Before
there was any time and space there was HASHEM. The L-RD of the world HE reigned
alone. There is no other besides HIM. Now let us learn about creation.
“If you
can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself.” – Albert
Einstein quote thanks to Sheldon
As we start Sefer Beresheis let me remind you
that for those who get my posts direct, if the Drasha does not arrive close to
Shabbos Israel time then check www.rabbipauli.blogspot.com
BDE - Please remove the name Raphael
Chaim ben Chaya Rachel from the prayer list the 9 year old lost his battle
against a genetic disease.
Prayers for Men: Eliezer David HaCohain ben
Naomi, Asher ben Esther Malka, Avraham ben Devorah, Zvi Yechezkel ben Leah,
Aharon ben Rishol, Chaim Zev ben Faige Tova, Naphtali Moshe ben Tziporah,
Shalom Charles ben Gracia, Yoel ben Esther, Zev ben Rachel, Binum Benyamin
Tuvia ben Chana Friedel, Aaron ben Sara Chana, Yehonatan ben Malka, Aaron ben
Sara Chana, David Zvi ben Sara Leah, Yacov David ben Chaya Gittel, Aharon ben Miriam
Women: Karen Neshama bas Esther Ruth, Chaya
Melecha Rachel bas Baila Alta, Rachel bas Chana, Zvia Simcha bas Devora Yached,
Hodaya Nirit bas Mazel, Rivka bas Idit, Kayla Rus bas Chaya Rachel, Nesha bas
Chava, Miriam bas Yehudit, Aharona Aliza bas Chaya, Chava Malka bas Chaya,
Zahava bas Sara, Adina bas Sara and new Esther bas Tziporah and for the next
month Chava Chaya bas Zimra*.
*A young woman Chava Chaya bas Zimra will be
undergoing a Kidney Transplant between 19th to 23rd of
October please pray for her for the next month.
Beresheis
Before there was any time and space there was HASHEM. The L-RD of
the world HE reigned alone. There is no other besides HIM. I finally got around
to reading Genesis and the Big Bang by Gerald Schroeder PhD. I even think I got
the idea behind the Higgs Particle just by learning Pshat. I do not want to go too
deep into Einstein’s theory of relativity how one observer views a happening
while the other observer is taking a much longer time. (In a nutshell it is
like two subway trains let us say the RR and the D train pulling out of 14th
street going to uptown Manhattan. At first they appear to be stationary as the
14th street station moves backwards. As they approach 23rd
street the D train sees the RR going slowly backwards and the observer on the
RR sees the D train moving forward and 23rd street coming towards
him.) What we see in Beresheis is one observation of 15,000,000,000 years and
HASHEM in Tehillim 90:4 Indeed, a thousand
years are in Your eyes like yesterday that has passed, like a watch of the
night.
HE views the
events as passing in 6 days.
So let’s get started: Dr. Schroeder begins by quoting the Ramban
(Nachmanides) http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/111857/jewish/Ramban.htm In the beginning out of nothing was created a world smaller than a
mustard grain. He took this from the writings of a Sage who lived around 600
CE. Rabbi Abahu from the Talmud also talks of this tradition. Prior to the
beginning there was no time that is why he writes that instead of first day
being written it is written one day. The Rambam (Maimonides) before him also
wrote that prior to creation there was no space.
Let us look at what science says space is and let us see what the
Jewish Oral Law says. The scientists since the publication by Dr. Schwartz of
the California Institute of Technology around 1980 wrote a paper talking about
10 dimensions. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/rabbis/rshimonbaryochai.htm in the middle of the second century of the Common Era wrote the
Zohar. The Sages spoke of 10 Siferos with attributes. Based on this the first
dimension is Chessed then Gevurah, Tiferes, Netzsach. Stopping here we say in
Hebrew “HaOlam B’ Chessed Yeboneh” The world is built though Chessed (prayer
for rain and dew). The Medrash has a story how the attribute of mercy was
fighting the attribute of justice. Finally HASHEM threw down the arguments of
Mishpat and left on Chessed to build his world on. The second and third
physical dimension is now in place and the fourth dimension the one the
scientists call time is called everlasting by the Sages Netzsach means
everlasting. The Kabbala mentions that in order to create the world, HASHEM had
to condense HIMSELF in what we call in Hebrew Tzimtzum. In a three dimensional
world we understand that HASHEM has within the dimensions of the expanding
universe with a diameter of at least of approximately 30,000,000,000 light
years and is condensed into a small space between the Cerubim (Cherubim) over
the Aharon HaKodesh (Ark). In the scientific world the space between dimensions
5 to 10 are infinitesimal. Sort of the medieval argument of non-Jewish
Theologians “How many angels are on the head of a pin?” For a Kabbalist they
are Hod, Yesod, Malchos, Chachma, Bina and Daas with Ayn Sof above them all. Ayn
Sof is another name for the L-RD. Hebrew it is “no end” or “never ending” and
finally in modern Hebrew as Infinity.
There is no time, space nor temperature and when HASHEM is
starting to create a new world order. The Zero that most people know in
Centigrade is the freezing of water but absolute zero when atoms freeze is just
a bit less than – 273C or 0 Kelvin. To give you an idea for temperatures the
human body is about 310 K, the surface of the sun is close to 5800 K and the
interior is 15,000,000 K. The initial explosion of the super condensed universe
was a hot 1 with 42 zeroes after it K. Still the gravity held the mixture
together and the photon interaction during the first 3 minutes when the
universe was small less than a zero decimal 26 zeros in front of a 1 of in meters. (There is a book around 187 pages
by Nobel Laureate Stephen Weinberg called the first 3 minutes that I have to
get hold of some day.) Suddenly Ruach ELOKIM was above this mixture and it
expanded to the size of a grapefruit at the start of the 4th minute.
Expansion is a cooling process and the light was able to escape and stop
pushing away the electrons from orbiting Protons and Hydrogen, Deuterium and
Helium formed which would eventually make the sun and the earth.
During this Tzimtzum, the Holy One Blessed Be HE made the laws of
physics and what we call laws of Nature and he performs miracles within HIS own
laws. It is not that the east wind blows on the sea but goes around the Bnei
Yisrael and the velocity picks up to speeds on the sides that the water parts
in two and there are frozen walls of water on the right and on the left of the
Bnei Yisrael. Natural events happen with blood or blood like water followed by
frogs, lice, etc. All of these are within the laws of nature and physicals but
it is a matter at the right time and place they occur. It is what we call in
purchasing “just in time”. If the parts come too early they have to be stored
in the stowage and that takes up space and labor to place them there and if they
come too late the assembly line is delayed or the supply to the customer is
delayed. However, if they occur just in time everybody is happy. In Shemos we
see that the only one who was really unhappy was Pharaoh.
Atheistic Russian Scientists in the 1930’s CE tried to show how
Amino Acids could be created in nature by lightning strikes. However, for them
to form into a genetic chain for even the simplest life form. In the whole time
since creation there have been a 1 followed by 108 zeros of atomic and subatomic
events. For a part of the RNA and not even a full RNA much less a DNA molecule
to form we need an accidental meeting of a 1 followed by 110 or more zeros or
100 times greater than the events in the universe. Even in a laboratory under
ideal conditions with us trying to recreate from amino acids part of a genetic
link we have failed even though we know the existing results.
