RaYBaSH’s Torah Thoughts
Parashah #1, B’reshit: “In the Beginning”
B’reshit/Genesis 1:1-6:8
By: Yehudah ben Shomeyr
Intro:
Starting the
annual Torah cycle each year is a bitter sweet moment for a Teacher. On the one
hand, I look forward to this Torah portion, wondering what new things I will
uncover that I didn’t see the previous years, and the anticipation of sharing
this with others. On the other hand, I dread this Torah Portion every year when
it comes around. Why? Because neither I, nor anyone else can give this Torah
portion justices. It is impossible to milk every drop out of this Torah
Portion. We can scratch the surface, but
fail to see where we scratched. Why? Because this Portion is so chocked full,
and is so deep on many different levels, and we can literally spend a month of
Sabbaths, even years of Sabbaths on this Parashah (Torah Portion) alone and
STILL not have searched its depths. Some Rabbi’s literally spend a lifetime
just studying B’reshit (Genesis) 1:1! No Joke! So any Teacher or Rabbi is
forced to hit on only a few topics or just focus on one, unless they plan on
writing a book instead of a devotional or commentary. Not only this, but no
Scholar has a monopoly on Truth, and truth be known, many things in this
Parashah is still a mystery and no one has all the answers. So this drash
(teaching) will only be a small drop in the bucket of the myriad of
commentaries that are out there today. I will also draw from extra Canonical
Scripture held in high esteem in Judaism such as the book of Jasher and
Jubilees to compare, confirm and bring greater clarity to the Genesis account.
Maybe this first portion is to whet our appetite and make us hunger for the
portions we will explore for the rest of the year. I know it makes me want to
scream for seconds!
Summary:
ADONAI forms the human body from the dust of the earth and blows into his nostrils the “breath of life and man becomes a living soul." Man was at first all alone which was not good, so, God decided to take a "side" from the man, forms it into a woman, and marries them to each other.
Adam and Chavah (Eve) are placed in the Garden of Eden and commanded eat of all the trees freely, especially the “Tree of Life, “however they were not to eat from the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil." The serpent persuades Chavah to trespass this command, and she shares the forbidden fruit with Adam her husband. As a result of their sin, their disobedience, it is decreed that mankind will experience death, returning to the soil from which he was formed; and that only through laborious toil and hardship will they be sustained. The whole of creation is tainted and shares in the curse of man as well, all awaits to be redeemed by the Messiah in the Last Day. Then both Adam and Eve are banished from the Garden.
Commentary:
Because of this
being the First Torah Portion of the year, and noting the contents, this
Parashah will be lengthier than most.
I will not get
into the whole theological debate about what type of creation occurred on
account many others have done this and there are many ministries that souly
focuses on that subject. However, in short I will quote from my book, “Get Back
to the First Century” in the section dealing with my beliefs:
“I believe in a literal 24 hour, 6 day
creation. I believe the Biblical records
indicate an approximately 6000 year old earth.
Failing to recognize this compromises the whole foundation and integrity
of ADONAI, and the Scriptures, and opens the door for evolution, which in turn
is used to give justification for moral relativism and the like as seen in our
society today.”(See: www.answersingenesis.org and
www.drdino.com )
Instead I will
attempt to focus on a few obscure things rarely touched upon when dealing with
Genesis, or bringing out a unique aspect on a well know topic from Genesis.
Genesis 1:1-2 In the beginning God created the heaven and
the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the
face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God.
If
one reads the English and the Hebrew carefully regarding Gen. 1:1-2 along with
Isa. 14:12-18, Ezk. 28:11-17, Jer. 4:23-27 it seems to indicate the existence
of a world before this one, a Pre-Adamic world and race of people whom satan
deceived, corrupted and caused the destruction of that world. For it is clear
in Gen. 1:1-2, that the heavens and the earth was already in existence before
He began to create, or shall we say, re-create what we see and know as the
world today. This, likely for one is why the earth appears older than it really
is.
I
went back to the Hebrew and translated these verses (Gen. 1:1-2) myself so as
to better bring out what the Hebrew is saying in these verses:
This is the origin of everything, God created the various heavens
and the earth. The earth became a chaotic desolation, indistinguishable and a
dark obscurity was down upon the surface of the depths and the Spirit of God
brooded over the surface of the waters.
See,
the earth and water was already in existence when God re-created it from the
destruction this earth had become; pointing to a Pre-Adamic Earth. But this is
a subject and a commentary in and of itself that we do not have time for here.
We
see according to Gen. 1:1-2 and John 1:1 that Yeshua the Messiah, who is the
Living Torah, the Living Word, was the creative force behind all of Creation.
God the Father Himself was like a Supervisor, and we also see that in Gen. 1:1
that the Ruach Ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit) was present during creation also,
meaning the whole Godhead was present and active in Creation.
