#parashat breishit

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How does the book of Genesis begin? In this first installment of One Word Torah, I take a deep dive into the first word of the Bible and wend my way thru questions of meaning, bias, and Biblical scholarship.

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Vayigash

Parashat Vayigash וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יַֽעֲקֹב֙ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֔ה יְמֵי֙ שְׁנֵ֣י מְגוּרַ֔י שְׁלשִׁ֥ים וּמאת שָׁנָ֑ה מְעַ֣ט וְרָעִ֗ים הָיוּ֙ יְמֵי֙ שְׁנֵי חיי וְלֹ֣א הִשִּׂיגוּ אֶת־יְמֵי֙ שְׁנֵי֙ חיי֣ אֲבֹתַי בִּימֵ֖י מְגֽוּרֵיהֶֽם:  And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my sojournings are one hundred thirty years. The days of the years of my life have been few and miserable, and they have not reached the days of the years of the lives of my forefathers in the days of their sojournings." (Breishit 47:9) (I wanted to do this picture in the amazing new V6.0, but unfortunately it would not stop giving me a Pharaoh with a white beard, and inpainting is not yet available in V6, so I had to step it back to v5.2. Maybe next week....)

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Rosh Hashanah 1

Parashat Rosh Hashanah, Day 1:

וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע אֱלֹהִים֘ אֶת־ק֣וֹל הַנַּ֒עַר֒ וַיִּקְרָא֩ מַלְאך אלהִ֤ים | אֶל־הָגָר֙ מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַיֹּ֥אמר לָהּ מַה־לָּ֣ךְ הָגָ֑ר אַל־תִּ֣ירְאִ֔י כִּי־שמַ֧ע אלֹהִ֛ים אֶל־ק֥וֹל הַנַּ֖עַר בַּֽאֲשֶׁר הוא־שָֽׁם:

And God heard the lad's voice, and an angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, "What is troubling you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the lad's voice in the place where he is. (Breishit 21:17)

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Vayeishev

Parashat Vayeishev : וַיִּקְח֖וּ אֶת־כְּתֹ֣נֶת יוֹסֵ֑ף וַיִּשְׁחֲטוּ֙ שְׂעִ֣יר עִזִּ��ים וַיִּטְבְּל֥וּ אֶת־הַכֻּתֹּ֖נֶת בַּדָּֽ��  And they took Joseph's coat, and they slaughtered a kid, and they dipped the coat in the blood. (Breishit 37:31)