Bereishit (parsha)

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Bereishit, Bereshit, Bereishis, B'reshith, Beresheet, or Bereshees (בראשית, Hebrew for "in beginning,” the first word in the parshah) is the first weekly parshah or portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. Jews in the Diaspora read it the first Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in October.

The parshah consists of Genesis chapters 1:1–6:8. In the parshah, God creates the world, and Adam and Eve. They commit the first sin, however, and God expels them from the Garden of Eden. One of their sons, Cain, becomes the first murderer by killing his brother Abel out of jealousy. Adam and Eve also have other children, whose descendants populate the Earth, but each generation becomes more and more degenerate until God, despairing, decides to destroy humanity. Only one man, Noah, finds grace in the eyes of God.

The first chapter of Genesis written on an egg in the Israel Museum.

1 Summary
2 In classical Rabbinic interpretation
- 2.1 Genesis chapter 1
3 Commandments
4 References
5 Haftarah
6 The Weekly Maqam
7 Further reading
8 External links
- 8.1 Commentaries

[edit] Summary

[edit] Creation

When God began creation, the earth was unformed and void, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and God’s wind swept over the water. (Gen. 1:1:2.)

Creation of Light (illustration by Gustave Doré)

God spoke and created in six days:

First day: God separated light from darkness. (Gen. 1:3–5.)
Second day: God separated the waters, creating sky. (Gen. 1:6–8.)
Third day: God gathered the water below the sky, creating land and sea, and God caused vegetation to sprout from the land. (Gen. 1:9–13.)
Fourth day: God set lights in the sky to separate days and years, creating the sun, the moon, and the stars. (Gen. 1:14–19.)
Fifth day: God had the waters bring forth living creatures, and blessed them to be fruitful and multiply. (Gen. 1:20–23.)
Sixth day: God had the earth bring forth living creatures, and made man in God’s image, male and female, giving man dominion over the animals and the earth, and blessed man to be fruitful and multiply. (Gen. 1:24–28.) God gave vegetation to man and to the animals for food. (Gen. 1:29–30.)
Seventh day: God ceased work and blessed the seventh day, declaring it holy. (Gen. 2:1–3.)

The Creation of Adam (painting by Michelangelo)

[edit] The Garden of Eden

Before any shrub or grass had yet sprouted on earth, and before God had sent rain for the earth, a flow would well up from the ground to water the earth. (Gen. 2:4–6.) God formed man from the dust, blew the breath of life into his nostrils, and made him a living being. (Gen. 2:7.) God planted a garden in the east in Eden, caused to grow there every good and pleasing tree, and placed the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and bad in the middle of the garden. (Gen. 2:8–9.) A river issued from Eden to water the garden, and then divided into four branches: the Pishon, which winds through Havilah, where the gold is; the Gihon, which winds through Cush; the Tigris, which flows east of Asshur; and the Euphrates. (Gen. 2:10–14.) God placed the man in the garden of Eden to till and tend it, and freed him to eat from every tree of the garden, except for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, warning that if the man ate of it, he would die. (Gen. 2:15–17.)

Announcing that it was not good for man to be alone and that God would make for him a fitting helper, God formed out of the earth all the beasts and birds and brought them to the man to name. (Gen. 2:18–19.) The man Adam named all the animals, but found no fitting helper. (Gen. 2:20.) So God cast a deep sleep upon the man and took one of his ribs and fashioned it into a woman and brought her to the man. (Gen. 2:21–22.) The man declared her bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh, and called her woman. (Gen. 2:23.) Thus a man leaves his parents and clings to his wife, so that they become one flesh. (Gen. 2:24.) The man and the woman were naked, but felt no shame. (Gen. 2:25.)

The Fall of Man (painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder)

[edit] Adam and Eve

The serpent, the shrewdest of the beasts, asked the woman whether God had really forbidden her to eat any of the fruit in the garden. (Gen. 3:1.) The woman replied that they could eat any fruit other than that of the tree in the middle of the garden, which God had warned them neither to eat nor to touch, on pain of death. (Gen. 3:2–3.) The serpent told the woman that she would not die, but that as soon as she ate the fruit, her eyes would be opened and she would be like divine beings who knew good and bad. (Gen. 3:4–4.) When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing in appearance, and desirable as a source of wisdom, she ate some of its fruit and gave some to her husband to eat. (Gen. 3:6.) Then their eyes were opened and they saw that they were naked; and they sewed themselves loincloths out of fig leaves. (Gen. 3:7.)

