All Questions
17
questions
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What is the connection between Hashem's battle with the dragon and creation in Tehilim Chapter 74?
Tehilim 74:13-17 recounts a series of victories of Hashem. The first couplet documents victories in battle against both the tanin and the Leviathan:
אַתָּ֤ה פוֹרַ֣רְתָּ בְעׇזְּךָ֣ יָ֑ם שִׁבַּ֖רְתָּ ...
- 410
3
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2
answers
176
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When was Hevel born?
I just got a copy of The Eternal Link by R. Pinchas Winston and it states (on page 33), "the birth of Cain and Abel actually occurred before the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, not afterwards&...
- 38.3k
3
votes
1
answer
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Does anyone know of midrashim on the number of times the word "or" (light) appears during Creation?
I'm reading a work by a contemporary Jewish author who has some midrashic inspiration, however vague. I came across a passage that attempts to impute significance to the number of times "light&...
- 233
3
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1
answer
275
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Why is prior to creation called holy?
In Mechilta (to ex. 12.16), while discussing whether or not work is forbidden on chol hamoed, the time before and after the six days of creation are referred to as holy.
ששת ימי בראשית יוכיחו שיש ...
- 653
4
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1
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493
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Order of events in parashas Bereishis
BH
I am having a lot of trouble understanding the order of the following events:
The creation of Man
The births of Cain and Hevel
The death of Hevel
The snake
Eating from the ...
- 20k
1
vote
0
answers
117
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How could the angel of the sea disobey?
The Midrash in Bamidbar Rabbah 18:22 expounds Iyov 26:12 that when HaShem created the world, he told Rahav, the angel in charge of the ocean, to "open his mouth and swallow all the waters of Creation" ...
- 34.5k
1
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1
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105
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Genesis Rabbah (ch. 1 "On Creation") available online?
Do any of you know if Genesis Rabbah's first chapter ("On Creation") is available online? Would you mind directing me to the source?
-2
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1
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200
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About Va yehi in bereshit
We learn from Chazal that whenever the Torah uses the word 'vayehi', it means something significant and awful is about to happen.
We find in Bereshit that when Hashem created the world and all ...
- 429
0
votes
1
answer
325
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How was the world created through the even shesiya?
In Yoma 54, it says the world was created with the Even Shesiya (primordial rock).
Is this to be taken literally and if yes, do we have details into this process?
- 21.4k
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0
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Was the world created for the sake of Bikkurim or Torah?
I was reading Let There Be Rain and on page 8 it says the following:
"The world was created for the sake of the mitzvah of bikkurim,..." (Shemos 34:26)
Yet the Tikkunei Zohar [78b] and Bereishis ...
- 6,975
4
votes
3
answers
370
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Can someone help me understand Genesis Rabbah 4?
The beginning of Genesis Rabbah 4 talks mainly about the firmament in creation account. It goes as follows (from the Artscroll Mesorah publication):
(4:2): "At the moment the Holy One, Blessed is He,...
- 391
9
votes
1
answer
170
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Was there sentient life with free will in the worlds that G-d destroyed before making our world?
The midrash at B'reshis Rabba 3:7 states that G-d created a number of worlds and destroyed them before the creation of our world. Is the Midrash implying that the earlier worlds included sentient ...
- 16.1k
13
votes
5
answers
542
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Where was Adam created?
The Torah tells us G-d brought Adam into Gan Eden after his creation from earth (Bereishis 2:15). If this is the case where was Adam created?
- 131
13
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6
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4k
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What is meant by the 974 "worlds" that were "created and destroyed"?
Midrash Tehillim 90:13 says that God created and destroyed 974 worlds before this one. What exactly does that mean?
I've heard it used in defense of a modern understanding of evolution and cosmology ...
- 2,557
6
votes
3
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920
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Why is braiding hair "building"?
The gemarah in niddah (45) says that when the torah says that God "built" Eve out of the bone of Adam what actually happened is that God braided Eve's hair and presented her to Adam as a wife. This is ...
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