the same thing happened. And on and on. What if today we had the same kind of system where Hashem appeared to us with our punishment right after we sinned? How would our behavior change as a result of this immediate consequence?

Even more so, if we had the same system of punishments, would our behavior today result in Hashem's destroying of the world? Is our morality just as low as Door Ha'mabol and would we therefore deserve the destruction of the world? It is hard to correct our behavior, but it is relatively easy to speculate.

Noach to Yitro

After learning about the Mabul, we learned differences between pre-mabul and post mabul. Before the mabul there was an implied moral code and inferred ethics. The people obviously could not handle this so after the mabul there was an explicit set of laws that were for everyone. These are the sheva mitzvot bnei Noach. This universal system applied to the WHOLE world. After the mabul man also had dominance and authority over animals while before it was only 'Civshua.' This weekend in particular I found this very interesting because this past week's parsha was parshat Yitro. This is when the Jewish people get the Torah. After this we really become 'Bnei Yisrael' with a book of 613 mitzvot. From this we see how Bnei Yisrael gradually become a nation of G-d. This is such a momentous event and we must realize that during this event all of the Jews were together. They were one nation, all standing together trembling at the voice of G-d. There is such a difference between this situation and the mabul. The mabul happened because the world was corrupt and the people didn't understand the natural order of things. Noach had to separate himself from the whole (community) because it was so corrupt. This description does not represent a nation. If we look at how the Jewish people grew from the time of the mabul all the way to Matan Torah, it is pretty amazing. This shows us that things don't just change in a minute, day, week, or even a year. Things take time, and the people were ready at Har Sinai- although they hesitated a bit. If the Torah was given after the mabul instead of the sheva mitzvot bnei Noach, then we might not even be here today. There is no way the people were ready for such a high standard. More importantly, we learn the importance of community and unity, the theme of the shabbaton! When we got the Torah we were one, and we must stay that way for eternity. However, along the way, there might be times when the community is corrupt and we need to separate from it just like Noach did.

דור המבול

דור המבול

And The Re-Creation Of the World

There was something terrible about the people in the generation of the flood. That is why Hashem decided that there was no other choice but to start all over. 

Hashem created everyone Betzelem Elokim with the assumption that everyone should know basic wrongs (like killing people=wrong) and basic rights. However, He was sorely mistaken (cue: Cian incident). After clarifying that people aren't allowed to go around killing people and such, one would assume people would understand morals. (And after the whole Adam and Chava incident, you'd think people would understand religious commandments). This is not the case. In Noah's generation, people's behavior has gotten out of control, downright disgusting. The world was filled with violence and everyone had bad thoughts. They were all truly corrupt people.They didn't respect the hierarchy and treated animals like they were humans, even though Hashem definitely made it clear that an animal could never be Adam's ezer kenegdo (cue: Chava). They lacked the understanding that they were created B'tzelem elokim and animals weren't. Additionally, they were acting like animals and being very violent and beastly. 

(This should remind you of the people of Sedom. Also, their sins were a lot like Cian's; these were moral sins.) This is totally against Hashem's plan for the world, which is why...

Hashem creates a flood that wipes out the entire world except for  Noah and his family and the animals he takes. By sending out the flood, it is basically the equivalent of getting a clean slate. Hahsem is starting over, creating a new world. 

This time, when He creates the world, he is much more specific. Not only did Hashem tell the people to multiply and that they were created btzelem elokim (see: first few perakim) but this time he specifies some other things. Hashem flat out says that people have to respect each other and prohibits murder. This time, if somebody killed, they would know that it had been forbidden. God's not taking any chances with implications this time. Everything is going to be made perfectly clear. They are commandments that seem natural but now Hashem realizes that they need to be put out there. Commandments like no adultery,  and the need for court systems.  This time, maybe, people will get it. There are no expectations, there are rules. Now humans are allowed to eat animals, maybe this will help them recognize the hierarchy. However, humans aren't permitted to eat blood. This shows us that although eating animals establishes the hierarchy and shows that humans are above animals, humans aren't allowed to behave in beastly manners and eat blood.  This is all still a universal system, by the way. All humans need to keep these rules. With this new blueprint, you would assume that the world can now run smoothly. This universal system looks great!

All of this is formalized by the Brit. Hashem promised never to destroy the world. The brit is symbolized by a rainbow. The rainbow is an אות and a remembrance that Hashem destroyed the world once, but He will not do it again. The Brit is a contract and binding. This Brit is between Noah and Hashem, but also includes all of mankind and animals. Human's end of the brit is to follow the 7 mitzvoth b'nai Noach. Seems like a good deal!

What do you guys think of this whole situation? Do you think it's okay for Hashem to just go and destroy the world?   

The Tree of Knowledge

The Tree of Knowledge

of Good and Evil

And the First Sin

The story of the Tree of Knowledge begins in Perek 2 when Hashem commands Adam " Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat;but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

Afterwards, God created Adam's counterpart, Chava. (Keep in mind that she wasn't there when Hashem gave Adam this commandment. ) At the end of the Perek it states that they were naked and didn't care.

Now, perek 3.

