Rabbi Yitzchok Aryeh Strimber: Noach The Journey From Head to Heart

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 Jonathan Sacks, z/l: Noach A Story of Heaven and Earth

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 A. Luchins: Noach Noach’s Work in a World That Drifted

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. David Zev Moster: Bereishit How Should We Translate Genesis 1:1?

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 Mychal Springer: Bereishit Making Meaning From Chaos

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 Jonathan Sacks, z/l: Bereishit The Garments of Light

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.