“In the first word b’raisheet, starting with the first yod, counting
every 521st letter, spells Yeshua yahkol, which means, Yeshua is
able (to have power). In the Hebrew each letter has a numeric value. The numeric
value (gematria) of the Hebrew word, gift, tribute; eshkar, has the same
gematria as the 521-letter couont where we dicover the name of Yeshua.” – Yacov
Rambsel “Yeshua: The Name of Jesus Revealed in the Old Testament”
A
Jewish commentary called the Midrash Rabbah says that “the Spirit of God
hovered,” that this is the spirit of Messiah!
I
will delve into the concept of what Christian’s call the Trinity later. For now allow me to zoom through the days of
Creation and give you a little insight to what Jewish Tradition says about the
days of creation found here in Parashah B’reshit.
“When
God was about to create the world by His Word, the 22 letters of the Alef-Bet (Alphabet) descended from the terrible
and august crown of God whereon they were engraved with a pen of flaming fire.
They
stood around about God and one after another spake and entreated, “Create the
world through me!”
After
the claims of all the letters had been disposed of, Bet stepped before the Holy
One, blessed be He, and pleaded before Him: “O LORD of the world! May it be Thy
will to create Thy world through me, seeing that all the dwellers of the world
give praise daily unto Thee through me, as it is said, “Blessed be ADONAI
forever. Ameyn, and Ameyn.” The Holy One blessed be He at once granted the
petition of Bet. He said, “Blessed be he that comes in the name of ADONAI.” And
He created His world through Bet, as it is said, “B’reshit (In the Beginning)
God created the heaven and the earth.”
The
only letter that refrained from urging its claims was the modest Alef, and God
rewarded it later for its humility by giving it the first place in the 10
Commandments.” -- Legends of the Bible, Louis Ginzberg
DAY 1: (v.3-5)
Light and Darkness, Day and Night created.
According to
Jewish Tradition:
-
The
Light of Torah and the Light of Messiah also
-
7
Heavens created. We see evidence of this referred to by Rav Sha’ul (Apostle Paul)
(II Cor. 12:2).
This word “light”
appears five times in the passage dealing with the first day of creation and
this represents the five books of Torah, our Spiritual source of Divine Light.
DAY 2: (v.6-8)
Water from water: Sky
Interestingly
enough ADONAI calls all the days, “Good” but this one, because according to
Jewish Tradition:
-
7
Hells were created.
“One
can speculate why God said, “Good!” after each day’s work except for day two
(when He built a firmament to wall off heaven from earth). Did God reserve
heaven for his abode, so that He could rest even if man chose to scurry around
chasing after evil desires?” – Walk Genesis! Jeffery Enoch Feinberg, Ph.D
DAY 3: (v.9-13)
Dry land (earth) appears, and vegetation which can reproduce on its own.
According to
Jewish Tradition:
-
7
divisions of Paradise (Heaven) were created.
-
Earth
was Named: “Heled” (Life, Duration)
DAY 4: (v.14-19)
Sun, Moon, Stars and the Calendar (the Biblical one, not the Gregorian, Julian,
or any other Pagan calendar) were created.
According to
Jewish Tradition:
-
These
things were created on Day 1 but were assigned a place on Day 4.
DAY 5: (v.20-23)
Fish and Fowl were created.
According to
Jewish Tradition:
-
Behemoth
Leviathan (found in the book of Yov (Job)) and Ziz were created and in the End
Time they will dual each other like a Godzilla movie and kill each other off
and will end up being a delicacy in the Olam Habba (World to Come).
DAY 6: (v.24-32)
Land creatures and man was created, and this was not deemed, “Good”, but “Very
Good”.
Protestants mostly
believe animals are spiritless, or have no soul. But it would appear that
Judaism believes animals do have souls and or spirits but obviously not like
ours. Jubilees 2:2 speaks of the spirits of animals. This would make sense
seeing as animals are mentioned as being in the World to Come in the Book of
Revelation and such on the New Earth.
So the days of the
week have names, they are; Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, etc. and Shabbat (7th day).
Modern Hebrew we call them respectively; Yom Rishon, Yom Sheni, Yom Shlishi,
Yom R’vi’i, Yom Chamishi, Yom Shishi, Shabbat. The days of the week are not
named after pagan gods like Thursday (Thor’s Day) Saturday (Saturnalia’s Day)
etc. How it must break ADONAI’s heart that every time we use the names for the
secular months of the year and days of the week that we are uttering the names
of pagan deities, and the Psalms tell us not to let them ever cross our lips
(16:4).
v.26 & 3:22 “Let Us” Now this is a good
opportunity to deal with what Christians call the Trinity. Again allow me to
quote from my book, “Get Back to the First Century”.
