Parsha Short Talks - Parsha Bereshis
Parsha Short Talks - Parsha Bereshis
Parsha Short Talks #1: The creation of the universe has been something that scientists have looked at for many years. So many people are so concerned about how things got started that sometimes they forget to think about where they are. In other words, how do we fit into the grand picture of God’s creation? There are supposedly billions of galaxies and trillions of stars. Who is concerned about why you are here in this part of the universe. Perhaps it does not matter where God decided to put us because this is where we are. Adam and Eve were not concerned about such things until they ate the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden. They covered themselves because they felt shame. What was their shame? They knew they disobeyed the LORD and would become fugitives from justice. They tried to hide from the LORD but soon found out they could not. We tend to forget that God is always looking for us.
Parsha Short Talks #2: The LORD said He would create humankind, starting with the simplest ingredients. The Bible says that the LORD formed man from the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the soul of life. Thus, man became a living being (Genesis 2:7). God did not need any assistance from anything of his creation. Humanity was created from the sacred Earth we live on today. By creating our souls, the LORD gave us sentience to be able to discover him. In order to find God, the Torah says that we need the virtue of humbleness.
Indeed, when we come before God we need to should show humbleness. It is when a person thinks that they created and own everything that they have without God's help that person risks falling into idolatry. For everything that you have, everything that you are is a product of God's love and power being emanated from you. It is a profound responsibility to go out and demonstrate humbleness. It is difficult today to say that we owe success to God, not ourselves. A really pious person who follows the ways of the Torah of the Lord knows that everything they have and everything they do is from God. There is no greater characteristic of humanity than humility and surrendering to the ways of the LORD.
We have the creation of Adam in the Genesis story. In chapter 1 of Genesis, the Torah says that God created Adam from the dust of the earth and breathed life into him. It's not until we get into the second chapter that we are told that God created Eve from Adam. Even though the Torah says it this way, God meant for men and women to be equal. In Genesis, God said that Adam needed a helper. Therefore he gave him a helper. The Torah also says that a man and a woman will cleave together and become one. Therefore there is no difference in priority between men and women. Both are part of the creation process.
The Kabbalah says that before one is born, the soul is connected to a second soul. This super soul consists of the male soul and the female soul. The two are separated before birth and are placed in different bodies. You have probably heard the word soulmate use before, and this is what I'm describing. It is then the task of the two souls' lives to try to find each other. If that doesn't happen on earth, it will happen back in heaven.
Husbands and wives should cherish one another as a gift from God. The love that should be in the marriage should also contain the love of the Lord. When this happens, a harmonious marriage will occur and will last the test of time.
Before the incident in the garden of Eden, which was Adam and Eve eating from the forbidden fruit, Adam had not yet named Eve. Unfortunately, when her name is translated into English, we lose the meaning of her name. The Torah says that her name was Chava. This Hebrew word means bearer of life. Adam named her this immediately after the event, which kicked them out of the garden of Eden.
It should be noted that Adam did not try to blame or lament over what happened. He accepted that he had free choice, and he exercised it. So Adam named his wife Chava she became the mother of all life. She was the life-giver
Think about that for a moment. Would you have been that generous? You’re living in paradise one minute then living outside of paradise the next minute. Instead of yelling and screaming about what happened, you embrace your fate. That’s exactly what the Torah says Adam did. He embraced what happened and looked to make the best of it.
Perhaps next time you find yourself in a situation.
The Torah introduces evil inclination with the story of Cain and Abel. Cain was considered an innovator and possibly even a trendsetter. Nevertheless, the gift he brought to the LORD as an offering went unnoticed. His brother Abel brought an offering that the LORD received with respect. This caused conflict between the two men. Cain killed Abel because evil inclination took over and was able to get him to commit murder. The Torah says that Cain brought the fruit he had been cultivating from the ground as an offering to the LORD. Abel brought the firstlings of his flock as the offering.
Midrash tells us that Cain brought the leftovers from his lunch to the LORD while Abel brought the best of his flock. The LORD rejected Cain’s offer because it was not the first thing Cain thought of doing but became a secondary thing. So he was thanking God after he had lunch as opposed to thanking God for lunch and, of course, before eating.
I believe that Cain was distraught with himself when the LORD rejected his offering and took out that anger on Abel. Evil inclination quickly infects people when they are most emotionally compromised. So Cain was not happy with himself. Evil inclination convinced Cain that a proper solution would be to kill his brother.
There is a difference in how the Torah talks about Cain’s offering as opposed to Abel’s. It tells us that Cain brought his offering and placed it before the LORD. However, Abel brought his offering and not only gave the offering of sheep, but he also gave his soul to the LORD. Abel intertwined his soul and the offer into one gift for God; therefore, the Torah teaches us about donating to a holy office. It is not just the giving that counts but also where your heart is when you give. Some people I know told me that the last check they write each month is whatever is left over and given to God’s works, be it at the church or the synagogue. That would be a Cain offering, which is giving the leftovers. To truly show God your appreciation through a sacrifice, you must give to God first. Your first check before paying your bills should be given to whatever cause or causes you support that support getting God’s message out of love and grace.
At the beginning of Genesis, we learn about evil inclination. This force of nature tries to get humans to sin before the Lord. Adam and Eve were tricked by Evil inclination to eat from the tree of knowledge. Cain offered an inferior sacrifice and killed his brother because Evil inclination overtook him. Through these two stories, the LORD revealed to us our physical nature. The Torah tells us that we can overcome Evil inclination. Humans have the choice of whether they are going to change their ways or not.
One thing humans have to do is to acknowledge that Evil inclination exists and that it can overtake a person. Each one of us must learn how to deal with Evil inclination. The Torah tells us that when Evil inclination is part of our lives, we must learn to deal with it. We must learn to overcome it.
The easiest thing to do in life is to accept that Evil inclination exists. It takes willpower to convince Evil inclination that “you will not rule me today.” When you come to a situation where you can either turn left or right or, better yet, turn to Evil inclination or good inclination, I hope you’ll select good inclination. Remember that the Shekinah, which the LORD sent, will be with you and help guide you away from evil.
It is interesting that the book of Genesis tells us that it did not take that many generations after Adam and Eve were humankind to become sinful and forget about our creator. It did not take long for idolatry to enter the picture. Why did people turn away from God into idolatrous worship and call these idols their God? People begin to profane the name of God by attaching it to the mundane and the idolatrous.
The same thing is happening today. A once religious nation called the United States is no longer a religious nation. When the leaders of our country have abandoned the religion they claim to follow than the rest of the people of the nation also abandon the core beliefs of their religion. I refer to the example of two of our country’s leaders in 2022 proclaiming that they are devout Catholics but yet they support abortion up to the day before the child is born. I am not saying that abortion is right or wrong in my statement. However, I’m saying that if you are a devout Catholic being able to abort a baby is considered murder.
If the leader does not stand up for what they proclaim to believe, why would anyone want to follow them? It also shows that their religiousness is false. So the generations after Adam, leading up to Noah, were doing precisely that. They were proclaiming that they knew the Lord and would be faithful to the Lord, but in reality, it was just talk. These people in that generation believed that the Lord could not see what it was they were doing. They talked a good game, but they were sinners. Eventually, God decided to intervene.
This is where Parsha Breishes concludes.