My Weekly Drash (a mini D'var Torah) - Bereshit (3)
Posted by Daniel M. Kimmel on October 15, 2009 | Tags: Bereshit
Bill Maher is a very funny guy but when it comes to religion he not only goes overboard, he sometimes gets it wrong. Last week Maher, an outspoken atheist, joked that God couldn't be too powerful if, after creating the universe in six days, he was "pooped" on the seventh. However, as we see in Parshah Bereshit, that's not the case at all. "And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because on it God ceased from all the work of creation that He had done." (Gen. 2:3) As we learn later in the Torah, it's not that God was tired, but that He was setting an example for us. We are not animals. We can take time off from work and everyday affairs each week to contemplate what's really important. As Abraham Joshua Heschel asked, "[I]s there any institution that holds out a greater hope for human progress than the Sabbath?"
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Daniel M. KimmelJoined: October 2, 2007 Daniel M. Kimmel is a Boston area film critic, lecturer and author. He does these weekly mini-lessons for the Mishkan Tefila Brotherhood's newsletter. You are free to use them for similar purposes. Divrei Torah (117) |
