It’s one of life’s biggest questions. A surprising verse in Parshat Bereishit may hold the key to uncovering our true purpose.

Was the world really created in six days? It is hard to read the story of Creation literally, but if it is meant to be read metaphorically, why would God write it in a way that could be misleading? If we are not meant to learn historical fact, then what are we supposed to learn?

Let’s talk about the Jewish view of marriage. Did you know that when the Torah talks about marriage in Bereishit, it says that a man “acquires” his wife? What is with that? Can you get any less romantic? But more than that, to our modern ears, it seems so primitive and backwards.

Does the Torah think that married women are just the property of their husbands? If this is the Jewish view of marriage, it’s positively cringe-worthy. But what if we’ve got it all wrong? What if “acquisition” isn’t about ownership at all?

Join Rabbi Fohrman as he explores this idea through the Bible’s first marriage: between Adam and Eve. A deeper look at this story helps us see that the Biblical view of submission in marriage isn’t sexist – far from it. It also answers some of the most fundamental questions about love: Why do people get married? What are we looking for in our love relationships?