B"H

Friday, Tishrei 26, 5779 / October 5, 2018

Shabbat we read Parshat Breishis, starting the Torah from the beginning.

Q.How many Parshiot (portions) are there in the Torah? A. Fifty four.

Q.The Torah begins with the word Breishis. Thus, the first letter of the Torah is the Hebrew letter,  Bet. Why did G-d choose to start the Torah with the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet and not with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Aleph?

A.The Hebrew word for blessing is Beracha/Baruch. Every blessing begins with the word Baruch. The Hebrew word for curse is Arur, which begins with the letter, Aleph. For this reason G-d chose to begin the Torah with the second letter, Bet, to teach us that Torah and the observance of its mitzvot, bring blessings. 

Q.Adam and Chava were the first man and woman. What is the reason for their names?

A. Adam comes from the word Adamah, which means earth, because he was created from the earth. Chava comes from the word, Chaya, which means life. The Torah tells us  that Adam named her Chava, for she is the mother of all [human]life.

Q.The Torah is not a history book. Torah is about observing G-d’s commandments. Why does the Torah begin with the story of creation and not with the story of the Giving of the Torah and the commandments at Mount Sinai?

A.In order to accept G-d’s commamndments, we first have to know that G-d created the world and everything in it. The story of creation tells us that the universe was created by G-d, for the purpose of observing His commandments. Knowing that our entire existence is continuously dependent on G-d, makes fulfilling G-d's commandments the correct and logical thing to do.

The first of the 13 principles of Jewish faith (as established by Maimonides) states, "I believe with complete faith that the Holy One, blessed is His Name, creates and guides all creatures, and that He alone made, makes and will make everything."

Our sages emphasize that the first three words of the Torah "In the beginning, G-d created heaven and earth," in themselves contain an important message; "In the beginning" i.e. the basisof everything we do and the guiding factor of our lives is  to remember that, "G-d created the universe."

Our sages point out that the last letters of the first three words ("Breishit Bara Elo-him") and the final three words of the story of creation ("bara elo-him la'asot") spell the word "Emet" - "Truth."

SHABBAT SHALOM

Montreal candle lighting time: 6:09 / Shabbat ends: 7:09