Abahu is quoted in the Talmud as saying that the L-RD created and
destroyed many worlds before creating ours. For the first three minutes the
universe was too hot to make even atoms then suddenly in the 4th
minute is expanded enough to cool off to an average 4000K that made it possible
for protons and electronics to meet and produce Hydrogen and perhaps some
Helium. As the minutes and year progressed clouds of vapors in space condensed
slowly by gravity until a stars and galaxies were formed. Stars produced fusion
and more and more hydrogen was being fused into helium and slowly the deuterium
and helium becoming elements fused like carbon and oxygen and oxygen combining
with hydrogen to form a compound called water. Thus we see water molecules
forming in the first time period. Stars started exploding over the next 10.5
billion years and spewing out iron and heavier elements.
Measureable time on earth did not occur until the 4th
day because without a sun and a moon for the molten full of gas until the 4th
day when the sun captured the earth and the earth captured the moon. I am
talking about scientific sense.
The initial earth must have been very hot and it took a while
until the water of the atmosphere condensed. (I already mentioned Dr. Fred
Whipple’s theory that most comets above the atmosphere aka firmament were dirty
snowballs) Now between 4.5 to 3.8 billion years of the planet the first forms
of life are found in sediments in the rocks on the ocean floor. 700,000,000
years is too short a time span based on the number of events mentioned in our
previous paragraph for life to spontaneous occurring life forms. Believe what
you want but I believe in 1:11 And
God said: 'Let the earth put forth … There was a
guiding hand. (I have not yet finished Dr. Schroeder’s book so I reserve the
right to add more commentary in later weeks)
Dr. Schroeder also mentioned that if the initial Big Bang had
produced more than the 75% Hydrogen and close to 25% Helium combination of the
universe but a significantly higher amounts of heavier elements, life on earth
most like would have never formed for the whole temperature and entropy of the
Universe would have been different.
Rashi puts out a message to the Nations of the World: In the beginning: Said Rabbi Isaac: It was not necessary to begin the Torah except from “This month is to you,” (Exod. 12:2) which is the first commandment that the Israelites were commanded, (for the main purpose of the Torah is its commandments, and although several commandments are found in Genesis, e.g., circumcision and the prohibition of eating the thigh sinew, they could have been included together with the other commandments). Now for what reason did He commence with “In the beginning?” Because of [the verse] “The strength of His works He related to His people, to give them the inheritance of the nations” (Ps. 111:6). For if the nations of the world should say to Israel, “You are robbers, for you conquered by force the lands of the seven nations [of Canaan],” they will reply, "The entire earth belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He; He created it (this we learn from the story of the Creation) and gave it to whomever He deemed proper When He wished, He gave it to them, and when He wished, He took it away from them and gave it to us.
This is the initial Big Bang and the energy and matter are super condensed and the size of universe is close to nothing. Our planet at this point and until the third day is just subatomic particles for the first three minutes. Perhaps before or perhaps during these three minutes G-D is gradually the plan of making the earth which is taking shape through the formation of atoms in the 4th minute and during this “day” the first three minutes were dark as mentioned above.
Although for my purpose in explaining the scientific and some Kabbalistic aspects I don’t need to use Rashi still the reader should have Rashi handy here. In the beginning of God’s creation of: Heb. בְּרֵאשִית בָּרָא. This verse calls for a midrashic interpretation [because according to its simple interpretation, the vowelization of the word בָּרָא, should be different, as Rashi explains further]. It teaches us that the sequence of the Creation as written is impossible, as is written immediately below] as our Rabbis stated (Letters of R. Akiva , letter “beth” ; Gen. Rabbah 1:6; Lev. Rabbah 36:4): [God created the world] for the sake of the Torah, which is called (Prov. 8:22): “the beginning of His way,” and for the sake of Israel, who are called (Jer. 2:3) “the first of His grain.” But if you wish to explain it according to its simple meaning, explain it thus: “At the beginning of the creation of heaven and earth, the earth was astonishing with emptiness, and darkness…and God said, ‘Let there be light.’” But Scripture did not come to teach the sequence of the Creation, to say that these came first, for if it came to teach this, it should have written: “At first (בָּרִאשׁוֹנָה) He created the heavens and the earth,” for there is no רֵאשִׁית in Scripture that is not connected to the following word, [i.e., in the construct state] like (ibid. 27:1):“In the beginning of (בְּרֵאשִית) the reign of Jehoiakim” ; (below 10:10)“the beginning of (רֵאשִׁית) his reign” ; (Deut. 18:4)“the first (רֵאשִׁית) of your corn.” Here too, you say בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אלֹהִים, like בְּרֵאשִׁית בְּרֹא, in the beginning of creating. And similar to this is, “At the beginning of the Lord’s speaking (דִּבֶּר) to Hosea,” (Hos. 1:2), i.e., at the beginning of the speaking (דִּבּוּרוֹ) of the Holy One, Blessed be He, to Hosea, “the Lord said to Hosea, etc.” Now if you say that it came to teach that these (i.e., heaven and earth) were created first, and that its meaning is: In the beginning of all, He created these-and that there are elliptical verses that omit one word, like (Job 3:9): “For [He] did not shut the doors of my [mother’s] womb,” and it does not explain who it was who shut [the womb]; and like (Isa. 8:4): “he will carry off the wealth of Damascus,” and it does not explain who will carry it off; and like (Amos 6:12): “or will one plow with cattle,” and it does not explain: “if a man will plow with cattle” ; and like (Isa. 46: 10): “telling the end from the beginning,” and it does not explain that [it means] telling the end of a matter from the beginning of a matter-if so, [if you say that Scripture indicates the order of creation] be astounded at yourself, for the water preceded, as it is written: “and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the water,” and Scripture did not yet disclose when the creation of water took place! From this you learn that the water preceded the earth. Moreover, the heavens were created from fire and water. Perforce, you must admit that Scripture did not teach us anything about the sequence of the earlier and the later [acts of creation].
God’s creation of the heavens and the earth: But it does not say “of the Lord’s creation of” (i.e., it should say “of the Lord God’s creation of” as below 2:4 “on the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven”) for in the beginning it was His intention to create it with the Divine Standard of Justice, but he perceived that the world would not endure; so He preceded it with the Divine Standard of Mercy, Chessed allying it with the Divine Standard of Justice, and that is the reason it is written: “on the day the Lord God made earth and heaven.”
2 Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters.
astonishingly empty: Heb. תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ. תֹהוּ is an expression of astonishment and desolation, that a person wonders and is astonished at the emptiness therein. and the spirit of God was hovering: Rashi describes the process not scientifically but in the language that the simple and average man of his day could understand like the hovering of a humming bird. The Throne of Glory was suspended in the air and hovered over the face of the water with the breath of the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He and with His word, like a dove, which hovers over the nest, acoveter in Old French, to cover, hover over.
The Hebrew words Tohu v’ Bohu describe this random movement of particles inside this condensed universe with impossible to imagine heat and energy is so powerful that light is trapped and even an atom can’t form. The potential for an earth as we know it or as the dinosaurs knew it exist but we can’t locate in this Tohu and Bohu mess even the first atoms that will make up the earth.
I am taking an aside note on the whole purpose of Creation. I don’t claim to be a Kabbalist who understands the well of souls. I only know what I learned from the Talmud and interpreting a statement from our morning prayers. U’ B’ Tuvo Mitchadaysh Maaseh Beresheis which means in HIS goodness renews every day the works of creation. The atoms themselves are held together by Ratzono (HIS will) I lost the Pasuk from my head at this moment. The whole purpose of Creation is to raise the mundane level of the Chomer (material) to that of the Ruchanius (spiritual). I will get into this later when HASHEM consults with the future souls of men and says “Let us make man in OUR image.” Now the condition of the world existing as we know it and not going the way of the Dinosaur or Neanderthal was that Adam was to be not only earthly but also spiritual. He was to complete the purpose of creation and go from one of the four spiritual planes into others (based on the Tanya). The initial start-up failed except for Noach and family who found grace.