The Scene: Serpent and Chava are in the Garden of Eden. Serpent asks Chava why God is being restrictive and not letting them eat from the trees. He's provoking her, that is sure.

The Mistake: Chava answers: "Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said: Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.". God Never said that they weren't allowed to touch it! Was this a miscommunication on Adam's part when he was relating the information to her (because she wasn't alive when Hashem commanded it). Or was she just building a fence around it? If so, what does this mean about fences? Or, she probably just forgot

Therefore: The serpent coaxes her to take a fruit. When she touches it and doesn't die, she eats it. 

-It says that the tree "was a delight to the eyes (passuk,6)". Wasn't Hashem making it all too easy for them to sin? Wouldn't it be easier if the tree was gross and old looking? I guess the answer would be that if this was a test, the tree would have to be appealing. There were other great trees there, including the tree of life, that they also could've taken from. 

But: If she thought that she was gonna die if she touched it and she didn't die, why wouldn't she eat from it?

And then: She brings some fruit to Adam and he eats it.

Knowledge: All of a sudden then realized they were naked and tried to cover it up; they were embarrassed. Before this, they were blissfully unaware of the fact they were naked. They were like little children. Now their eyes were opened. They know the difference between what is good and bad, not just fact and fiction. In this sense, it proves that they are different than Angels. This sin was a necessary step for humans to take. Although technically they were going against Hashem's commandment, it proves that humans aren't perfect, and are curious, and give in to doubt. 

God comes: We will see this with Cian also. God likes to ask rhetorical questions to see what the response will be. They heard God coming and hid. Then God asked Adam  "Where are you?". Adam replies "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." (Side question- what does that mean Hashem is coming into the garden? No wonder people draw images of God as a man figure coming and confronting Adam and Eve). God asks Adam how he knew he was naked and if he ate from the tree. 

Adam's Scapegoat: And the man said: "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." Is it just me or is Adam a coward? She didn't force feed that fruit down his throat, he took it and ate it! He's all like "Hashem, YOU gave me that woman, and not look what she did". He's refusing to take any of the responsibility beyond admitting that he ate from it. 

Punishments: Serpent: It was cursed and now it has to "eat dust" for the rest of his life and live on his belly.

Chava:'I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy travail; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.' I don't even know what to say about this passuk. It is super harsh. For crying out loud, she wasn't there when you commanded it! And what is this your husband is gonna rule over you shtuss? Is the Torah justifying male dominance in this passuk? Sure, that's what happened/happens in history, but they don't need a justification. Why wouldn't men feel superior when they're created first, women were created to be a companion for them and created with one of man's bones, AND God specifically told Chava that from now on man will rule of woman. That seems totally wrong and I wish for somebody to solve this for me. I think it's so wrong.

Adam:  'Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying: Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life." And he'll have to toil the land, and he's gonna sweat. I have a problem that the first thing Hashem says to Adam is "because you listened to your wife.." Why not start off by saying "because you sinned" or "because you ate from the tree.." I get that it's like "you listened to your wife and not me," but it's not like she was trying to hurt him. Whatever. So now Adam has to work. 

Then There's this Passuk (22): And the LORD God said: 'Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.' What is this us? What's the tree of life doing over here? You mean, if he would've eaten from the tree of life, he would've lived forever? What's with all of these mystical trees? Is any of this happening for real?

At the end of the perek they were kicked out of the garden of Eden.

Perek Bet

Salutations, 


Perek 2 starts off with some words we should all recognize: 

וַיְכֻלּוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ, וְכָל-צְבָאָם.
וַיְכַל אֱלkים בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי, מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה; וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי, מִכָּל-מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה.

(It's Shabbat! Cool!)
Okay, so just a bit of a flashback. In Perek 1 the world is created. The Torah describes step by step what is created in different days. Everything is being created out of nothing, and the world is no longer a mess.We learn that man is created Btzelem Elokim. <-- Super, duper Important for Bereshit. Don't forget it!
God made trees appear and everything is super lovely there. There are details about the rivers that run through including the Tigris and Euphrates (remember them?).
In passuk 17 there is the first commandment in the Torah. ויצו- and Hashem commanded. Hashem's commandment is that they are allowed to eat from all the trees in Eden except not the Tree of Knowledge / of good and bad. 
Now, as we go into Perek 2, we are learning new things about Man's purpose in the world. We discover that man's purpose is larger, that he is different than animals. Adam names the animals, which establishes the hierarchy and reinforces the idea that  Adam is above animals. Since an animal couldn't be Adam's Ezer Kenegto, at the end of the perek,Chava is created. 
At the end of the perek, the Torah says that they were both naked, but they were not ashamed. This will come in use when we talk about  their sin, because then they'll realize their nakedness.

The Garden of Eden

Questions:
It mentions the Tigris and Euphrates. Do you think this is significant? Do you think the Garden is actually on earth? What's the deal here? 
What do you think about Chava being made from Adam's bones? Do you think this establishes men as being superior to women?

Tzelem Elokim and Goy Kadosh

Is it just a coincidence that we learned Vayikra and are now learning Bereshit? I don't think so. Or even if it is, it is a lovely coincidence, isn't it? 
Who remembers what the main themes we discussed in Vayikra?......