Adam and Eve Driven out of Eden (illustration by Gustave Doré)

Hearing God move in the garden, they hid in the trees. (Gen. 3:8.) God asked the man where he was. (Gen. 3:9.) The man replied that he grew afraid when he heard God, and he hid because he was naked. (Gen. 3:10.) God asked him who told him that he was naked and whether he had eaten the forbidden fruit. (Gen. 3:11.) The man replied that the woman whom God put at his side gave him the fruit, and he ate. (Gen. 3:12.) When God asked the woman what she had done, she replied that the serpent duped her, and she ate. (Gen. 3:13.) God cursed the serpent to crawl on its belly, to eat dirt, and to live in enmity with the woman and her offspring. (Gen. 3:14–15.) God cursed the woman to bear children in pain, to desire her husband, and to be ruled by him. (Gen. 3:16.) And God cursed Adam to toil to earn his food from the ground, which would sprout thorns and thistles, until he returned to the ground from which he was taken. (Gen. 3:17–19.)

Adam named his wife Eve, because she was the mother to all. (Gen. 3:20.) And God made skin garments to clothe Adam and Eve. (Gen. 3:21.)

Remarking that the man had become like God, knowing good and bad, God became concerned that he should also eat from the tree of life and live forever, so God banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the soil. (Gen. 3:22–23.) God drove the man out, and stationed cherubim and a fiery ever-turning sword east of the garden to guard the tree of life. (Gen. 3:24.)

Death of Abel (illustration by Gustave Doré)

[edit] Cain and Abel

Eve bore Cain and Abel, who became a farmer and a shepherd. (Gen. 4:1–2.) Cain brought God an offering from the fruit of the soil, and Abel brought the choicest of the firstlings of his flock. (Gen. 4:3–4.) God paid heed to Abel and his offering, but not to Cain and his, distressing Cain. (Gen. 4:4–5.) God asked Cain why he was distressed, because he had free will, and if he acted righteously, he would be happy, but if he didn't, sin crouched at the door. (Gen. 4:6–7.) Cain spoke to Abel, and when they were in the field, Cain killed Abel. (Gen. 4:8.) When God asked Cain where his brother was, Cain replied that he did not know, asking if he was his brother’s keeper. (Gen. 4:9.) God asked Cain what he had done, as his brother’s blood cried out to God from the ground. (Gen. 4:10.) God cursed Cain to fail at farming and to become a ceaseless wanderer. (Gen. 4:11–12.) Cain complained to God that his punishment was too great to bear, as anyone who met him might kill him. (Gen. 4:14.) So God put a mark on Cain and promised to take sevenfold vengeance on anyone who would kill him. (Gen. 4:15.) Cain left God’s presence and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. (Gen. 4:16.)

[edit] Lamech followed Cain

Cain had a son, Enoch, and founded a city, and naming it after Enoch. (Gen. 4:16.) Enoch’s great-great-grandson Lamech took two wives: Adah and Zillah. (Gen. 4:17–19.) Adah bore Jabal, the ancestor of those who dwell in tents and amidst herds, and Jubal, the ancestor of all who play the lyre and the pipe. (Gen. 4:20–21.) And Zillah bore Tubal-cain, who forged implements of copper and iron. (Gen. 4:22.) Lamech told his wives that he had slain a lad for bruising him, and that if Cain was avenged sevenfold, then Lamech should be avenged seventy-sevenfold. (Gen. 4:23–24.)

