Chavarah- Jewish Community Learning

A blog of Jewish study and traditions. Notes from classes: Torah Study with Rabbi Marder, Toledot and Shabbaton as well as other details found of interest.

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Saturday, April 12, 2008

Howard's Notes 4/12/08 Genesis 1

(thanks for sharing)
• Summary of The Beginnings of Wisdom by Leon Kass, a philosophical reading of Genesis, Chapter 1…
◊ The cosmos in non-divine; the sun is demoted relative to other creation stories.
◊ Man is closest to God, but people still look to the heavens with awe; it’s a natural tendency to view the sun and other “heavenly” objects as divine.
◊ What is the problem with revering nature in this manner?
• It’s a moral vacuum; nature (science) teaches us the “is” of the universe, not what “ought to be”. Science offers no moral guidance, which could lead to despair; nature and science don’t care about human nature; there is no moral impaertive.
• Nature, i.e., heavenly bodies, can be seen as idols.
• However, nature’s beauty can bring out blessings. There are blessings for seeing a rainbow or a storm, tasting the first fruit of a tree. There is a sense of smallness and awe, a lack of hubris, ego, arrogance; a sense of modesty and humility.
• Genesis 2:4-7, “… אֵלֶה תוׁלְדוׁת “, “these are the generations…” is a chronicle or family story, a genealogy.
◊ “… הַשָמַיִם וְהַאָרֶץ “ – order is reversed from Genesis 1:1, so that earth is now the focus. The anthropomorphic image of God now prevails compared with Genesis 1.
◊ 2:4, first mention of יהוה; up to now it’s been אלהים, the cosmic creator.
• According to Rashi, יהוה is His name. אלֹהִים [means] that He is the Ruler and Judge over the entire world, and so is this defined everywhere according to its simple meaning: the Lord (אלֹהִים), Who is Ruler and Judge (יהוה) .
• According to Plaut, יהוה and אלהים are two sides of the nature of God, the former representing the quality of mercy and the later, justice. According to Midrash, אלהים created the world but with out the quality of mercy or compassion, creation would not have endured.
יהוה along with אלהים 20 times in this narrative and signifies compassion, protection, and personal relationship. Combined with אלהים, יהוה stands for compassion, protection, and personal relationship and further represents two aspect of the one God.
יהוה refers to a close relation with men or nations, stressing God’s loving-kindness, mercy, condescension, and revelation. אלהים is used for God as “the Creator and Moral Governor of the Universe”, emphasizing justice and rulership.
• On the other hand, Hirsch states that translation of יהוה as “the eternal” is inadequate because “eternal is a metaphysical and transcendental concept that has little practical significance.”
“ ‘Eternal’ describes character but not behavior… and tells us nothing more about him or it; it does not give us the slightest indication of the manner in which that being acts. The concept ‘eternal’ leaves our heats cold; it is meaningless to us and hence has nothing whatever to do with [God’s quality of compassion].”
◊ Rabbi Eliyahu Munk - Genesis Chapter 1 is about justice and the immutable rules of nature, i.e., אלהים. It’s the same numerical value (gematria) as טֶבַע , nature. In Genesis 2, there is a new notion of God involving compassion and mercy. Humans are not as predictable as nature…While apples always fall toward the earth in a gravity field, humans can (for example) choose to be either stingy or generous.
• Genesis 2:5, expansion of 1:10-11 in that shrubs did not appear because of lack of rain and no one available to till the plants that were already in the ground. This was vegetation in the same state as on the day of Creation in 1:11. This implies a partnership with God to care for God’s creatures. God first created an environment then mandated that we care for it.
• Gen 2:6 - Rashi commentary on “And a mist ascended from the earth and watered the entire surface of the ground”:
And a mist ascended Concerning the creation of man, He brought up the [waters of the] deep and watered the clouds to soak the earth, and man was created; like the baker, who puts water [into the flour] and afterwards kneads the dough. Here too, “He watered,” and afterwards, “He formed” [man]. — [from Exod. Rabbah 30:113; Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 5]

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