There were still Tzaddikim left when Avram was born such as Noach, Shem, Ever and perhaps one or two more but man had not yet learned to properly honor HaBoreh (the CREATOR). It was Avraham who saved the day during the time of Migdal Bavel that only a third of the world was destroyed. The Talmud has a new condition since Matan Torah and that is if there are not 36 Tzaddikim to hold up the world from Am Yisrael, the world will return to Tohu v’ Bohu. All HASHEM has to do is take his Ratzono away from the atoms in the universe and the Leptons, Quarks, Photons, W particles, Z particles, Higgs Boson and Gluons will fall apart. FOR NOTHING CAN EXIST WITHOUT A SPIRITUAL COMPONENT. In short there could be a day where HASHEM will not renew Maaseh Beresheis!
Two people have told me well over 30 years apart that just before the advent of Moshiach everybody in the world will experience the taste of death for a short time. Those judged worthy will rise to greet the Moshiach. I can only tell you that it is not a matter of the Iranians committing national suicide for all of Islam to triumph over Judaism. Without these 36 Tzaddikim the whole universe will cease to exist.
People sometimes ask in the course of their life – Why am I here? Your purpose like mine is to do your best to raise the mundane to that of the higher spiritual level. Some people drive their Neshama full gas in neutral for their 70 or 120 years. Others go backwards and downhill after power, money, physical pleasures and it is hard to be a Yacov Avinu who never obtained real power except perhaps via Yosef but he was able to enjoy starting from nothing both money, physical pleasures, children and Eretz Yisrael until a short time before his passing. Some of us are put through tests like Avraham Avinu and others just serve as conduits like some of the Roshei Yeshiva and Chassidic Rabbis. Our purpose is to do our best. I know my limits but use my limited knowledge to help and raise others. I want my readers to think what they are doing? Are they fulfilling the desire of their CREATOR or not?
3 And God said: 'Let there be light.' And there was light.
In the third minute when the universe expanded enough, photons could get out in the form of light and they would be now far enough apart of electrons to be captured by protons and remain in orbit around them. Dr. Schroeder does not seem to believe that at this point any more than some hydrogen and perhaps helium atoms formed while from the heat, pressure etc. more of the 92 naturally occurring atoms could form there appears to be no scientific model to justify this and it is only in my mind that perhaps one or two iron atoms formed that would make the planet later due to gravity. Dr. Schroeder seems to imply that iron was formed in the core of a supernova along with other elements that spewed out into space and condense to form a planet. Obviously there is scientific evidence from places like the Orion Nebular and other known supernovas that confirm this idea and eventually gravity pulling the elements to make a planet.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
There are two forms of matter about 2% of the universe is observable based on gravity and 98% of the universe is dark matter. (I may be wrong on the exact number but there is much more dark material)
And God saw the light that it was good, and God separated: Here too, we need the words of the Aggadah: He saw it that it was not proper for the wicked to use it; so He separated it for the righteous in the future. According to its simple meaning, explain it as follows: He saw it that it was good, and it was unseemly that it [light] and darkness should serve in confusion; so He established for this one its boundary by day, and for that one its boundary by night.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
Why one day and not the first day? The Ramban in about 1194 – 1270 CE quoting a person from 500 – 600 CE states that before Resheis there was no time and the Rambam about 50 to 100 years before states that there was no space. Since we start from absolute zero in time, space, temperature, matter, etc. we call this day one.
6 And God said: 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.'
in the midst of the water: In the middle of the water (Targum), for there is a separation between the upper waters and the expanse, as there is between the expanse and the waters that are on the earth. Behold you have learned that they are suspended by the word of the King. — [Gen. Rabbah 4:3]
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.
Rashi wrote this around 1000 years ago Let there be an expanse: Let the expanse be strengthened, for, although the heavens were created on the first day, they were still moist, and they solidified on the second [day] from the rebuke of the Holy One, blessed be He, when He said, “Let there be an expanse.” This is what Scripture says (Job 26:11): “The pillars of the heavens trembled” the entire first day, and on the second day: “They were astonished by His rebuke,” like a person who stands in astonishment because of the rebuke of the one who frightens him. [Genesis Rabbah 12:10]
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
This whole “day” in the universe is associated with the forming of molecules from the spewing out of gases from the newly compacted stars and galaxies and then condensing. We have indicated here the formation of water outside in space and the beginning of heavier gases and water which can form an atmosphere coming together now did the whole atmosphere in now recorded background temperature of 3.7K condense into a liquid or was it a cold gas ball that eventually could form into an atmosphere or condense into a star?
Rashi comes close enough to describing the scientific process as he received it from his Rabbis and the Medrash. And God called the expanse heaven: Heb. שָׁמַיִם [This is a combination of the words מַיִם שָׂא, bear water (Gen. Rabbah 4:7); שָׁם מַיִם, there is water; אֵשׁ וּמַיִם, fire and water. He mingled them with one another and made the heavens from them (Chag. 12a).
9 And God said: 'Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear.' And it was so.
The initial molten earth with all the various elements inside by rotation has produced centrifugal forces that have turned or churned out silicon, uranium, gold, brass, bronze, copper, aluminum ore, etc. scattered as the surface solidifies. Was the gases or frozen gases then captured by this molten iron? This process is observed by HASHEM as happening on the third day and HE then creates volcanos to pop through the sea covered ball to make dry land. [We have a saying in Hebrew Sof Maaseh B’ Machshava Tehilla – the end product is the result from the beginning thoughts].
Let the water…gather: They were spread out over the surface of the entire earth, and He gathered them in the ocean, [the Mediterranean], which is the largest of all the seas. — [from Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 5; Gen. Rabbah 5:2] This was compared to the waters of Eretz Yisrael or you might argue the spiritual heights of the sea for Yisrael is considered the highest land yet in Europe, the Americas and the Himalayas there are physically higher lands – Eretz Yisrael is the spiritually higher land. So too the Mediterranean is the largest in holiness of the seas.
10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters called He Seas; and God saw that it was good.
At this point there is no life but HASHEM is viewing his creation like light and now the lifeless planet earth as good.
He called seas: But is it not one sea? However, the flavor of a fish that comes up from the sea in Acre differs from the flavor of a fish that comes up from the sea in Spain. — [from Ekev 39]
11 And God said: 'Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit-tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth.' And it was so.
A scientific introduction based on Dr. Schroeder also quoting Dr. Niles Eldridge of the NY Museum of Natural History in a number of places. I bring this down now. Darwin saw that there were holes in the fossil record in his day when he published the theory of evolution. Nowadays after have 100 times more fossil digs over more than 150 years from 1859 until now we see that there is no gradual evolution but species appear suddenly.
What is the probability that a RNA all the more so a DNA compound would happen by accident – essentially zero. An element similar the carbon element is silicon. However, unlike carbon; silicon does not for nice chains and links so a silicon life form would be highly improbable. Furthermore the weight of the earth is a 6 with 27 zeros after it in grams and for a complex compound to accidently reproduce in nature one would need 1 with 90 zeros after it in grams of carbon alone which is billions upon trillions times the weight of the entire universe.
Previously I mentioned in the past that the number of atomic events in the last 15,000,000,000 years is 1 with 110 zeros after it. It would take 1 with 130 zeros after it to accidently produce a DNA molecule with 20 genes such as we find in plants. A rat has 40 genes, a human 46 and there is one exception in the potato that has 48 genes. Scientifically, we can see a guiding hand in the creation of life. Another few points that I want to bring up now is that for human and animal life to exist we need a certain atmosphere and a distance from the sun. We cannot be too close for then it would be too hot for the complex amino acids to remain stable and proteins such as in our brains would start to cook. We cannot be too far away because then we would be is very low temperatures and cold blooded creatures would not survive and even mammals, plants and birds would have a harder time surviving. We also need plenty of life sustaining oxygen and water but not too much.
