Parshas Bereshit

WHERE ARE YOU?

 

This week’s parsha continues discussing the consequences of Adam’s punishment. When Adam heard Hashem calling out to him, after he sinned, Adam hid. The sin caused Adam to tremble when he heard Hashem’s voice, whereas before the sin, he could bear Hashem’s voice without fear. Hashem called out, “Ayeka—Where are you?”  Hashem, who obviously knew where Adam was asked him this question to get Adam to confess his guilt and repent. How is it that Adam hid from Hashem? Didn’t he know that Hashem, the all-knowing creator of existence, would know exactly where he was? Despite this awareness, Adam still hid because he felt such shame for his sin and now the shechina- Hashem’s divine presence- had departed from Gan Eden.

Nevertheless, Hashem persisted in questioning Adam, hoping he would confess his sin and do teshuva. However, instead of confessing, Adam blamed Chava for sinning, he said, “Did I sin as long as I was single? It was the woman You brought to me who seduced me and made me violate your command!” Hashem was displeased with Adam’s lack of remorse and how ungrateful he was for the wife He had given him.

Hashem then turned to Chava and asked her what she had done, hoping to get her to admit her sin and repent. However, she responded, “Master of the Universe, it was the snake who persuaded me to sin!”

Obviously, Hashem was displeased with their answers. Instead of taking responsibility for what they had done and asking Him for forgiveness, they just tried to shift the blame; therefore, they were eternally punished.

This infamous Garden of Eden story should shed light into our own lives. Throughout life, we too do many things that Hashem would not approve of, and that even we wouldn’t approve of. In order to avoid embarrassment and shame, we think of every excuse under the sun as to why we did what we did. When we are faced with these challenges, we must remember that Hashem is calling out to us saying, “Ayeka—Where are you?”  In other words, where is your higher self? Rather than getting defensive about past mishaps, we must take full responsibility for our sins, but recognize that that is exactly what Hashem wants from us. Once we take complete ownership for our sins, only then can we find the strength within to repent and avoid making the same mistake again. Let us learn from Adam and Chava rather than continuously repeating the mistakes of history. We have the formula to create change; it is up to us to take responsibility when Hashem asks us, ‘Ayeka,’ only then can we looking introspectively within and allow real change to be made.

Punishment

For sinning and shifting the blame, rather than taking ownership of their behavior, Adam and Chava were punished with the following:

Chava’s punishment:

1.     Discomfort of menstruation

2.     Discomfort from first relations

3.     Raising children will involve much self- sacrifice and hardship

4.     Pregnancies will cause much discomfort

5.     Labor pains

6.     Her husband will dominate her, but she will constantly seek him out

7.     Her desires will be in her heart

8.     She will be confined to the home and will not be able to appear in public without her hair covered

9.     She will not be accepted as a witness in the Bait Din- court

10. Death

To rectify for Chava’s sin, Hashem gave women the following mitzvot to follow:

1.     A woman is commanded to light candles before Shabbot. Since Chava extinguished the light of the world, when she had caused Adam to sin, when a woman lights Shabbot candles, she rekindles the lost light.

2.     A woman is commanded to take a piece of challah from her dough, to rectify Chava defiling the challah of the world—Adam.

3.     A woman is commanded to observe the laws of niddah- impurity laws- to rectify Chava’s sin of causing Adam’s blood to be spilled.

Adam’s punishment:

1.     Man’s strength will be diminished

2.     His height will be decreased

3.     He will become impure, as a zav- is a state of ritual impurity arising from abnormal seminal discharge

4.     He will become impure through wasting seed

5.     He will become impure through martial relations

6.     When he sows the harvest, he will harvest thorns

7.     He will eat grass, like the beasts

8.     Earning a livelihood will cause man mental sorrow

9.     Man will have to work for a livelihood with the sweat of his brow

10. Death

Unfortunately, man and woman have been plagued with these punishments until the days of machiach; however, by taking steps towards rectifying Adam and Chava’s sin through the fulfillment of the mitzvot, we will speedily bring back the sweet blissful days of Gan Eden.

Parshas Zot Haberacha

 

The final pasha of the Torah, Parshas Zot Haberacha, begins with Moshe blessing the Jewish people before he dies. The entire book of Devarim deals with reproof, where in last week’s parsha Bnai Israel received their final reproof from Moshe, in the prophetic song, Ha’azinu (it described the punishment Bnai Yisrael would endure if they transgressed the Torah).

Now, as the Torah makes its complete conclusion, Moshe ends with blessing the Jews. Moshe bestows a blessing to each tribe of Yaakov, and then he concludes with the praises of Hashem and the Jewish people. Hashem praises were meant to encourage Bnai Yisrael that Hashem will be with them indefinitely, even after Moshe’s death. Moshe’s final blessing was that the Jewish nation would ultimately be rewarded with the delights of the World to Come.

