[Par-reg] Sefer Breishit - Intro

[Menachem Leibtag]

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     THE TANACH STUDY CENTER [http://www.tanach.org]
          In Memory of Rabbi Abraham Leibtag
     Shiurim in Chumash & Navi by Menachem Leibtag
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              SEFER BREISHIT - Intro

     There's a big difference between simply reading the
Bible, and studying it.  To help encourage and
facilitate the
study of Chumash, each week the Tanach Study Center
provides a
battery of questions on the weekly Torah reading in
addition
to [and in preparation for] several shiurim [lectures]
that
discuss its theme and content.
     Our introductory set of questions will begin with a
short
explanation of why it makes sense that Chumash should be
'studied' (and not just read), followed by a discussion
of the
methodology that we employ which forms the backbone of
these
study questions and shiurim.

NOT JUST A 'STORY BOOK'
     Before opening a book of any sort, the reader will
usually have certain expectations based on the type of
book
that he has chosen.  For example, the reader of a
history book
expects to find historical information; while the reader
of a
science book expects to find scientific facts; and
certainly
someone who picks up a novel expects to find drama, etc.
     But what should we expect when we open a Chumash?
Is it
a 'history book' - the story of Jewish people?  Is it a
book
of 'halacha' - laws that govern our life?  Is it book of
philosophy that discusses the relationship between man
and
God?
     As Chumash is a book of 'nevu'a' [prophecy], it
would
only be logical for the reader to assume that each book
will
carry a prophetic message.  Therefore, to get a better
idea of
what to expect when we read Chumash- we must first
discuss
what the word "nevu'a" means.

WHAT IS NEVU'A
     The popular translation of nevu'a - prophecy - is
often
misleading, for it is usually understood as the ability
to see
(or predict) the future.  However, in Tanach,
'predicting the
future' is rarely the primary mission of the prophet.
     In Hebrew the word 'niv' [nun. yud. bet] means a
saying
(or technically speaking - the movement of lips).  For
example, in Yeshayahu chapter 57, God is described as
'borei
niv sefatayim' - He who created [or performs acts of
Creation]
with the movement of His lips.     [See Yeshayahu 57:19
and
its context, see also Mal'achi 1:12.]
     Therefore, technically speaking, the word nevu'a
relates
to speech, and hence it makes more sense to understand a
navi
as a 'spokesman' for God.  In this sense, when a navi
speaks
to the people, he is delivering God's message.
Certainly,
there may be times when his message may include a
prediction
of certain events, however his primary job is to deliver
God's
message to man.
  Similarly, a 'navi Ba'al' - is a spokesman for the
Ba'al
god (see Melachim Aleph 18:22); while a 'navi sheker' is
one
who claims to be speaking in the name of God, but
instead is
making it up himself (see Yirmiyahu 27:14-15!) .
  In other words, the Bible uses the word "navi" in
reference to anyone speaking on behalf of any god.

AHARON - the 'NAVI' of MOSHE
     To clarify (and prove) this point, let's bring an
example
from a very interesting usage of the word "navi", found
at the
beginning of chapter seven in Sefer Shmot.
  Recall from the story of the 'burning bush' (see
chapters 3
thru 6)) how God had commanded Moshe to deliver His
message to
Pharaoh.  After failing his first mission (in chapter
five),
God commands him to confront Pharaoh once again:
  "And God said to Moshe, I am God - go speak to Pharaoh
  King of Egypt everything that I speak to you." (Shmot
  6:29)
  
  In other words, God has charged Moshe with the job of
begin His 'spokesperson'.  Then note how Moshe explains
why
he thinks that he is not fit for this job:
  "But Moshe appealed saying: 'hen ani aral sefatayim' -
  Behold I am of uncircumcised lips [i.e. impeded
speech],
  and how shall Pharaoh listen [or understand me]?"
                 (see Shmot 6:29-30).
  
