Parashat and Sidra Of Bereishis
I am writing this again from Jerusalem Israel
Parashat Bereshit is the 1st weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading.
The Creation
- At the beginning of the holy book there is a statement about creation ex nihilo (out of nothing) and about the principle of G-d sovereignty over the law of cause and effect. At the same time, it is clear that the text makes very little effort to reveal the secret of the formation of the essence of matter and beings (no man’s mind can ever comprehend all the ways of this formation), but that it only lets us know as clearly as possible that creation was. This insight definitely opposes the idea of the eternity of cosmic matter, which stands in the basis of science, of thought, perfectly usable – but only starting with creation.
For if G-d were faced with already existing matter, he would be limited in his decision-making, and the world that would sprung from his work, he would not be a perfect creature. All imperfection would then necessarily correspond to the imperfection of matter and the lack of freedom of the Creator physical and spiritual. The claim of creation ex nihilo, on the other hand, expresses the absolute freedom of the Creator and at the same time the perfection of the essence of the created work. Consequently, one cannot appeal to innate badness. Physically and spiritually, man has received such things, which are not the best possible, but the only one good is capable of achieving perfection, and all are present in its internal arrangement
elements that contribute to it. One has to determine them, put them into action, and thus complete the work of six days.
The Creation Of Man - The twenty-seventh verse is translated “And God created man in his own image, in his own image G-d created him”, but we do not hide that the common translation often misleads.
The Hebrew word “celelm” (=image) means exactly “making” “multiplying” as it is for example, in the case of a work of art, a preconceived idea is perfectly rendered. This is also the case with our text: Man, how he was created, how he appears with his strengths and shortcomings, man as a whole is the realization of G-d’s purpose.
The establishment of the Sabbath - The six days of creation are completed.
Nature, the mighty rhythm of the cosmic arrangement, remains in the place of revolutions in the future, successive creatures. The master disappeared behind his work. However, the greatness of the eternal law of nature also brings one great danger to the human spirit – the danger of the disappearance of G-d.
Therein lies the whole fallacy of pantheism and positivism. A reminder of the time of creation had to be preserved in the midst of nature.
The first six days could be done without the Sabbath – that’s when G-d manifested himself consistently and visibly. But as soon as his work had reached its final stage, as soon as it had acquired immutable features, a sabbath is coming that will preserve in human memory what only Adam partially saw with his own eyes.
Offense - The entire first chapters of the Torah are an introduction, we could directly say an explanation of human history
genus. Which overriding problem, essential to the human mission, will each person have to sooner or solve later? Undoubtedly, it is the relation to morality. In other words: A person gifted with all sorts of intellectual abilities defines such standards behavior that will not only be guided by his personal motives, but that will obey the principles. The goods of the accepted and promoted to the main principle? Judaism believes that the main task of man is to give the highest proof of his own freedom and independence by subordinating all his forces to the service of Good, which G-d’s wisdom has in his she showed grace. But is it really necessary to look for this Good outside of man? Wouldn’t it be enough to just listen carefully to the “voice of conscience” and determine the right path according to it? Doubtless it was not enough, for there cannot be two Goodes, as there cannot be two Truths. The first person immediately faced this problem. What was it about? He should not have eaten the fruits, therefore he should not have obeyed the impulse of nature, the “call of the eyes”, and that from only one of reason: because G-d’s will was different. The serpent urged: Eat calmly, the fruits are sweet and good. The serpent could not act otherwise, and in this he personifies the animal as such, for it will never determine it the utility of an act otherwise than according to the satisfaction it brings to his instinctive needs. But can one resist instinct? – that’s the question. We know the answer, Adam and Eve transgressed G-d’s prohibition. However serious the offense they committed – and its consequences immediately felt – theirs the error was not such that they were definitively banished from God’s face. - Punishment – “He said to Adam: cursed is the ground for you; with pain you will eat (from) it (after) all days of his life” (Bereishis 3:17). The struggle for life that follows a carefree life in the Garden of Eden forces Adam to he thought of the effort by which he would realize his true mission. This is indicated by an almost imperceptible but telling detail in the quoted verse. For it is said “cursed earth for you”, literally “for your benefit”. The struggle to which the man continues to be forced will show him that effort is necessary. Life on this earth will teach a man that what is sweet to the eye will not be good, and that what is hard to achieves, represents the true value of life. “He (then) said to the woman: I will greatly multiply your pains … with pain you will give birth to children” (Bereishis 3:16). The maturity and infinite wisdom that makes a woman a man’s inseparable companion only comes with a child. However, the difficult test of childbirth is placed between the woman and the child. Sacrificing one’s own comfort for long months, undergoing pain for the love of the yet invisible to the child the woman recognizes what Eve remained deaf to. Goodness is achieved only by relinquishing the selfish instincts part of the struggle that is waged by true happiness must be the victory over oneself and the acceptance of an ideal standing outside of man, for that is the only way a human being can transcend. So we can summarize: none of the mentioned judgments of G-d actually speak of curses. No word of G-d condemns man to an existence that would prevent him from reaching perfection. Quite the opposite: thanks to the lessons that a person will receive in a new existence, he will be more capable to know the meaning of your inner mission. The serpent’s word will no longer affect him. It is needless to emphasize how far we are from “original sin” and how Judaism definitely rejects the curse in the sense of a definitive fall. All redemptive power is fully present in man himself. His power remains as great as on the first day of creation, and faith in the coming of the Messiah where in other hand a redeemer is Hashem expresses the belief that the long ordeal of the struggle for life will bear fruit.
