As we restart the cycle of Torah Readings for the year with Parshat Breishit this week, we hear all the stories that we've heard from childhood. The stories that are the background of who we are, stories that can be read in very simple ways, and in much more complex and deep ways that shed light on everything about humanity and Judaism. However, at the end of the  parsha , in a  pasuk that often gets glossed over in the "geneology chapters", we hear an interesting detail about Enosh, Adam and Chava's grandson.

We are told that during the time of Enosh, " Az huchal l'kro b'shem Hashem" (4:26). At first glance, this seems like a great thing. It sounds like it was during the time of Enosh that people began calling out to God. It seems as if the Torah is specifically attributing this positive behavior with the character of Enosh. But eighteen generations later, we praise Avraham for this very attribute, for going around the Land of Israel proclaiming God's name, teaching monotheism to all who would listen! This is one of the reasons we hail Avraham as our forefather, chosen to bear the nation that will have this special relationship with Hashem!

Another interpretation of the pasuk, offered by Rashi (from the Midrash), explains that the word " Huchal " comes from the word " chulin ", desecration. He explains that the people of that time (only two generations removed from Gan Eden!) began to assign godly names and attributes to humans and plants, and to treat them idolatrously. This approach takes the same idea for which we praise Avraham, kriya b'shem Hashem , and uses it to vilinize the generation of Enosh.

Let us remember that we can use the same words for good and bad, to bring great light into the world, or great darkness, depending on the intention behind them, and what it is that we proclaim in the name of  Hashem . 

Shabbat Shalom