  To solve Moshe's problem, God provides Moshe with a
solution, where Aharon will becomes Moshe 'spokesman'!
Note
how the Torah uses the word navi in this description:
  "And God responded to Moshe, see - I have appointed
you
  as Elokim to Pharaoh, but Aharon your brother will be
  your navi"  [i.e. Aharon will become Moshe's navi!]
  You will say [to Aharon] everything that I command
you, and
  Aharon your brother will speak unto Pharoah…" (see
7:1-2).

     Because of Moshe's [legitimate] complaint, God
offers a
very logical solution.  Moshe will remain God's
spokesman, but
now due to his 'speech problems', Moshe himself needs a
spokesman!  Towards that purpose, God appoints Aharon to
become Moshe's navi, i.e. he will speak to Pharaoh on
behalf
of Moshe.
     In the usual case of nevu'a - God has a message
that must
be delivered to the people, and hence need a navi as His
spokesperson to deliver that message.  Now, Moshe
himself
needs a 'spokesman' to deliver his words to Pharaoh,
hence he
will be like 'Elokim' and Aharon will be his navi.

     In summary, the word nevu'a implies a message from
God to
man, and the navi becomes the person who delivers that
message.  Hence, a sefer of nevu'a must be a book that
delivers a message from God to man, delivered by His
spokesperson - the navi.
     Therefore, when we study a book of nevu'a, we
should
expect it to contain a message from God to man.
  However, when we read Chumash, that message is often
not
very explicit.  Instead, we often find that Chumash
delivers
its message in a more implicit manner, through a set of
stories - and not necessarily through an explicit set of
commands.
  The problem then becomes: how do we decipher that
message
from those stories, and how can we be sure that our
interpretation is correct!
     Through the centuries, it has been the goal of the
Rabbis
and the great commentators to attempt to the best of
their
ability to decipher God's message.  Even though there
have
been many approaches, and wide variances of opinions,
most all
commentators began their study and base their commentary
on a
critical reading of the text (while taking into
consideration
the commentaries of the previous generations, sometimes
agreeing and sometimes arguing).
     Our contention is that to best appreciate the works
of
those commentators, and to be able to the best of our
ability
to understand God's message, we too must first undertake
a
critical reading of Chumash.  By sharing the same
experience
of carefully reading every story, and attempting to
understand
the flow of topic and the underlying theme that unfolds,
we
increase our chances of properly comprehending the
commentaries of previous generations, and hopefully can
reach
a better understanding of God's message to us via His
"nviim"
[prophets].

  For example, as we study Sefer Breishit, we must
assume that
purpose of the Torah's presentation of the story of
Creation
and all of its subsequent stories, must relate (in one
form or
other) to a message that God wishes to convey to man.
     The goal of our questions for self study will be to
raise
certain points that may facilitate that study, and
enhance the
appreciation of the interpretations suggested by the
classical
commentators.
     We conclude our introduction with an explanation of
a
methodology of study that relates to 'parshiot'.

THE IMPORTANCE OF 'PARSHIOT"
  One of the most significant - but often overlooked -
ways
that Chumash conveys messages is through its division
into
parshiot.
  First of all, don't let the word parshia (small 'p')
confuse
you with the name Parshat Ha-shavu'a (capital 'P')!
  In our shiurim, we use the word "parshia" in reference
to
the 'paragraph' like divisions of the text that are
found in
the Sefer Torah.  In contrast, the word Parsha [with a
capital
'P'] is used in reference to the weekly shabbat Torah
portion,
e.g., Noach, Lech Lecha, Vayera, etc., through which we
complete the entire Torah once a year.
  From a thematic perspective, the parshia divisions are
very
important, for they were given by God to Moshe Rabbeinu
together with the Torah!  Therefore, if God found it
necessary
to provide us with parshia breaks to aid us in our study
of
His Torah, it only makes sense that we should pay
careful
attention to them when we study.  In fact, in his
opening
commentary to the book of Vayikra, Rashi himself
provides us
with a very similar insight:
  These short breaks were given [together with the Torah
by
  God] to allow Moshe Rabbeinu the opportunity to
  contemplate from one parshia to the next, [in order]
to
  understand the flow from one topic to the next, [and
if
  this was necessary for Moshe Rabbeinu] then even more
so
  - we who study Chumash must pay attention to these
  breaks!
    (see Rashi's commentary to Vayikra,1:1).

