“…And it was evening and it was morning, the sixth day…” – Bereishit 1:31 וירא אלהים את כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאד ויהי ערב ויהי בקר יום הששי   – בראשית א, לא At the conclusion of its account of the first day of creation, the Torah sums up the day saying, “It was evening and it was morning, one […]

“…The serpent was cunning…” – Bereishit 3:1 והנחש היה ערום מכל חית השדה – בראשית ג, א According to the Midrash, G-d’s decree not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge applied only on the 6th day of Creation, the day that Adam and Chava were created. With the onset of Shabbos that evening, the prohibition would have been removed (see Bereishis […]

“…And G-d blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, for on it he abstained from all his work that g-d created to do…” – Bereishit 2:3 וַיְבָרֶךְ אֱלֹקִים אֶת יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וַיְקַדֵּשׁ אֹתוֹ כִּי בוֹ שָׁבַת מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר בָּרָא אֱלֹקִים לַעֲשׂוֹת – בראשית ב, ג On the seventh day from the start of Creation, G-d rested from His creation […]

“…And G-d took the man and he placed him in the garden of eden to work it and to guard it…” – beraishis 2:15 וַיִּקַּח ה’ אֱלֹקִים אֶת הָאָדָם וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ בְגַן עֵדֶן לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ – בראשית ב, טו   “Man is born for toil,” says the verse in Iyov (5:7). Therefore, already from the very beginning of man’s existence, G-d placed […]

“…In the beginning, g-d created the heaven and the earth …” – beraishis 1:1 בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹקִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ – בראשית א, א Rashi begins his commentary on the Torah with a question: “Said Rabbi Yitzchak, ‘The Torah should not have begun from anywhere other than, “This month shall be for you…” (Shemos 12:2), the first mitzvah given to the […]

“In the beginning, g-d created the heaven and the earth…” – beraishis 1:1 בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹקִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ – בראשית א, א The first letter in the Torah is a ב—the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Since everything in the Torah is precise, the Torah’s start with the second letter of the alphabet, not the first, indicates […]