GEN607 Rashi, based on Sanhedrin 57a, explains that the use of the word destroy in the Torah connotes sexual relations.  This heinous sexual sin, then, led to the destruction of the entire world. AMEMEI 260

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GEN638 Judaism believes that man is born with the desire to do evil, the evil impulse, as implied in the Torah [this verse] and receives the yetzer hatov, the impulse of good, only at the age of thirteen or twelve for a woman Avot DeRabbi Natan 16:2.  Therefore, if left alone, it would be very difficult for a person to overcome the evil desire.  One of the purposes of the Torah, the sole purpose, according to the Talmud Kiddushin 21b, was to teach man how to overcome and defeat his desire for evil.  God sets up all of human endeavor as a moral test for the human being.  He presents the moral situations, and it is up to us to react properly and defeat the desire to do bad… If we overcome desire and exercise self-control, then we will get reward, whether it be a slimmer figure when dieting or entrance to the world to come.  We can indeed view each act in our lives as a test.  Every morning, each adult decides whether to go to work or not.  At the breakfast table, we choose to be nice or not nice to our spouse.  On the road, we must decide to exceed or not to exceed the speed limit.  Children must decide each day whether or not to do homework.  AMEMEI 247-8

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GEN648 The Torah alludes to the natural evil tendency of man [this verse], implying that without the Torah morality as a corrective, people and society will be corrupted with ideas such as prejudice.   AMEMEI 219

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GEN663 [This verse] definitely implies that man can use animals for his benefit.  The next verse gives man permission to eat animals.  How, then, can both viewpoints in the Torah [i.e. many commandments RE sensitivity for animals’ welfare and feelings; this verse] be reconciled? … It is precisely both these attitudes that combine to form the Torah’s view toward animals.  Although man has the right to use animals for legitimate purposes, he must, at the same time, never lose his sensitivity to animals.  Man must care about the animal and show his care by using the animals only when necessary.  Even when it is necessary to cause pain to the animal, it must be done in the least painful way possible.  A clear example of this is the process of slaughtering.  When the animal is needed for food, the schechitah, ritual slaughter, just expose the animal to the least amount of pain possible.  Sefer Hachinuch, Mitzvah 451. That is why the slaughter must be performed in the precise manner dictated.  In fact, if the knife is lightly nicked, which might cause the animals slight additional and unnecessary pain due to lack of the knife’s smoothness, the slaughter is invalid and the animal is not kosher.  Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 23:4.  To demonstrate that animal need is certainly legitimate in Judaism, the entire physical Torah itself is made from the animal, both the hide and sinews.  AMEMEI 9.

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GEN669 See [[GEN663]] Genesis 9:2 given AMEMEI 9

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GEN725 Although a man inciting murder escapes the death sentence at the hands of a human court [since he himself did not actually commit the murder], there are legal mechanisms in Judaism by which to deal with such a person.  It is within the purview of the Jewish king [Maimonides, Hilchot Rotze’ach 2:4] to take such a person and kill him, if he so desires, and even the Jewish court, in a one-time action, may put this murder inciter to death if they feel it is necessary.  However, even if the king or court do not kill this person under this special allowance, the court is obligated to beat this murder inciter “to within an inch of his life,” just short of death, jail him for life, and generally make his life as miserable as possible, in order to deter anyone else from causing or inciting similar crimes and sins.  Ibid 2:5.  AMEMEI 119

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GEN730 According to some commentaries, the Hebrew word for covenant, brit, is derived from the Hebrew word briah, creation.  What does this mean and what is its significance?  A new creation today is formed with two separate entities combined to form something else.  This is the essence of every covenant, brit.  The first mention of brit in the Torah is the rainbow following the flood that destroyed the world and saved Noah. [this verse].  The symbol of this brit is incomplete, a rainbow of half a circle.  Why only half?  Because each part to a brit is incomplete by itself, the rainbow symbolizing God’s half of the covenant.  It is only in combination, when a new object, a new creation is forged, that both parties to a brit become complete.   AMEMEI 159

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GEN736 In the scriptures and in rabbinic sources, there are actually many negative comments about the use of win.  The Torah Leviticus 10:8-11 prohibits any priest from drinking wine prior to partaking in any aspect of the Temple service.  Various statements in the Proverbs disparage drinking win.  Wine will make a person arrive late. Proverbs 23:30. Wine will cause a person to mock others. Proverbs 20:1.  Drinking wine will cause a person to become poor (from a habit?) Proverbs 21:17. Wine will pervert a person’s judgment. Proverbs 31:4-5.  According to a number of opinions, the reason the sons of Aaron the High Priest were killed by God Leviticus 10:1-2 was because they entered the sanctuary drunk. Leviticus Rabbah 12.  In a fascinating midrash Tanchuma, Noach 13 the story of Noah’s drunken episode, recorded in Genesis 9:20-24, is amplified.  The midrash records a dialogue between Noah and Satan about the positive and negative effects of wine.  Satan slaughters a sheep, lion, pig, and monkey in the vineyard and uses their blood to grow the grapes.  The midrash ends by saying that when a person first starts to drink, he or she is like s sheep.  Then as the drunk progresses, a person feels like a lion.  A little later, the person is like a pig who wallows in the dirt.  Finally, a person becomes like a monkey that dances foolishly before people.  This is what occurred to Noah, whom the Torah had praised as a righteous person, indicating the negative influence of wine even on a righteous person.  On the other hand, there are sources that indicate that wine is good for man.  The Psalms say that wine gladdens the heart of man. Psalms 104:15. Wine has the ability to satisfy like a full mean. Berachot 35b. After revealing to the brothers who he was, Joseph sent back gifts to his father; one of the gifts sent, called “from the best of Egypt, Genesis 45:23, was wine.  Wine was even used as a medicine to heal. Baba Batra 58b.  What, then, is the true Jewish attitude to wine?  It seems clear that Judaism is in favor of drinking wine if it is done in moderation only.  AMEMEI 59

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GEN748 Man’s need to use animals must be a legitimate and not a frivolous one.  Thus, hunting for sport is not considered legitimate Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 23:4 and is not only discouraged in the Talmud, but is also prohibited in Jewish law. Avodah Zarah 18b. In fact, the two people depicted in the Torah as hunters, both Nimrod [this verse] and Esau, are clearly characterized as evil.  Yet, in another place, the Torah seems to permit hunting, using the word yatzud Leviticus 17:13, the Hebrew term for hunting.  Upon further investigation, however, it is clear hat the Torah’s permission to hunt is referring only to the capture of kosher meat for eating.  The method the Torah speaks about, although similar to the general terms for hunting, signifies in this case trapping with nets to capture the food, thereby minimizing pain to the animal.  Mishnah, Betzah 3:1-2 AMEMEI 9-10

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GEN749 Long before there was a Jewish people, the importance of individually was stressed in the Torah, according to the Seforno commentary (on Genesis 11:6).  In the story of the Tower of Babel, the Torah, in [this verse], twice mentions the “oneness” of the people. Most commentaries explain this as a positive characteristic, unity, as possibly the one redeeming value that prevented them from being destroyed like the generation of Noah. (See Rashi commentary on Genesis 11:9).  Seforno, however, explains the Torah’s use of this phrase as highlighting their sin.  Their very “oneness,” says Seforno, shows that they were part of a dictatorship society where they were unable to explore ideas as individuals.  This was the sin of that society – the prevention of individual thinking.  Without individual thought, they could not possibly come to properly understand the notion of God.  In their fitting punishment, then, the separation of the people into many languages and cultures, God is telling the people of the world that they must view life as individuals and not immediately conform to the ideas of others.  AMEMEI 122

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