Machshava:

Chinuch 

Parsha:

Noach 

Collections: R' Goldin Parenting from the Parsha

Description

At the end of this week’s parsha, the Torah lists the generations from Noach to Avraham Avinu. This mirrors a similar section at the end of last week’s parsha, where the Torah lists the generations from Adam’s son Sheit to Noach. A very subtle, yet very interesting, textual nuance emerges in both locations. As the Torah lists the personalities from each successive generation, it notes how many years each individual lived before he had his first child- and then notes the number of years he lived after the child was born. Why does the Torah list the generations in such a strange way? What is the significance of dividing each person’s life into the years before he had children and the years after he had children? What might this tell us about raising children?