Parsha Bereishis
October 18, 2025/26 Tishrei 5786
Shabbat Shalom friends:
The Talmud (Chagigah 12a) has an interesting discussion about what is appropriate to inquire about beyond the physical dimensions of the world, i.e. the spiritual aspects of Creation. Opinions are cited regarding the size of Adam, the first man. He is described as reaching from the earth to heaven, or alternatively from one end of the earth to the other, only diminishing in size because of the sin of eating from the tree of knowledge.
What is the purpose of discussing Adam’s physical dimensions and what is the meaning of his size in a spiritual sense? If there is an issue delving into the matters of Creation, why learn Bereshit at all?
I want to share an idea that I heard from one of my high school teachers that answers both questions for me. He said to the class, what is the difference between us and the nations in how we view our ancestors? He answered himself – we view our ancestors as Giants, they view their ancestors as primates, cave people, or otherwise backwards. We just celebrated the Torah with Moses, the greatest prophet who ever lived or will live, and now we return to Adam who was perhaps a literal giant and who despite everything, was so close to G-d that his heels were said to be radiant like suns.
I went to the Jewish Museum in Baltimore over Chol Hamoed with my son and we drove past the Holocaust Memorial. A moving tribute, it was inscribed with the quote by George Santayana – “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” My son asked me if that isn’t what we are seeing in the world today, where again Jewish blood is meaningless. I answered that whatever the world does we must remember that other famous quote made famous by Isaac Newton – “if I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Let us remember that we have thousands of years of knowledge and tradition to build on. Bereshit is not just the beginning it is a renewal for another year of Torah and good deeds.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Josh
The Talmud (Chagigah 12a) has an interesting discussion about what is appropriate to inquire about beyond the physical dimensions of the world, i.e. the spiritual aspects of Creation. Opinions are cited regarding the size of Adam, the first man. He is described as reaching from the earth to heaven, or alternatively from one end of the earth to the other, only diminishing in size because of the sin of eating from the tree of knowledge.
What is the purpose of discussing Adam’s physical dimensions and what is the meaning of his size in a spiritual sense? If there is an issue delving into the matters of Creation, why learn Bereshit at all?
I want to share an idea that I heard from one of my high school teachers that answers both questions for me. He said to the class, what is the difference between us and the nations in how we view our ancestors? He answered himself – we view our ancestors as Giants, they view their ancestors as primates, cave people, or otherwise backwards. We just celebrated the Torah with Moses, the greatest prophet who ever lived or will live, and now we return to Adam who was perhaps a literal giant and who despite everything, was so close to G-d that his heels were said to be radiant like suns.
I went to the Jewish Museum in Baltimore over Chol Hamoed with my son and we drove past the Holocaust Memorial. A moving tribute, it was inscribed with the quote by George Santayana – “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” My son asked me if that isn’t what we are seeing in the world today, where again Jewish blood is meaningless. I answered that whatever the world does we must remember that other famous quote made famous by Isaac Newton – “if I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Let us remember that we have thousands of years of knowledge and tradition to build on. Bereshit is not just the beginning it is a renewal for another year of Torah and good deeds.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Josh
