B'reisheet “In the beginning”
It is customary for religiously practicing Jews to read from an annual cycle of weekly Old Testament readings called Torah Portions. This is said to be the same reading schedule that was taught every Sabbath in the Synagogues during the times of Jesus in the first century.
As Christians who profess our faith in Jesus, we study the Old Testament to understand the historical, cultural, and contextual background of the history of our heritage in Jesus. This is commonly known as the Messianic teachings of Christianity and is a part of our Saturday Church in Norman, Oklahoma, and Arlington, Tx.
While customs are not commandments there is beauty for believers in Jesus (Yeshua) to understand their identity as grafted into the covenants with Israel. As descendants of Abraham, all Christians are heirs according to the promise given to Abraham even before Sinai. Christians should study and learn the Torah and show respect for their Jewish brothers and sisters. It is through the study of the law that we see another level of greatness in Jesus who is the lawgiver and the greatest Torah teacher of all time.
B’reisheet is the Hebrew title for “In the Beginning” and is the name for the weekly Torah portion reading for the Book of Genesis starting in chapter 1 verse 1 and going through chapter 6 verse 8.
It is also important to point out that along with the Torah portion readings and teachings, there are what are called Haftarah portions which are readings from the Bible in the books of the prophets. This week’s haftarah readings come from the book of Isaiah in chapter 42 verses 5 through chapter 43 verse 10.
The gospel readings incorporated with the weekly Torah portion readings come from the book of John in chapter 1 with verses 1 through 17.
As Christians exploring the Torah portion cycle we must maintain a balance of including the Old Testament, the prophets, and the gospels in our weekly bible study.
Torah Portion Overview-
The name of the first reading from the Torah is B’reisheet, which means “in the beginning.” The Torah scroll is the oldest of all of Israel’s Scriptures. It contains the first five books of the Christian Bible, commonly called the Old Testament. The first book of the Torah and the Christian Bible is called B’reisheet in Hebrew, which is known in English as Genesis. The first word of the book in Hebrew is where we get the first parashah (weekly reading) named B’reisheet.
The Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible called the Septuagint, is where we get the English name for the book Genesis. In Greek Genesis means “origins.” This means in Greek the first book of the Bible is called “The Book of Origins.”
B’reisheet, the book of Genesis, describes the origins of all creation. It starts with the creation of the universe, and the creation of humans, and then explores the creation of the nation of Israel.
We believe God is cyclical. So we study the first Torah Portion B’reisheet to learn about our creation so that we can properly understand our destination with God.
Torah Portion Scriptural Highlights-
Genesis 1:1 Six Days of Creation and the Sabbath
Genesis 2:4 Another Account of the Creation
Genesis 3:1 The First Sin and Its Punishment
Genesis 4:1 Cain Murders Abel
Genesis 4:17 Beginnings of Civilization
Genesis 5:1 Adam's Descendants to Noah and His Sons
Genesis 6:1 The Wickedness of Humankind
Genesis 6:9 Noah Pleases God
Haftarah (Prophets) Scriptural Highlights-
Isaiah 42:1 The Servant, a Light to the Nations
Isaiah 42:10 A Hymn of Praise
Isaiah 42:21 Israel's Disobedience
Isaiah 43:1 Restoration and Protection Promised
Brit (Gospel) Scriptural Highlights-
John 1:1 Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Father
John 1:6 John the Baptist
The Book of Genesis “B’reisheet” which means “In the Beginning.”
The Old Testament is commonly referred to as the Torah. It is the most sacred of all of Israel’s Scriptures. Most of our modern Bibles include the Old Testament “Torah” as the first five books in the Bible. The name in Hebrew of the first book of the Bible (Genesis) is B’reisheet. The name “B’reisheet” comes from one of the opening phrases in the book of Genesis which means “In the Beginning.”
The Greek Septuagint is where we find the English name for “The Book of Origins” called “Genesis.”
The Book of Genesis is the story of the origin of creation. Through creation, we learn about the nature of God and His intentions for creation. In the book of B’reisheet we learn about the creation of the universe, the creation of human beings, the creation of living creatures, and then the covenants leading to the creation of the nation of Israel before the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai.
The first book in the Torah and the Christian Bible also have different spellings that derive from the different sects of Judaism and the Hebrew language. Bereshit, or Bereishith are also common spellings for Genesis “B’reisheet.”
As Messianic Christians, we find the book of Genesis and the stories therein, as a historical account of how we as believers are grafted into the covenants and promises of God with our forefathers and how we can learn to walk and learn from their actions.
To Watch an overview of this week’s Torah Portion CLICK HERE
