We discussed how in this parsha, Hashem creates everything in 6 days, and then rests on the 7th. We discussed how our observance of Shabbos is an imitation of Hashem who also rested on the 7th day.
Yaki spoke about how we are all descendant from Adam, and how Adam’s soul was at a high level - very close to Hashem, but not quite at Hashem's level. Yaki spoke about how Adam had all the souls that man would have.
Yaki spoke about how we are all descendant from Adam, and how Adam’s soul was at a high level - very close to Hashem, but not quite at Hashem's level. Yaki spoke about how Adam had all the souls that man would have.
We discussed how Adam wanted to know even more and be at Hashem's level. This is more than Hashem intended, however Adam ate from the tree of knowledge in an attempt to have all that Hashem has. We discussed Hashem’s reaction, which was to let Adam know he was where he was for a reason, and to drive home the point changed things so man would have to work in the physical world from that point forward.
We discussed how Eve thought Hashem was simply mistaken about the tree of knowledge, and that it would not be a problem to eat from this tree. This is all a lesson for all of us, that we can follow in our lives today, that Hashem is not mistaken in what he commands us, and we should follow his commandments whether they make sense or not. There are many halakuh, known as chokim, that do not make sense, but we still need to follow them. One of the ideas that Efroni has discussed is that Hashem has the complete picture of everything, and we do not.
Yaki spoke about how the Torah, which begins with Beirishit, contains an incredible amount of knowledge, much more than we may be aware of. The stories of lives, both in the past, present, and future, are contained in the Torah. We can find details of our own life in the Torah. We can find parts of our own life that parallel the story of our ancestors in Egypt, the desert, and Israel.
Rob spoke about how the Torah is always relevant, however, we have needed the assistance of courts and Rabbi’s to interpret the information and apply it to the current times. One of the examples we discussed, is the prohibition against lighting a fire. The Torah (chumash) does not contain a specific prohibition against driving a car because cars did not exist at the time the Torah was given to us. However, the Rabbis have interpreted the work prohibitions on Shabbos to apply to driving, and there will most likely be other things coming up in the future that become prohibitions that we are not aware of today.
Howard commented that this is analogous to how secular law works, and how the supreme court has to apply our constitution to new situations that may come up. Of course the justices on the supreme court do not always agree, and it is the same with our Rabbi’s. But many decisions have been made, and it is important that we follow them, whether we agree with them or not. Norm brought up the example of eating chicken and dairy together. This is not specifically prohibited in the Torah, however was implemented by the Rabbi’s in order to create a fence and prevent us from perhaps mistaking beef for chicken.
Harold Katz, a regular reader of the notes, commented that Beirishit is an amazing parsha that describes the creation of something out of nothing, which could only be done by Hashem, and has never been satisfactorily described by science or any other secular subject alone. I remember that Howard once remarked at one of our kiddushes that other than the Torah, noone has ever explained the creation of something out of nothing. It is very interesting that the Torah was written long before science finally caught up and now agrees that time has a beginning.
We discussed this Shabbos some of the overall ideas of Judaism, that doing as well as believing is what is most important. We contrasted this with the ideas of other religions. In Judaism it is not sufficient to believe something, we have to demonstrate that belief with our actions. That's why we have all the mitzvah and commandments in the Torah. Hopefully, our actions such as putting on tefillin, observing Shabbos, hanging mezuzzahs, waiving the lulav and Etrog, all of these help increase our awareness and consciousness of Hashem and the Torah he has given us.
This is a summary of what we discussed. No halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.
Yaki spoke about how the Torah, which begins with Beirishit, contains an incredible amount of knowledge, much more than we may be aware of. The stories of lives, both in the past, present, and future, are contained in the Torah. We can find details of our own life in the Torah. We can find parts of our own life that parallel the story of our ancestors in Egypt, the desert, and Israel.
Rob spoke about how the Torah is always relevant, however, we have needed the assistance of courts and Rabbi’s to interpret the information and apply it to the current times. One of the examples we discussed, is the prohibition against lighting a fire. The Torah (chumash) does not contain a specific prohibition against driving a car because cars did not exist at the time the Torah was given to us. However, the Rabbis have interpreted the work prohibitions on Shabbos to apply to driving, and there will most likely be other things coming up in the future that become prohibitions that we are not aware of today.
Howard commented that this is analogous to how secular law works, and how the supreme court has to apply our constitution to new situations that may come up. Of course the justices on the supreme court do not always agree, and it is the same with our Rabbi’s. But many decisions have been made, and it is important that we follow them, whether we agree with them or not. Norm brought up the example of eating chicken and dairy together. This is not specifically prohibited in the Torah, however was implemented by the Rabbi’s in order to create a fence and prevent us from perhaps mistaking beef for chicken.
Harold Katz, a regular reader of the notes, commented that Beirishit is an amazing parsha that describes the creation of something out of nothing, which could only be done by Hashem, and has never been satisfactorily described by science or any other secular subject alone. I remember that Howard once remarked at one of our kiddushes that other than the Torah, noone has ever explained the creation of something out of nothing. It is very interesting that the Torah was written long before science finally caught up and now agrees that time has a beginning.
We discussed this Shabbos some of the overall ideas of Judaism, that doing as well as believing is what is most important. We contrasted this with the ideas of other religions. In Judaism it is not sufficient to believe something, we have to demonstrate that belief with our actions. That's why we have all the mitzvah and commandments in the Torah. Hopefully, our actions such as putting on tefillin, observing Shabbos, hanging mezuzzahs, waiving the lulav and Etrog, all of these help increase our awareness and consciousness of Hashem and the Torah he has given us.
This is a summary of what we discussed. No halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.
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