002: Genesis 1 Commentary: Umberto Cassuto – 6 Things about the Creation Story

Umberto Cassuto is considered the greatest Jewish Scholar of the twenty-century by is peer.  In this episode of the WSB Show we introduce the man and the methods he used to research and write his commentary on Genesis from Adam to Abraham. 

We all have an experience with Genesis 1:1. Perhaps it was your first memory verse. I have a question for you, have you ever read Genesis 1 and thought “what am I missing? I know there is more here than meets the eye.” Have you ever had the thought, “I wonder what Jewish teachers have to to say about this chapter?” Well, they have a lot to say. However, I am going to share with you what the greatest Jewish scholar of the twenty-century had to say. By the way did I mention, this is one of the first Torah lessons taught in children in public schools in Israel? Download the resource for this teaching and follow along as we explore Genesis 1.

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Umberto Cassuto Resources:

Genesis-1-Interlinear-Study-Sheets – Download the official WSB Interlinear study/worksheets for this lesson. This 13 page document is designed for the non-Hebrew speaker to see and interact with the Hebrew text with limited Hebrew knowledge.

Why is the Bible divided into chapters and verses – This is the article referenced in this podcast about the divisions of the Bible.

WSB Show Facebook Page – The central hub of us to met and discuss the podcast episodes.

Genesis Commentary Volume 1: From Adam to Abraham – Umberto Cassuto’s commentary on Genesis.

Genesis Commentary Volume 2: From Abraham to Noah – Umberto Cassuto’s commentary on Genesis.

Umberto Cassuto Sponsor:

www.UmbertoCassuto.com – A complete list of English books written by Rabbi Cassuto on Amazon.

Show Notes:

[] Introduction

[] Umberto Cassuto

1. Who is he?
2. What did he said in the preface that will lead us throughout this study?
3. The 7 things he did to prepare for writing his commentaries.

[] Six things to understand about this section of the Torah

1. The Purpose of the Torah in this section
2. Various creation stories
3. Other creation stories among the Israelites
4. Israel’s epic poetry
   a. Torah written in prose
   b. Semitic thought is embedded in concrete language not general statements
   c. Israel molded a unique pattern that belong to them alone
5. This section is based on numerical harmony
6. The Divine name Elohim

[] Shout out to the New Subscribers

• Rebecca Jo Borders
• Priscilla Estrello

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