Rashi & Commentaries · Commentary Readers
ORIGINAL LANGUAGE FIRST
Pedagogical transliterationBereshit. Amar Rabbi Yitsḥaq ...
WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT
The dibbur hamatḥil is בראשית. Rashi attributes the opening question to Rabbi Yitzḥak, cites Exodus 12:2 as the first commandment addressed to Israel, and answers with Psalm 111:6. The final section is an anticipated exchange: the nations call Israel robbers; Israel answers that the entire earth belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He. The lesson reports Rashi’s argument as commentary and does not collapse it into the grammatical meaning of Genesis 1:1.
SEE HOW IT WORKS
COM-R01
Pedagogical reading guide
Commentary Hebrew and Aramaic
lemma בראשית → question about Torah’s opening → alternative Exodus 12:2 → למה פתח question → Psalm 111:6 proof → anticipated nations/Israel exchange
EXAMPLES
Close translation — ‘Rabbi Yitzḥak said: The Torah did not need to begin except with “This month shall be for you,” the first commandment Israel was commanded. Why did it begin with Genesis? Because “The power of His deeds He declared to His people, to give them the inheritance of nations.” If the nations say to Israel, “You are robbers,” Israel answers that all the earth belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He; He created it and gave it according to His will.’
SOURCE REFERENCE
APPROVED STUDY LAYERS
Read a complete Rashi comment by separating lemma, question, proof verse, anticipated claim, and response.
Commentary Hebrew with biblical quotations and one Aramaic-derived rabbinic abbreviation, הקב״ה. The source is displayed unpointed in Rashi type and repeated in square Hebrew.
Identify the lemma, the two biblical citations, the main question, and the speakers in the anticipated exchange. Which sentence is Rashi’s interpretive answer rather than the verse’s basic syntax?
Lemma: בראשית. Citations: החדש הזה לכם (Exodus 12:2) and כח מעשיו הגיד לעמו לתת להם נחלת גוים (Psalm 111:6). Question: ומה טעם פתח בבראשית. Speakers: אומות העולם and ישראל. The Psalm-based reason for beginning with Creation is Rashi’s interpretive answer.
Primary edition: Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934, Public Domain. The evidence file retains the edition’s pointed raw string and the mechanically unpointed display transcription.
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