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Yeshivat Nahar Shalom

6 Shilo Street (corner of Agrippas Street)

Jerusalem, Israel

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P.O. Box 1884

Jerusalem 9102701, Israel

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More in The Weekly Parasha

  • Rabbi Benayahu Shmueli, Head of the Yeshiva - Chizuk for the 7th of Nissan

  • Rabbi Benayahu Shmueli, Head of the Yeshiva: Chizuk for the 4th of Cheshvan

    It is written in the holy Zohar that when Noah emerged from the ark, he saw the world in total desolation. He began weeping and praying to the Holy One, blessed be He, saying: "Master of the Universe, why did You do so?" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: "A foolish shepherd! Why did you not pray beforehand? Only now you pray? How long did I speak with you! You did not ask of Me even once that I should be patient—not even once! If you had prayed even once, everything would have ended well."

  • Explanation of the Haftarah of Parshat Noah

  • To Be Saved From The Flood In This Generation

    Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai says, "I have made for you an ark like Noah's ark, to save the final generation from the flood of problems that will exist then, both spiritually and materially—troubles, suffering, illness, problems."

  • One Should Continually Remember the Generation of the Flood

    It says, in every single generation there are certain sparks of them. In all generations they come—whether those from the generation of the Flood or those who create problems and troubles, they exist in every generation. They rise up against us.

  • Rabbi Benayahu Shmueli, Head of the Yeshiva: Chizuk for the 2nd of Cheshvan

    The Sages teach that theft is the very first transgression investigated when a person is judged ("Did you deal faithfully?"). Performing charity with stolen money accomplishes nothing. Rabbi Abraham, son of the Rambam, noted that even ten years of fasting cannot easily offset a single act of theft. During the Ne'ilah prayer, we plead, "So that we may cease from the financial oppression of our hands," because no iniquity hinders prayer from ascending quite like theft. Rabbi Aharon Kotler similarly warned that yeshivot can face troubles when their funding is not entirely pure, noting that non-kosher money leads to misfortune.

  • Rabbi Benayahu Shmueli, Head of the Yeshiva: Chizuk for the 1st of Cheshvan - The Second Day of Rosh Chodesh

    Where does 300 come from? 300 cubits is the (Gematria value of) Shin of the Serpent, make 300 cubits the length of the ark. 50 cubits its width is the (Gematria value of) Nun of the Serpent. What is left? A good part. We said in the Serpent the evil part is Chet, the good part is Nun and Shin; the Shin is 300 cubits length of the ark, the Nun is 50 cubits width. What (good) is left from the S"M angel? Aleph, Lamed. Lamed (Gematria value of 30) is 30 cubits its height, and the Aleph (Gematria value of 1) is "and finish it to a cubit upward". And then thus will be saved whoever needs to be saved, enter inside—and be saved.

  • Rabbi Benayahu Shmueli, Head of the Yeshiva: Chizuk for the 30th of Tishrei - The First Day of Rosh Chodesh

  • Rabbi Benayahu Shmueli, Head of the Yeshiva: Chizuk for the 27th of Tishrei

    When Eve was questioned, she said, "The serpent deceived me [Hishiani], and I ate." In the writings of the Ben Ish Chai, it is explained that Hishiani hints at a spiritual blemish inflicted upon two Divine Names: Adnut (Aleph-Dalet-Nun-Yud) and Sh-addai (Shin-Dalet-Yud). By removing the letter Dalet from both Names, what remains from Adnut is Ani ("I/me"), and the remaining letters rearrange to form Hishiani (or Shai Ani, "a gift to me").

  • An Explanation of the Haftarah "Tomorrow is the New Moon"

    Yehonatan went out with his attendant to the field on the third day, shot the arrows, and as agreed between them said to his attendant, "Behold, the arrow is far from you, run to fetch it." David, hearing this, understood that Shaul wanted to put him to death, and remained in his hiding place until Yehonatan sent his attendant back to the city. Then he came out from his hiding place, and they wept, each one upon the shoulder of the other; Yehonatan sent him in peace and reminded him that the oath they both swore shall rest upon them and upon their seed forever.

  • To Influence In All The Worlds

    Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai says: What did we achieve through this? He says: Man rules over all of creation. He has a part in the entire world of Assiah, in the entire world of Yetzirah, in the entire world of Beriah, in all worlds, in all Sefirot, in each and every place, in every single world man is connected to it.

