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Parsha Perspectives

ויצו ה’ אלקים על האדם לאמר מכל עץ הגן אכל תאכל:
ומעץ הדעת טוב ורע לא תאכל ממנו

“And the Lord G-d commanded man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat. But of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat.’” (Genesis 2: 16-17)

This parsha is said to be the most fundamental of all Torah Portions. Just as every physical trait a person has is coded in his DNA at the moment of conception, so too, the summation of the human experience is coded in this week’s parsha, Bereishit. One could spend an entire year studying Bereishit and its copious commentary, and still not finish even a fraction of what it contains. In it we find; Creation, the first man and woman, the first sin, the first repentance, the first murder, the first degeneration of society as a whole, and much more. But perhaps the most perplexing aspect of this parsha is the first sin.

G-d put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and gave them everything they could possibly need (it was always spring weather, food grew ready to be eaten on trees, and there was no sickness…). G-d spoke to them (an incredible experience in its own right), and requested only one thing of them: Don’t eat from the fruit of one tree. Yet, before their first day was over, they disobeyed G-d! How can we understand this original error which impacted the world more fundamentally than any other single action in history?

One way to understand Adam’s mistake is to realize that he thought he knew a better way to serve G-d, even though G-d indicated otherwise. Adam felt that to serve G-d simply by not eating a single species of fruit, in a place where G-d’s presence was palpable, was not the most he could do. Adam knew that if he ate from the fruit of the tree, it would be like turning off a celestial light switch, and G-d’s presence in the world would become much more hidden as a result of sin which had entered the universe. Certain that he was capable of serving G-d in a world shrouded with darkness and confident that it would result in a far greater glorification of G-d, Adam ate the forbidden fruit.

But this was a colossal error, one that continues to challenge us until today! The truth is that when a person thinks like that, he is using his ego and believing that he knows better than G-d. G-d said serve me by doing X, but I say that I can serve you better by doing Y. The truth is that there can be no greater service of G-d than doing exactly what He asks from us!

This notion is unfortunately still prevalent today. People often tell themselves that G-d didn’t really mean that they should do everything He asked of us in the Torah, or that if He would see the modern world, He would certainly cancel a number of the “outdated” mitzvot. They feel like they can decipher what He really wants of them. The truth is that if we want to serve G-d, and not ourselves, we have to lower our ego, trust that He knows best, and realize that the best way to serve Him is to follow what He asks, not what we think He should have asked! If we do that, we will be able to reverse the effects of the primordial sin and bring the world back to the utopia it was before sin arrived on the scene!

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Parsha Talking Points

by RABBI ELAZAR MEISELS

1. STANDING TALL

The book of Bereishit is also known as Sefer HaYashar – the Book of the Upright, for it relates the stories of the Patriarchs who were upstanding individuals, as the Talmud teaches regarding the verse in Sefer Yehoshua [Joshua 10:13]: “Is this not written in the Book of Yashar? What is the ‘Book of Yashar’? Rabbi Chiya bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, ‘This is the book of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who were all Yesharim. ’ How do we know that they are referred to as Yesharim? Because the gentile prophet Bilaam requested, ‘Let me die the death of the righteous…’” - Talmud, Tractate Avodah Zarrah 25a

The numerical equivalent of the names Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is 560. This is also the numerical equivalent of the word Yesharim.

If it is the book of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, why is it known as Sefer HaYashar [singular], and not Sefer Yesharim [plural]? Although all three of the Patriarchs are discussed, this title seeks to emphasize the first of them, who introduced this upright behavior into humanity on a widespread scale. This was Abraham and the word HaYashar, alludes to him because the letter Hey was added to his name and it should be read, Hey-Yashar. – Ben Yehoyada, Avodah Zarrah 25a

Referring to the Patriarchs as Yesharim, upstanding men, is not merely an honorific title. It conveys an important message to us, their descendants. Each of them was dealt with dishonorably by his fellow man on more than one occasion, yet none of acted dishonorably in return. They maintained their uprightness in the face of widespread deceit, vilification, and scandalous accusations. Their steadfast adherence to decency and righteousness is an important aspect of their legacy.

2. DUSTING HIM OFF

“And Hashem said to the serpent, ‘Because you did this, cursed you are from all the animals and from all the beasts of the field, on your belly you shall crawl and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.’” 3:14

And dust you shall eat – The taste and pleasure of food were taken from him following his sin. A similar result occurred once the Jewish people descended in their level of morality as the Talmud in Tractate Sotah [48a] tells us, “From the time the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple) was destroyed…the taste of fruit was removed…” – Sforno (Rabbi Ovadia Sforno)

And dust you shall eat – Is this really a curse? All it means is that the serpent will always have food readily available to him and who wouldn’t want that? Contrary to popular opinion, lack of food is not a curse, but an opportunity to beseech the Almighty for our needs. The serpent, by virtue of his ever-present food supply, no longer would have the desire, and consequently the opportunity, to maintain a relationship with Hashem by beseeching Him for his needs. – Rabbi Yitzchak of Vorka

Rabbi Yitzchak offered a beautiful analogy to illustrate this idea. He compared it to a father whose son demonstrated great disrespect to him and showed little remorse after the fact. Although greatly distressed by his sons’ actions, the father knew that he couldn’t neglect to tend to his needs. On the other hand, he had no interest in pursuing a relationship with his ungrateful child either. He therefore called him over, handed him a voucher for ten years worth of food, and asked him not to contact him again until his food supply ran out. Although on the face of it, this is a magnanimous act that bespeaks deep love; in reality, it entails the greatest rejection imaginable. By providing the serpent with unlimited food, Hashem demonstrated a complete lack of interest in ever having to do with him again. There is no greater curse imaginable than the Almighty deciding to terminate His relationship with a species.