We find initial evidence of life in the seas and eventually cells getting more complex to form planet life. A Kabbalist note is due now. There are in the Kabbala 4 elements of matter which simply described as air, fire, earth and water. We call these elements forms of matter now gas, plasma, solid and liquid. There are in Kabbala 4 life forms of which we recognize three as living but Neshama wise HASHEM views them as 4. They are inanimate, plant, animal and talking (aka mankind).
Let the earth sprout: Let it be filled and covered with a mantle of herbs. In Old French, דֶשֶׁא is called erbediz, herbage, all in a mixture, whereas each root individually is called עֵשֶׂב seed- seed-yielding: That its seeds should grow in it from which to sow elsewhere. fruit trees: That the taste of the tree should be like the taste of the fruit. It [the earth] did not do so, however, but “the earth gave forth, etc., trees producing fruit,” but the trees themselves were not fruit. Therefore, when man was cursed because of his iniquity, it [the earth] too was punished for its iniquity (and was cursed-not in all editions). - [from Gen. Rabbah 5:9] in which its seed is found: These are the kernels of every fruit, from which the tree grows when it is planted.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
The Medrash states that the wood of the tree was supposed to be edible by mankind from the words “fruit-tree bearing” but only the fruit was edible as Rashi described above.
And the earth gave forth, etc.: Even though לְמִינֵהוּ. “According to its kind,” was not said regarding the herbs when they were commanded [to grow], they heard that the trees were commanded thus, and they applied an a fortiori argument to themselves, [a קַל וָחוֹמֶר -from the minor to the major], as is explained in the Aggadah of Tractate Chullin (60a).
13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.
14 And God said: 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;
You might ask how is it possible that plant life developed prior to the earth rotating the sun and I will answer you as follows. The temperature of a more volcanic earth with a thinner curst and thicker atmosphere plus residues from a smaller less expanded universe enabled a larger amount of photons, neutrinos, gamma rays etc. to reach the earth. How fast was the earth rotating? How even the radiation? How hot was it? I do not know but can only speculate. Flying through space the earth was picked up by the Sun and the earth captured the moon sometime along the same process as perhaps the planets that condensed from the exploding star were drawn closer and closer to a relatively new star that is called Shemesh in Hebrew.
Now just like the earth the atoms and particles forming the sun and the moon were created on the first day it was now that G-D’s plan for a solar system went forth: Let there be luminaries, etc.: They were created on the first day, and on the fourth day, He commanded them to be suspended in the sky, and likewise, all the creations of heaven and earth were created on the first day, and each one was fixed in its proper place on the day that was decreed upon it. That is why it is written: “with the heavens (אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם) to include their products, “and with the earth (וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ)," to include its products. — [Gen. Rabbah 1:14]
Rashi points out a Kabbalistic aka spiritual aspect of the Hebrew that one does not see in an English translation: Let there be luminaries: Heb., יְהִי מְאֹרֹת It [the word, מְאֹרֹת is written without a“vav,” [thus, the word can be מְאֵרֹת meaning curses] because it [the fourth day] is a cursed day when children become ill with croup. This is what we learned (Ta’anith 27b): “on the fourth day [of the week], they [the men of the ma’amad] would fast so that children should not become ill with croup.”
to separate between the day and between the night: (This happened) after the first light was hidden away, but during the seven (another reading: during the three) days of Creation, the primordial light and darkness served together, both by day and by night. (Providing a sufficient amount of energy for plants and the production of Oxygen by Chlorophyll) — [Medrah Yelammedenu , as quoted in Yalkut Shim’oni] According to the Ramban and early editions of Rashi , it appears that the reading, “during the seven days of Creation,” is the authentic reading. Ramban, however quotes the Genesis Rabbah, which states that the original primordial light served only during the first three days, until the sun and the moon were suspended in the sky. After that, the primordial light was hidden away, as in Rashi to verse 4. Note also that several early manuscripts and printed editions of Rashi read: “but in the seven days of Creation, the primordial light and darkness served, this one by day and this one by night.” This is also the reading of Mizrachi , and it appears more accurate than our reading, because, in fact, the light and the darkness did not serve together, as Rashi explains in verse 4.] Rashi brings in the astrological effects and warnings that was created at the outset of the solar system as hidden in the writings here: and they shall be for signs: When the luminaries are eclipsed, it is an unfavorable omen for the world, as it is said (Jer. 10:2): “and from the signs of the heaven be not dismayed, etc.” When you perform the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, you need not fear retribution. — [from Sukkah 29a] and for appointed seasons: This refers to the future, when the Israelites are destined to be commanded concerning the festivals and they [the festivals] are reckoned from the first phase of the moon. — [from Gen. Rabbah 6:1]. and for days: The sun serves for half a day, and the moon for half of it, so that you have a full day. and years: At the end of 365 days (other editions: and a 1/4 of a day) they complete their revolution through the twelve constellations of the zodiac, which serve them, and that constitutes a year. (Other editions read: and that is 365 and 1/4 days), and they return and start a second time to revolve on the sphere like their first revolution.
Scientifically the sun is a T-Tauri Star. This means that a certain time in the early development it would have sent off such a solar wind that it would have knocked the atmosphere off of the planet earth and the volcanos would have had to regenerate the atmosphere and perhaps water. Or was the earth captured after this phenomenon we cannot tell from the explanation of the Torah.
15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth.' And it was so.
And they shall be for luminaries: In addition, they will serve in this function, viz. to shed light upon the world.
If the earth had an atmosphere like Venus with Oxygen instead of Carbon Dioxide the thickness would prevent us from seeing more than part of the light of the sun. If we had an atmosphere thin like Mars, humans could not have developed.
16 And God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; and the stars.
the two great luminaries: They were created equal, but the moon was made smaller because it brought charges and said, “It is impossible for two kings to use the same crown.” - [from Chullin 60b] Rashi (ad loc.) explains that this derash is based on the discrepancy of the two expressions, “the two great luminaries,” which intimates that the moon was a great luminary, and “the lesser luminary,” which intimates that the moon was smaller than the sun. To reconcile this difference, the Rabbis asserted that the moon was originally created equal to the sun, but, because of its complaint that the sun wielded the same power that it wielded, it was forced to relinquish that power. and the stars: Because He diminished the moon, He increased its hosts, to appease it. - [from Gen. Rabbah 46:4 and Chullin 60b] i.e., the stars serve as the entourage of the moon. When it comes out, they accompany it, and when it sets, they too set. [Gen. Rabbah ad loc.] Rashi is implying that originally the moon reflected the sunlight like a mirror and appeared equal in light and size which would have made it close to impossible to see the stars except during the new moon.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
Between day three when micro-organisms appear to the formation of plant life the blue-green algae began producing from carbon and carbon dioxide from underwater volcanos Oxygen. The Oxygen enters the atmosphere and the Ozone Layer is formed to keep out harmful UV and other Cosmic Radiation. The rotating liquid core produces the magnetic poles which also protect the earth from the dangerous field particles. Sometime between 2.1 billion and 2 billion years ago there was enough Oxygen in the world to produce life on land.
20 And God said: 'Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let fowl fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.'
The more complex forms of life like birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians all need Oxygen to survive. G-D is letting these life forms develop and reproduce from hundreds of millions of years ago. At this time he is causing the continents to split apart and form inner or small seas species develop and in geological time some of the inner seas close as the continents come together and 90% of the fish species die. It appears that dinosaurs may not have been all that dumb as we think some were even warm blooded. The dinosaurs continue to rule this one giant continent up until 65 million years ago when a giant meteor or small asteroid of 10 Km diameter hits the earth as evidenced by Iridium samples in the layers of earth from this time.
