The Torah's Seventy Faces
Commentaries on the Weekly Sidrah
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Genesis
Parashat Bereshit
In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth. (Gen. 1:1)
Continuous renewal
Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev used to say that in our daily prayers we recite: “who forms the light and creates the darkness” – in the present tense – and not “who formed the light and created the darkness” as one would expect. This is our practice because the processes of creation and formation are continuous and from the time of the work of creation until now, and from now until the end of time, it has not ceased for even one moment. Each day God, with infinite goodness, renews the work of creation and regulates the luminaries, and causes the world to rejoice.
Rabbi Aharon of Karlin added: Just as God almighty renews the work of creation each day, so one has to establish a new interpretation each day. A person who does not progress – regresses. A person who does not have something new each day – has nothing old either.
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About the Book
The Torah’s Seventy Faces: Commentaries on the Weekly Sidrah
Compiled by Simcha Raz
Edited with an Introduction by Dov Peretz Elkins
The weekly Torah portions have served throughout history as a treasure for teaching and preaching, for law and lore, for discussion and dialog. In each portion, one finds viewpoints and background which elevate the soul, give a sense of awe and wonder, spark encouragement in times of crisis, and motivate creativity and human action. It is no wonder that, over the course of generations, wells of wisdom have sprung from the depths of these weekly lections, from which we can sustain our spirit and slake our thirst, each person according to need and temperament. Pearls of wisdom, ethical lessons, parables, wise proverbs, and tales of parents and children: it is all there.
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Our task in this collection of commentaries was to assemble a selection of these treasures, and to present to the reader choice nuggets from these hewn stones. Among the selections are sources from ancient rabbis, Talmudic scholars, and masters of the Midrash, as well as teachers from all periods of our history – biblical commentators, Hasidic saints, pious educators and purveyors of ethical tales. The commentaries touch on a plethora of subjects, including relations among people, with our Maker, and with ourselves. In all this, we come to know that our holy Torah has never known boundaries. In every generation, the "people of the book" invested their thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs, recognizing that within these chapters of the Torah are embedded not only pathways that reach to the distant past, but also forms of expression for the harried present and for dreams of the future.
(From the Preface)
About the Author
SIMCHA RAZ
Simcha Raz is an Israeli author and educator. He has an M.A. in public administration from the