The Death of Adam (painting by Piero della Francesca)

[edit] Adam’s line

Adam and Eve had a third son and named him Seth, meaning “God has provided me with another offspring in place of Abel.” (Gen. 4:25.) Seth had a son named Enosh, and then men began to invoke the Lord by name. (Gen. 4:26.) After the birth of Seth, Adam had more sons and daughters, and lived a total of 930 years before he died. (Gen. 5:4–5.) Adam’s descendants and their lifespans were: Seth, 912 years; Enosh, 905 years; Kenan, 910 years; Mahalalel, 895 years; and Jared, 962 years. (Gen. 5:6–20.) Jared’s son Enoch walked with God 300 years, and when he reached age 365, God took him. (Gen. 5:22–24.) Enoch’s son Methuselah lived 969 years and his son Lamech lived 777 years. (Gen. 5:21–31.) Lamech had a son Noah, saying that Noah would provide relief from their work and toil on the soil that God had cursed. (Gen. 5:28–29.) When Noah had lived 500 years, he had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Gen. 5:32.)

[edit] Wickedness among men

Divine beings admired and took wives from among the daughters of men, who bore the Nephilim, heroes of old, men of renown. (Gen. 6:2–4.) God set the days allowed to man at 120 years. (Gen. 6:3.) God saw how great man’s wickedness was and how man’s every plan was evil, and God regretted making man and became saddened. (Gen. 6:5–6.) God expressed an intention to blot men and animals from the earth, but Noah found God’s favor. (Gen. 6:7–8.)

[edit] In classical Rabbinic interpretation

[edit] Genesis chapter 1

A midrash (rabbinic commentary) explains that six things preceded the creation of the world: the Torah and the Throne of Glory were created, the creation of the Patriarchs was contemplated, the creation of Israel was contemplated, the creation of the Temple in Jerusalem was contemplated, and the name of the Messiah was contemplated, as well as repentance. (Genesis Rabba 1:4.)

The Mishnah (oral law) teaches that God created the world with ten Divine utterances. Noting that surely God could have created the world with one utterance, the Mishnah asks what we are meant to learn from this, replying, if God had created the world by a single utterance, men would think less of the world, and have less compunction about undoing God’s creation. (Mishnah Avot 5:1.)

[edit] Commandments

According to Maimonides and Sefer ha-Chinuch, two noted authorities on the commandments, there is one positive commandment in the parshah ^[1]:

To "be fruitful and multiply" (Gen. 1:28.)

Most rabbis agree, based on the Shulchan Aruch, that one does not have to have children but merely try to. Raising adopted children as your own also fulfils this mitzvah. ^[2]

[edit] References

^ See, e.g., Maimonides, Charles B. Chavel (trans.). The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides, vol. 1, 228. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4. Charles Wengrov (trans.) Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education, vol. 1, 83—85. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1991. ISBN 0-87306-179-9.
^ Ask the rabbi at Ohr Somayach. Retrieved October 15, 2006.

[edit] Haftarah

Isaiah (painting by Michelangelo)

The haftarah is a text selected from the books of Nevi'im ("The Prophets") that is read publicly in the synagogue after the reading of the Torah. The haftarah usually has a thematic link to the Torah reading that precedes it. The haftarah for Bereishit is:

for Ashkenazi Jews: Isaiah 42:5–43:10
for Sephardi Jews, Frankfurt am Main, and Chabad Lubavitch: Isaiah 42:5–21
for Yemenite Jews: Isaiah 42:1–16
for Italian Jews: Isaiah 42:1–21
for Karaite Jews: Isaiah 65:7–66:13

The parshah and haftarah in Isaiah 42 both report God’s absolute power. Genesis 1:1–2:4 and Isaiah 42:5 both tell of God’s creation of heaven and earth. The haftarah in Isaiah 42:6–7, 16 echoes the word “light” (and God’s control of it) from Genesis 1:3–5, but puts the word to broader use. And the haftarah puts the idea of “opening . . . eyes” (in Isaiah 42:7) in more favorable light than does the parshah (in Genesis 3:5–7).

[edit] The Weekly Maqam

In the Weekly Maqam, Sephardic Jews each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parshah. For Parshah Bereshit, Sephardic Jews apply Maqam Rast, the maqam that shows a beginning or an initiation of something. In this case it is appropriate because we are initiating the Book of Genesis.