As we conclude the cycle of the parshot, may we all look at the previous year and come to the conclusion that despite our year of self-reproof and self-rebuke, may we look to start this year with our right foot forward.  May we look at the past year and all our accomplishment and shortcomings and remember that despite the struggles, we will ultimately be blessed by Hashem.  May Hashem bless each and every one of us with a year of goodness, happiness, joy, tranquility, and the strength to connect with more of Hashem’s mitzvot and His essence!

Questions to ponder?

After blessing Bnai Israel, Moshe ascends up the mountain…the last eight verses in the Torah conclude with, “ And Moshe, the servant of Hashem, died there in the land of Moav…” Wait! Who exactly wrote these verses if Moshe was the one who ascended up the mountain (back to the spiritual world). Who completed the Torah?! 

Rabbi Hirsch offers the following commentary:

As Hashem dictated the Torah, Moshe repeated it and then wrote it down; however, since the last eight verses were so painful, Moshe wrote them down in his tears and later, Yehoshua filled in the ink.  Additionally, another commentary states that Hashem dictated the letters of last eight verses in mixed combinations to hide their secret meaning, and later Yehoshua was given the proper order.

Parshas Ha’azinu

The power of song!

This week’s parsha, Ha’azinu, begins discussing the contents of the fourth prophetic song, Ha’azinu. The song poetically depicts the future of the Jewish people until the end of days. The song goes into detail about what will happen if they transgress their covenant with Hashem.  Each of the nine songs had sadness that followed; however, the tenth song, which is the greatest, will be sung at our redemption, marking the end of our suffering and exile!

Order of songs composed by:

1.      Adam, who recited the first song in Gan Adan (he composed Mizmor shir leyom Shabbot, a song to praise the greatness of Shabbot).

2.      Moshe and Bnai Israel, composed a song at the Red Sea.

3.      Bnai Israel, composed a song at the Well of Miriam (Parshas Chukas).

4.      Moshe, taught Bnai Israel the song of Ha’azinu on the day of his passing.

5.      Yehoshua, sang a song when he fought the Emorites in Givon, when the sun miraculously stopped, so that Bnai Israel could continue fighting.

6.      Devorah and Barak, composed a song when Hashem delivered their enemy to their hand.

7.      Chana, sang a song after giving birth to Shmuel (she was childless for many years, so she praised Hashem with a prophetic song).

8.      King David, composed a song at the end of his life, in order to thank Hashem for saving him from his enemies.

9.      King Shlomo, composed Shir Hashirim.

10.  The Jewish people will sing this final song when we are redeemed from our present exile.

RAIN RAIN DON’T GO AWAY! Dvar Torah in under a minute!

The parsha continues with Moshe comparing the Torah to rain. Just as rain is a life giving force, the Torah too is vital for our survival.  Just as rain descends from above, we too received the Torah from above. Rain enables plants to grow; however, the rain does not create the seed or plant, similarly, the Torah allows the seed in one’s heart to grow and to develop to its full potential. Once a person dedicates his heart and mind to the Torah, only then will his studies be fruitful!

Why G-d? WHY?!

In the course of this prophetic song, Ha’azinu, Moshe predicts the harsh punishments the Jews would incur if they abandoned the Torah. Despite the punishments that the Jews would incur if they transgressed, Moshe defended Hashem’s ways as being absolute just (Hashem only punishes people justly and never out of anger).  Hashem is a just G-d who will ultimately reward the righteous and punish the wicked.

 Unfortunately, too many times we see righteous people suffer and we question why and how is God being just? We cannot come to understand Hashem’s infinite wisdom and see how that suffering can be good; however, what we can do is accept the suffering. By recognizing that the suffering we endure is temporary, and an extremely relative experience, we can lift some burden off our shoulders. Moreover, many times the suffering we experience in this world is atoning for any sins we have committed; thereby, we will not suffer in the World to Come, where the delights of that world are incomparable to this world.  What seems fortunate now, may be an impediment to a person in this world, and conversely, what seems unfortunate now, may not be so in the World to come, (also that misfortune can build a person into someone remarkable, allowing him to fully benefit in the future world).

The moral of the story is that we should not look at our physical existence as absolute. If G-d forbid a person is struck with misfortune, he should accept the fact that, this is what Hashem wants, and everything He does is for the best. This attitude can only be acquired from studying Torah, because the Torah teaches us how to develop our bitachon- faith- in Hashem, all allowing us to recognize His handiwork in every aspect of our lives.