“Concerning what most of Christianity
refers to as the “Trinity”, (I refer to it as a Tri-unity) I believe that God
reveals Himself in many ways, characteristics and Sefirot, including, but
not limited to, Abba (the Father), the Word / the Ben (Son), and the Ruach
Ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit). And I believe
that these emanations from God are coeternal, coequal, and coexisting in one
(echad) Divine essence.
The Seforitic Tree consists of many
charts and formulas, and lists many of HaShem’s attributes, so I will not get
into that. That is not the purpose of
this work. However, I will say that
there is a concept referred to as the “Three Pillars”, which consist of Binah:
Understanding, Keter: Crown, and Chochmah: Wisdom. The Sages refer to them as: Binah as the
Father/Abba, Chochmah as the Mother/Imma, and
Keter as their Son/Ben. And these
in turn would coincide with the concept of the Tri-unity of Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. It is interesting to note
that the word for Holy Spirit in the Hebrew is Feminine, which would lend
credence to the “Three Pillars” of the Seforitic Tree of Binah being
Mother/Imma. In another place of
Kabalistic literature, there are references to the Lesser YHWH, which describes
Yeshua Messiah uncannily.
I DO NOT adhere to nor believe in
tritheism or modalism, these beliefs are INACURATE and HERETICAL!
“It is entirely tolerable to the Hebraic
mind to accept a paradox. To the
non-Hebraic mind, the paradox is seen as blatant contradiction, and is
summarily dismissed as nonsense.” – Bikurei Tziyon, issue 71, pg.29”
“Us” refers to the “Tri-Unity of Elohim (God). The Shema (Deut. 6:4) says
that ADONAI is “Echad” meaning, “one”. Not “one” as in the singular, but one in
plurality, as in one cluster but many grapes (Num. 13:23 -24), one, as in, United. Some say that, “us” means ADONAI consulted
the angels, but this could not be because ADONAI would not put the created
angels on His level by saying “us”.
Jubilees 3:16
speaks of the God saying, “We” gave them work and instructions. And I do not believe due to the
plain Scriptures themselves that the Rabbinic commentators would say it is the
“royal” use of “us” and “we,” clearly these passages are speaking of the
singular plurality of the Godhead.
The first word in
Hebrew that begins the book of Genesis is, “B’reshit” spelled with the Hebrew
letters: “Bet-Resh-Alef-Shin-Yod-Tav” Bet starts the Hebrew word, “Ben” which
means son, referring to Yeshua the Messiah the son of ADONAI. The letter Resh starts the word, “Ruach”
meaning Spirit, as in Holy Spirit. The letter Alef starts the Hebrew word
“Abba” meaning Father, representing ADONAI God the Father.
Jewish Tradition
says that ADONAI consulted the Torah in creation (and not the angels as has
become a later tradition states) and I have no problem with that. For Yeshua
the Messiah is the Living Manifestation, the embodiment of the written Torah.
V.27 Just as
ADONAI is represented at times in a Tri-Unity, we as mankind are created in His
image and thus we are a Tri-Unity as well of body, soul, and spirit. Also note
that it says “Let us make THEM…” ADONAI made only Adam at first. Them seems to
indicate what The Talmud, and Kabbalah says that both male and female were in
Adam when he was created, and when ADONAI took a “rib,” more literally the
side, from Adam to create Chavah (Eve), he took the Female portion of Adam to
create Chavah.
V.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto
them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and
have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over
every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
“Here,
man “calls names” to the animals in Gan Eden (Garden of Eden). Man’s work is to order creation. Naming
involves asserting authority (Gen. 1:26, 28). God assigns names to the
celestials (heaven, earth, seas, darkness, day and night); now, man orders the
terrestrials by naming the animals, fulfilling the command to rule over every
living creature (Gen. 1:28).” – Walk Genesis! Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Ph.D
V. 29 All was
vegan prior to the Fall of mankind. Creation science has evidence to this fact
by showing that modern animals with canine teeth yet are vegetarians. One such
example is the Panda Bear.
Isaiah 65:25
prophetically talks about a time when things will revert back to their original
created state prior to the Fall. The lion will lay down with the ox and eat
grass, a child will not be harmed by a snake etc.
Gen.
2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into
his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
According
to Jewish tradition there are 4 ways we resemble angels and 4 ways we resemble
beasts.
Angels:
1. Speech
2. Intellect
3. Walk upright
4.
Glance
of the eye.
Beast:
1.
We eat
2.
Produce
waste
3.
Propagate
4.
And we
die
Imagine, our very
breath is the breath of ADONAI Himself! Our breath represents the spark of God
with in all of us. Man was the only created thing that ADONAI Himself formed
and God Breathed. Everything else was spoken into being.
