Parsha discussion

Question:  How do we understand the concept of זכירה as applied to Hashem? We clearly believe that אין שכחה לפני כסא כבודך. The first of the פסוקים of זכרונות is 8:1 relating to remembering Noach and the other inhabitants of the תיבה Approach: Apart from the obvious need to explain that this is an anthropomorphic phrase, it would seem that the human experience is that of a renewed sense of hope and optimism that the situation will indeed get better, even if things have looked bleak until now.

Question:  Chapter 5 gives a list of the generations between אדם and נח, listing their ages. Since the Torah is not a history book, why do we need to know how long everyone lived for? To put the question in context, in the Torah we only know the ages of these people, those of the generations from נח to אברהם (by implication), and then only those of אברהם, שרה, ישמעאל, יצחק, יעקב, יוסף, לוי, קהת, עמרם, משה and אהרן. Approach: Perhaps the initial ages of the first generations (through to תרח) are to show us how long life was initially, and - given the behaviour described at the start of פרק ו - why it needed to be slowed down to a "more manageable" 120 year maximum.

Question:  Why are the military blessings separated by a blessing relating to agriculture? Approach: We can suggest that the purpose of the military victory is to dwell in peace in the land, and that then requires blessing agriculturally, so that the people are not worried about where their next meal is coming from - and are thus free to serve הקב"ה in peace and tranquility

Question:  32:47 What is the meaning of the word רק? Approach: It appears that the "emptiness" is referring to the previous פסוק, whereby the nation were exhorted to continue the tradition and way of life by instructing future generations. As such, we are told of the importance of the chain of tradition down the generations, even if we might be tempted to let the next generations lead their own ways of life.