Fom the week of October 23

This first Torah portion bears the same name as the entire book in Hebrew. This sedrah(cyclical portion) tells of the creation of the world, the creation of humanity, the creation of the Sabbath, the original state of innocence and man’s residence in the garden of Eden, which lasts until Adam’s rebellion against God. It also includes the first generations born to the original man and woman, and the future generations until the time of Noah.

Here is one example of Torah translations, which lead to dispute and misunderstanding. The opening words, as rendered by the King James text (from approx. 1610) are: “in the beginning God created… etc”) But this is incorrect. Hebrew grammar indicates that the first Hebrew words is a noun in the construct form. If one wants to say in the beginning, one must say “ba-rishonah.” So the opening Hebrew words must mean “in the beginning of God’s creating the heaven and the earth” or as the JPS translation renders this phrase: “when God began to create the heaven and the earth.”  But the Sages 2000 years ago were aware of this problem. They remembered a verse in the book of Proverbs which identifies the word “be’raysheet” as divine wisdom, as the Torah itself. So the Rabbis of the 1st century understood this first word to mean, with Torah as His guide, did God create a heaven and an earth. The Torah, God’s divine plan, was pre-existent to the world and was used by God to fashion His universe as a human architect uses blueprints to build his structure!

Join us for a great Torah study this Shabbat morning.