  • The Holy One Blessed Be He, Gave Us The Land

    So that if the nations of the world come and say that the land belongs to them, asking how we took it from the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites—taking their land from them— he answers: No, everything belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He. The Holy One, blessed be He, created heaven and earth, created the entire world. At His will He gave it to them, and at His will He took it from them and gave it to us.

  • Introduction To The Chumash of Bereishit (Book Of Genesis)

    And we have learned from here that you should not say that the Torah created the world, but rather the Holy One, blessed be He, through His looking into the Torah created the world, and it turns out that the Holy One, blessed be He, is Himself the artisan, and the Torah was before Him corresponding to Him as an artisan as well (for the Holy One, blessed be He, depicted in the Torah the entire reality)

  • Shabbat Breishit Has An Influence Over The Entire Year

    Shabbat Bereshit is the root of all the days of the year. What does this mean? How a person conducts themselves during it, in this coming Shabbat, so they will conduct themselves the entire year. Why? Because you know, it is written: "Six days shall work be done" — work gets done by itself. How? The Shabbat is the source of blessing. When a person keeps a good Shabbat, all six of their days are blessed in the merit of Shabbat.

  • An Explanation of the Haftarah for Shabbat Shuva

    This Haftarah is read on the Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, because it speaks of repentance, and this is relevant to the day, as it is the time of repentance.

  • Stories for Rosh Hashana by the Gaon, Rosh HaKollel Rabbi Yosef Shmueli - based on the words of the Head of the Yeshiva, Rabbi Benayahu Y. Shmueli

    Eight times King David cried out "my son," and with each time he cried out, he raised Avshalom to a higher level, until he brought him out of the seven levels of Gehenna (Hell) and brought him into the Garden of Eden. Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz prayed to Hashem at the Monument of Avshalom with these words: "Master of the Universe, how much did Avshalom sin against his father David, and how much did he pursue him? And what did David the King do? He mourned for him, prayed for him, and cried out: 'My son Avshalom, my son...' to bring him out from the seven levels of terrible Gehenom and bring him into the Garden of Eden.

  • An Explanation of the Haftarah Nitzavim

    Hashem will not keep silent and there will be no rest before Him, until He takes retribution on the nations that distressed Israel, and the salvation will be revealed before the eyes of all.

  • An Explanation of the Haftarah Ki Tavo

    From the greatness of the goodness and abundance that will be to Israel, behold the light of the sun and the moon will not be considered as anything, the nation of Israel will all be righteous and great, and Hashem will glory in them, the small tribe will grow a thousand times greater than what it is now, and Hashem will hasten the good things and the consolations with the coming of the redemption.

  • Explanation of the Haftarah of Parshat Ki Teitzei

    The prophet says to Zion, sing and rejoice because even though you were desolate, in the future the people of Israel will multiply greatly, and there will be more of them than all the nations that dwelt safely and were not exiled from their land. Therefore, expand all the cities around so that there will be room for your children, for you shall burst forth to the right and to the left.

  • The holy Zohar asks on the verse, “When you go out to war against your enemies”: Who are your enemies? The primary enemy of man is the evil inclination.

    When going out to war, you must understand military tactics: if you go head-to-head on the ground, there are heavy casualties on both sides. The best strategy is to go above the enemy from the skies. Spiritually, one must defeat the enemy’s ministering angel above before victory can happen below.

The Weekly Parasha

Rabbi Benayahu Shmueli, Head of the Yeshiva: Chizuk for the 30th of Tishrei - The First Day of Rosh Chodesh

By Yeshivat Nahar Shalom Staff•October 11, 2026
creation begins with the letter BetThe Merit of Studying Rashithe place of the altar on Mount MoriahHoly Zohar serves as the modern arkShem, Cham (Ham), and Yefet (Japheth)

The following is based on Rabbi Shmueli's Hebrew Chizuk video for the first day of Rosh Chodesh MarCheshvan 5787

Rabbi Benayahu Y. Shmueli

The Spiritual Journey from Creation to Shabbat: A Discourse on Parshat Bereishit and Noah

Introduction and the Light of Shabbat Bereishit

Following the conclusion of the holy days, we merit the unique light of Shabbat Bereishit and the uplifting energy of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Rashbi). As Rav Shach noted, the Chafetz Chaim had the custom every day before Shacharit to say Parshat Bereishit up to "Vayechulu" to anchor foundational faith. In the absence of a physical Torah scroll to dance with, one dances with the Book of Genesis. This great light of Shabbat Bereishit serves as the luminary for the entire year, just as Rashbi illuminates the entire world.