[edit] Further reading

The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these classical sources:

Enûma Elish.
Epic of Gilgamesh: 11:258–307.
Genesis 9:1, 7; 35:11 (to be fruitful).
Numbers 13:31–33.
Deuteronomy 4:19.
2 Samuel 7:12–14.
Isaiah 42:5; 44:24; 51:9–10.
Jeremiah 4:23–28; 18:1–10; 23:3.
Malachi 2:15–16.
Psalms 8:5–8; 33:6–9; 74:12–17; 82:6–7; 89:9–11; 95:3–5; 100:3; 104:1–30.
Proverbs 8:22–29.
Job 26:12–13; 37:18; 38:4–18.
Mishnah: Taanit 4:3; Megillah 3:6; Yevamot 6:6; Sanhedrin 4:5, 10:3; Avot 5:1; Chullin 5:5; Mikvaot 5:4. 3rd Century.
Tosefta: Peah 4:10; Chagigah 2:6; Ketubot 6:8; Sotah 3:7, 9, 4:11, 17–18, 10:2; Sanhedrin 13:6; Keritot 4:15. 3rd–4th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction. Translated by Jacob Neusner. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 2002. ISBN 1-56563-642-2.
John 1:1–5.
Revelation 12:1–17.
Jerusalem Talmud: Berakhot 6a–b, 83b, 84b, 86b, 90a; Peah 8a. 4th Century.
Genesis Rabbah 1:1–29:5; 30:7–8; 31:1; 32:7; 33:3; 34:9, 13; 38:4, 9; 42:3; 44:17; 49:2; 50:7; 51:2; 53:8; 54:1; 61:4; 64:2; 65:13; 73:3; 80:5–6; 82:14; 85:2; 89:2; 92:6, 8; 97; 100:7. 5th Century.
Leviticus Rabbah 1:9; 6:6; 9:3, 6, 9; 10:5, 9; 11:1, 2, 7; 13:5; 14:1; 15:1, 9; 18:2; 19:6; 20:2; 22:2; 23:3, 9; 25:3; 27:1, 5; 29:11; 30:4; 31:1, 8; 33:6; 35:6, 8; 36:1, 4. 5th Century.
Babylonian Talmud: Berakhot 2a, 26a, 34b, 57b, 59b, 61a; Shabbat 88a, 89a, 95a, 109a, 111a, 118b, 119b; Eruvin 18a–b, 27b, 100b; Pesachim 2a, 54a, 72b, 88a, 118a; Yoma 20b, 23a, 44b, 52b, 67b, 75a; Sukkah 11b, 49a, 52b; Beitzah 36b; Rosh Hashanah 11a, 24b, 31a; Taanit 8a, 9b, 10a, 22b, 26a, 27b; Megillah 10b, 20b, 22a, 25a, 28a; Moed Katan 7b, 8b, 16a, 17a, 18b, 23a, 24b; Chagigah 2b, 11b–12b, 13b, 15a; Yevamot 61a–63a, 65b, 121a; Ketubot 5a, 8a, 10b, 61a, 67b; Nedarim 39b, 41a; Sotah 9b, 12a, 14a; Gittin 43b, 60a; Kiddushin 6a, 13b, 30b, 35a, 61b; Bava Kamma 55a; Bava Metzia 18a, 85b; Bava Batra 16a–b, 74b, 84a, 113a, 121a; Sanhedrin 29a, 37a–b, 38b–39a, 46b, 56a–b, 58a, 59b, 67b, 70b, 91b, 99a, 101b, 107b–108b, 110a, 113b; Makkot 23a; Shevuot 47b; Avodah Zarah 3a, 5a, 11b, 29a, 43b; Zevachim 116a; Menachot 29b; Chullin 26b, 27b, 60a–b, 71a, 83a; Bekhorot 8a, 47a, 55a–b; Tamid 32a; Niddah 22b, 25a, 30b, 45b. Babylonia, 6th Century.
Exodus Rabbah 1:2, 14, 20, 32; 2:4; 3:13; 5:1; 9:11; 10:1–2; 12:3; 14:2; 15:7, 22, 30; 21:6, 8; 23:4; 25:6; 29:6–8; 30:3, 13; 31:17; 32:1–2; 33:4; 34:2; 35:1; 41:2; 48:2; 50:1; 52:5.
Numbers Rabbah 1:1; 2:21; 3:8; 4:8; 5:3–4; 7:5, 7; 8:4; 9:7, 18, 24; 10:1–2, 4–5, 8; 11:2–3; 12:4, 6, 13; 13:2–3, 5–6, 12, 14; 14:6, 9, 12; 15:7, 9; 16:24; 17:1; 18:7, 22; 19:2–3, 11, 23; 20:2, 6; 21:18; 23:13.
Deuteronomy Rabbah 2:13, 25; 4:5; 6:11; 8:1; 9:8; 10:2.
