Bereshit: In the Beginning
Main truth: YHWH made everything good, made the seventh day holy, and made everything through the Word, who came to us as Yeshua.
01Watch
Until the video is ready, read Eli’s story aloud together.
- Eli
Before anything... there was dark. And quiet.
- Eli
Then YHWH spoke. “Let there be light.” And there was light. Genesis 1:3
- Eli
Sky. Sea. Trees. Stars. Birds. Animals. Day after day, He made it.
- Olive
“And He said it was good!”
- Eli
Then He made people, in His own image. And He looked at everything and said... Genesis 1:27
- Olive
“Very good!” Genesis 1:31
- Eli
And on the seventh day, He rested. He blessed the seventh day and made it holy. The very first holy thing was a day. Genesis 2:2–3
- Eli
Papa showed me another “in the beginning.” “In the beginning was the Word... All things were made through him.” “The Word became flesh, and lived among us.” That’s Yeshua. He was there at the very beginning. John 1:1, 3, 14
- Eli
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it.” Let’s find out where the Bible says it! John 1:5
02Find
Little Learners: a grown-up reads, the child finds the word. Growing Learners: look it up yourself.
“In the ________, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
Show answer
beginning“God said, ‘Let there be ________,’ and there was ________.” Genesis 1:3
Show answer
light, light“There was ________ and there was ________, the first day.” Genesis 1:5
Show answer
evening, morning“God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very ________.” Genesis 1:31
Show answer
good“God blessed the ________ day, and made it ________.” Genesis 2:3
Show answer
seventh, holy“All things were made through ________.” John 1:3
Show answer
him (the Word)YHWH God put the man in the garden “to ________ it and ________ it.” Genesis 2:15Growing Learners
Show answer
cultivate, keep
Torah Trivia: Bereshit cards
Tap a card to flip it. Each week adds new cards to the Bereshit deck.
What did God make on the first day?
Light Genesis 1:3–5
What did God call the light? What did He call the darkness?
Day and night Genesis 1:5
On which day did God rest?
The seventh day Genesis 2:2
Where did YHWH God plant a garden?
Eden Genesis 2:8
What name did the man give his wife?
Eve Genesis 3:20
Who kept sheep, and who worked the ground?
Abel kept sheep; Cain worked the ground Genesis 4:2
What was the name of Adam and Eve’s son born after Abel died?
Seth Genesis 4:25
Who walked with God, and then was not found, for God took him?
Enoch Genesis 5:24
Who lived 969 years?
Methuselah Genesis 5:27
Who found favor in YHWH’s eyes?
Noah Genesis 6:8
One Big Story: which book of the Brit Chadashah also starts “In the beginning”?
John John 1:1
One Big Story: which chapter of Hebrews names Abel, Enoch and Noah as people of faith?
Hebrews 11 Hebrews 11:4, 5, 7
03Learn
Read aloud · Little Hands and Little Learners
YHWH made everything, and it was good. He made you too! Then He rested on the seventh day and made it holy. That’s Shabbat. And Yeshua, the Word, was there at the very beginning.
Growing Learners
- Bereshit starts with one Creator. Everything else was made, so nothing else is to be worshiped.
- People are made in His image (Genesis 1:27). Every person matters to Him.
- The first holy thing in the Bible is a day (Genesis 2:3). Shabbat started at creation, before Israel was a nation.
- John 1 begins with the same words. “In the beginning” comes again, and it tells us the Word was there, and all things were made through Him. John 1:14 says the Word became flesh. That’s Yeshua.
Book of the Week
בְּרֵאשִׁיתBereshit (beh-reh-SHEET) · In the beginning · Genesis, book 1 of 5
Every week we say and write the Hebrew name of the book we are reading. This week the book and the portion share the same name.
Say it: “We are reading Bereshit. Bereshit means in the beginning.” Say it together at the start of each lesson day and once at the Shabbat table.
Write it:
- Little Hands: Trace the first letter, ב (bet), with a finger, then with a crayon.
- Little Learners: Trace בְּרֵאשִׁית on the dotted line (right to left), then write Bereshit in English letters.
