Rachel Travis considers the madras, wherein a young Abraham questions his father’s faith in the carved and molded idols. Abraham is a rebel. Yet in the Torah, Abraham is 75 when God speaks to him for the first time, with an incredible challenge and promise.
Rabbi Barenblat blogs on whether or not God should have created humanity. The question is challenging; most of our perception of reality is in opposing views. She questions why the need for polarization?
God speaks the incredible words to Abraham, “go forth to the land that I will show you”, yet the Torah tells us very little about Abraham, other than his deeds. His few identified attributes—gentle, kind, gracious—don’t generally relate to the founder of a new faith.
Rabbi Strimber is concerned with the conflict between the years that Noach spent anticipating the flood and building the ark, and the other fact that Noach did not believe that the flood would ever happened. This fact is understood because he didn’t enter the ark until the very last minute. The conflict is resolved by considering actual human nature; we can understand something on an intellectual level, without that reality touching our consciousness.
Rabbi Sacks observes that the Tower of Babel narrative is only 9 verses, yet its historicity is interesting. The ziggurat, which is what the Tower was, represented the ancient Mesopotamian city states, where humans first settled. The buildings were remarkable for their design, size, and building materials.
Raemia Luchins writes about the complexity of the phrase “The earth had become corrupt before Hashem, and the earth was filled with chamas”. It seems simple, but it is actually describing a world “whose internal warning systems have stopped functioning.” In other words, the corruption came about gradually, reflecting cracks in the society.
Dr. Moster considers the complexity of the grammar: b’reishit may refer to “in the beginning”, or “from the beginning”, or “the beginning”, depending on different historical translations into Aramaic or English. What is the true meaning of the prefix “b”?
Rabbi Springer notes the rapid transition from “very good”—the work of creation—to “nothing but evil all the time” at the end of the parashah. She considers Isaiah 42:5-7, which starts with a focus on the creation of human beings, starting with Adam, and transitioning to “all people who come from this one person”. Isaiah focuses immediately on the creation of “people” instead of a single person.
Rabbi Sacks is concerned about the disconnect between Adam’s blaming his wife for leading him into sin, and then giving her a new name. Another disconnect is God’s punishment of them by exiling them from Eden, and then providing them with clothes, a kindness. The change of mood in both instances doesn’t make sense.
Dr. Kalmanofsky writes about the interplay between the Written and Oral Torahs, which established a basis for ongoing fresh interpretation. We honor our ancestors in this way. While the Written Torah is an anchor, dancing with the Oral Torah provides joy and art.