Shabbat Bereishit, 5778   From Sukot to Bereishit Shabbat Bereishit [1] is a moving moment in the calendar. The story of the Creation arouses primal feelings and mystical thoughts. The story is about miracle, Garden of Eden, talking snakes and fiery angels. Yet it is also about the rational science, nature and psychology. Science and miracle; an oxymoron? No, I shall argue, a polarity that requires the embracing of both especially when striving to live a spiritual life in modern times. This year Shabbat Bereishit is somewhat eclipsed by the long weekend of Shemini Atzeret and ..

Six ideas were created before the world was created…..Rabbi Ahava berebi Ze’eira says Teshuva (repentance) also (was created before the word was created). – Bereishit Rabbah 1:4   In his two word comment buried in the middle of a paragraph of Midrash, R Ahava berebi Ze’eira revolutionizes the idea of cheit (sin). Teshuva is an end in itself; it is not just a means of accomplishing atonement for sin. Sin was created after teshuva, as a means to activate the teshuva process. Teshuva, says Rabbi Ahava, is not the consequence of having committed a sin. Rather sin was created as a way..

  The Wisdom of Trust The creation of Adam and Chava on the sixth day, inaugurated a short period of intellectual and spiritual grandeur for man, a grandeur that lasted for no more than six hours.[1] Then it was shattered – not by Chava or Adam eating from the forbidden fruit of the Eitz Hada'at, but because their union was compromised by the poison of mistrust. Adam and Chava were super-intelligent. They were "arumim" (Chakimim, wise, according to the Targum Yonattan). Their wisdom however was not vested in their individual beings but in the unit of their togeth..

    Asking others for help doesn't make you seem weak; It makes them feel valued. Avodah: To Work and to Serve The word avodah is full of meaning. Simply it means both service (of G-d - particularly with respect to prayer and Temple service) andwork, labor. The first time the term avodah appears in the Torah is in Bereishis 2:5. The Torah describes the state of the world just before its greenery appeared. The trees, plants and grasses were ready to burst through the outer layers of the earth's surface, but they had not yet done so. The ear..

Adam What is humanity? Hashem poses this great existential question to the first Man only moments after his creation: "Man's wisdom is greater than yours," Hashem said to His angels inShamayim. He proved His point by having the Man define the essence of every living creature, something the Angels were incapable of doing. "And you," said Hashem to the Man, "how do you define your own essence?" [1]  We wait with bated breath for deep philosophic insights from the person with the purest intellect ever created. Will he define his Divine soul? Will he differentiate himself as t..

Bereishit 1:31 Bereishit Rabbah 9:2 The fear of error and failure, prevents experimentation and precludes achievement. Babies learn to walk by experimenting and stumbling. They experiment with language before they talk. If we convinced infants not to risk “making idiots of themselves”, not to risk failure, then they would never be able to walk or talk. It is because we applaud their attempts, encourage them back onto their feet and make them feel heroes rather than fools as they hesitantly step forth into uncertain spaces. Failure is not the end of a process. It is an unavoidable st..

Asking others for help doesn't make you seem weak; It makes them feel valued. Avodah: To Work and to Serve The word avodah is full of meaning. Simply it means both service (of G-d - particularly with respect to prayer and Temple service) andwork, labor. The first time the term avodah appears in the Torah is in Bereishis 2:5. The Torah describes the state of the world just before its greenery appeared. The trees, plants and grasses were ready to burst through the outer layers of the earth's surface, but they had not yet done so. The earth still looked brow..