Beit Midrash

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  • Parashat Hashavua
קטגוריה משנית
  • Torah Portion and Tanach
  • Bereshit
To dedicate this lesson
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All year we progressed through the Torah from Bereishit, the story of creation after the tohu (primordial void), to "… before the eyes of all of Israel" (Devarim 34:12). Now we make our way backward, from the highest revelations of Hashem’s words, to the first light to break forth over the void.
There is a connection between the divine revelation that accompanied the creation of heaven and earth and that which is included in Hashem’s involvement in human history, which reached its pinnacle at the giving of the Torah. Each element teaches something about the other. Chazal see a hint in the word "bereishit" that the world was created because of Israel and the Torah, which are both called "reishit" (first). There is no purpose for human life in creation if we do not connect the beginning of the Torah to its end. A creation that does not know its Creator does not know itself and cannot find significance for its existence. It remains stuck in tohu. It is for good reason that Chazal call the first 2,000 years of the world tohu (Sanhedrin 97a).
The world cannot appreciate its Maker without seeing His part in history. The Kuzari (1:25) explains that this is the reason that the first commandment at Sinai begins with "I am Hashem, your G-d, who took you out of Egypt" and not "… who created the world." Hashem’s role in creation is left mysterious; we learn about Him from human and Jewish history. We understand Rabbi Yitzchak’s famous question: why didn’t the Torah start with "This month is for you the head of the months," the first mitzva given to Bnei Yisrael, as they were preparing to leave Egypt. The main part of the Torah indeed only starts with the Exodus, which helps us internalize the existence of Hashem.
On the other hand, the main goal of history, including the giving of the Torah, is to return the world to the light of the seven days of creation. Through "before the eyes of all of Israel," we come to Hashem’s creation of the world.
"There shall be light" was a divine decree. The world did not emerge from some blind battle between great powers. It came about ex nihilo by His word. Its purpose existed already before the world was created, and thus it is not human intellect that will lead the world. Man is simply one of the creations of "He Who said and the world was." Man is subservient to Hashem, whether or not he is aware of this fact. Fortunate is the person who willingly accepts this role, and woe onto one who tries to ignore it.
Our parasha describes so vividly how Adam tried to extricate himself from Hashem’s dominion by means of the Tree of Knowledge. The snake promised, "You shall be like G-d" (Bereishit 3:5), and this is what drove him to act. This was the venom of the snake, which tried to turn knowledge into something that serves the desires of one’s eyes and taste. Throughout various stages in human history, people thought they could challenge Hashem (see Yeshaya 14:14). The powers of our era, who create all sorts of machines of destruction, also demonstrate the great danger of eating from the Tree of Knowledge without being protected by the path of the Tree of Life.
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Lessons
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    Torah Study

    What Is the Significance of the Number 40 in Jewish Tradition?

    Rabbi Stewart Weiss | Tevet 4 5782
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    Bemare Habazak - Rabbis Questions

    Playing Darts on Shabbat

    Can we play darts on Shabbat? The darts are classic ones that pierce the board’s surface; the board hangs loosely from a nail in the wall; in between uses, the darts often stay on the boar

    Rabbi Daniel Mann | Av 23 5781
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    Prayer

    Nefillat Apayim and the Prayers of Supplication

    Chapter Twenty One-Part One

    Chapter Twenty One-Part One

    Rabbi Eliezer Melamed | 5775
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    Prayer

    Birkot HaShachar – The Morning Blessings

    Chapter nine-part one

    Chapter nine-part one

    Rabbi Eliezer Melamed | 5775
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    Prayer

    ?How we should dress for Prayer

    Chapter five-part two

    Chapter five-part two

    Rabbi Eliezer Melamed | 5775
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    The Laws of Kashrut

    Keeping Kosher - Eating Out

    Rabbi David Sperling
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    Jewish Holidays

    The Twentieth of Sivan

    "I noticed that the back of my siddur contains a large section devoted to selichos for the 20th of Sivan, yet I have never davened in a shul that observed this day. What does this date commemorate?"

    Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff | Sivan 17 5780
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    Self Guided Learning

    Shir Hyichud on Yom Kippur

    Who wrote Shirei Yichud and What is it all about? An analysis on this Yom Kippur song.

    Rabbi Yoel Lieberman | 5573
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    Prayer

    The Significance of Tachanun

    Although the importance of the tefillah of Tachanun is underappreciated by many, it should not be; it is actually based on Moshe Rabbeinu’s successful entreating of Hashem on Har Sinai to spare Klal Yisrael from punishment after their grievous sins: “Va’esnapel lifnai Hashem (Devarim 9:18, 25) - And I threw myself down in prayer before G-d,” (Tur, Orach Chayim 131).

    Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff | 5772
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    Additional Lessons

    Chalav Yisrael and Powdered Milk

    "Friends of ours keep chalav Yisrael, but they will use foods made with non-chalav Yisrael powdered milk. But I know from my professional research that one can purchase powdered mare's (female horses) and camel's milk – they are specialty products that command a very high premium. So why is there any difference between using non-chalav Yisrael powdered milk, and non-chalav Yisrael fluid milk?"

    Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff | 5772
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    Parashat Hashavua

    Why Do Children Start With Vayikra?

    Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli zt"l | 5771
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    Re'e

    More Mitzvot in Erets Yisrael

    Parashat Re'e

    The special Mitsvot of Israel seem like a burden to some people; Rabeinu Chaim seems to agree with that statement; The Maharit's explanation.

    Rabbi Aharon Angstreich | 5763
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