Bereishit (parsha)

Bereishit, Bereshit, Bereishis, B'reshith, Beresheet, or Bereshees (בראשית — Hebrew for "in beginning,” the first word in the parshah) is the first weekly Torah portion ("parshah") 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 [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0101.htm 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.

ummary

Creation

When God began God spoke and created in six days:
*First day: God separated light from darkness. ()
*Fourth day: God set lights in the sky to separate days and years, creating the sun, the moon, and the stars. () God gave vegetation to man and to the animals for food. () God formed man from the dust, blew the breath of life into his nostrils, and made him a living being. () 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. () 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. () The man and the woman were naked, but felt no shame. () 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. ()

s, until he returned to the ground from which he was taken. ()

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. () Cain brought God an offering from the fruit of the soil, and Abel brought the choicest of the firstlings of his flock. () Cain spoke to Abel, and when they were in the field, Cain killed Abel. () God cursed Cain to fail at farming and to become a ceaseless wanderer. () Cain left God’s presence and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. () 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. ()

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.” () Adam’s descendants and their lifespans were: Seth, 912 years; Enosh, 905 years; Kenan, 910 years; Mahalalel, 895 years; and Jared, 962 years. () Lamech had a son Noah, saying that Noah would provide relief from their work and toil on the soil that God had cursed. () God set the days allowed to man at 120 years. ()

In classical rabbinic interpretation

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 Rabbah 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.)

Rabbi Judah ben Pazi noted that a similar word appears in both that meant “let a lining be made for the firmament.” (Genesis Rabbah 4:2.)
Rabbi Johanan taught that the words “and God created the great sea-monsters” in when it says: “And he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.” Similarly, God also created male and female the “Behemoth upon a thousand hills” referred to in )("Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education". Translated by Charles Wengrov, 1: 82–85. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1991. ISBN 0-87306-515-8.)

Maimonides, however, attributes the commandment to
*for Italian Jews: both report God’s absolute power. [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1042.htm#16 16] echoes the word “light” (and God’s control of it) from ).

In the liturgy

The first word of [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1044.htm#24 44:24;] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1051.htm#9 51:9–10.]
*Jeremiah [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1104.htm#23 4:23–28;] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1118.htm 18:1–10;] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1123.htm#3 23:3] ; [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1151.htm#15 51:15–19] (creation).
*Ezekiel [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1201.htm#5 1:5–14,] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1201.htm#22 22,] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1201.htm#26 26–28] (cherubim; firmament; man in God’s image); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1210.htm 10:1–22] (cherubim).
*Malachi [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2402.htm#15 2:15–16.]
*Psalms [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2608.htm#5 8:5–8;] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2633.htm#6 33:6–9;] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2674.htm#12 74:12–17;] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2682.htm#6 82:6–7;] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2689.htm#9 89:9–11;] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2695.htm#3 95:3–5;] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt26a0.htm#3 100:3;] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt26a4.htm 104:1–30.]
*Proverbs [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2808.htm#22 8:22–29.]
*Job [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2726.htm#12 26:12–13;] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2737.htm#18 37:18;] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2738.htm#4 38:4–18.]

Early nonrabbinic

*Josephus. "Antiquities of the Jews" [http://www.interhack.net/projects/library/antiquities-jews/b1c1.html 1:1:1–4,] [http://www.interhack.net/projects/library/antiquities-jews/b1c2.html 2:1–3,] [http://www.interhack.net/projects/library/antiquities-jews/b1c3.html 3:1–2, 4.] Circa 93–94. Reprinted in, e.g., "The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition". Translated by William Whiston, 29–33. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8.
*John [http://www.Biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%201:1-1:5;&version=31; 1:1–5.]
*Revelation [http://www.Biblegateway.com/passage/?search=rev%2012;&version=31; 12:1–17.]
*Qur'an Arabia, 7th Century.

