Parshat B'reishit Aliya-by-Aliya Sedra Summary [P>] and [S>] indicate start of a parsha p’tucha (open) or s’tuma (closed) respectively. Number of p'sukim in each parsha is indicated in parentheses. Perek:pasuk is given for the beginning of each parsha and for each mitzva.
Kohen - First Aliya - 34 p'sukim - 1:1-2:3 [P>1:1 (5)] The first parsha contains the "summary" statement of Creation (or the first phase of Creation - see further) and the account of Day One. SDT: Baal HaTurim points out that the G'matriya of B'REISHIT BARA is 1116, as is the numeric value of the phrase: B'ROSH HASHANA NIV'RA - on R.H. it (the world) was created. Furthermore, the letters of B'reishit rearrange to spell ALEF B'TISHREI, the first of the month of Tishrei (or B'ALEF TISHREI - on the first of Tishrei - same thing), "confirming" the opinion that the world was created in Tishrei (R. Eliezer), rather than in Nissan, as the other opinion holds (R. Yehoshua). If we could prove things with G'matriyas and anagrams, then maybe R. Eliezer would “win” the dispute, but as is, the dispute as to when the world was created remains a dispute. “In the beginning, G-d created the Heavens and the Earth. And the Earth...” Did that happen on day 1 of Creation? Or is something before Day 1 being described? Here is one possible answer. The first two p'sukim of B’reishit describe the totally, exclusively Divine aspect of Creation of Something from Nothing — YEISH MEI'AYIN. Before “B'reishit”, perhaps nothing existed — except G-d. With the Divine Command of B'reishit, everything that now exists came into existence for the first time. All matter, all energy, thoughts, concepts, time — everything. According to this point of view, SHAMAYIM and ARETZ mean everything in the universe. The first form that all of Creation had was TOHU VAVOHU, chaos. That's the second pasuk. And, this stage of Creation occurred BEFORE Day One. Not on the first day - before the first day. And not a day before, not an instant before nor an eon before. It is pointless speculation to attempt to give a time-frame for the first two p'sukim, because TIME has meaning only in the context of the ordered world that began to take shape on Day 1. No wonder we are not supposed to concern ourselves with what had happened before the world was created! “And G-d said: Let there be light...” Thus begins the Torah’s description of Days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. And what happened on those days? G-d put everything in order, distinguished one thing from another. It was creation of Something from Something. YEISH MI'YEISH. Forming, shaping. The kind of Creation that we emulate in our lives. And how long was one of these days of Creation? Maybe they each were a thousand years long. Or an eon. Or maybe they each were 24 hours long. Either that Torah talks "our language" or not. Take your pick. Either answer fits. Shabbat B'reishit is a time of rediscovery and re-creation. just like on Pesach and Shavuot when we read of the events of Egyptian slavery and the Exodus on the one and the events of Matan Torah on the other, and we try to put our- selves into the events, to make them fresh, as if today we came out of Egypt, as if the Torah were given today, so too should we enthusiastically read and hear the description of Creation and put ourselves into the position of discovering G-d through the world and nature that He brought into existence for us. Don't just see things as "once upon a time..." — get excited, because G-d “renews with His Goodness, every day and always, the Acts of B’reishit”. Without going into detail, here is a breakdown of the first Aliya for your consideration. 2 p’sukim, as mentioned above, for the first phase of creation. Notwithstanding the argument above that broke these two p’sukim off of the description of the first day (so to speak), they are part of the first PARSHA, together with the creation of Light, etc. 3 p’sukim for Day 1, the creation of light, the separation of light and darkness, and their being identified as day and night. One KI TOV. The day is called YOM ECHAD rather than RISHON, because RISHON has meaning only if there is a SHENI, which there wasn’t yet. [P>1:6 (3)] The next parsha is for the Second Day of Creation. The creation of the Heavens and the separation of the Upper and Lower waters. (Some say that angels and various forces were created on the 2nd day too.) [P>1:9 (5)] The next parsha contains the Third day of Creation which consists of two “sections”. First, two p’sukim for the “gathering of the lower waters” into different areas and the formation of dry land. And the “naming” of Land and Seas. KI TOV. And then the Divine command to the Land to spring forth with vegetation. 