Parshas Beraishis - Parsha Stumpers

פרשת  בראשית

Parsha Stumpers and Something to Think About

 

1. The Torah begins with “Beraishis bara Elokim”. Why not start with “Elokim bara beraishis” which would (a). Allow the first letter of the Torah be an ‘aleph’, (b). allow the first word to be the name of Hashem and (c). not cause any possible misunderstanding in someone chas v’shalom thinking that something called “beraishis” created Hashem?

2. Rashi (1:1) writes that it is important to start the Torah with a recount of Hashem being the master and creator because this way it is clear to the goyim that Hashem has the only right to decide who gets Eretz Yisroel – the B’nei Yisroel. If we are counting on the goyim accepting the story of the Torah, then for the same price it should be enough for them to just read that Hashem promised us Eretz Yisroel without going into detail of days of Beraishis. So how did Rashi answer his question? Furthermore, what good did it do? Still our enemies try to take Eretz Yisroel from us and claim it for themselves? We have always had to conquer Eretz Yisroel, it was never just handed to us, so what good did it do to put the story of beraishis first in the Torah?

3. Rashi (1:1) writes that both Yisroel and Torah are called “reishis”. What else is referred to as such and what is the connection between them?

4. What was the first thing created?

5. The mishna mentions a number of things which were created both before beraishis and right before shabbos. What is unique about these things that they were created on the bookends of the six days of creation?

6. What is the “logic” and “reasoning” behind the order of when everything was created?

7. Rashi (1:5) comments that angels were created on the 2^nd day of Creation, Why at that particular point?

8. Rashi (1:8) describes that shamayim (heavens) is made of eish (fire) and mayim (water). Why?

9. Rashi (1:11) explains that the trees did not listen to the commandment of Hashem. (a) How could they not listen? They are just trees!? (b) Why could they only get punished once man sinned?

10. Rashi (1:12) writes that the vegetables made a kal v’chomeir based on what the trees were commanded. What exactly was the kal v’chomeir? And how could the greens be so sure of the kal v’chomeir? Hashem was creating the world for the first time and maybe His rules for trees wouldn’t apply to vegetables?

11. Rashi (1:16) relates that the moon complained that there cannot be two rulers over the same domain. As a result, Hashem reduced its size. Was the moon incorrect?

12. The passuk uses the phrase “let us make man”, which Rashi explains was is Hashem’s expression of humility that He – so to speak – consulted with the angels. This was done deliberately to teach this lesson of humility despite the tremendous risk of people possibly reading the Torah and be misled to believe that there was more than One Creator. Was it really worth this risk? Certainly a better place could be found to demonstrate Hashem’s humility without risking such a possibility?

13. How many mitzvos did Adom have?

14. Rashi (3:3) seems to understand that the disaster of the eitz ha’da’as had a lot to do with the fact that Chava added that Hashem told them not to touch the eitz ha’da’as, when in reality all that Hashem said was not to eat from the eitz ha’da’as. How is this any different, though, from that which we learn in the first mishna in Avos – that one should make for himself a protective fence around the Torah’s mitzvos? We have many mitzvos m’d’rabanan (from the Rabbis) as a fence to the Torah. Why was what Chava did any worse?