Bereshit (parsha)

Bereshit (Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית, "In the beginning") is the first weekly Torah portion (parasha) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It covers Genesis 1:1 through 6:8 and contains the Torah's account of creation, the Garden of Eden, the Fall, Cain and Abel, the generations from Adam to Noah, and the corruption of humanity that precedes the Flood. It is read on the first Shabbat after Simchat Torah (or on Simchat Torah itself in Israel).

Summary

The parasha opens with the famous words "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). It then describes six days of creation, the Sabbath rest, the formation of the first human (Adam) in the Garden of Eden, the command not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, the serpent's temptation, the Fall, and the expulsion from Eden. The narrative continues with the first murder (Cain killing Abel), the genealogies from Adam to Noah, and the corruption of humanity that precedes the Flood. The parasha ends with God's decision to destroy the world by flood, sparing only Noah.

Six days of creation

בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)

The first chapter presents a structured, poetic account of creation in six days, each introduced by "And God said..." (וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים) and closed by "And there was evening and there was morning, the X day." The days are paired: days 1–3 form realms (light/dark, sky/water, land), and days 4–6 fill them (luminaries, birds/fish, animals/humans). The seventh day is the Sabbath, on which God rested and which He blessed and sanctified.

Day 1 – Light

God creates light and separates it from darkness, calling the light "Day" and the darkness "Night." The phrase "And there was evening and there was morning, one day" establishes the Jewish reckoning of a day beginning at evening. The light created here is not the sun (created on day 4) but a primal, spiritual light that God later hid for the righteous.

Day 2 – Firmament

God creates the firmament (רָקִיעַ, raqia) to separate the "waters above" from the "waters below," calling it "Heaven" (שָׁמַיִם). Unlike other days, God does not say "it was good" on day 2, which the Talmud explains because the work of separating waters was not completed until day 3.

Day 3 – Land and vegetation

God gathers the lower waters into seas and reveals dry land (אֶרֶץ). The earth then brings forth vegetation — grass, herbs, and fruit trees — each "after its kind." This is the first time "it was good" is said twice, indicating the completion of two works: land and vegetation.

Day 4 – Luminaries

God creates the "two great lights" — the greater light (sun) to rule the day and the lesser light (moon) to rule the night — along with the stars. The Talmud (Chullin 60b) notes that the moon was originally equal to the sun but was diminished after complaining that "two kings cannot share one crown." God consoles the moon by making it ruler of the night and giving it the stars as companions.

Day 5 – Fish and birds

God creates the sea creatures (including the great sea monsters, תַּנִּינִים) and the birds of the air. He blesses them to be fruitful and multiply. The sea monsters are identified by some commentators with Leviathan.

Day 6 – Animals and humanity

God creates land animals (cattle, creeping things, beasts of the earth) and then humanity: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" (Genesis 1:26). Humanity is created male and female, blessed to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and have dominion over the animals. God gives humanity the plants and trees for food. The day concludes with "And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good" (טוֹב מְאֹד).

Day 7 – Sabbath

וַיְכֻלּוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ וְכָל צְבָאָם

"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them." (Genesis 2:1)

God completes creation and rests on the seventh day. He blesses and sanctifies it (וַיְבָרֶךְ אֱלֹהִים אֶת יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וַיְקַדֵּשׁ אֹתוֹ). The Sabbath becomes the cornerstone of Jewish practice — the only creation element God blessed and made holy. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 58b) and Midrash describe the Sabbath as a "taste of the World to Come."

Garden of Eden

Genesis 2 presents a second, more intimate account of creation, focusing on the formation of the first human. God forms Adam (אָדָם) from the dust of the ground (הָאֲדָמָה) — a wordplay linking "adam" to "adamah" (earth). God breathes into his nostrils the breath of life (נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים), and man becomes a living soul.

God plants a garden in Eden (עֵדֶן, "delight") in the east, with the Tree of Life (עֵץ הַחַיִּים) and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (עֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע) in its midst. A river flows from Eden to water the garden, dividing into four rivers: Pishon, Gihon, Tigris (Chidekel), and Euphrates (Perat). God places Adam in the garden to work and guard it, and commands: "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil you shall not eat, for on the day you eat of it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:16–17).

God declares, "It is not good for man to be alone" (Genesis 2:18), and brings the animals to Adam to name. Finding no suitable partner, God causes a deep sleep to fall on Adam, takes one of his ribs (צֵלָע), and builds Eve (חַוָּה, "life-giver") from it. Adam exclaims: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" (Genesis 2:23). The chapter concludes: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24) — the biblical foundation of marriage.

The Fall

The serpent (הַנָּחָשׁ), described as "more cunning than any beast of the field" (Genesis 3:1), approaches Eve and questions God's command: "Did God really say, 'You shall not eat of any tree of the garden'?" (Genesis 3:1). Eve responds that they may eat of all trees except the Tree of Knowledge, and that touching it would cause death. The serpent counters: "You will not surely die; for God knows that on the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:4–5).

