Bereshit (parashah) facts for kids
Bereshit, Bereishit, Bereshis, Bereishis, or B'reshith (בְּרֵאשִׁית—Hebrew for "in beginning" or "in the beginning," the first word in the parashah) is the first weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. The parashah consists of Genesis 1:1–6:8.
In the parashah, God creates the heavens, the world, Adam and Eve, and Sabbath. A serpent convinces Eve, who then invites Adam, to eat the fruit of tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which God had forbidden to them. God curses them and expels them from the Garden of Eden. One of their sons, Cain, becomes the first murderer, killing his brother Abel out of jealousy. Adam and Eve have other children, whose descendants populate the Earth. Each generation becomes more and more degenerate until God, despairing, decides to destroy humanity. Only one person, Noah, finds God's favor.
The parashah is made up of 7,235 Hebrew letters, 1,931 Hebrew words, 146 verses, and 241 lines in a Torah Scroll (Sefer Torah). Jews read it on the first Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in October, or rarely, in late September or early November. Jews also read the beginning part of the parashah, Genesis 1:1–2:3, as the second Torah reading for Simchat Torah, after reading the last parts of the Book of Deuteronomy, Parashah V'Zot HaBerachah, Deuteronomy 33:1–34:12.
Images for kids
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Adam and Eve Driven out of Eden (engraving by Gustave Doré from the 1865 La Sainte Bible)
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Death of Abel (engraving by Gustave Doré from the 1865 La Sainte Bible)
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The Fall of the Rebel Angels by Hieronymus Bosch is based on Genesis 6:1–4
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Sargon
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Sabbath candles
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The Expulsion from Eden (woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern)
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Rabbi Jonah taught not to investigate what was before (illustration from Camille Flammarion's 1888 L'atmosphère: météorologie populaire)
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the Hebrew letter bet
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First Day of Creation (illustration from the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle)
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The First Day of Creation (woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern)
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Second Day of Creation (illustration from the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle)
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The Second Day of Creation (woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern)
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The Third Day of Creation (woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern)
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Fourth Day of Creation (illustration from the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle)
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The Fourth Day of Creation (woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern)
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The Fifth Day of Creation (woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern)
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The Seventh Day of Creation (illustration from the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle)
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The Sabbath (woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern)
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The Blessing of the Seventh Day (13th-century mosaic in St Mark's Basilica)
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The Creation of Eve (1792 Russian Lubok woodcut)
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The Story of Cain and Abel (illustration from a Bible card published 1906 by the Providence Lithograph Company)
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Cain and Abel (19th-century illustration)
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Cain leads Abel to death (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)
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Cain Kills His Brother Abel (woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern)
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Naamah, the Teacher, with Her Half-brother Jubal, a Father of Music (14th-century marble bas relief at Orvieto Cathedral)
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God Took Enoch (illustration from the 1728 Figures de la Bible)
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Enoch walked with God; then was no more, because God took him (Genesis 5:24) (1807 lithograph by William Blake)
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The Earth Was Corrupt before God and Filled with Violence (illustration from the 1728 Figures de la Bible)
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Building the Ark (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)
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The Title Page of the Zohar
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Judah Halevi
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Naḥmanides
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Maimonides
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Mendelssohn
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Spinoza
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Isaiah (1509 fresco by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel)
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A page from the Kaufmann Haggadah
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