It is said by the
Rabbi’s and Sages of old that ADONAI breathed life into our nostrils instead of
elsewhere because this gave us the ability to discern good and evil, clean and
unclean.
The word “Adam”
means “Red” which is said to be the color of dust we were formed from, and the
Native Americans has this same version of the creation of man. So according to
the Hebrew the first man was not a white man as per our Sunday school flannel
graphs but a dark, mahogany reddish brown. In short, Adam was a “black” man!
Scientifically he had to be in order for there to eventually be lighter skinned
peoples. You have to have melanin before you can have a lack of it. In regards
to skin tone, you have to have “black” before you can have “white.”
According to
Jewish Tradition man was created fully developed at the approximate age of 20
years of age, and that the beginning of the fall of Satan was at the creation
of man because Adam caused Satan (Lucifer/Hellel at the time) to be jealous
because he was considered the pinnacle of creation, and ADONAI commanded all
the angels to bow down to Adam, and Satan would not, this in turn spurned him
to, as the Scriptures say, attempt to raise his throne above and against
ADONAI.
Judaism teaches
that Satan fell from heaven on the 6th day, the day man was created,
and it also teaches that mankind fell on the same day they were created. So
this does not “jive” with the Christian Gap theory that says Satan fell between
the verses of Genesis 1:1 and 2.
In one Jewish
legend it is said that Adam when he was created was shown the history of the
world from beginning to the end and he willingly relinquished 70 of his
allotted years to King David, thus Adam lived only 930 years. For ADONAI said
that in the day they ate the fruit they would die. We know that the Scripture say
that to ADONAI 1,000 years are as a day to Him. So thus Man was only allowed to
live 1,000 years. Methuselah was a few decades shy of this; he died at 969
years old.
Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he
rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Rashi, the famous
Jewish commentator says about this verse:
“What
was the world lacking? Rest. When Shabbat came, rest came.
[This
is to explain the apparent contradiction between the first and second part of
the verse: Did God conclude His work on or before the seventh day? Were there
six or seven days of creation? The answer is that “rest” too is a Creation.]”
I say this is
where the word “recreation” comes from, for it is on Shabbat we rest and we are
re-created.
V.15 Let’s face
it, we were created not only to serve and praise ADONAI, but to work. Work
according to Jewish thought is a sacred act commanded by ADONAI Himself. So our
jobs are essentially a form of worship. There will also be work in the Olam
Haba (World to Come), the next life. The key is finding a job that fits
ADONAI’s will for your life and provides for your family. And let’s also face
the fact that we may go through a few “crappy” jobs before we find the one we
love and one where we can most serve and please ADONAI.
Also it says Adam
was not only created to work the land, but to GAURD it as well, from obvious
things such as was about to happen, the serpent deceiving Chavah (Eve) and
causing the Fall. This is confirmed in Jasher 1:7.
V.16 speaks about
the Tree of life, and according to Jewish Tradition, and it makes sense, that
it was an Almond Tree. When Adam and
Chavah (Eve) was kicked out of the Gan Eden (Garden of Eden) ADONAI allowed
Adam to take a branch for the Tree of Life as a staff. This staff was passed down through the
generations and found its way to Moshe (Moses) and Aaron and thus was the staff
that produced almonds in (Num.17:8, Heb.9:4). And in turn the Tree of the Knowledge
of Good and Evil was NOT an apple tree, nor one that grew passion fruit. It was a Fig Tree. For it was the nearest
tree to grab leaves from when Adam and Chavah discovered their nakedness. This
was also the reason some say that Yeshua cursed the fig tree in (Mark 11).
Jubilees 3:22-24
agrees the Tree of Knowledge was a fig tree.
V.18, this is the
first instance were ADONAI actually says that something wasn’t good. Not to say
it was bad either, but to say that it was imperfect, that it was incomplete.
“The
Hebrew phrase, I will make, eh’ehseh, gives us another insight of Adam
portrayed as a type of Messiah. Starting from the ayin, counting 138 letters
three times from left to right, spells, Yeshua…. The title, Son of God, Ben
Elohim, has the gematria of 138. This is the exact count of the above
combination.” – Yacov Rambsel “Yeshua: The Name of Jesus Revealed in the Old
Testament”
V.20 Notice that
this is when it really hit Adam that all of creation was paired male and
female, except for him. Adam therefore
had a “feminine side”. Because the word “rib” in verse 21 can also mean “half”
as in your “better half”. So ADONAI didn’t just take a “rib” he literally split
Adam in half! So there is a deeper meaning to the old saying, “Don’t let the
door hit ya where the good LORD split ya!”
Notice how Adam
worded his statement upon seeing Chavah (Eve). Kabbalah states that when all of
the souls of mankind were created in the beginning, that each soul is split
into a male and female soul and is sent to Earth to a womb. So as we seek out a mate we are really
seeking to complete ourselves, we are seeking in essence what has been termed,
our “soul mate”.
