B'reisheet - Day #4

B'reisheet בְּרֵאשִׁית - In the Beginning

Torah Portion: Genesis 1:1-6:8

Day #4: Genesis 3:22–4:18

3:22 Hashem Elohim said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand, and also take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever—” 23 Therefore Hashem Elohim sent him out from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man, and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

4 The man knew Eve, his wife. She conceived, and gave birth to Cain, and said, “I have gotten a man with Hashem’s help.” 2 Again she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 As time passed, Cain brought an offering to Hashem from the fruit of the ground. 4 Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of its fat. Hashem respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He didn’t respect Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and the expression on his face fell. 

6 Hashem said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why has the expression of your face fallen? 7 If you do well, won’t it be lifted up? If you don’t do well, sin crouches at the door. Its desire is for you, but you are to rule over it.” 

8 Cain said to Abel, his brother, “Let’s go into the field.” While they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him.

9 Hashem said to Cain, “Where is Abel, your brother?”

He said, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

10 Hashem said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground. 11 Now you are cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 From now on, when you till the ground, it won’t yield its strength to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”

13 Cain said to Hashem, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, you have driven me out today from the surface of the ground. I will be hidden from your face, and I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth. Whoever finds me will kill me.”

15 Hashem said to him, “Therefore, whoever slays Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” Hashem appointed a sign for Cain, so that anyone finding him would not strike him.

16 Cain left Hashem’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. 17 Cain knew his wife. She conceived and gave birth to Enoch. He built a city and named it after the name of his son, Enoch. 18 Irad was born to Enoch. Irad became the father of Mehujael. Mehujael became the father of Methushael. Methushael became the father of Lamech.

Today’s Meditation: 

What exactly is the sign on Cain? I always thought it was some type of mark on his forehead so everyone could see it. However, rabbinical literature views the sign as a mark of forgiveness. After Hashem confronts Cain about his evil deed of murdering his brother, Cain remarks, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.” It sounds like he is repenting. And when we repent, Hashem forgives us. 

Perhaps this is the first instance of forgiveness mentioned in the Bible. After all, we are only in chapters 3 and 4. This forgiveness is so massive that G-d puts a mark on Cain so that no one will hurt him. What a powerful sign that must have been. That is G-d’s grace for sure. Forgiveness and protection. It also reminds us that sin comes with consequences. Truly, the sadness of this all is that Cain will now be hidden from Elohim’s face.

Today’s Challenge:

Are you wearing a sign of forgiveness on your face? Or is that not possible because there is actually someone in your life you are having a hard time forgiving? I challenge you to take that person that Hashem has just put into your mind, go to them, and seek forgiveness from them. When you do this, you will see that Hashem has also forgiven you.

B'reisheet - Day #3

B'reisheet בְּרֵאשִׁית - In the Beginning

Torah Portion: Genesis 1:1-6:8

               

Day #3: Genesis 2:20–3:21

2:20 The man gave names to all livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field; but for man there was not found a helper comparable to him. 21 Hashem Elohim caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Hashem Elohim made a woman from the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 

23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore, a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh. 25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.

3 Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Hashem Elohim had made. He said to the woman, “Has G-d really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, 3 but not the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden. G-d has said, ‘You shall not eat of it. You shall not touch it, lest you die.’”

4 The serpent said to the woman, “You won’t really die, 5 for G-d knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like G-d, knowing good and evil.”

6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took some of its fruit, and ate. Then she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate it, too. 7 Their eyes were opened, and they both knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 They heard Hashem Elohim’s voice walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Hashem Elohim among the trees of the garden.

9 Hashem Elohim called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”

10 The man said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

11 Elohim said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13 Hashem Elohim said to the woman, “What have you done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 Hashem Elohim said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. You shall go on your belly and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. 15 I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”

16 To the woman, He said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. You will bear children in pain. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

17 To Adam, He said, “Because you have listened to your wife’s voice, and have eaten from the tree, about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ the ground is cursed for your sake. You will eat from it with much labor all the days of your life. 18 It will yield thorns and thistles to you, and you will eat the herb of the field. 19 You will eat bread by the sweat of your face until you return to the ground, for you were taken out of it. For you are dust, and you shall return to dust.”

20 The man called his wife Eve because she would be the mother of all the living. 21 Hashem Elohim made garments of animal skins for Adam and for his wife, and clothed them.

Today’s Meditation:

We are in the first chapters of Hashem’s Word, and He begins to give commands. His first is to “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it (the earth).” Genesis 1:28  And Genesis 2:17 “but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.” Two simple commands.

As time goes on, He continues to give us His set of rules. He presents His Laws, the Torah. We are to obey them, and they are forever. Just as the serpent we hear, “Did Elohim really say that? Surely you will not die.” (paraphrase of verses 2:1 and 2:4). Isn’t that what we tell ourselves today? Some religions teach that we no longer have to follow the Law or His rules. That somehow, this all changed. But this is not true. His Torah is Life. His Torah is forever.

