Bereishis – Page 5 – Peninim on the Torah

וירא אלקים את כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאד

And G-d saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good. (1:31)

The Midrash interprets tov, good, meod, very (good), in a novel manner: “And behold it was very good” – tov is a reference to the Malach Ha’Chaim, Angel of life, or life per se. Meod, very (good), is a reference to the Malach Ha’Maves, Angel of death. Clearly, Chazal’s choice of the term “very” good to denote death begs elucidation. How can we understand death as being “very good” when life is only “good”? Horav Eliezer Sorotzkin, zl, posits that herein lies the secret of simchas ha’chaim, joy of life. When a person goes through life acquiescing to whatever Hashem…

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בעצב תלדי בנים... בזעת אפיך תאכל לחם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Bereishis, 5776

In pain shall you bear children… by the sweat of your brow shall you eat your bread. (3:16,19)

Prior to the sin, Chavah conceived and gave birth immediately. She did not have to go through the physical change. After the sin, however, conception was not a given, and the extended pregnancy followed by a painful childbirth became a reality. Likewise, Adam, who, heretofore had his sustenance right before him, would now have to toil to earn a living. The Torah uses a strange word, etzev, to describe the pain associated with childbirth. The word etzev is more closely related to anxiety and depression than to pain. Horav Tuvia Lisitzin, zl, derives from here that when a person is…

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ויאמר קין גדול עוני מנשוא

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Bereishis, 5776

Kayin said to Hashem “Is my iniquity too great to be borne.” (4:13)

Kayin committed a grave sin. To take a human life is a heinous act of aggression. Yet, Chazal teach that Kayin did teshuvah, repented, for his terrible crime. What is the meaning of his teshuvah? Can this teshuvah bring back Hevel? Obviously, it is impossible to bring back the deceased. Hevel is gone. He is not coming back – regardless of the sublimity of Kayin’s teshuvah. Murder is different than robbery. A thief can return the money. The murderer has taken a life, which he cannot bring back. Horav Shimon Schwab, zl, explains that, indeed, this is the wonder of…

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בראשית ברא אלקים את השמים ואת הארץ

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Bereishis, 5775

In the beginning of G-d’s creating the heavens and the earth. (1:1)

The Torah is the charter of man’s mission on this world. It is the “book of directions” which guides us how to live a life of commitment to Hashem. In the Talmud Chagigah 11b, Chazal teach that it is prohibited to expound upon maaseh Bereishis in a class of two students, which means the teacher and one other person. The Talmud presents many Aggadic teachings related to this topic. Literally, maaseh Bereishis means “account of Creation.” Ramban interprets maaseh Bereishis as the wisdom of the natural world. The most widely accepted opinion is that maaseh Bereishis pertains to the wisdom…

Home -> 5775 -> Bereishis

בראשית ברא אלקים את השמים ואת הארץ

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Bereishis, 5775

In the beginning of G-d’s creating the heavens and the earth. (1:1)

The Torah is the charter of man’s mission on this world. It is the “book of directions” which guides us how to live a life of commitment to Hashem. In the Talmud Chagigah 11b, Chazal teach that it is prohibited to expound upon maaseh Bereishis in a class of two students, which means the teacher and one other person. The Talmud presents many Aggadic teachings related to this topic. Literally, maaseh Bereishis means “account of Creation.” Ramban interprets maaseh Bereishis as the wisdom of the natural world. The most widely accepted opinion is that maaseh Bereishis pertains to the wisdom…

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וירא אלקים את האור כי טוב

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Bereishis, 5775

And Elokim saw the light that it was good. (1:4)

The Talmud Yoma 38b states: “Rabbi Elazar says: it is worth for the world to be created even for (the benefit it derived from) one tzaddik, righteous person.” This is derived from the above pasuk, “And Elokim saw the light that it was good.” There is no “good” like a tzaddik. We also find in Mishlei 10:25, V’tzaddik yesod olam, “A righteous person is the foundation of the world.” We now have some inkling of the great merit that a tzaddik has in this world. One tzaddik – not a world of tzaddikim – only one, single, righteous person makes…