Eve sees that the tree is good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. She takes and eats, and gives to Adam, who also eats. Their eyes are opened; they realize their nakedness and sew fig leaves together for coverings. Hearing God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, they hide. God calls, "Where are you?" (אַיֶּכָּה, ayeka) — not because God lacks knowledge, but to give Adam a chance to confess.

Adam blames Eve; Eve blames the serpent. God pronounces judgments:

• Serpent: Cursed above all animals; to crawl on its belly and eat dust; enmity between it and the woman, and between their offspring — "he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15).
• Woman: Pain in childbirth; desire for her husband, who will rule over her.
• Man: The ground cursed; toil and thorns; "by the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread"; return to dust — "for dust you are, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19).

Adam names his wife Eve (חַוָּה), "because she was the mother of all living." God makes garments of skin (כָּתְנוֹת עוֹר) and clothes them. Then God says, "Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the Tree of Life and eat and live forever" (Genesis 3:22). God expels Adam and Eve from Eden and stations cherubim and a flaming sword to guard the way to the Tree of Life.

Cain and Abel

Adam and Eve's first sons are Cain (קַיִן), a farmer (worker of the ground), and Abel (הֶבֶל), a shepherd. In the course of time, Cain brings an offering of the fruit of the ground; Abel brings of the firstlings of his flock and their fat. God regards Abel's offering but not Cain's. Cain becomes very angry, and his countenance falls.

God speaks to Cain: "Why are you angry? Why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must rule over it" (Genesis 4:6–7). Despite this warning, Cain speaks to Abel in the field and kills him — the first homicide in human history.

God asks Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" Cain replies, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9). God responds: "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground" (Genesis 4:10). God curses Cain: the ground will no longer yield to him; he will be a fugitive and wanderer on the earth. Cain protests that his punishment is too great and that anyone who finds him will kill him. God sets a mark (אוֹת) on Cain to protect him, and Cain goes out from the presence of the Lord, dwelling in the land of Nod (נוֹד, "wandering"), east of Eden.

Cain's descendants include Enoch (the first city is named after him), Irad, Mehujael, Methushael, and Lamech. Lamech takes two wives (Adah and Zillah) and boasts of killing a man, declaring vengeance seventy-sevenfold. The chapter closes with Adam and Eve having another son, Seth (שֵׁת, "appointed"), "for God has appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew" (Genesis 4:25). Seth's son Enosh is born, and "then men began to call upon the name of the Lord" (Genesis 4:26).

Genealogies to Noah

Genesis 5 presents the genealogy from Adam to Noah, listing ten generations. Each entry follows a formula: "X lived Y years and begot Z; and X lived after he begot Z W years, and begot sons and daughters; and all the days of X were V years, and he died." The refrain "and he died" underscores the mortality that entered the world through sin.

Name	Age at fatherhood	Lifespan
Adam	130	930
Seth	105	912
Enosh	90	905
Kenan	70	910
Mahalalel	65	895
Jared	162	962
Enoch	65	365 (taken by God)
Methuselah	187	969 (longest)
Lamech	182	777
Noah	500	950

Enoch (חֲנוֹךְ) is unique: "And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him" (Genesis 5:24). The Talmud and Midrash interpret this to mean Enoch was taken to heaven alive, becoming the angel Metatron (in some traditions). Methuselah (מְתוּשֶׁלַח), at 969 years, is the longest-lived person in the Bible. Lamech names his son Noah (נֹחַ), saying, "This one will comfort us (יְנַחֲמֵנוּ) from our work and from the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord has cursed" (Genesis 5:29).

Introduction to the Flood

The parasha concludes with a dark turn: "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" (Genesis 6:5). God regrets creating humanity and decides to destroy all life: "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the earth" (Genesis 6:7). However, "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord" (Genesis 6:8). The parasha ends on this note of hope, setting up the next parasha (Noach), in which God commands Noah to build the ark.

Major themes

• Creation ex nihilo: The verb bara (בָּרָא) is used only of God's acts, suggesting a unique divine creative power — creation from nothing rather than from pre-existing matter.
• Imago Dei: Humanity created "in the image of God" (Genesis 1:27) — the basis for human dignity, ethics, and the prohibition of murder.
• Sabbath: The seventh day is blessed and sanctified, foundational to Jewish practice and the concept of sacred time.
• Free will and responsibility: The Fall narrative explores choice, temptation, consequence, and exile.
• Sin and its consequences: Cain's murder shows how sin "crouches at the door" (Genesis 4:7); the Flood narrative shows the escalation of violence.
• Peshat vs. Derash: Medieval commentators (Rashi, Ramban, Ibn Ezra) offer both plain and homiletical readings.
• Marriage and family: The creation of Eve and the institution of marriage (Genesis 2:24).
• Human dominion and stewardship: Humanity's role as caretaker of creation (Genesis 1:28, 2:15).
• Knowledge and mortality: The Tree of Knowledge brings awareness but also death; the genealogies emphasize "and he died."