- Growing Learners: Copy בְּרֵאשִׁית twice without tracing, and write which book it is (1 of 5 in the Torah).
Bonus word: אוֹר ohr = light Genesis 1:3
One Big Story
The Torah and the Brit Chadashah (the New Covenant) are one story, and it points to Yeshua.
Torah“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
Brit Chadashah“In the beginning was the Word... All things were made through him.” John 1:1, 3
The same first words. Yeshua, the Word, was there at creation.
Torah“God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” Genesis 1:3
Brit Chadashah“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it.” John 1:5
The light of day one points to the Light who came into the world.
TorahHe made them male and female. Genesis 1:27
Brit Chadashah“Haven’t you read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female?” Matthew 19:4
Yeshua read Bereshit too, and taught from it.
TorahAbel, Enoch and Noah Genesis 4–6
Brit ChadashahNamed as people of faith Hebrews 11:4, 5, 7
The Brit Chadashah remembers people from this very portion.
Say together: “One big story, from Bereshit to Yeshua.”
בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה b’REET khah-dah-SHAH = New Covenant. The promise is in the Tanakh itself: “‘Behold, the days come,’ says YHWH, ‘that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.’” Jeremiah 31:31
Why does a Bible day start in the evening?
Read aloud: Listen to how God counted the very first day: “There was evening and there was morning, the first day.” Evening comes first! So in the Bible, a new day starts when the sun goes down. That’s why Shabbat starts on Friday evening.
- “There was evening and there was morning, the first day.” Genesis 1:5
- “...from evening to evening, you shall keep your Sabbath.” Leviticus 23:32
Growing Learners:
- God set the pattern. Every day of creation ends the same way: “There was evening and there was morning” (Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). Evening comes first, then morning.
- Israel kept it. YHWH told Israel to keep His Sabbath “from evening to evening” (Leviticus 23:32). Nehemiah shut Jerusalem’s gates as it grew dark before the Sabbath (Nehemiah 13:19).
- In Yeshua’s day too. On a Sabbath, Yeshua taught in the synagogue in Capernaum (Mark 1:21). Then “at evening, when the sun had set, they brought to him all who were sick” (Mark 1:32). Many Bible teachers see that the people waited until the Sabbath ended at sunset.
Something to think about (a reflection, not a verse): God’s days begin in the dark and move toward the light. The world began in darkness too, and then God said, “Let there be light.” Yeshua is the light that “shines in the darkness” (John 1:5).
Eli wonders...
Eli read Genesis 1 slowly and counted every time God saw that something was “good.” Here is what he found:
- Day 1Light: good Genesis 1:4
- Day 2The sky: No “good” this time. The Bible doesn’t say why. Did you spot it? Genesis 1:6–8
- Day 3Land, seas and plants: good, good (twice!) Genesis 1:10, 12
- Day 4Sun, moon and stars: good Genesis 1:18
- Day 5Sea creatures and birds: good Genesis 1:21
- Day 6Animals: good Genesis 1:25
- Day 6People, made in His image: Then God looked at everything He had made: “very good!” Genesis 1:27, 31
What makes people different?
- Made in His image. Only people are made “in God’s image” (Genesis 1:27).
- Blessed and spoken to. God blessed the man and woman and spoke to them, giving them a job: to fill the earth and care for it (Genesis 1:28).
- Given His breath. “YHWH God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Genesis 2:7).
- Made for each other. The first thing God called “not good” was the man being alone (Genesis 2:18). He made us for family.
One Big Story: “For we are his workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) The God who said “very good” made you on purpose, and Yeshua gives you good works to walk in.
Little Hands game: read Genesis 1 aloud. Give a thumbs up every time you hear “good,” and two thumbs up for “very good!”
Wonder together:
- God said “very good” when everything was finished, right after He made people. Why do you think that was?
- What do you think it means to be made in God’s image?
- Ephesians 2:10 says God prepared good works for you. What good thing could you do this week?
Genesis 1:31’s “very good” is about everything God made, finished with people. Many believers see people as the crown of creation; that is a reading of the passage, and the verse itself speaks of all of it.