I must share this
story from the Talmud, it is one of my favorites.
“An
unbeliever said to Rabban Gamliel: Your God is a thief; as it is written, “And
God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man… and He took one of his sides…”
Said
Gamliel’s daughter, “Allow me to reply.” She said to him; “Summon me a
guardsman.”
“Why
do you require one?” asked her father.
“Thieves
came upon us in the night, took a silver flask, and left us a gold flask.”
“If
only they would come every night.” Said the unbeliever.
Gamliel’s
daughter replied, “And was it not beneficial for Adam that a side was taken
from him and a handmaid to serve him was given in its place?”
(Talmud,
Sanhedrin 39)
B’reshit 3:23And the man said, “This is
now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This one is called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out
of man.”
Now
I think Adam called Chavah (Eve) “woman” because when he woke up, and saw the
most beautiful thing he ever saw standing before him and he exclaimed, “WOAH,
Man!” Just kidding.
Since
Man and Woman come from one being that ADONAI created, Adam, this also
solidifies that we are created in the image of ADONAI.
He is one (echad) and we are commanded to come together as Husband and Wife and
become one (echad) again as it was in the beginning, just as ADONAI is Echad.
Genesis
3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of
the field which the LORD God had made…
It is said and
even indicated in Scripture that the serpent at one point had feet, legs, and
arms. Tradition says that the serpent walked upright and was the animal most
comparable to a human in stature and intellect. It is also said the serpent
stood as tall as a camel. Up to this point even the animals were endowed with
speech but after the fall Jubilees 3:28 (29) tells us:
And on
that day was closed the mouth of all beasts, and of cattle, and of birds, and
of whatever walks, and of whatever moves, so that they could no longer speak:
for they had all spoken one with another with one lip and with one tongue.
3:1-4 reminds me
of the passage in the Torah (Deut. 4:2, 12:32) and in Revelation (22:18) about
adding and taking away from ADONAI’s Words and Commands. Satan only added one
little word, the word, “NOT”
V.3
says that Chavah (Eve) thought that ADONAI said not only not to eat of
the fruit, but don’t even touch it, when ADONAI only
said not to eat of the fruit. Jewish Tradition said that Adam told Chavah not
to touch it. If this is true, this would be the first instance of a “fence”
around a Divine Command. In Judaism we put “fences” around Torah commands to
distance ourselves from an actual “Thou shalt not” type of command so as to be
sure not to break a commandment. In this instance the well meaning “fence” that
Adam had put up backfired when the serpent pushed Chavah (Eve) against the tree
to prove to her that touching it wouldn’t kill her.
Gen. 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it
was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took
of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and
he did eat.
Wait, did you
catch that? Adam passively stood beside her as this who thing went down. He
failed to take authority as Guardian of the Garden and as the God ordained Head
and Husband of the relationship. Eve’s
sin was one of commission, Adam’s sin was one of omission.
I John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
See that pattern
of temptation that overtook Chavah (Eve) as is mentioned in the verse from the
Renewed Covenant (“New Testament”) quoted above?
Genesis
3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew
that they were naked;
The Rabbi and
Sages say that the reason they didn’t realize that they were naked before was
because they were clothed in the Shekinah (glory) of ADONAI, and when they
fell, the glorious garment of ADONAI’s glory departed from off them, and then
their eyes were open and they saw that they were naked.
Genesis 3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art
thou?
The
Rabbi’s say this question wasn’t meant to find Adam’s physical location, but to
make Adam think where he was spiritually at that very moment.
Gen.
3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and
her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
This
is the first instance of prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah and His
substitutionary, sacrificial, atoning, death by crucifixion.
And
here is the first act of substitutionary, sacrificial, atoning death:
“Isaiah 7:14… The Hebrew word used for virgin is almah, which means,
a virgin or young maiden. From the mem, counting 17 letters three times from
right to left spells, Moshiach. We can see by this insight that the virgin and
the Messiah are tied together by the word of God. No one can deny this
significance of this find. It proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that the
Messiah, Seed of the woman, is the promised One that would bruise the head of
the serpent and take away the sins of the world. If you continue counting 17
letters three times to the right of mem, you will have kav’van, which means,
something prepared, laike a sacrificial wafer. Put the whole statement together
and you have, kav’van Moshiach, which means, Messiah, the sacrificial wafer
(bread).” – Yacov Rambsel, “Yeshua: The Name of Jesus Revealed in the Old
Testament”
Gen. 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins,
and clothed them.
Most Christians
believe that it was a lamb or some other animal able to be sacrificed to set
the standard for sacrificial atonement.
