October 10, 2026: Torah Portion Parashah Bereshit - "In the beginning"
In this study, we will explore the Torah Portion Parashah Bereshit - "In the beginning"
On this very special Shabbat, where we start back at the very beginning of the Torah, let's join Elihana as she teaches on this week’s Torah portion, which reminds us that one person’s obedience can preserve a generation!
Let’s dive deep together this week—into Genesis, into grace, into the covenant of mercy that still stands. Join us on video for this powerful study and discussion.
🌈 The Ark, the Altar, and the Covenant of Mercy
You can follow along, with the written notes, below Elihana's teaching video:
In this study, we will explore the Torah Portion Parashah Bereshit - "In the beginning"
Torah Portion: Genesis 1:1-6:8
Haftarah: Isaiah 42:5-43:11
Brit Chadashah (New Testament): John 1:1-14; Colossians 1:15-17; Ephesians 1:21; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:1-3; Romans 11:36; Revelation 4:11; 22:13
New Moon Feast: Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan
📖Bereshit - "In the Beginning" – Genesis 1:1-6:8
The Hebrew word bereshit בראשית can mean "in the beginning" or "at the start" or "at the head of all things," etc...
Notice the term rosh רֹאשׁ "head" appears embedded in the word as its shoresh (root). In Jewish tradition, the word can refer to either the first weekly Torah portion (parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading, called "Parashat Bereshit" or to the first book of the Torah itself, called "Sefer Bereshit".
When used to refer to the first book of the Torah, bereshit is sometimes called sefer rishon -the First Book or sefer beri'at ha'olam - the Book of the Creation of the world. The ancient Greek translation of the Torah (i.e., the Septuagint) called the book "Genesis" ("birth", "origin") instead of using the translation of the first Hebrew word for the book's title: Bereshit בראשית
The term "Genesis" was used in subsequent Latin and English translations of the book. There are fifty chapters in Bereshit (20,512 words, 78,064 letters) that are divided into twelve weekly readings.
This is the very first parashah of the weekly Torah reading schedule, most appropriately named bereshit, meaning "in the beginning." The portion opens with this succinct statement about the creative activity of God:
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
Genesis 1:1
The Hebrew Scriptures begin - not from the first person perspective of some man's understanding of God - but from an omniscient third person perspective, a Voice that reveals the Glorious Power that created the entire cosmos by means of His Word.
The very first verse of the Bible, then, reveals the triune nature of God, further indicated by the use of the plural form of the name Elohim with the singular verb: bara (he created).
Indeed, later in this Parashah we will read a direct quotation from this Elohim that uses plural personal pronouns:
"Let us make man in our image and in our likeness" Genesis 1:26
After this breathtaking opening declaration, shrouded as in a mystery, the Torah describes how Elohim created the universe yesh me'ayin - out of nothing, over a six "day" period, culminating in the personal creation of a human being b'tzelem Elohim - in the image of Elohim Himself!
"The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word..." Hebrews 1:3a
The first day - yom of creation is introduced with the vision of the earth as tohu vavohu (without form and void), and the Spirit of Elohim is seen hovering over the waters (Genesis 1:2).
Then the first direct quotation of Elohim is given: yehi or - let there be light! With the added commentary that Elohim then saw that the light was tov - good and separated it from the darkness (choshek).
The Divine Narrator then adds that Elohim called the light yom (day) and the darkness lailah (night), and so ends the first day.
The first day is another great mystery, suggesting some sort of divine separation of both good and evil, light and darkness, and the creation and division of time.
The phrase vaihi erev, vaihi boker yom echad - "And there was evening and there was morning, the first day", is also the basis for reckoning that the start of the Jewish day actually begins at sundown (erev) rather than at sunrise (boker).
Beginning with Genesis 2:7, the Divine Narrator gives us a closer look at the creation of Adam, and Elohim is further revealed by means of the personal Name YHVH - the Sacred Name of God.
"Then Adonai Elohim formed the man out of the dust from the ground and He breathed into his nostrils a breath of life—so the man became a living being."
Genesis 2:7
It is generally thought that Elohim is the Name given as the Creator of the universe, implying strength, power, and justice, whereas YHVH expresses the idea of God's closeness to humans. For example, it is YHVH who "breathed into Adam's nostrils the breath of life" to become a living soul (nephesh chaiyah), formed him from the dust of the earth, and then placed him in the Garden of Eden, the original paradise!
The parashah then describes some of the dire consequences of the Fall of Man, as Adam and Eve - Chavah, are banished from the garden, and the first family of the earth is shown to be extremely dysfunctional.
In a fit of jealous rage, Adam and Eve's firstborn son Kayin (Cain) murders his younger brother Hevel (Abel) and then is divinely banished from his family. The narrative goes on to describe some of the wretched offspring of the line of Cain, but then turns to focus on Set (Seth), which translate to "compensation", the third son of Adam and Eve, whose descendants "began to call upon the Name of the LORD":
"Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh (Enoch). At that time people began to call on the name of the LORD." Genesis 4:26
Seth had a son named Enosh (Enoch), which means "man". This is a clear picture of the coming bar enosh: Son of Man.
"13In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. 14And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed." Daniel 7:13
The parashah next traces the genealogy of Shet (Seth), whose tenth-generation descendant, Noach (Noah), is described as the only tzaddik (righteous man) in the entire earth! The portion ends with the verdict that God would destroy mankind from the face of the earth. However, Noach found favor (chen) with the LORD, because Noach (Noah) walked with God when the whole earth was corrupt.
The Ark he built wasn’t only for survival—it was a prophetic sign of grace, protection, and new beginnings.
Just as the flood cleansed the earth, God still calls us to build “arks” of faith—places of worship, family order, and righteousness in the midst of chaos.
Yeshua said,
“As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be when the Son of Man returns.”
— Matthew 24:37
📖Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan:
"3 Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival;4 this is a decree for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.5 When God went out against Egypt, he established it as a statute for Joseph." Psalm 81:3-5
On the Biblical calendar, the month of Cheshvan חֶשְׁוָן immediately follows the "holiday month" of Tishri, though it is sometimes called Mar-Cheshvan - "bitter Cheshvan" because there are no festivals during the month - "neither feast nor fast" and it marks the start of the cold and rainy season in Israel.
The Torah records that God brought down the Flood that destroyed the world on Cheshvan 17 (Genesis 7:10-11), which lasted until Cheshvan 27 (Genesis 8:14) - exactly one calendar year after it began.
Because Noah's Flood began and ended during this month, Cheshvan is generally regarded as "mar" - a time of judgment and hardship.
Despite its association with judgment, some Jewish traditions affirm that the month of Cheshvan will eventually lose its bitterness, because it will be during this time that the "third Temple" will be inaugurated.
For Messianic believers, however, this future Temple will be the "Tribulation Temple," the place where the anti-Messiah of evil will betray the people of Israel about midway through the final "week" of Daniel's great prophecy.
Indeed it will only be after Yeshua returns to save Israel at the End of Days that the Fourth (Millennial Kingdom) Temple will be established, and then all the surviving nations will come to Zion to honor the Jewish people and the LORD God of Israel.
"and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; He will turn godlessness away from Jacob." Romans 11:26
Rosh Chodesh Blessing:
The following is a simplified blessing that can be recited to ask the LORD God Almighty to help you for the coming new month:
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