Classical rabbinic

*Mishnah: Taanit 4:3; Megillah 3:6; Yevamot 6:6; Sanhedrin 4:5, 10:3; Avot 5:1; Chullin 5:5; Mikvaot 5:4. Land of Israel, circa 200 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., "The Mishnah: A New Translation". Translated by Jacob Neusner. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4.
*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. Land of Israel, circa 300 C.E. 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.
*Jerusalem Talmud: Berakhot 6a–b, 83b, 84b, 86b, 90a; Peah 8a. Land of Israel, circa 400 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., "Talmud Yerushalmi". Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
*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. Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., "Midrash Rabbah: Genesis". Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
*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. Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., "Midrash Rabbah: Leviticus". Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
*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. Reprinted in, e.g., "Talmud Bavli". Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.

Medieval

*Deuteronomy Rabbah 2:13, 25; 4:5; 6:11; 8:1; 9:8; 10:2. Land of Israel, 9th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., "Midrash Rabbah: Leviticus". Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
*Sefer Yetzirah. 10th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Aryeh Kaplan. "Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation; In Theory and Practice". Boston: Weiser Books, 1997. ISBN 0-87728-855-0.
*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. 10th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., "Midrash Rabbah: Exodus". Translated by S. M. Lehrman. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
*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. 12th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., "Midrash Rabbah: Numbers". Translated by Judah J. Slotki. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
*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.
*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).
*Rashi. "Commentary". [http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=8165&showrashi=true Genesis 1–6.] Troyes, France, late 11th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. "The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated". Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 1:1–63. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995. ISBN 0-89906-026-9.
*Judah Halevi. "Kuzari". Toledo, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. "Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel." Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 89–91, 94, 135, 193, 195, 209, 229, 235, 254–56. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4.
*Zohar 1:1a, 3b, 11b, [http://www.kabbalah.com/k/index.php/p=zohar/zohar&vol=2 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. Spain, late 13th Century. Reprinted in, e.g, "The Zohar". Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1934.

Modern

*Thomas Hobbes. "Leviathan", 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.
*Doctrine and Covenants [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/27#11 27:11;] [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/107#54 107:54.] Missouri, 1835.
*Jones Very. [http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/enoch/ "Enoch"] . 1838. In Harold Bloom. "American Religious Poems", 95. Library of America, 2006. ISBN 978-1-931082-74-7.
*Emily Dickinson. 1850. In "The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson". Edited by Thomas H. Johnson, 3–4. New York: Little, Brown & Co., 1960. ISBN 0-316-18414-4.
*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, 726–27, 806, 915, 917. 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.
*Tikva Frymer-Kensky. “The Atrahasis Epic and Its Significance for Our Understanding of Genesis 1–9.” "Biblical Archaeologist". 40 (4) (1977).
*Mayer I. Gruber. “Was Cain Angry or Depressed?” "Biblical Archaeology Review" 6 (6) (Nov./Dec. 1980).
*Michael Blumenthal. [http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/programs/2007/03/19/#tuesday “Light, at Thirty-Two.”] In "Days We Would Rather Know". Viking, 1984. ISBN 0670776122.
*Victor Hurowitz. “When Did God Finish Creation?” "Bible Review" 3 (4) (Fall 1987).
*Pamela J. Milne. “Eve and Adam: Is a Feminist Reading Possible?” "Bible Review" 4 (3) (June 1988).
*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.
*Adrien Janis Bledstein. “Was Eve Cursed? (Or Did a Woman Write Genesis?)” "Bible Review" 9 (1) (Feb. 1993).
*Pamela Tamarkin Reis. “Genesis as Rashomon: The Creation as Told by God and Man.” "Bible Review" 17 (3) (June 2001): 26–33, 55.
*David Maine. "Fallen". St. Martin's Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-32849-4.
*R.W.L. Moberly. “The Mark of Cain — Revealed at Last?” "Harvard Theological Review" 100 (1) (Jan. 2007): 11–28.

References

External links

* [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Tanakh/Torah/Bereishit/Bereishit Masoretic text and 1917 JPS translation]
* [http://Bible.ort.org/books/torahd5.asp?action=displaypage&book=1&chapter=1&verse=1&portion=1 Hear the parshah chanted]