Parshas Bereishis: Second Aliyah
The name of Hashem Kah is made of yud and hey. This intimates that Hashem fashioned two worlds and this world was created with hey, according to Genesis Rabbah.
Other editions of Genesis Rabbah explains that since hey is open at the bottm, it means the world is open for the repentant.
The world to Come was created with a yud, which is the smallest of the letters, which means that the righteous at that future time will be few as a yud. (Genesis Rabbah 12:10)
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This intimats that the wicked will descend below to see the netherworld, because hey is closed on all sides and open at the bottom for the wicked to descend through. (Genesis Rabbah 12:10)
Every (=terem in hebrew) in Scripture has the meaning of ‘not yet’ and it does not mean ‘before.’ This means that no tree was yet on the earth when the creation of the world was completed on the sixth day, before man was created.
For the creation of man, Hashem brougt up the waters of the deep and watered the clouds to soak the earth, and man was created: like the baker, who puts water into the flour and kneads the dough.
The Hebrew spelling of Vayitzer (formed) has two yuds, which hints at two creations, a creation for this world and a creation for the time of the resurrection of the dead. However when describing the creation of the animals, since they do not stand in judgment, two yuds are not written in the word Vayitzer.
Hashem made man of earthly matter and heavenly matter. The body was made of earthly matter and the sould was made of heavenlly matter. Each day of creation, Hashem created with earthly matter and heavenly matter.
Cush and Assyria didn’t exist at the time that Torah was written, but since Torah has prophetic quality, they were written based on the fact that they will exist in the future.
If a man is worthy, his wife will be his helpmate. If he is not worthy, she will be against him to fight him. This is the meaning of Ezer Knegdo.
In Bereishis 2:19, we are told that the fowl were created from mud, because in Bereishis 1:21, it says that the fowl were created from water. According to the Aggadah the word Vayitzer(formed, made) also means dominion, subjugation and conquest, as in ‘when you besiege (tatzur) a city.’
