[Par-reg] Sefer Breishit - Intro

[Menachem Leibtag]

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

              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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