PRACTICE 01
Read before explaining
Read Genesis 1:1–5 without commentary. List the actions, repeated words, and sequence. Write one question the passage raises for you.
THE ASSEMBLY READING ROOM · FREE STUDY
Torah with Rashi.
Listen closely to the verse.
Read Genesis 1:1, then Rashi’s commentary on that verse. Keep the biblical text and its interpreter visibly distinct.
← All reading pathsA text. A question.
OPEN THE SOURCE ALONGSIDE
A text. A question.
A conversation.
Source links open in a new tab, so you can keep this guide beside your reading. Choose and record the translation you use.
Genesis 1 with Rashi ↗
External source texts remain with their publishers. This page contains an original Assembly introduction and commentary, not a complete reproduced edition.
PRACTICE 02
Find Rashi’s question
Open Rashi on Genesis 1:1. Identify the question he raises about the Torah’s beginning. What alternative beginning does he consider, and what purpose does his answer give the creation account?
PRACTICE 03
Bring a reading to the Table
Write three labeled sentences: the verse says; Rashi explains; I infer. Ask a partner to identify which part of your inference has textual support.
Bring it to the Table.
Close with one observation, one interpretation, and one question still open. Let each participant name their own tradition and convictions; agreement is not a condition of hospitality.
These self-guided resources are free and remain within The Assembly. Assembly notes are AI-assisted editorial material, not a claim of specialist or rabbinic review.
Our practice of hospitality ↗