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וירא אלקים את כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאד

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Bereishis, 5775

And Elokim saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good. (1:31)

We have read the above pasuk countless times; it is reiterated a number of times in the parsha about Brias ha’Olam, Creation. Yet, do we ever stop and ask ourselves: If the world is so good, why does Shlomo Hamelech begin his Sefer Koheles with the famous phrase – Haveil havalim ha’kol hevel, “Futility of futilities – all is futile!”? If all is futile, then it really cannot be tov meod, very good. How are to understand this? The Melitzer Rebbe, Shlita, explains that it all depends on one’s religious experience. If he carries out the will of the Almighty,…

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ויבא קין... מפרי האדמה מנחה לד'... והבל הביא גם הוא

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Bereishis, 5775

Kayin brought an offering to Hashem of the fruit of the ground… and as for Hevel, he also brought. (4:3,4)

We note from the pesukim that Hevel was a righteous person. The mere fact that Hashem acquiesced to Hevel’s sacrifice serves as a barometer of His approbation of Hevel. If so, why was he taken so soon? Hevel’s life was cut short due to his brother’s irrational jealousy. He did not live long enough even to establish a legacy of offspring. Kayin, on the other hand, lived seven more generations, from which was established the future of the world. To the average spectator, the disparity between the subsequent history of Kayin, the murderer, and Hevel, the innocent victim, is glaring….

Home -> 5774 -> Bereishis

בראשית ברא אלקים את השמים ואת הארץ

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Bereishis, 5774

In the beginning of G-d’s creating the heavens and the earth. (1:1)

Who does not know the opening words of the Torah? Bereishis – “In the beginning” seems to be a very appropriate way to commence what is Hashem’s Magnum Opus, His Book, our Heavenly guide to life. What does seem strange is that the Torah begins with the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet – bais. One would think that a “beginning” commences with the first letter – aleph. Many and varied are the responses to this question. Perhaps the most notable is the one given by the Midrash Rabbah (1:10). Bais is the lashon, language, of b’rachah, blessing; aleph is…

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ויאמר אלקים נעשה אדם בצלמנו כדמותנו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Bereishis, 5774

And G-d said, “Let us make Man in Our image, after Our likeness. (1:26)

The Midrash Rabbah relates that, when Moshe Rabbeinu was writing the Torah as Hashem’s “secretary,” he came to the above pasuk. He asked Hashem incredulously, “Ribbono Shel Olam, why give an excuse to the heretics?” This pasuk appears to imply that Hashem either needed assistance in creating or had partnered with the angels. In any event, it seems to dispute the Oneness of Hashem. The Almighty replied, “He who wants to err – will err.” This statement begs elucidation. There are many places in which we find Hashem doing things – even miraculous occurrences – to prevent people from making…

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וירא אלקים את כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאד

And G-d saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good. (1:31)

בעצב תלדי בנים... בזעת אפיך תאכל לחם

In pain shall you bear children… by the sweat of your brow shall you eat your bread. (3:16,19)

ויאמר קין גדול עוני מנשוא

Kayin said to Hashem “Is my iniquity too great to be borne.” (4:13)

בראשית ברא אלקים את השמים ואת הארץ

In the beginning of G-d’s creating the heavens and the earth. (1:1)

בראשית ברא אלקים את השמים ואת הארץ

In the beginning of G-d’s creating the heavens and the earth. (1:1)

וירא אלקים את האור כי טוב

And Elokim saw the light that it was good. (1:4)

וירא אלקים את כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאד

And Elokim saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good. (1:31)

ויבא קין... מפרי האדמה מנחה לד'... והבל הביא גם הוא

Kayin brought an offering to Hashem of the fruit of the ground… and as for Hevel, he also brought. (4:3,4)

בראשית ברא אלקים את השמים ואת הארץ

In the beginning of G-d’s creating the heavens and the earth. (1:1)

ויאמר אלקים נעשה אדם בצלמנו כדמותנו

And G-d said, “Let us make Man in Our image, after Our likeness. (1:26)

YEARS

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