3 p’sukim with another KI TOV introduce us to the Plant Kingdom. [P>1:14 (6)] Next we find the account of Creation on the fourth day. The Sun, Moon and stars (and other “heavenly bodies”) are placed in their appointed positions and orbits. KI TOV. Except for the Sun and the Moon, all stars, planets, etc. in the sky APPEAR to us a points of light. Stars which we know to be unbelievably larger than the Sun still SEEM to us to be mere points of light. The Sun and the Moon appear as fairly large disks. In fact, they appear to be just about the same size. If you’ve ever noticed the Sun shining through a cloud, it often looks very much like a full moon. Actually, the Sun is about 400 times the diameter of the Moon and about 400 times more distant from us. This is why the two look to be the same size, and this explains why the Moon just about covers the body of the Sun during a solar eclipse. From our perspective, the Sun and Moon are the two great luminaries. From our perspective. And that is how the Torah presents them to us. But from an objective perspective, the Sun is a far greater light than the Moon. And that too is how they are presented in the second instance of identification. The Torah most often “speaks to us in human terms”. That’s the only way, sometimes, to help us understand things. [P>1:20 (4)] Next comes the Fifth Day, with its account of Animal Kingdom, part one. Swarming insects, fish, birds. KI TOV. And P’RU URVU. [P>1:24 (8)] Next comes the largest parsha yet, with the formation of Animal Kingdom, part two. Land animals (most mammals). “Creepy things” probably includes most reptiles as well. Fifth day creatures and sixth day creatures do not necessarily divide along modern biology’s taxonomic guidelines. For example, dolphins and bears are both mammals (and NFL teams), but aquatic mammals were (probably) created on the fifth day. The bat, although a mammal, (probably) preceded the mouse by a day. What about flightless birds? And mammals that spend much time in the water, but do come onto land at times? Questions. One KI TOV. Then comes the formation of human beings, first as a single being both male and female (one explanation of the wording in the parsha) and then separated into two different beings, male and female (but with some “crossing” of characteristics). P’RU URVU. Which will combine them once again. TOV ME’OD. THE sixth day. YOM HASHISHI. [P>2:1 (3)] This relatively long first Aliya concludes with the 3-pasuk parsha introducing us to Shabbat B’reishit, the day that G-d blessed and sanctified because He “rested” from Creation. We say this parsha in the Friday night Amida, right after the Friday night Amida, and at the Friday night table as the first part of Kiddush. This should tell us how important it is that we learn well (as best as we can) the Torah's account of Creation. And that’s without going into detail. The very first Rashi in the Torah quotes Rabbi Yitzchak who makes a very important statement that we have to hear and take seriously. It is for all times. And if other nations and individuals don't want to accept it, that's their problem. It behooves every Jew to take it to heart. G-d created the world... and gave Eretz Yisrael to the Jewish People. That's the story. Period. Let's live up to this gift. An interesting observation to mull over... The Sun is vastly brighter than the Moon. In fact, the Sun generates its own light, while the Moon poorly reflects the light of the Sun. However, the Moon, which "rules" over the night, can often be seen in the daytime, albeit faintly. On the other hand, the Sun, "ruler" of the day, does not venture into the sky during night. (Let's not include the far north or south of the Earth.)
Levi - Second Aliya - 16 p'sukim - 2:4-19 "It is not good that man shall be alone" is explained in different ways, including that only G-d is singular. Man needs to know that as great as he can become, as much as he can accomplish, he is not a god. All creatures were brought before Adam as "candidates" for partner- to-Adam. None was found suitable, but Adam named them all (as people have done throughout the ages). In the first account of Creation, Man was the final act of Creation, but not so much the purpose and focus of creation. In this second account, Man is presented as the focus of creation. We must see things both ways in order to maintain a healthy perspective on this world, our role in it, and our responsibilities towards it and all elements of nature.
Shlishi - Third Aliya - 27 p'sukim - 2:20-3:21 Next the Torah tells us cryptically of the episodes of the Serpent's enticement of Chava, the eating from the Tree, the punishments for the Serpent, Chava, and finally, Adam. The sin(s) of Adam and Chava are not just personal sins, but more significantly, they help us define and understand (some of) human nature. [S>3:16 (1)] This 1-pasuk parsha consists of G-d's "punishment" (call it "redefining") of Chava (woman-kind). [S>3:17 (5)] And this parsha consists of Adam's "punishment" (same other possibility) and G-d's act of Chesed, in clothing the naked. This act is one of the many pointed to in our challenge to emulate the qualities of G-d. It is interesting to note that the "story" parts of Shlishi and most of R'vi'i are part of one large parsha, but G-d's statements to Adam and Chava, and His kindness to them are slightly isolated in the form of two parshiyot S'tumot, thus calling specific attention to them and the lessons we learn from them.