  In contrast, the 'Parshat Ha-shavu'a" division of
Chumash -
i.e. the weekly sedra (technically speaking, Sedra is
the
proper name for what we call Parsha) - reflects a
tradition
that began during the Babylonian exile, over a thousand
years
after the Torah was first given.
  With this in mind, it's important to clarify an
important
point.  Should one speak of the 'theme' of a certain
Parsha,
(e.g., the theme of Parshat Noach), this statement can
be
misleading, for God never composed Parshat Noach (or
Parshat
Lech Lecha etc.) by itself.  Instead God gave an entire
Sefer
(book) to Moshe Rabbeinu.  Hence, when someone speaks of
the
theme of a certain Sedra, he is simply explaining why
Chazal
chose to group together a certain set of psukim together
(over
others) to compose that weekly Torah reading.
  On the other hand, when we speak of the theme of a
Sefer
(e.g., the theme of Sefer Breishit, Shmot, etc.), we
attempt
to uncover God's underlying message in that Sefer.  In
other
words, that fact that God chose to include all of the
stories
in Sefer Breishit into one complete book implies that it
should carry one basic underlying theme.  In fact, many
commentators (e.g. Ramban and Seforno in their
introductions
to each Sefer) attempt to uncover that theme.
  This assumption is important for it provides the basis
for
the methodology that we employ in our weekly shiurim.
Our
analysis of parshiot will be helpful in our attempt to
uncover
the primary theme (or themes) of each Sefer; and in turn
we
will use those themes to help appreciate the detail of
its
various stories (and/or mitzvot).

Ptuchot & Stumot
  As you are probably familiar, there are two types of
parshia
divisions
1. 'ptuchot' = open.
  Indicated by a gap of blank spaces until the end of a
  line; the next parshia begins at the start of the next
  line.  See board

2. 'stumot' = closed
  Indicated by a gap of at least nine spaces; the next
  parshia can begin on that very same line.  See board 2

  As a rule of thumb, a parshia ptucha usually indicates
a
major change of topic, while a parshia stuma indicates a
more
subtle one.  As we will see, however, there are many
exceptions.
  These parshia breaks are so important that a Sefer
Torah
without them is 'pasul' (not valid).  In this regard, I
recommend that you read chapter eight in Rambam's
Hilchot
Sefer Torah where he not only explains the importance of
these
parshia breaks, but even lists each and every one of
them to
make sure that sofrim [scribes] will write their Sifrei
Torah
properly!

  So what are the chapter divisions that we are so
familiar
with?
  To the surprise of many students, even though just
about
every Chumash in print today uses a chapter/verse
system, this
division of Chumash into chapters is not a Jewish
tradition.
It is, however, a very useful convention, as this system
has
been used by just about every publisher of the Bible
(regardless of religion or language) since the invention
of
the printing press (15th century).
Therefore, as we study Chumash, its division into
chapters is
a very useful convention, and a helpful reference that
reflects how other people may have understood (or
misunderstood!) its topics, but it certainly does not
carry
any prophetic significance.
  In contrast, the division of Chumash into Seforim
[books]
and parshiot is of paramount prophetic significance.
Hence,
their consideration will often be a primary focus in our
shiurim. `

