Parshas Beraishis - Parsha Stumpers

~ Something to Think About ~

פרשת בראשית

Parsha Stumpers

By: Daniel Listhaus

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

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

9.    (1:11) Rashi 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. (1:12) Rashi 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; maybe His rules for trees would not apply to vegetables?

11.  (1:16) Rashi 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. (1:26) The passuk uses the phrase “let us make man”, which Rashi explains was 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. (2:15) The passuk (2:9) says that Hashem put an eitz ha’da’as as well as an eitz ha’chaim in gan eden. Yet Hashem only warned Adom not to eat from eitz ha’da’as. Was he allowed to eat from eitz ha’chaim? Did he? What would have happen if ate from both?

15. (2:17) Hashem warned Adom that the day that he would eat from eitz ha’da’as that he would die. So why is it that on the day that Adom ate from the eitz ha’da’as he did not die?

16. (2:18) If Chava was not yet created at the time of the commandment not to eat from the eitz ha’da’as, then why was she held responsible for not keeping the commandment?

17. (3:3) Rashi 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?

18. (3:19) The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch states that it is dangerous for one to eat sweat, with the exception of sweat from one’s face. Where is there a remez in this week’s parsha for this?

19. (4:1) There seems to be a progressive pattern of usage of Hashem’s Name throughout parshas Beraishis. During the sheishes y’mei beraishis and description of the first shabbos “va’yechulu…”, Hashem is referred to only as Elokim. From that point until and including Adom and Chava being thrown out of Gan Eden, Hashem is referred to as Hashem Elokim. Then, for the first time, after Adom and Chava give birth to their first son, Chava named him Kayin as she said, “I have acquired (ka’nee’see) a man with G-d – for the first time referring to Him as only Hashem. From that point on, Hashem is referred to as just Hashem. Why the differences and what is the significance and connection of the times that the changes occurred to the names of Hashem?