R'VI'I - Fourth Aliya - 21 p'sukim - 3:22-4:18 [S>4:1 (26)] The Torah continues with the "births" of Kayin and Hevel and Kayin's killing of Hevel following the attempt of each to make an offering before G-d. Kayin's response to G-d's query as to where Hevel was, echoes in our collective Jewish Experience through- out all the generations: HASHOMEIR ACHI ANOCHI? Am I my brother's keeper? Kayin said it to shirk his responsibility for his brother. We are constantly challenged to be the kind of human and Jew who knows very well that we are responsible for each other. Kayin's punishment and fate is presented, as is his lineage. It is possible that Kayin sired different species of humanoids. This is how some want to explain the evidence of the existence of prehistoric man. Kayin's whole line was destroyed in the Flood. (Almost, that is. Naama, who descended from Kayin, was No'ach's wife, the mother of us all.)
Chamishi - Fifth Aliya - 8 p'sukim - 4:19-26 The Torah mentions more descendants of Kayin and their roles as the "firsts" in various fields of human activity. Yaval (son of Lemech and Ada) was the “first” tent-dwelling animal raiser. His brother Yuval was a musician. Tuval- Kayin (son of Tzila) worked with iron and copper. His sister was Na’ama. Rashi (quoting B'reishit Rabba) says that she was the wife of No'ach. What is significant about that is that Kayin's line was not completely severed by the Flood. Although we refer to all of mankind as Bnei No'ach, who descended from Adam through Sheit, on the mother's side there is Na'ama and before her, Kayin. This portion also contains Lemech's lament for having killed Kayin. (Rashi adds that Lemech also killed his son Tuval-Kayin (accidentally, in his grief), because he (TK) directed the blind Lemech’s hands with bow and arrow to kill what he thought was an animal, and turned out to be Kayin. By the way, in case your Chumash does not have the same Aliya breakdown as is presented here, don't worry. There are different opinions.
Shishi - Sixth Aliya - 24 p'sukim - 5:1-24 [S>5:1 (5)] This is the Book of the Chronicles of Mankind... Adam and Chava were created. Adam was 130 years old when Sheit was born. He lived another 800 years after Sheit was born, during which time he fathered many sons and daughters. He lived 930 years and then he died. The wording seems strange, and is repeated with each generation. [S>5:6 (3)] Sheit was 105 when Enosh was born. He lived another 807 years for a total of 912. Sons and daughters. And he died. [S>5:9 (3)] Enosh, 90, Keinan + 815 = 905... [S>5:12 (3)] Keinan, 70, Mahalal'eil, + 840 = 910... [S>5:15 (3)] Mahalal'eil, 65, Yered, + 830 = 895... [S>5:18 (3)] Yered, 162, Chanoch, + 800 = 962... (Yered is the Avis, K2, Buzz Aldrin... of longevity.) [S>5:21 (4)] Chanoch, 65, M'tushelach, + 300 = 365... Shishi concludes with mention of Chanoch, who was taken from this world (possibly not by death) at the relatively young age of 365.
Sh'vi'i - Seventh Aliya - 16 p'sukim - 5:25-6:8 [S>5:28 (4)] Lemech 182, a son. He named him No'ach (note the different wording for the birth of No'ach)... + 595 = 777. [S>5:32 (5)] No'ach, 500 (note how much older than previous generations), Sheim, Cham, Yefet. The Torah now describes the deterioration of society... This last 4-pasuk parsha is reread for the Maftir.
Haftara - 25 p'sukim -Shmuel Alef - 20:18-42 The connection between the Haftara and Erev Rosh Chodesh is obvious. The opening words are: And Yonatan said to him, tomorrow is Rosh Chodesh... The real question is why the Sages decided on a special Haftara for Erev Rosh Chodesh in the first place. No other "erev" gets a special reading. Why does Machar Chodesh? From this reading we see that Rosh Chodesh was celebrated with a special meal which was to be eaten in a state of ritual purity. Many have the custom today of marking Rosh Chodesh today with a special meal. The Haftara also serves as a source of the minhag of abstaining or reducing one's work on Rosh Chodesh... With Israel's history resembling the waxing and waning of the Moon, we see Machar Chodesh as a hope-filled message of a brighter tomorrow. The cycle continues until the Complete Redemption, when the Moon (and Klal Yisrael) will be completely restored. [The Parshat B'reishit Homepage]
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