Tanach Koren
  To easily identify these important parshia breaks when
studying Chumash, it is very useful to use either a
'Tanach
Koren', or (what is known as) 'Rav Breuer's Tanach'.
  The Tanach Koren (named for its beautiful Hebrew font
designed for that publication) was first published in
the
sixties, and is probably the most widely used Tanach in
Israel
today, both in schools and shuls.  More recently Mossad
ha-Rav
Kook also published a complete Tanach based on the
famous
manuscript of the Keter Aram Tzova, and edited after
exhaustive research by Rav Mordechai Breuer, one of
Israel's
most renowned Bible scholars.  Both publications provide
the
reader with a very accurate and clear printing.  [Which
Tanach
is 'better' has become a 'hot topic' in the Yeshiva
world, and
therefore, I refrain from taking a stand.]
  It is difficult to explain why, but rest assured that
once
you become accustomed to studying with this style of
Tanach,
you will quickly find how useful a tool it becomes for
analytical study of Chumash, especially in regard to
appreciating parshiot.
  In some Chumashim, and quite often in Mikra'ot Gedolot
versions, the parshia divisions are noted by letters
instead
of spaces.  Usually the Hebrew letter 'peyh' notes where
a
parsha ptucha should be (see board 3), and the Hebrew
letter
'samech' notes where a parsha stuma should be (see board
4).

Long parshiot and short ones!
  Even though we have noted that parshiot act more or
less
like paragraph breaks, we find numerous exceptions -
that are
thematically very significant.  We will demonstrate this
by
undertaking a quick analysis of the parshiot found in
the
first five chapters of Sefer Breishit.
  Using a Tanach Koren, take a quick glance at the story
of
Creation in chapter one.  Note how each day of Creation
forms
a single 'parshia'.  This reflects a very logical
'paragraph
like' division.
  Next, take a look at what happens in chapter two!  A
new
parshia begins with the story of Gan Eden in 2:4 and
continues
for some forty psukim - all the way until 3:15, and
there we
find parsha stuma!
  Then, we find another parsha stuma, but this one (to
our
surprise) is only one pasuk long!  The next parshia is
also
stuma and continues for five psukim until 3:21.
  At first glance, this division seems to be rather
absurd!
Why should some forty psukim continue without any
parshia
break, even though there are plenty of spots in between
that
would easily qualify for a paragraph break?  Then,
immediately
afterward we find a mere pasuk that becomes its own
parshia
(i.e. 3:16).
  Clearly, these examples prove that a parshia break is
not
always the equivalent of a paragraph break.  Instead,
sometimes the Torah will intentionally group numerous
psukim
together without any parshia break to emphasize a
certain
point, and sometimes, the Torah will intentionally
provide a
parshia break at a spot that does not necessarily
require one.
However, when the Torah does this, we should assume that
it
carries some thematic significance.
  Let's return now to this example and attempt to
understand
why.  Note that the lengthy parshia (2:4-3:15) contains
not
only the story of God's creation of man in Gan Eden
(i.e. 2:4-
25, and hence the chapter break at 2:25), but also the
story
of the 'nachash' and man's sin (3:1-15).
  The lack of a parshia break between these two stories
already alludes to the intrinsic connection between
them, i.e.
between the story of man's sin in Gan Eden (chapter 3),
and
the very creation of Gan Eden (in chapter 2).
  Immediately afterward we find a one line parshia that
describes Eve's punishment, and then another very short
parshia that describes Adam's punishment, and then yet
another
parshia that describes mankind's punishment (i.e. the
banishment from Gan Eden in (3:22-24)!
  Clearly, the fact that the Torah delimits each form of
punishment with its own parshia break alludes to the
thematic
importance of aschar va-onesh' [Divine retribution] in
Chumash
- the concept that God holds man responsible for his
deeds.
As we should expect, this will emerge as a primary
Biblical
theme, and these short parshia breaks help emphasize its
importance.

