בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth
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Shabbat |
Name |
Parasha |
Haftora |
Brit Chadasha |
|
October 22 2022 |
B’reshit |
Genesis |
Isaiah |
John 1:1-14 |
The first account of creation is characterized for the most part by its concise and uniform style. However, the structure which is repeated for each of the six days of creation – “God said … and God saw…and God spoke … and there was evening and there was morning”.
All this is put aside when we come to the seventh day. Just as the Sabbath contrasts with the six days of creation in terms of its content of resting.
Bereshit, which means in the beginning, is the first weekly reading in Genesis, begins with thirty-one verses describing the creation of the universe, with all its physical, chemical, and biological systems. These profound verses have stimulated lively discussion among biblical commentators for generations and recently have also become of interest to scientists.
B’reshit offers us the foundation stone for our collective worldview. What is the nature of the world and humanity, what are gender relations, what causes violence, and what is the source of human diversity? These are all questions that we are compelled to revisit and revise annually as a group. We struggle as a group to develop our moral knowledge and refine our values, and we struggle as a group both to use our holy texts toward that end and to bring our understanding of those holy texts in line with our highest moral conclusions.
