ON THE PARSHA
          Parshas B'reishis

          by Dovid Lipman, Israel
          Year 2, No. 1


Introduction

But first, a quick intro to this Sefer:

     Sefer B'reishis

     Although the Torah is not a story book, it's organized around
     the story of the development of the Jewish people. From this
     story we can understand the world as Hashem intends us to do
     so. In Sefer B'reishis, Hashem prepares the building blocks for
     a nation, and arranges the 'raw materials' in the way from which
     they can develop best.

Now, Back to Our Parsha

This parsha, which explains how our world came into being, has five
parts:
       1) Creation of the basic world   [WON]
       2) Sin of the Tree of Knowledge  [TWOTS]
       3) The children                  [FTG]
       4) De Generations (groan)        [RAUW]
       5) Decision to 'reset'           [ATTL]

1. Creation -- 1:1 [Beg.] to 2:3 [Aliyah 2]

First, Hashem spends six days bringing components of the world into
existence, and then He stops creating on the seventh.

   Worthy of Note

   Rashi, on the first pasuk, says the name 'Elokim' is used for
   Hashem here, not the regular four-letter name, because 'Elokim'
   connotes strictness, and the original creation was based on a
   stricter system (see part 2). Why was strictness considered better?
   One explanation is that Hashem relates to existence as it really
   IS, and the reality is that everyones right to life is based on the
   assumption that they will use it as intended - any deviation makes
   it a 'mekach ta'us', or 'erroneous transaction', and the gift must
   be returned. If the strict system was incapable of lasting, why did
   Hashem start with it? Perhaps, that system really continues to exist,
   as the RaMCHaL (Mes. Yesh. 7) explains, since, in the end, every act
   of a person IS judged with precision. The 'temporary' policy of mercy
   is only a cover over the stricter policy of Reality. So this section
   is about the creation of the underlying reality of our world. What
   changed afterwards was all built on the same six-day foundation.

2. Sin -- 2:4 [Aliyah 2] to 3:24 [end, Chap. 3]

The creation of the first man and woman is reviewed with more detail:
Adam notices he doesn't have a mate like the animals do. Hashem puts
him to sleep and creates Chava from a rib of his. They are commanded
not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, and a snake tempts Chava into
disobeying. She gives some to Adam also, and they are all cursed, and
Adam and Chava are banished from the paradise in which they were made.

   The World of the Supernatural

   We see clearly from the story that the original creation of the
   world and humanity did not include the concept of death. After sin,
   death was invented. Perhaps this was not a punishment, however. In
   a world without sin, a person can reap reward for every good deed
   by Hashem enabling him to feel and enjoy the good he has done for
   himself and the world. If one is in touch with spiritual Reality,
   "a mitzvah is its own reward" (Avos 4:2). As noted above, Reality
   demands that one who sins cease to exist. In a world of sin and
   repentance, therefore, people are out of touch with Reality. Death
   is only a time limit for this unnatural situation.

3. Children -- 4:1 to 4:26 [Aliyah 6]

Adam and Chava have two sons, Kayin and Hevel. Kayin kills Hevel in
competition for Hashem's favor, but he partially repents and his
destruction is postponed until the seventh generation. After Lemech,
the sixth generation, kills his son Tuval Kayin who had just killed
Kayin (i.e., the punishment begins), Adam rejoins his wife and has
a third son, Shais, in his own image, but in the days of Shais's
son Enosh, mankind begins to ignore Hashem.

   From the Gemara

   (4:7) Kiddushin 30b - Just like a father who warns a sick son
   what medicine to take and what not to eat, Hashem tells the
   Jews, "I made an evil inclination, and a cure - the Torah. If
   you don't study Torah, you'll be in his hands," as it says:
   "Sin crouches at the door."

4. De-Generations -- 5:1 [Aliyah 6] to 6:4 ['Maftir']

Ten generation are enumerated, and mankind deteriorates to the
point that Hashem gives them a 120-year deadline to repent.

   Rare And Unusual Words

   (6:3) "B'Shagom". The meaning, clarified by Rashi, is "since,
   after all..." [after all, they're just human]. The surprise
   is the vowel under the shin, a 'patach', instead of the
   expected 'segol'. The Mishnah B'rurah (187:2) rules that, in
   some cases, this is in fact correct grammar, which affects a
   word in bentching and one in 'Modim' of Shmoneh Esrei.

5. Decision to 'reset' -- 6:5 ['Maftir'] to 6:8 [End]

Hashem sees the current world to be irreversibly ruioned by man's
deeds, and He decides to destroy the world and save the one man
He chooses, Noach, to start off the renewed world.

   A Time To Laugh

   (6:5) How do we see Hashem doesn't like rock music? Well, it
   says most clearly, "Rock is bad all day long".