  Let's return now to Parshat Breishit.  Note that
chapter
four - the story of Cain and Abel - forms its own
parshia.
Then in chapter five, we find a separate parshia for
each one
of the ten generations from Adam to Noach.  Note,
however,
that all of these parshiot from man's exile from Gan
Eden (see
3:22) until the story of Flood (see 6:5) are parshiot
stumot
(see board 11)!  As we shall see, this too will be
thematically significant.
  We will return to these topics in our shiur on Parshat
Breishit, but to help you prepare for that shiur (and
for all
the remaining shiurim on Sefer Breishit), we conclude
with
some pointers for self-study that will apply what we
have
discussed thus far, and as usual, some more questions
for
preparation.
  ======
  
  
QUESTIONS FOR SELF STUDY - Intro:
==================================
Finding the Theme of Sefer Breishit: A self-study guide

  With this background in mind, I'd like to introduce
you to a
methodology that I have found very useful when teaching.
For
the most basic level of preparation for class, I ask the
students to scan through an entire Sefer (or at least
one
section at a time), noting its division into parshiot.
Then,
we take a sheet of blank paper, and along the left
margin, we
prepare a long list of short blank lines.
  Then, after reading (or scanning) each parshia, we
attempt
to summarize its primary topic in four words or less!
For
some parshiot this is very easy, for others it is quite
difficult (but try your best).  As we proceed, you'll
understand why it is so important to be concise.
  Then, we record that brief (one phrase) summary on the
blanks lines on the sheet that we prepared; one line for
each
parshia.
  Ideally, we should do this list for the entire Sefer,
but
usually this is not very practical, so we choose instead
one
unit within the Sefer at a time.  For example, in Sefer
Breishit, we begin with the first twelve chapters.
  After our listing of the parshiot is complete, we
contemplate the list, looking to group together only the
most
obvious units.  For example, when studying Parshat
Breishit,
the seven parshiot of the seven days of creation form a
distinct sub-unit.  Similarly, the nine parshiot of
toladot in
chapter five also form a distinct unit.
To indicate these grouping on our list, we mark these
units
with 'greater than' signs.  At the end of that sign, we
write
a short phrase that describes that group.
  The following example will illustrate this, as it
shows the
results of this method for the first three chapters of
Sefer
Breishit .

day one      \
day two       \
day three      \
day four         --- 7 days of Creation
day five       /
day six       /
day seven    /

Man in Gan Eden    \
Eve's punishment    \__ Gan Eden
Adam's punishment   /
Expulsion          /

  Usually, you will quickly see how several parshiot
immediately group together, while many others stand
alone.
Again, be careful to group parshiot together only
according to
the most obvious groupings. If it's not obvious, then
don't
group it.
  For example, the parshia of the Cain & Abel story
(chapter
four) would stand alone, since it's not part of the Gan
Eden
narrative, nor is it part of the toladot in chapter
five.
  Upon completing this process for the entire list, we
reach
the second level, for a new list has now formed towards
the
right, reflecting the summaries of the most obvious
sub-units
from level one.
  Now we treat the new level in the same way that we
treated
the first level.  We analyze our new list, again looking
to
group together the most obvious units.  When we finish
level
two, we proceed to level three, etc.; and slowly, our
list
begins to look like a tournament.  However, as we
proceed from
level to level, we need to apply a bit more creative
thinking
when grouping into sub-units, for the connection from
one unit
to the next will not always be so obvious.
     In essence, we begin by constructing a table of
contents
for the book, and slowly (by taking theme into
consideration)
we attempt to turn this table of contents into a
structured
[and titled] outline.

  In case you didn't catch on yet, our assumption is
that if
we continue this process, sooner or later there will be
a
'winner' (on the right margin) - i.e. a short phrase
that
identifies a common theme for all of the sub-units of
the
entire Sefer - and that 'winner' is none other than the
primary theme of the Sefer.
  This methodology is far from an 'exact science', and
it gets
complicated at times (and doesn't always work so
smoothly);
but it certainly helps the student follow the thematic
flow of
a Sefer.
  As we will see in future shiurim, it becomes an
excellent
tool to help appreciate not only what the various
commentaries
say, but also to understand why they argue.
  As preparation for our shiurim over the next three
weeks,
try to complete this style of analysis for all of Sefer
Breishit, or at least for the first twelve chapters.
Don't
expect for everything to be easy, and don't expect to
find
simple answers all of the time, but try your best.  As
you
study, be sure to relate to the questions for self study
that
will follow in the next email.

               b'hatzlacha,
               menachem



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