בס”ד

Read: Genesis 9:1–17
Additional sources: Genesis 1:26–27; 2:16–17; Pirkei Avos 3:14

Part I — Before There Was Israel

  1. The Torah begins with the creation of the world and humanity, not with the Jewish people. Why do you think this is significant? What might we miss if we think of the Torah exclusively as the story of Israel?
  2. Adam and Noach lived long before Avraham, Moshe, or the revelation at Sinai. What can we learn from their relationships with G-d about the place of humanity in the Torah?

Part II — The Value of a Human Being

  1. Genesis 1:26–27 states that humanity was created in the image of G-d. What do you think this means? What does it not mean?
  2. In Genesis 9:6, the Torah gives the Divine image as the reason for the prohibition against shedding human blood. Why is this particular reason given? What does it tell us about the value of a human life?
  3. Pirkei Avos 3:14 teaches: “Beloved is man, for he was created in the image [of G-d]. An even greater love was shown to him in that it was made known to him that he was created in the image.” Why is knowing that we are beloved considered an additional expression of love? How might this knowledge change the way a person understands himself?
  4. If every human being possesses this dignity by virtue of creation, how should that affect the way we regard people whose beliefs, behavior, or way of life differ from our own?

Part III — G-d’s Covenant With Humanity

  1. Read Genesis 9:1–17 carefully. What does G-d command humanity to do? What does He permit, what does He prohibit, and what does He promise? Why might these matters appear together in the same passage?
  2. In Genesis 9:8–17, with whom does G-d establish His covenant? Who is included beyond Noach himself? What is the significance of the covenant being described as everlasting?
  3. The covenant with Noach precedes the covenant at Sinai. Does the establishment of a special covenant with Israel imply that G-d’s earlier relationship with humanity has ended? What evidence in the Torah supports your answer?

Part IV — Bringing It Home

  1. Pirkei Avos 3:14 speaks first of the preciousness of humanity and then of the particular preciousness of Israel. Why is it important to recognize both truths rather than emphasizing one at the expense of the other?
  2. Imagine someone who believes that, because they are not Jewish, they occupy no meaningful place in G-d’s plan. What would you want that person to discover in the passages we have studied?
  3. Having considered these sources, what difference, if any, does it make to your own life to know that you were created in G-d’s image and belong to the humanity addressed by G-d’s covenant with Noach?

A final question to carry into the coming week:

If human beings are precious to G-d even before considering their accomplishments, religious knowledge, or observance, what responsibility does that place upon each of us?

Shabbat Shalom

By Rabbi Tani Burton

More shiurim of Rabbi Tani Burton

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