Torah

First things first.

Parshas B’reishis is all about the beginnings: first creation, first light, first day, first person, first commandment, and, of course, first sin. After blessing mankind to be fruitful, Hashem gives Adam his first official mitzvah. Yes, it has to do with trees and fruit, but it’s not what you think.

A father set out one day to teach his young daughter a powerful lesson. When she woke up in the morning, he took her in front of a mirror and asked her, “What do you see?”

There is a strange recurring phenomenon throughout Parshas B’reishis: The Torah first describes one model of creation and then proceeds to depict a completely different, even contradictory picture of the same creation. For example:

What is the secret to making lasting resolutions?

In the first line of Avinu Malkeinu that is recited responsively, we ask Hashem to help us do “t’shuvah sh’leimah,” complete repentance. The addition of that descriptor, sh’leimah, makes it sound like there is another type of t’shuvah – one that is “incomplete” – which we do not want. And here I was thinking that one can either repent or not. What would incomplete t’shuvah look like? And, by contrast, what is the t’shuvah sh’leimah that we all are trying to achieve?

What is the joy of Sukkos all about?

When B’nei Yisrael traveled in the desert, Hashem provided three special miracles to take care of their needs: Delicious manna rained down from heaven, fresh water flowed from Miriam’s well, and ananei ha’kavod (clouds of glory) enveloped the people (Taanis 9a).

A speaker once started his seminar by holding up a $100 bill. “Who would like this $100 bill?” he asked.

Every hand in the room went up.