Living creatures: That there should be life in them. a swarming: Heb. שֶׁרֶץ. Every living thing that is not much higher than the earth is שֶׁרֶץ; among the winged creatures, such as flies; among the insects, such as ants, beetles, and worms; and among the [larger] creatures, such as the weasel, the mouse, the lizard, and their like, and so [among] the fishes. [Note that in most early editions and mss., the reading is וְכָל הַדָּגִים, and all the fishes (and not וְכֵן הַדגָּים).]
Rashi implies that during this time elementary mammals such as rodents were formed. When the meteor came only the fish in a warmer watery environment, birds, small mammals and a few animals that could burrow or live partially in water or in a hot springs area survived the nuclear winter of the meteor. Essentially only animals under 10 Kg or had capabilities of hibernating or protecting themselves could survive.
21 And God created the great sea-monsters, and every living creature that creep, wherewith the waters swarmed, after its kind, and every winged fowl after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
After the dinosaurs died out G-D declared everything remaining as good, meaning that was good for millions of years is going to be better now.
the…sea monsters: The great fish in the sea, and in the words of the Aggadah (B.B. 74b), this refers to the Leviathan and its mate, for He created them male and female, and He slew the female and salted her away for the righteous in the future, for if they would propagate, the world could not exist because of them. הַתַּנִינִם is written. [I.e., the final “yud,” which denotes the plural, is missing, hence the implication that the Leviathan did not remain two, but that its number was reduced to one.]- [from Gen. Rabbah 7:4, Midrash Caseroth V’Yetheroth , Batei Midrashoth, vol 2, p. 225]. living creature: a creature in which there is life. We make a blessing at the end of Sukkos asking as we prepared this year’s Sukkah so next year may we eat in the Sukkah with the walls made out of the Leviathan.
22 And God blessed them, saying: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.'
And…blessed them: Because [people] decimate them and hunt them and eat them, they required a blessing; and the beasts also required a blessing, but because the serpent was destined to be cursed, He did not bless them, lest he [the serpent] be included. — [from Gen. Rabbah 11:3, Midrash Tadshe 1] Be fruitful: [The word פְּרוּ is derived from פְּרִי, fruit, meaning produce fruits. and multiply: If He had said only, “Be fruitful,” one would beget one and no more. “And multiply” was therefore said so that one could beget many.
23 And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. 24 And God said: 'Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind.' And it was so.
After the age of the dinosaur ended the world was capable of having larger animals that need not hide from the terrible beasts.
Let the earth bring forth: That is what I explained [verse 14] that everything was created on the first [day], and they required only to be brought forth. — [from Tanchuma Buber, Bereishith 1] living creatures: which have life. (See above, verse 20.) and creeping things: These are the creeping things, which are low and crawl upon the earth and appear as if they are dragging along, because their movement is not discernible. Every expression of רֶמֶשׁ or שֶׁרֶץ [is translated] in our language [Old French] as conmovres , crawling creatures.
25 And God made the beast of the earth after its kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
And… made: He fixed them in their complete form, and in their full stature. — [from Rosh Hashanah 11a, Chullin 60a]
Each section of creation was reviewed and G-D reviewed his creation and found was existed was good.
26 And God said: 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.'
Let us make man: From here we learn the humility of the Holy One, blessed be He. Since man was created in the likeness of the angels, and they would envy him, He consulted them. And when He judges kings, He consults with His Heavenly household, for so we find regarding Ahab, that Micah said to him, (I Kings 22:19): “I saw the Lord seated on His throne, and all the host of heaven were standing by Him, on His right and on His left.” Now do “left” or “right” apply to Him ?! But rather, [the passage means that] these [angels] were standing on the right to defend, and these [angels] were standing on the left to prosecute. Likewise, (Dan. 4:14): “By the decree of the destructive angels is the matter, and by the word of the holy ones is the edict.” Here too, He took counsel with His heavenly household. He said to them, “Among the heavenly beings, there are some in My likeness. If there are none in My likeness among the earthly beings, there will be envy among the creatures of the Creation. ” - [from Tanchuma, Shemos 18; Gen. Rabbah 8:11, 14:13] Let us make man: Even though they [the angels] did not assist Him in His creation, and there is an opportunity for the heretics to rebel (to misconstrue the plural as a basis for their heresies), Scripture did not hesitate to teach proper conduct and the trait of humility, that a great person should consult with and receive permission from a smaller one. Had it been written: “I shall make man,” we would not have learned that He was speaking with His tribunal, but to Himself. And the refutation to the heretics is written alongside it [i. e., in the following verse:]“And God created (וַיִּבְרָא) ,” and it does not say, “and they created וַיִּבְרְאוּ.” - [from Gen. Rabbah 8:9] in our image: in our form. after our likeness: to understand and to discern. and they shall rule over the fish: Heb. וְיִרְדּוּ This expression contains both the meaning of ruling and the meaning of subservience. If he merits, he rules over the beasts and over the cattle. If he does not merit, he becomes subservient to them, and the beast rules over him. — [from Gen. Rabbah 8:12]
Adam created is not Neanderthal or Cro-Magnon types. The Neanderthal was intelligent but could not talk except in clicks, grunts and sign language due the throat, jaw and teeth structure. (The inability to talk I heard from Professor Yoel Barak of Tel Aviv University.)
27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.
And God created man in His image: In the form that was made for him, for everything [else] was created with a command, whereas he [man] was created with the hands (of God), as it is written (Ps. 139:5): “and You placed Your hand upon me.” Man was made with a die, like a coin, which is made by means of a die, which is called coin in Old French. And so Scripture states (Job 38:14): “The die changes like clay.” - [from Letters of Rabbi Akiva , second version; Mid. Ps. 139:5; Sanh. 38a] in the image of God He created him: It explains to you that the image that was prepared for him was the image of the likeness of his Creator. — [from B.B. 58a] male and female He created them: Yet further (2:21) Scripture states: “And He took one of his ribs, etc.” The Midrash Aggadah (Gen. Rabbah 8:1, Ber. 61a, Eruvin 18a) explains that He originally created him with two faces, and afterwards, He divided him. The simple meaning of the verse is that here Scripture informs you that they were both created on the sixth [day], but it does not explain to you how they were created, and it explains [that] to you elsewhere. — [from Baraitha of the Thirty Two Methods , Method 13]
Specific creation is spelled out in chapter 2.
28 And God blessed them; and God said unto them: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth.'
and subdue it: The “vav” [in וְכִבְשֻׁהָ is missing, [allowing the word to be read וְכִבְשָׁה, the masculine singular imperative] to teach you that the male subdues the female that she should not be a gadabout (Gen. Rabbah 8:12), and it is also meant to teach you that the man, whose way it is to subdue, is commanded to propagate, but not the woman (Yev. Yev. 65b).
To rule or subdue the creation gives us a package to breed or genetically research and perhaps engineer animals as long as we do not mix a pig gene or vegetable gene inside of a human embryo.
29 And God said: 'Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed--to you it shall be for food;
it will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth: He equated cattle and the beasts to them [to man] regarding the food [that they were permitted to eat]. He did not permit Adam and his wife to kill a creature and to eat its flesh; only every green herb they were all permitted to eat equally. When the sons of Noah came, He permitted them to eat flesh, as it is said (below 9:3): “Every creeping thing that is alive, etc.” Like the green herbs, which I permitted to the first man, I have given you everything. — [from Sanh. 59b]
You should note that prior to the flood even carnivorous mammals could live of the plants such as soya or wheat which after the flood they could not any more. Rashi in the next Pasuk views this just the opposite way. The original herbs were still pure and un-blemished before the flood and animals could live long and mankind 900 plus years.