This may be true, but one legend says that the skin that they were
clothed with was the skin of the serpent. Who knew that our first father wore
snake skin boots and our first mama wore a snake skin skirt! I wonder if Chavah
(Eve) had 80’s big hair? Just kidding.
V.16
has been taken out of context and has been misunderstood by many.
“Starting from the last yod in verse 20, counting nine letters three
times fro left to right, spells, Adonai… Starting with the last heh in verse
20, counting nine letters five times from right to left spells Yoshiah, which
means, HE will save.” -- Yacov Rambsel, “Yeshua: The Name of Jesus Revealed in
the Old Testament”
Yoshiah
is a form of the name Yeshua.
“The coat of skin: The Hebrew word for skin is “or”, which means,
leather, skin, hide, light. From the ayin in or, counting every seventh letter
from right to left, spells, Yeshua. This was a picture of the covering of
Salvation (Yeshua). Notice God sacrificed an innocent animal for the covering
of Adam and Eve, while they were in their sin and rebellion. This is the same,
wonderful love and grace that God has demonstrated towards all mankind from
generation to generation” -- Yacov Rambsel, “Yeshua: The Name of Jesus Revealed
in the Old Testament”
Moving
on…
Gen.
3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy
conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be
to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
In short the
context in Hebrew carries with it the implication simply that the woman’s
“desire” will be for the husband’s leadership position and role. Not that she
will desire to be a brow beaten object and possession of a man as a servant as
surprisingly many have said.
ADONAI desires
husbands to love and treat their wives as Messiah loves the Congregation
(Eph.5:25).
In the book,
“Legends of the Bible” it says of this verse:
“Upon
me (Chavah) God pronounced this sentence: “Thou shalt suffer anguish in
childbirth and grievous torture. In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children, and
in the hour of travail, when thou art near to lose thy life, thou wilt confess
and cry, ‘Lord, Lord, save me this time, and I will never again indulge in
carnal pleasure,’ and yet thy desire shall ever and ever be unto thy husband.”
– Louis Ginzberg
V.22 “Us” = the
Tri-Unity of ADONAI is once again mentioned.
ADONAI kicking
Adam and Chavah (Eve) out of Gan Eden (Garden of Eden) was the most merciful
and loving thing He could do. “Unless
they eat from the Tree of Life and live forever in a fallen state of sin,
eternally separated from ADONAI with no chance of redemption, which would in
essence be an eternal living HELL! Since we contain the breath of ADONAI our
souls ultimately want to reunite with ADONAI and never being able to do this would
be hell.
“Jewish
commentators say that man’s enhanced desire for sensual gratification competes
with God’s intended spiritual bliss [Rambam, Sforno]… Man must die – return to
the adamah (ground) as a consequence of the knowledge he has gained.” – Walk
Genesis! Jeffery Enoch Feinberg, Ph.D
V.24 Many people
wishes to find the location of the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life, however
we must remember that this is made impossible because of the Flood in Noah’s
time. The flood drastically changed the landscape and the Angel guarding this
local probably went back to Shamayim (heaven) and took the Tree of life with
him because it shows up in (Rev.22:2).
4:1 Here, the KJV
of the Scriptures says Adam “knew” Chavah (Eve). This is the Hebrew word “Yadah” which means
intimacy and alludes to sexual intercourse.
It is interesting to note that in the Brit Chadasha (New Testament) that
verse that says, “Depart for me you workers of iniquity for I never KNEW you.”
(Mt.7:21-23). In other words, “I was
never INTIMATE with you.”
V.3 It is said in
the Talmud which is the Jewish commentary on the Torah, that since the Torah is
eternal. ADONAI taught Adam the Torah, and so we see the pre-temple sacrificial
system. Because ADONAI told them, and
Adam passed down his knowledge to Kayin (Cain) and Avel (Able), that this is
why and how they knew to sacrifice unto ADONAI.
Jubilees and
Jasher tells us that Cain was the elder and Abel was the younger brother.
According to Jewish Tradition the sacrifice of Kayin (Cain) and Avel (Abel) was
during the time of Passover, and thus it was the time of the first fruit
offerings. So nothing was wrong with
what Kayin offered for this is prescribed to bring in the Torah. However, Kayin
didn’t offer his best and he sacrificed with jealousy in his heart. He didn’t sacrifice with the right frame of
heart and mind.
According to the
Book of Jasher which is mentioned in Josh. 10:13, and II Sam. 1:18; Jasher 1:16 says that Kayin offered up
“inferior fruit”. It also hints that Kayin might have been jealous of Avel’s
(Abel’s) offering because in verse 15, Avel’s sacrifice was consumed by a fire
from ADONAI that came down out of heaven.
