The opening portion in the Torah has been described as the birth of humanity and the loss of innocence. No matter how familiar we are with the story, each year brings a fresh interpretation since we are a year older, wiser and more experienced in life.

As most of you know, our synagogue reads Torah according to the ancient Palestinian triennial cycle; meaning that we complete the Torah in three years.  Each year we read one third of the weeks’ designated portion. Today, we begin the last third of each weekly portion.  Most of today's Torah portion will focus on two themes:

* Genealogy
* The challenges of developing a moral humanity

Although we only read the last section of Braisheet, it is important to put the entire portion into some general perspective.

As explained in our Etz Hayim Torah Commentary, the opening chapters of Genesis do not provide a scientific account of the world's origins. The Torah is unique for its emphasis on morality and not cosmology. Jewish tradition emphasizes our interpersonal relationships and our relationship with God, rather than conveying scientific truth. Scientists work with objective facts and data; the Torah's Creation story portrays a world aesthetically and morally good.

As an example: Light was created on the first day, symbolizing both physical light and the light of knowledge, clarity and wisdom. As opposed to any scientific view of light, the Torah’s concept of light is key to living in a world filled with God's Presence. That Presence demands that we be human partners in sustaining and honoring the world.

The Garden of Eden and the story about Adam and Eve follow the Creation story: Because Eve and Adam are fashioned by God, there is a certain amount of Godliness in these new human beings. In their actions and their behavior, they are expected to display the Divine characteristics of compassion and kindness, even though they are mortal and flawed.

Genesis continues with the story of Cain and Abel. In introducing the first murder, the Torah reveals both the challenge to living a moral life and the serious consequences for taking the life of another human being. The story further illustrates how morality is central to the Torah, a value statement unprecedented in the ancient world. We learn how Cain's dismissal of culpability (“Am I my brother's keeper”) egregiously violates the Torah's principle about caring for one another. In our world today, one of the great tragedies lies in our inability to take responsibility for our behavior toward one another. Whether through terrorism or just everyday human interaction, we are often callous in our contempt for people who are different from us in terms of their faith, their skin color, their politics or their philosophy of life.

In chapter five of Braisheet, the Torah reading concludes by recording the names of each person who lived in the initial generations. The message conveyed is that every human being deserves recognition, regardless of status or accomplishment. The life spans according to each individual certainly exceeded any modern life span. The “years,” however, were calculated differently and cannot be understood as we understand “years” today.

Finally, the Torah portion concludes with references to human evil and with God regretting creation. We can ask important theological questions here:

• Why would a supposedly “perfect” God create an evil humanity?

• Why would a humane God then destroy the world?

Although these are logical questions we moderns ask, the Torah is more concerned about introducing three fundamental principles:

#1 The Torah is theocentric (God-centered): One can be a serious Jew without believing in God, but one cannot be a serious Jew without at least contemplating the meaning of God. The Torah, of course, encourages all Jews to believe in God but ultimately belief is left to each individual. Regardless of one’s belief (or lack thereof), the Torah demands that everyone at least wrestle with the meaning of God.

#2 The concept of Free Will: Humanity was not only given dominion over all of creation but was granted the freedom to live as it wished.  If humanity decides to live an intrinsically evil life, God does not interfere with that decision. The Torah makes it clear however that there will be consequences for evil. I believe that when the Torah describes a God willing to destroy the world, the reality is that humanity will ultimately destroy itself by virtue of its evil ways. Since the Torah introduces a God-centered tradition (theocentric), the Torah’s language ultimate describes God as orchestrating all that transpires on earth. It is humanity however, which is responsible for its behavior…

#3 The Torah introduces a world based on morality, on clearly delineated lines between good and evil. When Noah is introduced in the portion’s final sentence, he is described as the one righteous human being on earth. The world according to Torah is not a world built to satisfy the gods or to elevate the strong or the powerful. The ultimate goal of the Torah’s world is to live ethical lives.

Haftorah Reading: Isaiah 42:5-21 (page 35)

Isaiah speaks about God's role as Creator. Isaiah also emphasizes the responsibility of the people of Israel to be a shining example of a nation that honors Creation through ethical living.