30 and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul, [I have given] every green herb for food.' And it was so.
it will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth: He equated cattle and the beasts to them [to man] regarding the food [that they were permitted to eat]. He did not permit Adam and his wife to kill a creature and to eat its flesh; only every green herb they were all permitted to eat equally. When the sons of Noah came, He permitted them to eat flesh, as it is said (below 9:3): “Every creeping thing that is alive, etc.” Like the green herbs, which I permitted to the first man, I have given you everything. — [from Sanh. 59b]
31 And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Note this is the witness Paragraph of the creation of heaven and earth. Sixth Day = Yom HaSheshe Yud-Kay then it says Vav in the word “And” followed by the Hay Ha Shamayim (heaven).
2:1 And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it He rested from all His work which God in creating had made.
The witnessing ends in the seal of Truth – Emmes: Asher Bara ELOKIM La Asos. The last letter of Bara is Aleph, of ELOKIM is Mem and the last letter of Asos is Tav or Sav. Thus the seal of creation is The L-RD is Truth.
IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT – IF THE TOP OF CREATION OF THE WORLD IS THE SHABBOS THEN WHY NOT OBSERVE IT!!! All the works of the world from nothing to inanimate to plant to animal to man is culminated by HASHEM Yisborach observing the Shabbos then what is a Jew doing on the internet, driving to the beach, skiing, biking, hiking and all wonderful activities. Don’t think that Orthodox Jews don’t like to view great works that HASHEM made in Nature like Yellowstone Park, Niagara Falls and someday I hope to be able to view the Iguassu Falls on the border of Brazil/Argentina. But none of these trips to see the handiwork of the CREATOR and to bless HIM for creating such works are worth violating HIS Shabbosos. In Vayikra (Lev.) 19:2 You shall be holy; for I the LORD your God am holy. So if HE observers the Shabbos all the more so we must observe the Shabbos!
If we are so busy resting, not traveling, not writing, not being on the internet and only can read, sing, eat, visit and learn Torah what else can we do to make our Shabbos? http://www.chabad.org/generic_cdo/aid/253215/jewish/Shabbat.htm
The greatest thing that Rabban Gamliel and Shaul, his Yad LeAchim Agent, did was to have Shaul become Paul and end the threat at the time where all the Christians were Jews who observed Shabbos. Paul instituted Sunday and non-Kashrus which turned many Jews back to Judaism and those who did not return were written off as a loss for Judaism need quality not quantity (we see later on in the Torah that those who left Mitzrayim were 600,000 men and those who entered the land later were 600,000 men even a slight population loss for half-baked prayer and half-baked observance is unacceptable unless it is by accident and not choice.
4 These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven. 5 No shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground;
was yet on the earth: Every טֶרֶם in Scripture has the meaning of “not yet,” and it does not mean “before,” and it cannot be made into a verb form, to say הִטְרִים, as one says הִקְדִּים This verse proves this, as well as another verse (Exod. 9:30):“ כִּי טֶרֶם תִּירְאוּן, You will not yet fear.” This verse too should be explained to mean that [no tree] was yet on the earth (Targum Onkelos). When the creation of the world was completed on the sixth day, before man was created, no herb of the field had yet grown. And on the third [day], where it is written: “Let the earth bring forth,” they [the plants] had not yet emerged, but they stood at the entrance of the ground until the sixth day. And why? Because He had not caused it to rain, because there was no man to work the soil, and no one recognized the benefit of rain, but when man came and understood that they were essential to the world, he prayed for them, and they fell, and the trees and the herbs sprouted. — [from Chul. 60b] the Lord God: יהוה is His name. אלֹהִים [means] that He is the Ruler and Judge over the entire world, and so is this defined everywhere according to its simple meaning: the Lord (אלֹהִים), Who is Ruler and Judge (יהוה) .
This would indicate that rain did not occur before the flood. There was a different watering system in place in nature.
6 but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
And a mist ascended: Concerning the creation of man, He brought up the [waters of the] deep and watered the clouds to soak the earth, and man was created; like the baker, who puts water [into the flour] and afterwards kneads the dough. Here too, “He watered,” and afterwards, “He formed” [man]. — [from Exod. Rabbah 30:113; Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 5]
The Ayd was enough to soak the plants and ground that they grew into bearing fruit that had the power of letting man live close to 1000 years.
7 Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
In Hebrew the name Adam comes from Adama or dirt/earth.
8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. … 15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying: 'Of every tree of the garden thou may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eat thereof thou shalt surely die.' 18 And the LORD God said: 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.' 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them; and whatsoever the man would call every living creature, that was to be the name thereof. 20 And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him. 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the place with flesh instead thereof. 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from the man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And the man said: 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.'
Hebrew Ish = man and Isha = woman. There is a big dispute in the Zohar and Medrash whether or not this was only a rib or a linked twin either on the back or on the side of Adam. For was Chava created at the same time as Adam and make into a Siamese Twin or formed from the genetic material of the rib of a man after being removed? Man was created as a talking thinking being and capable of communicating with HASHEM. He looked at all the animals and could not find a true mate. Among the animals were Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon humans who could either not talk (or were on a sub-level like the famed illusive Yeti and Big foot). (Some hair fibers found near the Himalayas on a tree in the area where these animals were to have passed through show a different and unknown species). For even though the two human type species existed before modern man, the jump is a quantum leap into a higher evolved creature.
What makes the Cro-Magnon or Neanderthal different from Adam – ADAM WAS CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF HASHEM WITH 5 Components of the Neshama. Upon expulsion from Gan Eden one component was lose and if one was to gain insight into the purpose of creation and observation of Torah on his generation’s level he could develop the 5th component. If not he was no different from an animal that had basic Nefesh. Most people live like they only have the first three components and those who are Bnei Noach work on achieving the 4th component (this is above nature and instincts and earns individuals a place in heaven). Only a person fully observing the Torah could feed the spiritual source of the 5th component. Like the levels of Torah – Pshat (simple text), Drush (expounded text). Remez (hinted text example don’t eat this animal and that animal implies don’t be a glutton and eat and eat everything insight) and Sod (a secret inside the text) or Pardes and the fifth is Sod within a Sod = a secret part hidden within the secret that was just brought to view.
Explaining the five components of the soul in layman’s terms: Nefesh a soul of life which we see in a living organism of one cell, Ruach or spirit the next level perhaps instinct, Neshama which might be thought (take a cat on the level of Ruach it wants to eat and on the level of Neshama sees a bird and thinks how to stalk and eat it). The next level is the first G-Dly component of the soul it is called Chaya – doing something above nature (example a medic or fireman running into a building to save others despite the danger) and lastly Yechida or oneness with HASHEM one has to do a Mitzvah with Kavana or precisely what G-D wants and expects of him to nourish this soul.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh.
Therefore, a man shall leave: The Divine Spirit says this, to
prohibit forbidden unions to the Noahides. — [from Sanh. 58a] one flesh: The
fetus is formed by them both, and there [in the child] their flesh becomes one.
— [from Sanh. 58a]
I could understand not having a union with an idol worshipper as such a person would not be on any true spiritual level but a Ben or Bas Noach who follows the 7 Commandments and is a monotheist and has a place in the next world – comes the Torah to teach us no for there are 606 commandments still lacking and a Bnei Yisrael Neshama needs a bone of bones, flesh of flesh from these spiritual people only.