There is a
possibility and an equally acceptable explanation why Kayin’s (Cain’s) offering
wasn’t acceptable, because along with his first fruit offering, he needed to
bring an atoning sacrifice of blood. And
since he would have to buy or trade to obtain a sheep from his brother Avel
(Able), he didn’t want to humble himself to trade fruit for a sacrifice from
Avel. If we remember that Kayin was a
farmer and Avel a sheep herder.
According to
Jewish tradition the way Avel (Abel) was murdered by Kayin (Cain) was a death
by stoning. Jubilees 4:31 says it was death by a stone. But Jasher 1:25 says,
“And Kayin hastened and rose up, and took the iron part of his ploughing
instrument, with which he suddenly smote his brother and slew him,…” The latter
explanation would make more sense because Genesis 4:22 says that Kayin’s family
were the ones who mastered the forging of metals. Also note that metal comes
from ore, a stone like substance before it is smelted and forged into a metal
tool or weapon.
V.7 tells us we do
not have to give to the Evil Inclination.
It may help to
view the Good Inclination and the Evil Inclination as two dogs, a good dog and
a bad dog. Both we feed by deciding
which one we pay most attention too. If
we decide to give in to anger, hate, jealousy and the like, we end up feeding
the bad dog and starving the good dog. Thus as time passes the bad dog gets
bigger and stronger. And like with most dogs they break their chain and get
loose from time to time. And if the bad dog gets loose he will attack and
attempt to maim or kill the weak chained good dog. And visa versa. If we feed
the good dog and neglect the bad dog, one day the good dog with get loose and
whoop on the bad dog and thus we will conquer the Evil Inclination. Ultimately
we have free will. We have a choice. We can either give in to negativity and
emotions and sin, or we can live by faith and not emotions and obey the Torah
and please ADONAI.
Why is it that we
become so offended when we are rebuked, either by men or by ADONAI?
We lie to
ourselves and think we are doing our best when down deep we know we are not,
and we have the audacity to become offended when man, or ADONAI calls us out on
that! The bottom line is that we do not love ADONAI or His Torah enough!
Psalm 119:165 Great peace have they which love thy law (TORAH): and nothing shall offend them.
If we truly love
truth, if we really want to do what is right, we will not be offended, but
grateful when someone lovingly corrects us.
V.10 It is
interesting how this verse is worded:
“The
voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.”
Murder in Judaism
is one of the most heinous offences, and in killing one person it is as if you
killed and entire world, because you never know who may have descended from the
murder victim. As it says in Legends of the Bible:
“The
voice of thy brother’s blood issuing from his many wounds crieth out against
thee, and likewise the blood of all then pious who might have sprung from the
loins of Abel.”
Rashi says:
“His
blood, and the blood of all his descendants. Another explanation: Cain made
many wounds in him, not knowing how he may be killed.
[In
Hebrew original, the words for “blood” and “cries” are written in the plural
form, so that a literal translation would read, “The voice of your brother’s
bloods cry out to Me.”]”
To me, on a
scientific level, it speaks of forensics, how blood can be a witness so to
speak, in a crime and can be visually detected with the right equipment years
later, and also after attempted clean up. In this way blood cries out. And the
Scripture about the rocks crying out, Archaeology and Geology also speaks and
testified to the truth of the Scriptures, and thus in this way cries out and
gives praise to God.
Jewish Tradition
says that Kayin (Cain) tried to bury the body of his brother Avel (Abel), to
hide him, but the ground would receive his blood but not his body, the ground
spit him up.
The
Hebrew Phrase, “The voice of your brother’s blood, kol d’mai achkah, gives us
an insight to whom the LORD was ultimately referring. Starting with the mem in
the blood, d’mai, counting every seventh letter from left to right, spells
Maoshiach em’met, which means, Messiah the Truth.” – Yacov Rambsel “Yeshua: The
Name of Jesus Revealed in the Old Testament”
V.15 What was this
mark or sign put on Kayin (Cain)? I have
heard anything from that his skin color was changed, to that he turned into an
ape, to that he had a horn protruding from his head. But according to Jewish
Tradition ADONAI put leprosy upon him, inscribed a letter from His Holy Name
upon his forehead (a Shin), and he was also given a dog to protect him and be
his companion.
“Lemech has the curious distinction of being the first recorded bigamist… It was common for the generation living in the days of Noach to keep one wife for children and another wife for pleasure [Rashi]. The wife that was for pleasure was pampered; the other wife was often ignored.” – Walk Genesis! Jeffery Enoch Feinberg, Ph.D
It is interesting to note that the wife “Adah” means, “ornamented” or “pretty” and was most likely the wife of pleasure for Lemech.
The Book of Jasher was considered a very important book to the 1st century Jews, those who believed and those who did not believe in Yeshua. This passage lends a little more insight to the enigmatic passage we just read above.