3. LETTERS OF HOPE

“And Adam lived [another] one-hundred and thirty years and he brought forth in his form, like his image, and he called his name Shet (Seth)” 5:3

One-hundred and thirty years and he brought forth – Following his sin, he separated from Eve for this length of time in repentance. – Rashi

It required this length of time to rid himself of the impurities caused by his sin before he could produce a pure soul like that of Shet. – Or Hachaim (Rabbi Chaim ben Moshe ibn Attar)

And he called his name Shet – The name Shet alludes to the fact that “Mimenu HuShet Kol HaOlam” – from him will descend the entire world, because all the descendants of Cain and Abel died in the Great Flood and only Noah and his family, who descended from Shet, survived. . – Medrash Rabbah, Bamidbar 14:11

The name Shet is spelled Shin, Taf, which are the last two letters of the Aleph Beit. Zohar tells us that when Adam sinned, he violated the first twenty of the twenty-two letters with which the Torah was written. Only the last two letters remained untainted and therefore, as a symbol of his repentance, he named his next child after those two letters. Although these words contain deep mystical secrets inaccessible to us mortals, on a superficial level, they convey an important message that as long as there remains within a person at least one dimension of purity, he can still draw on that power to pull himself out of the clutches of his evil inclination.

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Soul Talk

Rabbi Eliyahu E. Dessler, in his classic work Michtav MeiEliyahu, discusses the love that exists between husband and wife: “This love [between man and wife] is an amazing power of the soul … At first glance, it would seem that there is no explanation for it, but rather that it is a natural instinct instilled in man by the Creator to insure the survival of mankind, just as He created hunger within man to ensure that he would eat. However, this answer does not suffice; for the physical desires of man, in combination with the natural longing for children, already suffice to ensure the continuance of the species. Why, then, did love between man and wife have to be added?

‘‘I have heard some say that this love is born of hakarat hatov, gratitude. Because a husband and wife assist each other in the fulfillment of their natural urges, they come to love one another. But this explanation, too, is mistaken; for there is no lack of people who do not possess the trait of hakaras hatov, and yet we see that they are not lacking in love for their spouses!

‘‘Thus, we must explain that a husband and wife love one another because they complete each other. It is part of the very nature of man that he is incomplete without a wife; as the Midrash states (Bereishit Rabbah §17), One who has no wife … is not a whole man. One who is single and alone cannot complete his mission in life. It is for this reason that man and wife love each other. As we have explained before, a person who is a ‘giver’ naturally loves the recipient of his gifts. And since enabling one to complete his mission in life is the greatest gift of all, man and wife are naturally inclined to love each other, and to want to make each other happy…

‘‘This is what I always tell couples on the joyous occasion of their wedding: ‘Always strive to please each other, and to give each other pleasure and happiness, as you wish to do at this moment. For as soon as you cease to wish to please each other, and instead begin to demand things of each other, your happiness will flee…’ If a husband and wife work to always be giving to each other, their lives will be filled with good fortune and happiness.

With permission from Artscroll’s Daily Dose

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Table Talk

FOR DISCUSSION AROUND THE SHABBAT TABLE

א) After giving names to each of the animals and birds, Adam recognized that he had yet to find an עזר כנגדו – a helpmate to oppose him. Why would he look for a mate who would oppose him?

ב) For her role in eating from the fruit of the tree of knowledge, Hashem punished Eve (Rashi 3:16) with the difficulty of raising children and with the pain of pregnancy. As pregnancy precedes raising children, why would the Torah reverse the order of these curses? (Sifsei Chochomim)

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Hey I Never Knew That

Amazing Insights About the Weekly Parsha

by OZER ALPORT

1) Q: In relating all of the details and the order of the Creation, it isn’t until verse 2:21, the 52nd verse in the Torah, that the letter ס (samech) appears. After creating Adam, Hashem cast a deep sleep upon him. After taking one of Adam’s ribs to form his wife Eve, Hashem closed (ויסגר) Adam’s flesh. Why doesn’t the letter ס appear for so long, and what is the significance of the fact that it is first used in our verse?

A: When spelled out, the letter ס (samech) is written סמך, which is also the word which means “support.” The Talmud teaches (Yevamot 62b) that a man who dwells without a wife is lacking many things, one of which is a חומה– wall. The commentators explain that a supportive wife can serve to protect and encourage her husband. The Torah relates that Hashem created Eve to serve as an עזר כנגדו– helpmate opposite him – for Adam. The numerical value of this phrase is 360 – the number of degrees in a circle which surrounds and protects what is inside of it. The Targum renders the word “helpmate” into Aramaic as סמך– supportive wall. For this reason, a bridge walks around the groom under the wedding canopy to symbolize this function. For this reason, the very letter which means support and is written as a circle is used for the first time to describe the creation of the first person – Eve – who fulfilled this role.

2) Q: The serpent succeeded in getting Eve to eat from the fruit of the tree of knowledge by convincing her that doing so wouldn’t cause her death (3:4-6). However, immediately after eating the fruit, she gave some to Adam to eat with her. Rashi explains that she did so out of a fear that after her death, Adam would remain alive and would find another mate. How is it possible that Eve ate the fruit out of a conviction that doing so wouldn’t be fatal, only to immediately fear the aftermath of her impending death?

A: Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky explains that when a person is overcome by a desire, he loses control of his rational thought processes. In this case, Eve had such an urge for the forbidden fruit that she “logically” convinced herself that it posed no threat to her. However, as soon as she gave in to her craving and consumed the fruit, her desire was gone and she was able to assess the situation rationally, at which point she immediately recognized the danger in which she had placed herself.

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Parsha Summary

Parsha Summaries are coming soon!