… (I have not decided what I am going to do with the rest of this Pasha but for continuing next week having the earth full of Hamas I leave these last few lines)
5 And the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. 7 And the LORD said: 'I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and creeping thing, and fowl of the air; for it repents Me that I have made them.' 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
Rabbi A.L. sent me this piece of humor but there is more truth than poetry in it as Adam was born on a higher plane and man deteriorated after him.
4000 years of Medicine
2000 BCE: Here, eat this root.
1000 CE: That root is heathen!! Here, say this prayer.
1865 CE: That prayer is superstition!! Here, drink this potion.
1935 CE: That potion is snake oil!! Here, swallow this pill.
1975 CE: That pill is ineffective!! Here take this antibiotic.
2012 CE: That antibiotic is poison!! Here, eat this root
What is
deep space like regarding energy? Read this recent article: http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2012/10/more-evidence-that-voyager-has-exited-the-solar-system/
This week the Parsha is so long that the Halachos are being
skipped. REGARDING THE SNAKE FROM GAN EDEN read the following story:
The Substitute Prayer Belt http://ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=776-05
After he had completed his prayers, Rabbi Eliyahu began to untie the rope, when it suddenly uncoiled itself and slithered away! It turned out that the "rope" he had worn was actually a poisonous snake!
In memory of this miracle, R' Eliyahu entitled the next book he wrote, Eizer Eliyahu ["The Helper of Eliyahu"].
When the chasidic rebbe, R. Moshe of Kobrin, would recount this story, he would always add the following postscript: "It is really not so wondrous that the snake neither bit not choked Rabbi Eliyahu. No living creature can harm a person who has not damaged his tzelem Elokim -- his Divine image. For it is written, 'The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth' [Gen 9:2]. And the fact that the snake did not try to flee while R' Eliyahu prayed is also not astonishing; the snake was afraid of the tzadik, so he stayed absolutely still.
"The truly striking point about this story is Rabbi Eliyahu's greatness. In his tremendous devotion to G-d even before he began praying, he never noticed that the 'rope' he was picking up was actually a living snake."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from "Stories my Grandfather told me" (Mesorah) by Zev Greenwald]
Connection: Weekly Readings (2): serpents this week and a specific verse next week.
Biographical notes:
Rabbi Eliyahu Hakohen akohen of Izmir, Turkey [1650 - 1 Adar B 1729], is best known as the author of Shevet Mussar, a major work of Torah ethics and morality. He also wrote Midrash Talpiot. In the historical work, Shem HaGedolim, it states, "Rabbi Eliyahu HaKohen of Izmir wrote almost 40 books and turned many away from sin with his public lectures."
Rabbi Moshe Pallier of Kobrin [1784 - 29 Nisan 1858] was a close follower of the Rebbe, R. Mordechai of Lechovitch and afterwards of his son, R. Noach. In 1833 he became the first Rebbe of the Kobrin dynasty, with thousands of Chassidim, many of whom subsequently moved to Israel. His teachings are collected in Imros Taharos.
Story Son of an Esrog it is in PDF Format: http://livingjewish.net/emailfile/sukkot5772/1le.pdf
I
was about to go into Eugenics in modern society with genetic modification of
corn and other products that might cause cancer in humans. All of a sudden in
the new generation autism is on the rise tremendously. Alexander forwarded this
to me: Here is a video of a member of the Fabian
Society member Virginia Ironside who recently advocated murdering babies in
their cribs by putting a pillow over their heads. This takes place on a religious
show in Great Britain and the others on the panel cannot believe their ears.
She is quite adamant though and cannot be dissuaded. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RAAhTL4Arg
Here
is a quote from Russell....“I do not pretend that birth control is the only way
in which population can be kept from increasing… War… has hitherto been
disappointing in this respect, but perhaps bacteriological war may prove more
effective. If a Black Death could be spread throughout the world once in every
generation survivors could procreate freely without making the world too full…
The state of affairs might be somewhat unpleasant, but what of that? Really
high-minded people are indifferent to happiness, especially other people’s…
There are three ways of securing a society that shall be stable as regards
population. The first is that of birth control, the second that of infanticide
or really destructive wars, and the third that of general misery except for a
powerful minority…”
- Bertrand Russell, THE IMPACT OF SCIENCE ON SOCIETY 1953
- Bertrand Russell, THE IMPACT OF SCIENCE ON SOCIETY 1953
From Piper: by Ronit Krancberg
Brilliant man, brilliant answer!
In 1954, when Ben Gurion was Prime Minister of Israel he
traveled to the USA to meet with President Eisenhower to request his assistance
and support in the early and difficult days of the State of Israel. John Foster
Dulles, who was the then Secretary of State confronted Ben Gurion and
challenged him as follows: "Tell me, Mr. Prime Minister - w...
ho do you and your state represent?
Does it represent the Jews of Poland, perhaps Yemen, Romania, Morocco, Iraq,
Russia or perhaps Brazil ? After 2000 years of exile can you honestly speak
about a single nation, a single culture? Can you speak about a single heritage
or perhaps a single Jewish tradition?"
Ben Gurion answered him as follows:
"Look, Mr Secretary of State - approximately 300 years ago the Mayflower
set sail from England and on it were the first settlers who settled in what
would become the largest democratic superpower known as the United States of
America. Now, do me a favor - go out into the streets and find 10 American
children and ask them the following:
•What was the name of the Captain of the Mayflower?
•How long did the voyage take?
•What did the people who were on the ship eat?
•What were the conditions of sailing during the voyage?
I'm sure you would agree with me that there is a good chance that you won't get
a good answer to these questions.
Now in contrast - not 300 but more than 3000 years ago, the Jews left the land
of Egypt. I would kindly request from you Mr. Secretary that on one of your
trips around the world, try and meet 10 Jewish children in different countries.
And ask them:
•What was the name of the leader who took the Jews out of Egypt ?
•How long did it take them before they got to the land of Israel ?
•What did they eat during the period when they were wondering in the desert?
•And what happened to the sea when they encountered it?
Once you get the answers to these questions, please carefully consider the
question that you have just asked me!
John Foster Dulles in his brilliance once said: “Why can’t the
Jews and the Arabs get together like good Christian Gentlemen?” I assume he was
talking about the Shin Fein of the IRA!
