Bereshit

📜 The Story

The Torah begins with the words: 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.' In six days, God made the whole world: light and darkness, the sky and the sea, trees and grass, the sun, the moon and the stars, fish, birds, and animals. Each time God said 'Let there be,' and it happened.

On the sixth day, God formed the first man, Adam, from the dust of the earth and breathed life into him. God gave Adam the Garden of Eden to take care of, and brought him all the animals so he could give them names. Then God said, 'It is not good for man to be alone,' and He made the first woman, Eve, from Adam's rib.

On the seventh day, when the work of creation was finished, God rested and made that day holy. This is where the mitzvah (commandment) of Shabbat (the Sabbath) comes from. We rest on the seventh day and keep it holy, just as God did.

In the middle of the garden stood the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God told Adam and Eve not to eat its fruit. But a clever snake talked Eve into eating it, and she gave some to Adam too. Because they did not listen, God sent them out of the garden, and from then on they had to work hard to grow their food.

Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain was a farmer and Abel was a shepherd. Both brought gifts to God. God accepted Abel's gift but not Cain's. Cain became jealous and killed his brother. It was the first murder in the world. The parsha ends by listing ten generations, from Adam all the way to Noah.