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BEREISHEET (In the Beginning)
Genesis 1:1–6:8; Isaiah 42:5–43:10; John 1:1–18
“In the beginning [Bereisheet] God [Elohim] created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
Isn’t it wonderful to have a fresh start? To have an opportunity to begin again?
This is the precious gift we are given each year at the completion of the fall feasts withSimchat Torah (Rejoicing in the Torah), when we start our cycle of Parashiot (Torah study portions) all over again — from the beginning.
Weekly Torah portions adopt their names from the first unique Hebrew word that appears in the reading, instead of being given a name or title from a theme in the text.
Both this first Parasha in the yearly cycle of Torah readings and the first book of the Bible take their name from the first unique word in the text—Bereisheet, which means in the beginning.
In English, the book of Bereisheet is called Genesis.