Jasher 2:16. 27-35 And Lamech was old and advanced in years, and his eyes were dim that he could not see, and Tubal Cain, his son, was leading him and it was one day that Lamech went into the field and Tubal Cain his son was with him, and whilst they were walking in the field, Cain the son of Adam advanced towards them; for Lamech was very old and could not see much, and Tubal Cain his son was very young… And Tubal Cain told his father to draw his bow, and with the arrows he smote Cain, who was yet far off, and he slew him, for he appeared to them to be an animal. And the arrows entered Cain's body although he was distant from them, and he fell to the ground and died. And the Lord requited Cain's evil according to his wickedness, which he had done to his brother Abel, according to the word of the Lord which he had spoken. And it came to pass when Cain had died, that Lamech and Tubal went to see the animal which they had slain, and they saw, and behold Cain their grandfather was fallen dead upon the earth. And Lamech was very much grieved at having done this, and in clapping his hands together he struck his son and caused his death. And he said to his wives Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice O wives of Lamech, attend to my words, for now you have imagined and said that I slew a man with my wounds, and a child with my stripes for their having done no violence, but surely know that I am old and grey-headed, and that my eyes are heavy through age, and I did this thing unknowingly.
Genesis 5:23-24 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
5:1-2 It is said
in the Zohar that ADONAI does not place His abode where male and female are not
found together. Judaism and Protestant Christianity praises marriage and
requires marriage to be able to minister. Catholicism on the other hand keeps
men and women separated in ministry. We
see where that has gotten them with all the sex scandals among priests and
nuns.
Often when
studying Genesis one can’t help but ask, who did Cain and Seth marry? Well, the
Book of Jubilees goes into great detail regarding this and tells us that they
married sisters and even gives us their names (Jubilees 4). For you see Adam
and Eve had more than just Cain, Abel and Seth, but many sons and daughters
(Gen. 5:4).
Wow! Enoch lived years equal to a
year of the solar calendar, and according to the Jewish siddur (prayer book)
years equal to the number of sinews in our body and equal to the number
negative commandments, the “Thou shalt not’s” of Torah. What kind of holy, set apart life Enoch must have lived to be taken, changed in the twinkling of an eye to heaven without seeing death!? This, my friends is a holy life beyond my grasp and comprehension!
Gen. 5:5And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
It is said that Adam was buried exactly from the spot where he was formed by the hands of ADONAI.
And after Adam and Chavah (Eve) died (for they died the same day) it is said that Michael the archangel was sent to show Seth how to properly prepare and bury the dead.
V. 32 I have many friends from all walks of life
and from many religious and “lifestyle” persuasions. I by no means agree or
condone them all, but we are friends because we; “Agree to disagree,
agreeably.” When I am with a fellow Jew
I can say we are brothers through Abraham through Isaac. With Muslims, I can say we are relatives
through Abraham, through Ishmael. And with Gentiles and Christians I can say we
are related through Noah. Because we all come from one of Noah’s 3 sons:
·
Shem:
Father of all the Semitic (Jewish/Hebrew) and some Arab people.
·
Hamm
·
Japheth:
The Father of all the Asian and Caucasian (White) people.
6:2-4 The
“Giants,” these Nephilim, which means “fallen ones,” are the offspring of the
fallen angelic race and mankind.
And it
came to pass when the children of men began to multiply on the face of the
earth and daughters were born unto them, that the angels of God saw them on a
certain year of this jubilee, that they were beautiful to look upon; and they
took themselves wives of all whom they chose, and they bare unto them sons and
they were giants. – Jubilees 5:1
These “Judges” and “Rulers” are
said to be the fallen angels because the word for judge is “elohim,” which is
where we get the word “gods,” in the Hebrew, and these fallen heavenly beings
became the gods of the 70 nations of the peoples of the world.
The passage in Jasher also
indicates genetic manipulation, the mixing of DNA and animals species to create
hybrids, perhaps like the Roman and Greek monsters such as Minotaur, and
Centaur, Satyr’s.
This was Satan’s
first attempt to try to thwart the Gen. 3:15 prophecy of the redeeming Messiah
to come that was to bruise his head! If
Satan through his fallen angels could pollute the human seed, then there would
be no pure untainted human seed for the Messiah to come through. Thus, another
reason for the flood and for Noach (Noah) and his family being spared. This is
where the legends of the giants, and mythological type beings came from that Rome
We could go on and
on, and I realize there is a lot I skipped over, but that as I said at the
beginning, is inevitable when dealing with this Torah Portion. But at the same
time look at what we did cover! I gave us a lot to chew on during the week.
Shabbat Shalom and
Shavuah Tov (Have a peaceful Sabbath and have a good week).
-- R. Yehudah ben
Shomeyr