He
raised the flag and out flanked the Egyptians but could not outflank the Angel
of Death: http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=286072
If one
is not sealed in the book of life the American Dream can become a nightmare: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4286960,00.html
Jewish
boy loses the race but saves a life and whomever says a life is like he saved
the world for Adam was created as one person. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/26/seth-goldstein_n_1917207.html?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl22%7Csec3_lnk2%26pLid%3D212035
The
French have a way of guarding their Jews since the days of the resistance. http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=286838
Hungarian
Anti-Semitism hits the airways: http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=286986
Another
Jew wins the Nobel Prize: http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=287128
and one more http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=287256
Inyanay Diyoma
The
White house and Israel: http://www.debka.com/article/22392/White-House-irked-by-Netanyahu’s-“red-line”-speech-reverts-to-Iran-diplomacy
Buying
time: http://www.debka.com/article/22394/Fordo-sabotage-enabled-Netanyahu-to-move-Iran-red-line-to-spring-2013
White
House security breached: (no it wasn’t Pollard or Israel) http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/10/01/washington-confirms-chinese-hack-attack-on-white-house-computer/
Unknown
war with Islam http://www.debka.com/article/22396/Kenyan-army%E2%80%99s-outstanding-victory-over-Al-Qaeda%E2%80%99s-Somali-Shabaab-Israeli-advisers-helped
Hezballah’s
initial goals: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/160441#.UGqAB1GLUis
Contrary
to the article in the period after the Yom Kippur war, Israel had drones. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4287728,00.html
Ehud
Barak must go and we need a better Defense Minister: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4287836,00.html
Syrians
are a danger to tourists. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/160499#.UGxElFGLUis
Muslim
call to prayer the sweetest sound on earth: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4287299,00.html
Do not
rejoice when your enemy falls. http://www.jpost.com/VideoArticles/Video/Article.aspx?id=286576
HE IS
CORRECT THAT GOG AND MAGOG most likely will be nuclear but an attack could
delay the Nuke program long enough to make a missile shield. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4288742,00.html
Here
and there with Syria http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4288789,00.html
A very
smart move on Israel’s part: http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=286709
Terrorist
getting more and more sophisticated. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/10/06/israel-shoots-down-unpiloted-aircraft-reports-say/?test=latestnews
The IDF in action
video: http://www.jpost.com/VideoArticles/Video/Article.aspx?id=286845
A
treasure trove of intelligence: http://debka.com/article/22412/Defecting-Iranian-cameraman-brings-CIA-priceless-film-of-secret-nuclear-sites-
The
Torah is Emmes but not Politics - Make the data fit the curve: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/05/jack-welch-fox-news_n_1943311.html?1349468117&icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl36|sec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D216409
Is
Israel or the enemy playing cool. http://www.debka.com/article/22414/Israel-wages-cyber-battle-over-UAV-satellite-guided-by-Iran-or-Hizballah
Iran
beginning to feel the economic crunch: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4289316,00.html
Simcha
Torah in the south interrupted: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4289511,00.html
After
the drone flight the IDF ups the alert: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4289609,00.html
For a more detailed account: http://www.debka.com/article/22420/Two-days-after-UAV-Patriots-posted-near-Haifa-and-other-parts-of-N-Israel
Romney
gives notice to Iran: http://www.jpost.com/USPresidentialrace/Article.aspx?id=287014
Iran
closer to the bomb according to Debka: http://www.debka.com/article/22422/US-sources-US-Israel-plan-October-Surprise-Others-Israel-can-do-it-alone
Motzei
Chag there were more attacks and more continuing: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4290313,00.html
From
Semper Fidelis Ben: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/10/09/romney-will-win-in-landslide-las-vegas-oddsmaker-doubles-down-on-prediction/
I took
this from Chaya: I don’t know whether to laugh or cry here it is pathetic - Finally
Obama has a plan for the environment and jobs he plans to keep big bird. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/10/09/big-bird-wants-out-of-campaign-ad/
Public
Opinion Polls for the Israeli Elections the right wins implements the left’s
policy: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/160752#.UHZ-dFHSi1c
The
notorious anti-Israel State Dept. has Taliban Members inside: http://www.wnd.com/2012/10/security-officer-taliban-is-inside-the-state-department/?cat_orig=us
The IDF
replies to Hamas and Company: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4290837,00.html
Now for M. Wolfberg’s Good Shabbos Story “My kind of person”
The bustling entrance of a nurse, who was pushing a squeaky-wheeled medicine cart into the room, roused the patient out of his last moment of sleep. She pushed past both the father and son to the snoring man occupying the bed on the far side of the room.
Downstate Medical Center - a busy urban hospital in a run-down Brooklyn neighborhood - offered little in the way of peace and quiet. Rabbi Gissinger's father woke up fully. His eyes lost their cloud of sleepy disorientation and lit up with happiness at the familiar sight of his son. He cleared his groggy voice as if preparing to make an important announcement. "I want you to do something for me," he stated. "I want you to go to your rebbi, Rav Pam, and ask him to come visit me here. I feel that if he would come and give me a brachah - blessing, I would get better."
The younger Rabbi Gissinger had been a talmid-student at Yeshivah Torah Vodas for many years, and he had built a close, warm relationship with Rav Pam, his rebbi and Rosh Yeshivah. Nonetheless, his father's request would not be simple to fulfill. How could he ask the revered talmid chacham to make the arduous trip to the hospital? Rav Pam's days were filled from beginning to end with learning and teaching. His office and his home were both magnets for Jews from all over the world who sought to benefit from just a spark of his wisdom, or to have their worries soothed with the balm of his wise and kindhearted words. A trip to Downstate seemed a terrible imposition. Perhaps his father would forget about this idea.
Rabbi Gissinger began speaking to him about a different subject, and nothing more was said about Rav Pam's visit. That is, until the next day. "Nu? Have you spoken to Rav Pam yet?" his father asked expectantly. "What did he say?" Clearly, this was a desire that would not soon be forgotten. It was obviously something that had come from deep within his father's heart, and Rabbi Gissinger knew he had no choice but to try to fulfill it.
The next day, upon returning to yeshivah, he found Rav Pam in his office. The rebbe invited his talmid to take a seat and discuss what was on his mind. "My father is a patient at Downstate Medical Center," Rabbi Gissinger explained. "He asked if it would be possible for Rebbe to come visit him there."
"I would love to visit your father in the hospital," Rav Pam replied. "But I'm sorry to say that I cannot, because I'm a Kohen. (A Kohen is bound by special rules of ritual purity that prohibit him from being in the same building as a dead body). My own relative called recently and asked me to visit him in the hospital, and I had to say no to him."
But what Rav Pam said next, typified his greatness. He gazed down at his desk, as if searching there for an idea. At last, he looked up at Rabbi Gissinger. "Is there a window in your father's hospital room?" he asked. "Yes."
"Does your father have the ability to get to the window?" "I think so." "Wonderful!" said Rav Pam with the excitement of someone who has just made a remarkable discovery. "I have a plan. At 2 p.m. on Tuesday, bring your father to the window and I will be right outside on the street across from his room. I'll look up at his window and wave to him and give him a brachah. That way, I can fulfill your father's request."
That Tuesday, at precisely 2 p.m., Rabbi Gissinger helped his father out of bed and make his way to the window of his hospital room. Standing out on the street, many stories down, was the great Rosh Yeshivah, who was looking directly at the window, waving and smiling and uttering a berachah for the patient's recovery.
Despite the windowpane and the distance between them, Rabbi Gissinger's father basked in the warmth of Rav Pam's presence. Rabbi Gissinger testified that shortly after Rav Pam's visit, his father's condition began to improve. He had finally obtained a healing dose of the only medicine that could really help him. Rav Pam's love of chesed motivated him to find a way to help another Jew. Rav Pam's show of chessed motivated Rabbi Gissinger's father to have the will to be better.
In the end of this week's parsha, the Torah tells how Moshe Rabeinu has his assistant Yehoshua stand by him. Rashi explains that it was the last day of Moshe's life and he wanted to give credence to Yehoshua, who would assume the leadership of the Bnai Yisroel after Moshe's death.
In a sense, Moshe was "grooming" Yehoshua to take the lead. Yehoshua would be the leader in the next generation. It is from this point in history, which began the process which continues until today. Namely, every generation has its Tzadikkim, righteous leaders.
We believe that our great Rabbis are characterized by their elevated midos - character traits. Nobody is perfect; not even the greatest Tzadik, as the verse in Koheles tells us, "For there is no man so wholly righteous on earth that he [always] does good and never sins." (7:20) In any case, we must chose leaders for ourselves from among the most righteous, such as Rabbi Pam, of blessed memory. As we saw from the story above, Rabbi Pam personified the midah - character trait of Chesed - Kindness, which we can all emulate in the coming year. Good Shabbos Everyone. M. Wolfberg is sponsored by: In memory of R' Yaakov ben Naftoly, of blessed memory Refuah Shleima to Reb Mordechai Menachem Mendel ben Tziporah Yitta Refuah Shleima to Tsviah bas Bracha Leah
A wonderful Shabbos to all and back to normal after a lot of
holidays,
Rachamim Pauli