04Do
Little Hands · Ages 2–4
Light and dark sort. Six picture cards (sun, moon, stars, lamp, sunrise, night sky). Sort them onto a “light” mat and a “dark” mat, then put a sticker on the card YHWH made first.
Ask: “What did God make first?”
Little Learners · Ages 4–6
Seven Days Wheel. Cut out a paper plate wheel with 7 sections. Draw or glue what YHWH made each day. Day 7 is a resting family.
Growing Learners · Ages 7–12
“In the Beginning” match-up. Compare Genesis 1:1–5 with John 1:1–5. Circle the words both passages share, then finish the sentence: “John 1 tells me ________ was there at creation.”
Answers: beginning, light, darkness, made; the Word (Yeshua).
Word search · Little Learners and Growing Learners
Words go across and down. Find: BERESHIT · SEVENTH · GARDEN · YESHUA · LIGHT · HOLY · GOOD · WORD · EDEN · ADAM · NOAH · EVE
Answer key
- SEVENTH: row 1, column 2, across
- NOAH: row 2, column 5, across
- LIGHT: row 4, column 1, across
- YESHUA: row 1, column 10, down
- BERESHIT: row 3, column 7, down
- HOLY: row 3, column 9, down
- WORD: row 6, column 5, down
- EVE: row 6, column 3, down
- ADAM: row 7, column 1, down
- GARDEN: row 7, column 2, down
- GOOD: row 8, column 10, down
- EDEN: row 9, column 8, down
Creation activity sheet
Sample PDF · 1 page · final pages coming soon
05Color
Three pages for all ages: thick outlines for Little Hands, small details for older children to fill in.
- 1
In the Beginning
בְּרֵאשִׁית in big hollow letters across the top, over a sunrise on the hills.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
- 2
Very Good
Eli and Olive in a garden full of animals, birds, trees and fish in a stream.
“God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Genesis 1:31
- 3
The Seventh Day
The family at a Friday evening table by a glowing window, everything still.
“God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy.” Genesis 2:3
Creation coloring pages
Sample PDF · 2 pages · final pages coming soon
06Remember
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1
Growing Learners add: “All things were made through him.” John 1:3
07Walk
Go on a “very good” walk
Find seven things YHWH made, one for each day, and say “very good!” for each one. Write or draw them on the walk chart.
08Shabbat Table
- Read: Genesis 2:3 together.
- Say together: “YHWH made the seventh day holy.”
- Ask: “What was your favorite ‘very good’ thing you found this week?”
- Notice: Shabbat starts at sundown on Friday, because Bible days start in the evening (Genesis 1:5).
09For the Grown-Up
- This week’s portion: Bereshit, Genesis 1:1 to 6:8. It covers creation, the Shabbat, the garden, the first disobedience, Cain and Abel, and the lead-up to the flood.
- This lesson focuses on: Creation, people made in YHWH’s image, and the seventh day. The harder chapters (Genesis 3 to 6) are better read with older children at your pace. Genesis 6:8 ends the portion with hope: “But Noah found favor in YHWH’s eyes.”
- The Yeshua connection (stated in the text): John 1:1–3 and 14 say the Word was in the beginning, all things were made through Him, and the Word became flesh.
- Why every lesson has a Brit Chadashah connection: Yeshua, “beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). We teach the Torah and the Brit Chadashah as one story, so children never learn them as two separate books.
- Interpretation, not stated text: Many believers read Genesis 3:15 (“He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel”) as the first promise of Messiah. If you share it with Growing Learners, present it as “many believers see here...”, so children learn the difference between what a verse says and how it has been understood.
- Evening first: Genesis 1 counts each day as “evening and morning,” and Leviticus 23:32 commands the Sabbath “from evening to evening,” so the biblical day begins at sundown. Mark 1:21 and 1:32 show the crowd coming to Yeshua “when the sun had set” on a Sabbath; that they waited for the Sabbath to end is a common reading, not stated outright. The idea that days move from darkness to light, pointing to Yeshua, is offered as a reflection.
- Scripture or custom?: Shabbat rest is commanded (Genesis 2:3; Exodus 20:8–11). Candles and challah are lovely family customs, not commands.
- Ask your child: “What does it mean that the very first holy thing was a day, not a building?”