Vayikra is all about kedusha, how to be a goy kadosh, and how to be a separate nation. We have laws that we need to follow, and a lot of restrictions. We are commanded קדושים תהי
. This means that we need to emulate God and act in a respectable way. Ramban said that we shouldn't look for loopholes to be acting in a respectful way with the permission of the Torah. There are some high expectations for the Jewish people.


Back track to Bereshit. At the beginning of the sefer, the world is created and every human is made in צלם אלוקים. 
In Bereshit, we see that Hashem's initial plan for the world was for everyone to be one big, happy people. Everyone was created in צלם אלוקים, and that's cool. After the first sin, God was like, okay, now this should be it. After the second sin, it was like, okay now that should be it. It wasn't. So in Noach's generation, Hashem had no choice but to destroy the world and start all over. He/She/It basically made another creation. After that creation, surely the world can go on as planned, universally?  There were specific rules drawn out! But not really... And after the Bavel incident, Hashem spread the people out and made them speak different languages. We are slowly switching from a universal people to one nation, the Jewish people. 


צלם אלוקים is something everyone has. Every human being is born with צלם אלוקים and the obligation to keep the 7 mitzvoth bnai Noach. 
Then there is the Jewish nation. They were chosen to go beyond those 7 mitzvoth. The expectations are raised. Though the whole world could not meet Hashem's expectations, the Jewish nation, when behaving as commanded, should represent the ideal that Hashem wanted for the whole world. It's not just about the fact that we were born with צלם אלוקים, it's that we were commanded to be a goy kadosh. There are a lot of specific details because, as we've seen, without specific prohibitions, things can go terribly wrong.


I think the farther we advance into Bereshit, the more connections we'll be able to make.
What do you guys think?
Do you see any connections between Bereshit and Vayikra. 

Good Guys and Bad Guys

This past week we learned that Toldot is the overall theme of sefer Bereishit. We saw that those who were the "bad" kids in each generation were categorized under "geneology" and those who were "good" were categorized under "stories." We skimmed through the material and saw how the story progressed from Adam to Yaakov and his sons, who became us, the Jewish nation. But, we know that there were always bad guys in each generation after Yaakov and his good sons. It became normal for each generation to have some bad guys and some good guys, and we can still see this today. In each generation there are people who go "off the derech" and stray from the ways of the Torah or the ways of their parents. So, what I want to know is, could these people be considered the "bad" guys? Many times they just go through phases where they want to rebel, but as they mature, they come back to where they started, so they do not seem "bad."

Also, do you think there were people like this in the story of Bereishit who were bad and then became good? Which category would they be listed in if this were the case?

The chosen nation?

We learned in class that parashat Toldot, refers to both geneology and stories, and that the geneologies of the "bad people" who did not follow Gods ways were told while the stories of the "good people" who went in derech hashem were told. We also said that this is in order to trace down where we came from. (In the end we are all split up from the 12 tribes)

I think that it is so strange how always one person in the family did the wrong thing and did not follow Gods wishes, but in the end, did God really punish them? The non Jews in this day and age have it really nice, and they live a good life. It is not like the people who do better deeds get a better life and rewards (At least in this life).

I am confused about this idea of us being the chosen nation being such a good think, and an advantage if we have more chances to fail (Since we have many more mitzwot to follow, clearly 613 mitzwot is much harder to complete than 7)

What do you guys think about this? Am I alone on this one or am I missing something?

hello my dear fellow classmates,
so today we learned that the reason why god destroyed the world by bringing the Mabul was that the people didn't act Bezelem Elokim and didn't follow the hierarchy of the world. Then we learned how the reality of the people changed after the Mabul. After the Mabul, their commandments and Hashems expectations of them were stated instead of simply implied and assumed. Before the Mabul, there was an assumed morality that Hashem had for the people and he therefore never stated his expectations from them in a straightforward manner. Clearly, the people didnt have this assumed morality and were therefore sinning. My question is the following: is it fair that god decided to destroy the world because the people sinned if their sin wasn't truly "their fault" since they were never told to not act in such a manner? If one is never educated and its just assumed that he should know the information is it fair to expect him to know the information.

Going Back a Week

Hello,

I was thinking about Adam and Chava tonight, because today in Rabbi Gersten's Bereishet class we talked about Day 6 of Creation, and what it means to be created B'tzelem Elokim. As I was thinking about Adam and Chava, my mind wandered to the day we discussed the fact that before they ate from the Tree of Knowledge, they knew things but did not impart value, whereas after they ate from the tree they knew things and put values on it. For example, before they ate from the tree, the fact that it was raining wasn't bad or good- it was simply raining. After they ate from the tree, the fact that it was raining might be annoying or good.

Anyways, I was wondering: If they didn't impart value on what they knew, then did the fact that they knew G-d created the world really mean anything? That is to say, they knew G-d was G-d and created the world, but they wouldn't have given value to that statement. Did this perhaps effect Adam and Chava's choice to disobey Hashem and eat from the tree? Or should it have prevented them?

Also: Why was it that G-d wanted them to not impart value? Why were they created this way?