Bereshit

In the beginning.....

First we get the story of creation, from "tohu vavohu v'choshef," from the unformed, the void, the darkness to a world of night and day; of earth and sky; of land and sea and vegetation; of the sun and moon and stars; of birds and fish; of creatures of the land, cattle and creepers and beasts--and humans, man and woman. This was done in six days. On the seventh day, God ceased work and rested, blessing the day and making it holy.

In Chapter 2, we get another creation story, that God formed man from the dust of the ground breathed into his nostrils "nishmat chayim," the breath of life. God created the Garden of Eden, placed man in it, and told him that he could eat of any tree but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If that fruit is eaten, man would die. God then had man name the creatures of the earth, hoping to find a companion for man. But when Adam did not find a mate, God made woman from one of Adam's ribs.

With Chapter 3, the serpent appears and convinces the woman to eat the forbidden fruit, and she gave the fruit to Adam and he ate it as well. When questioned by God about eating the fruit, Adam said, "She gave it to me." The woman said "The serpent tricked me into eating the fruit." God curses the serpent, and sentences the serpent to a life crawling on the ground, eating dirt. God further makes the serpent and humans enemies. God sentences the woman to severe pain in child bearing and subservience to her husband. God sentences Adam to a life of hard work. Adam and Eve were sent out of Eden, and God stationed the cherubim and a flaming, ever-turning sword to guard the tree of life.

Chapter 4 starts with the story of the sons of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel. Cain was the elder son who worked the land. Abel, the younger, was a shepherd. Cain brought God an offering of fruit of the ground; Abel brought God the choicest part of the first of his flock. God accepted Abel's offering, but not Cain's. This upset Cain. God says to him, "Why are you distressed? Why has your face fallen? If you intend to do good, there is an uplift. But if you do not intend to do good, sin couches at the door, it's urge towards you. But you can rule over it."

Cain spoke to his brother Abel, and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, killed him. (That's the story as given in the text) When God asks Cain about Abel's whereabouts, Cain replies, "I don't know,. Am I my brother's keeper?" God curses Cain to be a ceaseless wanderer on earth.

Chapter 4 ends with the geneology of Cain, and the birth of one more son to Adam and Eve, Seth. Chapter 5 gives the geneology of Adam through his son Seth. The people of this generation lived long lives--Adam lived 930 years; Noah's father Lamech lived 777 years. The listing ends with Noah and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Our parsha ends with the beginning of Chapter 6. God sees the great wickedness of man, regrets the creation and is saddened at heart. God says, "I will blot out humankind from the face of the earth." But Noah found favor in the eyes of God.

---------------------

That's my summary. If you'd like to read the entire parsha, click on the title of the post.

I'd like to comment on Adam and Eve's departure from Eden. Thousands of years later there is so much guilt around that. It is my view that Adam and Eve, that humankind, needed to leave Eden. Living blissfully in innocence is not life. There is much to be said about the joy of knowledge, knowing the responsibilites that knowledge brings. The pain and hard work is all part of the package.There was no life to be had in Eden, that's why we had to leave.

I know that's a bit short, but it's just meant as a starter. Let me know what you think, about this aspect of the parsha, or any other.

Bereshit