Bereshit

20 Jun 2006

(English: Genesis); the first of the Five Books of Moses. It deals with the Creation of the Universe by G-d in Six “Days,” and his “rest’ on Shabbat, the Seventh Day. Adam, Original Man, is created; Chava, Original Woman and Adam’s wife, is created from him. They are blessed, and given dominion over the Garden of Eden. They are given one command (alright! Maybe two: not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge and not to eat from the Tree of Life), they violate it (by eating from the Tree of Knowledge), and are driven from the Garden.

The Story of Noach (English: Noah) and his Ark, is told.
The Lives of the Avot: Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov are presented.
The Story of Yoseph (Eng.: Joseph) and his Brothers is told from its beginning through the “going down” of the People of Israel to Egypt, and Yaakov’s “blessings” (and character analyses) of his sons.