The acronym for Bereishit reveals deep secrets: Bereishit corresponds to the light of the Torah of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Ohr Torah shel Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai). As Rabbeinu the Arizal explains in Likutei Torah, creation begins with the letter Bet because the upper worlds were formed with the letter Aleph, while descending worlds begin with Bet. The Gaon of Vilna teaches that the entire Torah is contained within Genesis, Genesis is included in Parshat Bereishit, Parshat Bereishit is encapsulated in the word Bereishit, and that word is contained within the initial letter Bet.

Souls, Letters, and the Mystery of "Niflaot"

The Torah contains 600,000 letters, corresponding directly to the 60 myriads (600,000) of souls in the nation of Israel. Rabbi Sholom Hakohen of Radomsk expounded on the verse "Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things (niflaot) from Your Torah" (Psalm 119:18), noting that niflaot can be split into niflah ot—meaning "a letter fell from Your Torah". When a soul stumbles or drifts, an individual letter/soul metaphorically falls, requiring spiritual rescue. Furthermore, the word Bereishit forms an acronym representing the Divine Presence speaking: Biti (my daughter), Reshityi (my beginning), Shechinati (my Divine presence), Yonati (my dove), and Tamati (my innocent one).

The Merit of Studying Rashi

Beginning the cycle with Rashi is of utmost importance. The Belzer Rebbe, the Sar Shalom, taught that whoever studies Rashi well will be met by Rashi himself after 120 years, with Rashi dismissing any heavenly prosecutors or accusers.

The Gemara says a person should always complete his Torah portions [Parshiot] with the community, two time reading the scripture [Mikra] and one time Targum. Maran writes that those that fear heaven fulfills the obligation with both of them. Maran means both Rashi and Targum and Rashi should be read (in addition to the 2 Torah portions).

Whoever now started (the new cycle on Parsahat Hashavua), the Chafetz Chaim also used to finish the Zohar on the Parsha every Shabbat. Why shouldn't we do it properly?

Adam, Mount Moriah, and the Correction of Materialism

When the Holy One, blessed be He, banished Adam from the Garden of Eden, He sent him to till the ground from which he was taken. According to Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel, this ground was Mount Moriah—the very place where Adam, Cain and Abel, Noah, Avraham (at the Binding of Yitzchak), and later King David and Solomon built the altar.

  • The Place of Atonement: Man was created from the very dust of his future atonement at the altar.
  • Purifying the Body: Tilling the ground served to purify Adam's body and remove the spiritual contamination and material obsession left behind by the serpent after eating from the Tree of Knowledge.

In contrast, Cain spent 1,656 years building cities and chasing worldly wealth without achieving true repentance, ultimately losing everything in the flood. Current global events—such as severe storms, hurricanes in Florida, earthquakes in Panama, and regional conflicts—remind humanity of the fragility of physical empires compared to spiritual eternity.

Transitioning to Parshat Noah: The Ark of Our Generation

As we move swiftly into Parshat Noah, we are reminded of the spiritual floods of lust, trouble, and suffering in our generation.

  • The Ark of Protection: Just as Noah's ark saved him physically, the study of the Holy Zohar serves as the modern ark (Teivat Noah) to rescue us from contemporary spiritual currents.
  • The Qualities of Noah: Noah is described as righteous, faultless, and gentle in his speech, conduct, and deeds. His name embodies spiritual balance: the point of midnight (Nekudot Chatzot) combined with the strength of sunrise (Neitz Chamah).

The three sons of Noah—Shem, Cham (Ham), and Yefet (Japheth)—represent foundational spiritual traits:

  1. Shem: Purity of intention (le-Shem), performing acts entirely for the sake of heaven to elevate the Divine Presence (Shechinah) from the dust.
  2. Cham: Warmth and enthusiasm in the service of G-d, avoiding spiritual coldness or stagnation.
  3. Yefet: Beauty and dignity, expressed through meticulous care in Mitzvot—such as acquiring the finest tallit, tefillin, and beautiful religious articles.

The Shield of Shabbat

Keeping Shabbat properly shields a person from three great historical trials: the subjugation of kingdoms (represented by Shem), the birth pangs of the Messiah (represented by Cham), and the war of Gog and Magog (represented by Yefet who was the father of Magog).

May we merit taking the inspiration of the festive seasons and Parshat Bereishit into our daily lives, walking steadfastly in the path of Hashem with joy, purity, and dedication.