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Writer's pictureRabbi Stephen Epstein

This week's 10-Minute Torah (October 22, 2022): "Parashat Bereishit" 5783



Parashat Bereshit 5783 / פָּרָשַׁת בְּרֵאשִׁית

22 October 2022 / 27 Tishrei 5783


Parashat Bereshit is the 1st weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading.

Torah Portion: Genesis 1:1-6:8

Bereishit (‘In the Beginning”), the first parashah in the annual Torah reading cycle, begins with God’s creation of the world. The first people, Adam and Eve, eat from the Tree of Knowledge and are banished from the Garden of Eden. Their elder son, Cain, kills their younger son, Abel, and Cain is destined to a life of wandering. [1]

Triennial year 1

1: 1:1-5 · 5 p’sukim ·

2: 1:6-8 · 3 p’sukim ·

3: 1:9-13 · 5 p’sukim ·

4: 1:14-19 · 6 p’sukim ·

5: 1:20-23 · 4 p’sukim ·

6: 1:24-31 · 8 p’sukim ·

7: 2:1-3 · 3 p’sukim ·

maf: 2:1-3 · 3 p’sukim ·

Haftarah for Ashkenazim: Isaiah 42:5-43:10 · 31 p’sukim

Commentary and Divrei Torah Sefaria OU Torah Jewish Theological Seminary

Soncino Chumash: pp. 2 - 6 Triennial Year 3 (Full Kriyah pp. 2 - 20)

Artscroll Chumash: pp. 2 - 11 Triennial Year 3 (Full Kriyah pp. 2 - 29)

Etz Chaim Chumash: pp. 3 - 12 Triennial Year 3 (Full Kriyah pp. 3 - 34)


Here we have the description of creation by Hashem. Were the six days really days? Or were they just periods of time? We use the word “day” in two different contexts. The first context is for the 24-hour period in which the Earth rotates to the same place facing the sun. The second context is for the daylight hours during that time period. So it may perhaps have yet another meaning for just a certain time period. Hence, the first “day” may have been mere micro-seconds of the creation of the Universe while the second day of chaos forming may have taken billions of years.


Does a belief in religion and the story of Creation rule out acceptance of Science? The current theory of Create is the Big Bang Theory. Consider that the theory that the material Universe formed in an instant is fairly accurately described by the first chapter of Genesis. Judaism and science walk hand-in-hand.

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