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The Torah's Feminine Beginning

Letters and Numbers of Torah - Bereishit

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The Torah's Feminine Beginning: Letters and Numbers of Torah - Bereishit

Why is the very first letter of the Torah the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet? According to Rabbi Akiva, it hints to the special qualities of women as being the foundation for all human achievement.
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 Bereishit  
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Topics: Eve, Adam, Parshah, Women, Femininity & Feminism, Bereishit
Aaron L. Raskin
Rabbi Aaron L. Raskin is the official Chabad emissary to downtown Brooklyn, rabbi of Congregation B’nai Avraham in Brooklyn Heights, New York and Dean of Brooklyn Heights Jewish Academy. He is the author of the books, “Thank You God for Making Me a Woman", "Letters of Light", "By Divine Design", and "Guardian of Israel", and the co-author of "The Rabbi & The CEO".
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12 Comments
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Jacquelyn Helene Contreras Portland October 13, 2023

Amen Rabbi.
May Moshiach be revealed to you Today Reply

Stacy Crownpoint, NM December 12, 2015

Gates of Tears Never Close Rabbi Raskin's statement about the "Gates of Tears Never Close" is so true. That acknowledgment is very inspiring to keep praying no matter what! Excellent teaching. Thank you Father G_d.
Stacy
Crownpoint, NM Reply

Leah Cleveland October 9, 2015

A Beautiful lecture and very enlightening.... Thank you !! Reply

Lorena Los Angeles August 23, 2014

Thank you Rabbi Raskin, I like your classes so much! The L-rd Bless you. Reply

Anonymous September 22, 2013

true dat still, no female rabbis? Reply

Anonymous usa December 24, 2012

This should be welcome information. If a woman needed an affirmation of her worth.......... this should do. Reply

Editor Chabad.org July 17, 2012

Rabbi Raskin's books You may purchase Rabbi Raskin's books at our online store; click here for these books. Reply

Irene Glen Burnie, MD USA July 13, 2012

The Torah's Femine Beginning Thank you Rabbi Raskin for this beautiful lesson. So inspirational.

I love all your classes. I would love to read your two books, Lettters of Light and By Divine Design, but I don't know where to find them. Perhaps you or someone else could inform me where to get them.

G-d's blessings be upon you.

Reply

YAZMIN TAYLOR new carlisle, OH January 6, 2012

Question l enjoyed the message but I got a little confused since I am not very familiar with all the names of the Hebrew alphabet. Which letter is it, Beyt or TAV that he is talking about ? Reply

Glen Gun Barrel City TX November 9, 2017
in response to YAZMIN TAYLOR:

ב (beit/beis) is the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is either pronounced beit or beis depending on if the dialect is Ashkenazi (pronounced beis) or Sephardi (pronounced beit). The reason is because the last letter in the phonetic spelling of beit/beis is ת (Tav-tge last letter of the Aleph-bet) which is pronounced as an S or T when it is the final letter of a word(see previous discussion on Ashkenazi/Sephardi dialects. Reply

Bonnie December 9, 2011

Excellent information. I really enjoyed this talk.
Women hold equal importance with the L-rd.
We also know this from Sodom & Gomorrah as the L-rd will go to 'war on behalf of women'.
If a people exchange their sexual idenity as in gay agenda, they are in reality throwing women under the bus, like Lot's daughters.
This 'attack' against womanhood will be answered by war from the L-rd against the offenders who stood and did nothing.
To do nothing, is to invite the Almighty to step in and protect her. However many times needed.
Some think the Scripture is all about males but they do not rightly understand. Reply

Aviva Levine Woodbury, NY November 6, 2011

Truly exceptional I always listen to Rabbi Raskin classes because he knows how to captivate his audience. He chooses the most moving topics of the parsha and makes them relevant to our today's life and our mission as Jews. He also concludes with inspirational stories such as this one about the Beltzer Rebbe. His two books: letters of light and by divine design are of the same lofty spiritual standard. Read and listen to him... Reply

Letters and Numbers of Torah
Rabbi Raskin looks at the hidden meanings of the sizes and numerical values (gematria) of the Hebrew letters in the weekly Torah portion.
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