Deception works hard to keep us from the Truth. And Truth is, when Hashem tells us to do something, we do it. In love and worship of Him, we follow His Laws, His instructions. And we believe Him when He says that if we do not obey His rules, we will die. 

Today’s Challenge:

What are the times you have been taught things in the Bible and you said to yourself, “Did G-d really say that?” If that has happened, did you look up Scripture to see if He really did say it? Maybe G-d is honestly telling you something, and it’s crucial. You need to know His voice so that you can pay attention and obey. 

B'reisheet - Day #2

B'reisheet בְּרֵאשִׁית - the Beginning

Torah Portion: Genesis 1:1-6:8

Day #2: Genesis 2:4–19

2:4 This is the history of the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Hashem Elohim made the earth and the heavens. 5 No plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for Hashem Elohim had not caused it to rain on the earth. There was not a man to till the ground, 6 but a mist went up from the earth, and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Hashem Elohim formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 8 Hashem Elohim planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 Out of the ground Hashem Elohim made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it was parted, and became the source of four rivers. 11 The name of the first is Pishon: it flows through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 and the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and onyx stone are also there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon. It is the same river that flows through the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel. This is the one that flows in front of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 Hashem Elohim took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. 

16 Hashem Elohim commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”

18 Hashem Elohim said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground Hashem Elohim formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called, every living creature became its name.

Today’s Meditation: 

When Hashem created Adam, He breathed the breath of life into him. When you consider this, it is powerful. Adam was not born or carried by his mother. He did not have a mother. He was created directly by Hashem. And after he was created, Hashem breathed His life into his nostrils. This is how His special people were created; this is what sets them apart. They began with His breath of life, His oxygen.

Today, we debate when life begins. Does it begin at conception? Birth? When does Hashem breathe life into a new creation? This is something to reflect on.

Today’s Challenge:

In what ways are you trying to get back to the Garden or the presence of Hashem? Do you think there will be a time when His covenant followers will return to the Garden? Maybe the Garden is in the Kingdom of Heaven—the perfect place.

B'reisheet - Day #1

B'reisheet בְּרֵאשִׁית - In the Beginning 

Torah Portion: Genesis 1:1-6:8

Day #1: Genesis 1:1-2:3

1:1 In the beginning, Elohim created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep, and Elohim’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 Elohim said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 Elohim saw the light, and saw that it was good. Elohim divided the light from the darkness. 5 Elohim called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day.

6 Elohim said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Elohim made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 8 Elohim called the expanse “sky”. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.

9 Elohim said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;” and it was so. 10 Elohim called the dry land “earth”, and the gathering together of the waters he called “seas”. Elohim saw that it was good. 11 Elohim said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the earth;” and it was so. 12 The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after their kind; and Elohim saw that it was good. 13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day.

14 Elohim said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs to mark seasons, days, and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth;” and it was so. 

16 Elohim made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17 Elohim set them in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. Elohim saw that it was good. 19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

20 Elohim said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” 21 Elohim created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. Elohim saw that it was good. 22 Elohim blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

24 Elohim said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind;” and it was so. 25 Elohim made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. Elohim saw that it was good.

26 Elohim said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 Elohim created man in His own image. In Elohim’s image He created him; male and female he created them. 28 Elohim blessed them. Elohim said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 Elohim said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food. 30 To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so. 31 Elohim saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

2 The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished. 2 On the seventh day, Elohim finished His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Elohim blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because He rested in it from all His work of creation which He had done.

Today’s Meditation: 

Hashem essentially created the entire universe, including His planet Earth, in six days. The question asked over the centuries is: Why? Some think that He wanted companionship. Others believe He wanted to be worshiped. I speculate He wanted both. 

During His creation, He made stars for us to enjoy in the evening. A beautiful sun to warm us during the day. Water to drink, and plants to eat. And the best part was to be walking with Him, the Almighty, together in a very beautiful place. Worshiping and loving Him every minute of the day. He created a place to love, to expand His love. He created us so that we would reside in His presence and worship Him with all our hearts, souls, and strength. Only we messed it all up. We disobeyed Him, got selfish, and were removed from His presence.

Now we have His planet, but it is bruised and damaged. We can catch glimpses of His presence only through prayer, His Word, and worship. But in the end, we will walk with Him again. And once again, we will be surrounded by His perfect creation. It might be good to start planning for that day.

Today’s Challenge: 

In verse 3, Elohim creates “light”. You may want to think about your own life. Are you a light, a representative of Hashem’s love for others? When people look at you, do they see the Spirit of Hashem lighting up your life? Make some changes today and try to be a mirror of who Hashem can be in one’s life. When people perceive you as religious or spiritual, they tend to watch you more closely. If you make a mistake, admit it and try to rectify the situation. That will teach them about Hashem’s grace and forgiveness, rather than making you appear hypocritical.