Creation

Found 22 Search results

1. Redemption as Creation

   Haftarot: Bereisheet

   Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein

   The haftara of Bereisheet provides another perspective on creation, according to which God, and not man, is at the center of creation. God's honor is provided as a reason for the redemption of Am Yisrael, and the prophet explains how the fear and awe of God relate to the nation's punishment. The haftara describes the redemption as a renewed creation.

2. The Story of Creation

   Rabbi Dr. Tamir Granot

   This lesson will examine the structure and order of the creation. Through close attention to the words and phrases used in each stage of creation, we can better understand the purpose of creation. What does the description teach us about the status of man, and hierarchy between man and the animal kingdom?

3. Noah, the Dove, and the Raven

   Prof. Jonathan Grossman

   Why were the raven and dove sent to see whether the water had diminished? Why does Noah need to send them, when ultimately he will not leave the ark until God has told him to do so? And what is the significance of his peaceful relationship with the dove, in contrast with his wary relationship with the raven? This lesson analyzes the story of Noah's dispatch of the birds, and explores the meaning of this episode based on the parallels of the new world after the flood and the creation.

4. What Changed After the Flood?

   Rabbi Dr. Tamir Granot

   After the flood there is a need for a new world order. This order is described at the beginning of chapter 9, where the Torah describes a new hierarchy between animals and people, and new parameters for the relationship among people. This lesson will explore the new order, and examine the status of plant life, animals, and people in the new world.

5. Creation Anew

   Rabbi Zeev Weitman

   After mankind was corrupted, God regrets creating man, and destroys every living thing. The renewal of the world after the flood is described as a re-creation of the world. Is the new world more successful than the first? What is the relationship between Noah's drunkenness and Adam's sin? Is there a relationship between Lot's drunkenness after the destruction of Sodom and Noah's drunkenness after the destruction of the world?

6. "'Zakhor' And 'Shamor' Were Uttered As One Word"

   Rabbi Dr. Yoel Bin Nun

   Shabbat in the Ten Commandments in Shmot is linked to the Creation, but elsewhere in Shmot Shabbat is linked to the Exodus from Egypt. Shabbat in the Ten Commandments in Devarim is linked to the Exodus, and introduces new innovations. The central innovation is the presentation of the Exodus as the absolute source for the commandment of Shabbat.

7. The Potter's House and the Earthen Bottle

   Rabbi David Sabato

   In the prophecy in the potter’s house, the house of Israel is like clay in the hand of God, the creator of history, and the fashioning of its destiny is based on its moral quality. But Israel's moral quality does not depend upon God's will because from the moment that God created the world and constricted Himself, He entrusted the choice between good and bad in the hands of man alone. If they choose to do that which is good in God's eyes, their historical destiny will be fashioned in a positive manner. But the moment that they corrupt their ways, their destiny will perforce change in accordance with their deficient moral quality. Despite the resoluteness of the prophecy itself and the decree of calamity that it contains, there is always the possibility of change, which depends exclusively on the people.

   In contrast, the breaking of the bottle prophecy symbolizes the hopeless situation – the potter's vessel that cannot be made whole again. The first prophecy was delivered to the people at a stage when there was still a place for repair and renewal, while the second prophecy reflects the crisis to which the people arrived when the malleable clay hardened to the point that it turned into a bottle that could no longer be changed and that can no longer be fixed, but only broken. 

8. Creation of World and Man in the Midrash

   Rabbi Dr. Avraham Walfish | 59 minutes

   In this lecture we will explore some of the main ideas that Hazal sought to teach in their midrashic exegesis of the story of creation. We will examine the dispute regarding public discussion of Ma'aseh Bereishit, we will attempt to discern the reasons for this prohibition, and we will investigate the ways in which Sages continued to expound upon the creation story despite this restriction. We will study several important issues discussed in the midrash, including: the meaning of tohu va-vohu, the ramifications of divine creation by means of speech, perfection  and imperfection in creation, and the role of angels in creation.  

    

9. “Very Good” Creation

   Rabbi Ben-Tzion Spitz

10. Spiritual Anti-Gravity

    Rabbi Ben-Tzion Spitz

11. Yehezkel’s Prophecy regarding Gog and Magog

    Part 1

    Dr. Tova Ganzel

    Ostensibly, the revival prophecies climax with the nation’s return to its land and its purification from sin. However, the process remains unfinished. The nation’s revival occurs hand-in-hand with the strengthening of God’s status in the world and God’s status is only fully anchored after His war against Gog: a war that ends with the Divine promise that God will not hide His face from His people.