Esther Rabbah: prologue 10–11; 3:9; 7:11; 9:2–3.
Song of Songs Rabbah 1:6, 16, 17, 25, 47; 2:41, 47; 3:18, 22; 4:32; 5:1, 13; 6:25; 7:17; 8:1.
Ruth Rabbah: prologue 7; 1:4; 2:3; 5:2; 8:1.
Lamentations Rabbah: prologue 4, 24, 26; 1:1, 37, 43, 52; 2:10; 3:13; 5:22.
Ecclesiastes Rabbah 1:3, 12–14, 35–37; 2:15, 23, 26–27; 3:1, 13–15, 17–18, 22; 5:7, 11; 6:9; 7:6–7, 20, 33, 35, 39, 42; 8:2; 9:8; 10:12.
Qur'an 5:27–32. Arabia, 7th Century.
Beowulf. Lines 99–114, 1255–68. England, 8th–11th Centuries. In, e.g., Beowulf: A New Verse Translation. Translated by Seamus Heaney, 9, 89. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000. ISBN 0-374-11119-7. (Cain).
Zohar 1:1a, 3b, 11b, 15a–59a, 59b, 60b, 70b–71a, 73a–b, 76a, 79b–80a, 82b, 85a, 95b, 97a–b, 102b, 103b, 105b, 115a, 124a, 128b, 130b–131a, 138a–b, 141b, 143a–b, 144b, 148b, 154b–155a, 158a, 162b–163a, 165a–b, 166b, 171a, 177a, 179a–b, 184a, 194a, 199b, 208a, 216a, 224a, 227b, 232a, 240a; 2:10a–b, 11b–12a, 15b, 23a, 24b, 27a–b, 28b, 34a, 37a–b, 39a, 51a, 54b–55a, 63b, 68b, 70a, 75a, 79a, 85b, 88a, 90a, 94b, 99b, 103a, 113b, 127b, 147b, 149b, 167a–168a, 171a, 172a, 174b–175a, 184a, 192b, 201a, 207b, 210b–211b, 219b, 220b, 222b, 224b, 226a, 229b–230a, 231a–b, 234b–235a; 3:7a, 9b, 19a–b, 24b, 35b, 39b–40a, 44b, 46b, 48a–b, 58a, 61b, 83b, 93a, 107a, 117a, 148a, 189a, 261b, 298a.
Thomas Hobbes. Leviathan, part 2, ch. 20; part 3, chs. 34, 36, 38; part 4, ch. 44. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, 259, 430, 432, 440, 453, 479, 486, 636–37, 645–47. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950.
John Milton. Paradise Lost. 1667. Reprint, Penguin Classics, 2003. ISBN 0-14-042439-3.
Mark Twain. The Diaries of Adam and Eve. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 2000. ISBN 1-57392-827-5
Thomas Mann. Joseph and His Brothers. Translated by John E. Woods, 3, 10–11, 19–20, 24–36, 56, 68–69, 76, 85–86, 88, 104–05, 107, 154, 160, 171, 323–24, 332, 347–50, 354, 393, 403, 441–42, 446–49, 457, 459, 463, 487, 524, 530. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as Joseph und seine Brüder. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943.
John Steinbeck. East of Eden. Viking Adult, 1952. ISBN 0-670-28738-5
Martin Buber. On the Bible: Eighteen studies, 14–21. New York: Schocken Books, 1968.
Elie Wiesel. “Adam, or the Mystery of Being” and “Cain and Abel: the First Genocide.” In Messengers of God: Biblical Portraits & Legends, 3–68. New York: Random House, 1976. ISBN 0-394-49740-6.
Jon D. Levenson. Creation and the Persistence of Evil: The Jewish Drama of Divine Omnipotence. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988. ISBN 0-06-254845-X.
David Maine. Fallen. St. Martin's Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-32849-4.