Parsha Q&A - Parshat Bereishit

Parshat Bereishit

For the week ending 29 Tishrei 5760; 8 & 9 October 1999

Contents:

Parsha Questions

Kasha

I Did Not Know That!

Parsha Questions

Answers | Contents

Why does the Torah start with the account of Creation?
What happened to the light that was created on the first day?
Why isn't the word "good" associated with the second day?
How were the trees supposed to taste?
On which day were the sun and moon created?
Hashem blessed the birds to be fruitful and to multiply. Why did He not do so with the beasts?
In whose likeness was man fashioned?
What kind of food did Adam eat?
Why is "the sixth day" written with the definite article?
At the end of the sixth day what was the world still lacking?
Why was man made from dust gathered from the entire earth?
How is man superior to the animals?
Why was it not good that man be alone?
Where do we learn that one must not add to a commandment from Hashem?
What does it mean that Adam and Chava "knew that they were naked?"
Why did Hevel choose to be a shepherd?
What was the marital practice of the generation who lived before the flood?
What did Tuval-Cain invent?
Why did Chanoch die at a young age?
What was the sign that Shem was born with great propensity for righteousness?

Kasha

(kasha means "question")

How would you answer this question on the Parsha?

Name@Withheld from Brooklyn, NY wrote:

This question was asked to me by a friend's father. And here it goes: In Genesis, Chapter 1, after every day's creation, it says "And G-d saw that it was good," with the exception of the second day. Why is this?

Dear Name@Withheld,

Since the work of the second day (the water) was not completed until the next day, Hashem did not call it "good." According to the Midrash, the second day is not called "good" because the waters were then separated, which is a symbol of strife and discord.

I Did Not Know That!

"Ha Lashem Tigmalu Zot?" (32:6)

All 49 "gates of understanding" which exist in the world were given by Hashem to Moshe. And all 49 are written in the Torah; some are written explicitly, some are hinted in the words, some are hinted in the gematria (numerical values) or in the shapes of the letters, or in the "crowns," the ornamental frills written on top of the letters. All of King Solomon's wisdom came to him through the Torah.

(Ramban, Introduction to the Torah)

Answers to this Week's Questions

Questions | Contents

All references are to the verses and Rashi's commentary, unless otherwise stated

Why does the Torah start with the account of Creation?
1:1 - So that when the nations accuse us of stealing Eretz Canaan from the Canaanites, we can respond that Hashem, as Creator, has the right to give the land to whomever He sees fit, and He gave Eretz Canaan to us.
What happened to the light that was created on the first day?
1:4 - Hashem saw that the wicked would be unworthy of it so He hid it for the righteous.
Why isn't the word "good" associated with the second day?
1:7 - Because the work with the water wasn't completed until the third day. Anything that is incomplete is not "good."
How were the trees supposed to taste?
1:11 - The wood was to have the taste of the fruit.
On which day were the sun and moon created?
1:14 - They were created on the first day and suspended in the firmament on the fourth day.
Hashem blessed the birds to be fruitful and to multiply. Why did He not do so with the beasts?
1:22 - He did not want the serpent, who was to be cursed, to receive a blessing.
In whose likeness was man fashioned?
1:26 - In the likeness of the angels.
What kind of food did Adam eat?
1:30 - Vegetation.
Why is "the sixth day" written with the definite article?
1:31 - "The" in Hebrew is the letter hey, which has a numerical value of five. Hashem created the world on the condition that it will endure only if the Jewish People accept the Five Books of the Torah.
At the end of the sixth day what was the world still lacking?
2:2 - Rest.
Why was man made from dust gathered from the entire earth?
2:7 - So that wherever he might die, the earth would receive his body.
How is man superior to the animals?
2:7 - He was given understanding and speech.
Why was it not good that man be alone?
2:18 - If he were alone, he would appear to be a god; The creation of woman emphasized man's dependence.
Where do we learn that one must not add to a commandment from Hashem?
3:3 - From Chava. Hashem commanded not to eat from the tree but she added not to touch it. Because she added to the command she eventually came to transgress it.
What does it mean that Adam and Chava "knew that they were naked?"
3:7 - They had been given one commandment and they had stripped themselves of it.
Why did Hevel choose to be a shepherd?
4:2 - Since the ground had been cursed he refrained from cultivating it.
What was the marital practice of the generation who lived before the flood?
4:19 - They married two wives, one with whom to have children. The other one was given a potion which prevented her from bearing children.
What did Tuval-Cain invent?
4:22 - Murder weapons.
Why did Chanoch die at a young age?
5:22 - Though he was righteous, he was easily influenced; therefore Hashem took him before his time to protect him from sinning.
What was the sign that Shem was born with great propensity for righteousness?
5:32 - He was born already circumcised.

Written and Compiled by Rabbi Eliyahu Kane & Rabbi Reuven Subar
General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
Production Design: Eli Ballon

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Parshat Bereishit

Parsha Questions

Kasha

(kasha means "question")

I Did Not Know That!

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Answers to this Week's Questions