{"id":4254,"date":"2018-10-02T13:27:20","date_gmt":"2018-10-02T13:27:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/batkol.info\/?p=4254"},"modified":"2018-10-02T13:27:20","modified_gmt":"2018-10-02T13:27:20","slug":"parashat-bereishit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/2018\/10\/02\/parashat-bereishit\/","title":{"rendered":"Parashat Bereishit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Shabbat Table Talk<\/p>\n

Parashat Bereishit \u2013 Erev Shabbat 5th October 2018<\/p>\n

Week of 30th September \u2013 6th October 2018<\/p>\n

Torah portion: Genesis 1:1-6:8 Haftarah: Isaiah 42:5-43:10<\/p>\n

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Download<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"Was adam more than just the first man? In Genesis 1:26, we read: \u201cGod said: Let us make humankind, in our image, according to our likeness!\u201d The Hebrew word translated as humankind in this verse is adam. Fox (p.15) notes that the term does not specify sex, for God creates adam male and female (1:27). The creation of adam comes as the culmination of creation and is \u201cexceedingly good (1:31)!\u201d Coupled with the double command to have \u201cdominion\u201d (1:26, 28) over the rest of creation and to \u201cfill the earth and subdue it\u201d (1:28), is it any wonder that adam has brought Earth to the point of ecological crisis?<\/p>\n

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Have adam and Earth always been in a state of estrangement? One only has to look to the text to find the answer: \u201cthere was no human\/adam to till the soil\/adamah \u2013 but a surge would well up from the ground [adamah] and water all the face of the soil [adamah]; and YHWH, God, formed the human [adam], of the dust from the soil [adamah]\u201d (Gen 2:5-7). Arthur Waskow (pp. vii-viii), notes that adam and adamah [earth] are in fact intertwined, with the Hebrew word for each bearing the echo of the other. He notes further that the absence of the breath-like \u201cah\u201d sound at the end of adamah from adam represents the loss of the \u201cunconscious breathing that connected the earliest human beings with the earth from which they had just emerged.\u201d (p. viii) The wanton exploitation of Earth\u2019s resources by adam \u2013 particularly in the last centuries \u2013 only serves to highlight this estrangement. (N.B. The word adamah can also be translated as \u2018ground\u2019 or \u2018soil\u2019, but is translated as \u2018earth\u2019 in many Jewish texts dealing with ecology, eco-spirituality and eco-justice.)<\/p>\n

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What chance does adam have of rehabilitation and reconnection with Earth? The answer lies once more in a careful and creative reading of the Hebrew text. Shai Cherry, (p. 47) notes, \u201cthe Hebrew for imagination is dimyon, which echoes both the name adam (human) and our likeness (d\u2019mut) to the Divine.\u201d What then does it mean to be created in the Divine image? Joseph Soloveitchik remarks that \u201c[adam\u2019s] likeness to God expresses itself in [adam\u2019s] striving and ability to become a creator\u201d (in Cherry p. 48). It is in our ability to imagine a solution that our salvation might be found and that salvation must recognise adam\u2019s interconnectedness with adamah.<\/p>\n

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What part does Sabbath play in the solution? Franz Rosenzweig describes the Sabbath as the dream of perfection that becomes the constant renewal of creation. This thought is echoed by Simchah Bunam who speaks of creation as being in an \u201cuncompleted state.\u201d His argument is that since God created the world in a state of beginning \u201cit requires continuous labour and renewal by creative [imaginative] forces\u201d so that it does not return to the \u201cprimeval chaos\u201d from which it was created (Plaut p. 25). Shai Cherry (p. 48) reminds us: \u201cOur imaginative faculty brings out what is distinctive about us humans. We can imagine a different world.\u201d A possibility that places adam in a unique place within creation.<\/p>\n

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For Reflection and Discussion: (1) How might I describe my relationship with adamah? (2) What future do I imagine for those yet to be born? How might I creatively make that dream a reality? What part does Sabbath play in adam\u2019s reconnection with adamah?<\/p>\n

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Bibliography: Bernstein (Ed.) Ecology & the Jewish Spirit (Woodstock, 1998); Cherry, Torah Through Time (2007, Philadelphia); Fox, The Five Books of Moses (New York, 1997); Plaut, The Torah: A Modern Commentary (New York, 1981); Waskow ed. Torah of the Earth (Woodstock)<\/p>\n

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This week\u2019s teaching commentary is by<\/p>\n

Mark David Walsh, B.A. (Ed.), B. Th., Grad. Dip. R.E., M.R.E., Melbourne, Australia,<\/p>\n

BK Alumnus, 2001, \u201802, \u201904, \u201813.<\/p>\n

markdavidwalsh@gmail.com<\/p>\n

[Copyright \u00a9 2018]<\/p>\n

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PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Parashah commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. The commentaries, along with all materials published on the Bat Kol website, are copyrighted by the writers, and are made available for personal and group study, and local church purposes. Permission needed for other purposes. Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.<\/p>\n

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Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem<\/p>\n

~~1983-2018~~<\/p>\n

\u201cChristians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Website: www.batkol.info; Parashah Admin: gill@batkol.info<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Shabbat Table Talk Parashat Bereishit \u2013 Erev Shabbat 5th October 2018 Week of 30th September \u2013 6th October 2018 Torah portion: Genesis 1:1-6:8 Haftarah: Isaiah 42:5-43:10   Download   Was adam more than just the first man? In Genesis 1:26, we read: \u201cGod said: Let us make humankind, in our image, according to our likeness!\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":4255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4254"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4254\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}