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Parsha Q&A

Parshas Bereishis

For the week ending 27 Tishrei 5756; 20 & 21 October 1995

Contents:
  • Parsha Questions
  • Bonus Question
  • I Did Not Know That!
  • Recommended Reading List
  • Answers to Parsha Questions
  • Answer to Bonus Question
  • Subscription Information
  • Ohr Somayach Home Page

    • Parsha Questions

    Answers | Contents
    1. When Hashem created the world, He wanted to rule it with strict justice. Why did Hashem decide to rule it with mercy also?
    2. What happened to the light that was created on the first day?
    3. On what day were the angels created?
    4. Why isn't the word "good" associated with the second day?
    5. How did the size of the moon compare to the size of the sun when they were created?
    6. Hashem blessed the birds to be fruitful and to multiply. Why did He not do so with the beasts?
    7. In whose likeness was Man fashioned?
    8. Why did the Torah record that Hashem consulted with the angels before creating Man?
    9. Man was created to have dominion over the animals. What happens when he debases himself?
    10. Why is "the sixth day" written with the definite article?
    11. Why was Man made from dust gathered from the entire Earth?
    12. Hashem created woman to be an "eizer k'negdo" (helpmate against man). What does this mean?
    13. From where do we learn that one must not add to Hashem's commandments?
    14. What does it mean that Adam and Chava "knew that they were naked"?
    15. Why did the Torah conceal the identity of the forbidden fruit?
    16. Why did Hevel choose to be a shepherd?
    17. What mark did Hashem place on Cain? Why?
    18. Who was Na'amah?
    19. What was the sign that Shem was born with great propensity for righteousness?
    20. When did the first flood take place?

    Bonus Question

    Answer | Contents

    "Hashem formed the man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." (2:7)
    How did this "breath of life" make Man different from the other terrestrial creations?

    I Did Not Know That!

    The creation narrative begins with the letter beis - numerical value of 2 - hinting at the two Torahs given to the Jewish People: The Written Torah and the Oral Torah. This teaches that the world was created for the sake of Torah and its study.
    Ba'al HaTurim

    Recommended Reading List

    Ramban
    1:1
    The Need for Bereishis
    1:14
    The Sun and the Moon
    1:26
    Man
    1:29
    Vegetarianism
    2:3
    Shabbos
    2:20
    Names
    3:16
    Punishment of Chava
    5:4
    Length of Life

    Sforno
    2:3
    The Blessing of Shabbos
    2:25
    Naked and Unashamed
    3:17
    The Curse of Work
    4:26
    Calling Out in Hashem's Name
    5:1
    The Image of Hashem
    6:8
    Noach

    Rashbam
    1:27
    What's Missing?
    2:23
    The Birth of Chava

    Answers to this Week's Questions

    Questions | Contents

    All references are to the verses and Rashi's commentary, unless otherwise stated

    1. 1:1 - He foresaw that the world wouldn't survive if He ruled it only with justice.
    2. 1:4 - Hashem saw that the wicked would be unworthy of it so He placed it in the World to Come for the righteous.
    3. 1:5 - On the second day.
    4. 1:7 - Because the work with the water wasn't completed until the third day. Anything that is incomplete is not in a state of perfection.
    5. 1:16 - They were created equal in size, but Hashem later decreased the size of the moon.
    6. 1:22 - He did not want the serpent, which was to be cursed, to receive a blessing.
    7. 1:26 - In the likeness of the angels.
    8. 1:26 - To teach that a person should consult with his subordinates.
    9. 1:26 - His status drops below that of the animals, and thus, they have dominion over him.
    10. 1:31 - "The" in Hebrew is the letter hey which has a numerical value of five. Hashem created the world on the condition that it will endure only if the Jewish People accept the Five Books of the Torah.
    11. 2:7 - So that wherever he might die the Earth would receive his body.
    12. 2:18 - If he is worthy she will help him. If he is not worthy she will oppose him.
    13. 3:3 - From Chava. Hashem commanded not to eat from the tree but she added not touching it. Because she added to His command she eventually came to transgress it.
    14. 3:7 - They had been given one commandment and they had stripped themselves of it.
    15. 3:7 - So that people couldn't say, "The world was punished through this tree," and put the tree to shame.
    16. 4:2 - Since the ground had been cursed he refrained from cultivating it.
    17. 4:15 - Hashem inscribed one of the letters of His name on Cain's forehead so that the animals would be afraid to kill him.
    18. 4:22 - Noach's wife.
    19. 5:32 - He was born already circumcised.
    20. 6:4 - During the generation of Enosh, Hashem flooded a third of the world.

    Answer to Bonus Question

    Question | Contents

    This "breath of life" was the breath of eternal life. It gave Man his eternal soul which survives even after his body turns to dust in the grave.
    Chazkuni

    Written and Compiled by Rabbi Eliyahu Kane
    General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
    Production Design: Lev Seltzer
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