    The uniqueness of this prophecy in Yehezkel, compared to similar prophecies in Yishayahu and Zekharya, lies in its scope, the explicit naming of the aggressors, and the timing of the war as specified in the prophecy: after the nation’s return to its land.

    The purpose of the prophecy as a whole is emphasized in the final verse of chapter 38: “Thus will I magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will make Myself known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.” (v. 23) This verse underlines the aim of God’s war against Gog, as well as its result – knowledge of God among the nations. Thus, this prophecy is a response to the desecration of God’s Name represented by the exile of the nation from its land and the destruction of the Temple.

12. Tohu va-Vohu: Bewilderness and Shock

    Rabbi David Silverberg

13. Shabbat and Teshuva

    Rabbi David Silverberg

14. Tanakh and Literature of the Ancient Near East

    Part 3 - The Narratives in Sefer Bereishit and their Parallels in Ancient Near Eastern Literature

    Rabbi Amnon Bazak

    Some argue that the great similarity between the stories in Breishit to stories in sources that are unquestionably more ancient, may serve to substantiate the authenticity of those stories. On the other hand, others argued that the biblical story was simply a duplication of the earlier Mesopotamian tradition.

    However, the contrasts between the stories point to the fundamental differences between the pagan and the monotheistic worldviews, and demonstrate the superior moral message of the Torah’s story over that of the pagan story. The fact that the traditions of the great flood and creation were familiar to the nations of the Ancient Near East presents no difficulty, and there is no reason that the Torah should refrain from recording it just because it was already well-known. It is specifically the comparison of the messages arising from the respective descriptions that strengthens the distinction between them.

15. Creation: How Good is Very Good?

    Rabbi Yaakov Beasley

    At the end of the creation, we find that God is surveying His handiwork, and things are less than they appeared at first.  What has changed?  Are we forced to conclude that the addition of mankind has diminished God’s handiwork?

     Man alone is capable of veering away from its designated purpose.  Paradoxically, it is precisely due to this freedom — that man is made “be-tzelem Elokim,” “in the image of God” — that the human being is incomplete and therefore cannot be called good.   Creation ends with an indeterminate and ambiguous ending.  The question of how mankind will utilize its freedom and capabilities begins.

16. Light in Tanakh

    Elisheva Brauner

17. Barkhi Nafshi: Tehillim 104 - A Midrash on Creation

    Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot | 55 minutes

    The Mizmor in Tehillim known as "Barkhi Nafshi" is recited on Rosh Hodesh - the first day of a new month, a time of renewal. We focus on the mizmor itself, looking at the content and structure, following the methodology of Meir Weiss and Rav Elhannan Samet. The Psalm has an envelope structure, beginning and ending with the phrase "Bless the LORD, O my soul." What is the Meshorer (Psalmist) blessing God about? The Mizmor seems to be a lyrical praise-filled depiction of creation-- not a chronological history of creation, but rather the Psalmist's experience of the world around him, the wisdom in God's setting up the state of creation of the wondrous world in a way that would allow humans and animals to flourish, with space for everyone to live in harmony, sustained by God.
    
    
     

18. Parshat Bereshit Part 1: Creation: Days 1-6 (Perek 1)

    Rabbi Alex Israel | 35 minutes

    The first chapter of Bereshit describes the six days of the creation of the world. This podcast discusses the question of creation narrative alongside scientific theories, the structure of the different days of creation and the importance of this chapter given its historical context of Babylonian myths. 

    Courtesy of www.tanachstudy.com

19. Ha'azinu: A Unique Nation

    Rabbi David Fohrman |

    In this week's video, the second of a three-part series, we delve into the beautiful and mysterious song of Ha'azinu. Rabbi Fohrman notes some fascinating language in the song and asks, once we recognize that our separation from God is our fault, how do we repair it?

     

     

    If you enjoyed this video, please visit AlephBeta.org to watch more.

20. The Chicken or the Egg?

    Rabbanit Dr. Michal Tikochinsky

21. Rain

    Rabbanit Dr. Michal Tikochinsky

22. The Secret of the Keruvim: Creation and the Mishkan

    Rabbi David Fohrman | Hour and 3 minutes

    How do we read the story of creation of the world from the perspective of scientific advancements? How do we, as people living in the modern world, read the story of the six days of creation? How do we answer the questions that arise from the first chapter of Bereshit? The text describing the construction of the Mishkan can shed light on the text of creation and through a close examination of both texts we can gain a deeper understanding of the story of creation.