Line from Seth and Prayer Begins

Torah Study 11/15 R. Marder
Genesis 4: 25-26

Adam knew his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth - 'Because God has granted (shath) me other offspring in place of Abel, whom Cain had killed.'
A son was also born to Seth, and [Seth] named him Enosh. It was then initiated to pray with God's name.

Rashi’s thoughts include the possibility that there may have been a separation or dispute between Adam and Eve after the death of their son. Rashi proposes the idea that Adam’s affection grew even stronger after this and it marks a new start after a terrible disappointment. The couple are reunited and Seth is the symbol of a fresh start.
This is a theme that recurs often in Torah – new beginnings after Eden, after the death of Abel, after the birth of Seth, after the flood etc.

Side: just a few of the recurring themes in Torah / Genesis
New beginnings, family/community survival, sibling differences, caring for others, fertility and barrenness, jealousy, threats from famine and war, exile

Seth – meaning – To put / to place / appointed / foundation
Eve’s reaction to the birth of Seth as it contrasts her reaction to Cain’s birth
Cain: “acquired a man” Seth: “replacement for Abel”
Cain: Pride Seth: Gratitude

Zohar: Shet made from Shin and Tav the last two letters of the Aleph Bet. Seth represents the last two letters after all the transgressions of the previous letters. Adam repents and makes the way back to the beginning. Add to Seth’s name the Bet from the first word in Torah to make Shabbat (shin bet tav) the ultimate sign of our covenant which is the foundation of the world for Jews.
- from the book

The Zohar by Daniel Chanan Matt

Leon Kass:

‘Eve is now subdued. She has lost both of her sons. She feels only gratitude in the birth of Seth. Seth is less likely to suffer from excessive parental expectations.’

From the book: The Beginning of Wisdom by Leon Kass


We don’t know much about Seth himself but his son ,Enosh, marks the beginning of prayer to God.

ON TO ENOSH Enos or Enosh (Hebrew: (aleph nun vav shin)אֱנוֹשׁ, means "mortal man"; synonymous with Adam…
Reminders of this in the Psalms:
Psalm 103

15 As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;

16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.

17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children's children-

Psalm 8

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.

2 From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise [b]
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.

3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings [c]
and crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:

7 all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,

8 the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Contrast of the short life of man and the eternity of God.

Leon Kass contrasts Enosh to Lamech. Lamech is boastful and aspires to greatness (like a Greek god) while Enosh represents humility and marks the beginning of human’s need to call upon God for help.

Thus the beginning of prayer to God.

But there is a contrast as well that is demonstrated by a “yes I can “ attitude within the poem:

Invictus By William Ernest Henley (1849-1903)

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

At the age of 12 Henley became a victim of tuberculosis of the bone. In spite of this, in 1867 he successfully passed the Oxford local examination as a senior student. His diseased foot had to be amputated directly below the knee; physicians announced the only way to save his life was to amputate the other. Henley persevered and survived with one foot intact. He was discharged in 1875, and was able to lead an active life for nearly 30 years despite his disability. With an artificial foot, he lived until the age of 54. "Invictus" was written from a hospital bed. The title is Latin for "Unconquered".

We noticed a difference in our interpretation of this poem after knowing what the background of the poet was.
This same polarity and paradoxical question of our being in control or not is represented by the tradition to have a note in each pocket. One that says “I am but dust” and in the other “for me the world was created”.

Book: Tom Wolfe Master of His Universe


Prayer helps us to align our own feelings and to give discipline to our feelings.

Book: David Grossman Writing in the Dark

His use of writing as a way to bring him back after the loss of his son.

- - - - -


The name of God – V. 26

This is where it says that from this point people prayed to God using the Tetragrammation – yud hey vav hey

However there is a contrast because other sources point to a much later time when this was the case. That this was the name used after Moses saw the burning bush.

More to follow…