Classical commentaries

Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, 1040–1105)

Rashi's commentary, the most studied, asks: "Why does the Torah begin with creation rather than with the first commandment given to Israel (Exodus 12:2)?" His answer: to establish God's ownership of the earth, so that when Israel conquers the Land of Israel, no nation can claim they are thieves. Rashi also explains "In the beginning" (בְּרֵאשִׁית) as "In the beginning of God's creating" — an absolute construct, not "In the beginning God created." On "Let us make man," Rashi says God consulted with the angels to teach humility, even though this could lead to heresy (people thinking there are multiple creators).

Ramban (Nachmanides, 1194–1270)

Ramban emphasizes the mystical dimension. He explains that creation was ex nihilo — God created something from nothing (יֵשׁ מֵאַיִן), which is a greater miracle than any subsequent miracle. He interprets the "days" of creation as the unfolding of divine will, not necessarily 24-hour periods. On the serpent, Ramban rejects the idea that it was Satan; it was a real animal with speech, later cursed.

Ibn Ezra (1089–1167)

Ibn Ezra focuses on the plain meaning (peshat) and grammar. He explains "In the beginning" as an absolute construct phrase. He identifies the four rivers of Eden with known geography and emphasizes that the Torah speaks in human terms. He also notes that "Let us make man" is the "plural of majesty" or God addressing the angels.

Malbim (1809–1879)

The Malbim offers detailed linguistic analysis, explaining how each word in Genesis carries precise meaning. He emphasizes that the two creation accounts (chapters 1 and 2) are not contradictory but complementary — chapter 1 gives the cosmic overview, chapter 2 the human perspective.

Sforno (1475–1550)

Sforno explains that humanity was created to serve God through free choice, and that the Garden of Eden represents the ideal state. The expulsion was not merely punishment but a necessary step for humanity to develop moral maturity through struggle.

Midrashic interpretations

• Bereshit Rabbah 1:1: God looked into the Torah and created the world — the Torah is the blueprint of creation. "In the beginning God created" implies God created with the Torah.
• Bereshit Rabbah 8:1: When God created Adam, the angels were divided — some said "Create him," others said "Do not create him." God created him anyway, teaching that humanity is worth the risk.
• Bereshit Rabbah 18:6: The serpent was originally upright and could speak; its punishment was to crawl. The serpent represents the evil inclination (yetzer hara).
• Bereshit Rabbah 22:2: Cain's offering was inferior (flax seed, according to some) while Abel's was the best of his flock; the quality of the offering reflects the quality of the heart.
• Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer: The Tree of Knowledge was a fig tree; Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves because the tree itself provided the material for their covering.
• Targum Onkelos: Translates "Let us make man" as God speaking to Himself (royal "we"), avoiding the implication of multiple creators.

Kabbalistic readings

In Kabbalah (Zohar, Lurianic Kabbalah), Bereshit is read as an account of divine emanation (Sefirot). The "beginning" refers to the first Sefirah (Keter/Crown). The six days correspond to the six Sefirot (Chesed through Yesod), and the Sabbath to Malchut (the Shekhinah). The Tree of Knowledge represents the mixture of good and evil in the lower worlds; the Tree of Life represents the unification of the Sefirot. Adam's sin caused a cosmic rupture (shevirat ha-kelim, "breaking of the vessels"), and human history is the process of tikkun (repair). Eve's creation from Adam's "side" (not "rib") reflects the androgynous nature of the original human.

Haftarah

The haftarah for Bereshit is Isaiah 42:5 – 43:10 (Ashkenazi tradition) or 42:5–21 (Sephardi). It opens: "Thus says God the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and that which comes out of it" (Isaiah 42:5) — echoing the creation theme. God declares Israel His witness and servant. The haftarah reinforces the idea that creation has a purpose: the revelation of God through Israel.

In Jewish liturgy and practice

• Bereshit is read on the first Shabbat after Simchat Torah, marking the beginning of the new annual Torah cycle.
• The opening verse (Genesis 1:1) is recited in the Friday night Kiddush in some traditions, and the creation account is central to the Shabbat liturgy.
• The concept of "In the beginning" (בְּרֵאשִׁית) is connected to the first word of the Torah, and Jewish tradition teaches that the world was created for the sake of Torah and for the sake of Israel.
• The Talmud (Sanhedrin 38b) discusses why the Torah begins with Bet (ב) rather than Aleph (א): Bet is closed on three sides (past, future, above) and open only forward, teaching that we should not inquire about what came before creation.
• The Zohar teaches that the first word can be read as "בְּרֵאשִׁית" = "בְּ (in) + רֵאשִׁית (beginning)," and also as an acronym for various divine names.

References

1. Genesis 1:1 – 6:8 (Masoretic Text)
2. Rashi, Commentary on the Torah (11th century)
3. Ramban (Nachmanides), Commentary on the Torah (13th century)
4. Ibn Ezra, Commentary on the Torah (12th century)
5. Sforno, Commentary on the Torah (16th century)
6. Malbim, Commentary on the Torah (19th century)
7. Bereshit Rabbah (Midrash, 5th century CE)
8. Zohar, Bereshit (13th century)
9. Talmud Bavli: Sanhedrin 38b, Chullin 60b, Sanhedrin 58b
10. The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis (Nahum M. Sarna, 1989)
11. Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary (JPS, 2001)
12. Sefaria.org, "Bereshit" (parasha)