- Invoking G-d
- The human community is visibly and increasingly approaching a terrible end, which occurs in Noah’s time: Cain’s violence, the suffering imposed on the entire human race, is perhaps what hinders the journey sped up. And yet, in the midst of decline, the sentence shines like a beacon: “That’s when the name-calling began.”of the Hashem” (Bereishis 4:26)
It’s like a cry for help, like a last-ditch attempt to block the path of expanding evil. And our wise men find in these words the first allusion to the most proper mission of the Jews: an environment devoted to mundane, material interests, to preserve the flame of G-d’s name.
A certain group of people had to be entrusted with a gigantic task – to be from one. the end of human history to the other a guarantee of knowledge of G-d.
It is a knowledge in which one must always re-understand that the past described in the Holy Book it has only better illustrated the real value of our efforts since the early days.
Let’s repeat it again:
The Torah is not in the least a historical book in the traditional sense of the word. Does it discuss the history of Israel? Sure, about world history? The answer lies with historians. For us Jews, however, a single truth emerges from the Torah: to be at the forefront of humanity, so that G-d’s name may be
only as G-d is one.
Chassidic Parashat
Starting Over
“In the beginning of His creating, Hashem created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep, and the spirit of Hashem hovered over the face of the waters. And Hashem said, “Let there be light, and there was light.’” (Bereishis 1:1-3)
Rashi, in his first commentary in the Torah, asks, “Why does the Torah begin with Bereishis, the account of the creation of the world? If the Torah is a book of mitzvos, why doesn’t it start with the mitzvoh of Rosh Chodesh, the Torah’s first mitzvos found in Parashat Bo, the 3rd Parsha in the book of Shemos?”
Rashi answers with a verse (Psalms 111:6), “’The power of His works He has declared to His people by giving them the inheritance of the nations (Eretz Yisrael).’ For if the nations of the world should say to Israel, ‘You robbed the Caananites of the their land’, Israel will have a ready answer. ‘The entire world belongs to Hashem. He created it and He gave it to whomever He deemed worthy
in his eyes. He gave it to the Caananites when He wanted to, and now He took it from them and gave it to us.’” Although Rashi provides an answer to why the Torah begins with Bereishis, a tough question still remains. Why doesn’t the Torah go from the account of the creation of the world to the mitzvos of Rosh Chodesh? What is the reason for the lengthy chronicle of the lives of the Avos and Imahos (the forefathers and
foremothers)?
R’ Chayim Vital, the foremost disciple of the Arizal, in his work, Sha’arei Kedusha (Part 1, Gate 2) writes, “The middos (character traits), were not included in the 613 mitzvos yet they are integral to them since they are a prerequisite to the mitzvos themselves. Therefore, the one who possesses inferior middos is worse off than one who is only committing transgressions. Since the middos are such an important foundation, they were not included in the mitzvohs. Good middos lead to mitzvos. One should be more concerned about his middos than his mitzvos.”
Since the middohs are a prerequisite to the Torah, the Torah cannot penetrate the heart of one who doesn’t refine and perfect his middos. Yet where are they?
We know that word Torah is from the word Hora’ah (instruction). If they are so important, why aren’t they included among the mitzvohs of the Torah? And if the Torah won’t penetrate someone with bad middos, how should one acquire good middos? Where can one find instructions in middos?
Derech Eretz Kodmah L’Torah, proper ethical behavior precedes the Torah. (Vayikra Rabba 9:3). One of the important interpretations of this idea is that before one can learn and put into practice the mitzvos of the Torah, one must pave the path with Derech Eretz. This means acquiring middos Tovos in order to learn Torah.
Why does the account of the creation of the world and the chronicle of the lives of the Avos and Imahos precede the first mitzvos and the Giving of the Torah? The kindness of Avraham and Sarah, resoluteness and clarity of Yitzchok and Rivka in their Avodas Hashem, the humility of Rachel, the prayer of Leah and the vision of Yaacov etc. are the personal character traits we strive to acquire. The lives of the Avos and Imahos are the examples after which we pattern our lives and thereby become suitable vessels for receiving and internalizing the Torah.
For this reason the sages of the Talmud (Avodah Zara 25a) called Sefer Bereishis “Sefer HaYashar”, The Book of the Upright. It is the Book of our holy and righteous foremothers and forefathers who excelled in their desire to acquire and refine their middohs.
The World Comes into Being
We often take the first verse in the Chumash for granted. In the beginning G-d created the Heaven and the Earth. Nevertheless, a careful reading reveals a deep problem. The word Bereishis, does not at all mean “in the beginning” since it is followed by a verb, and in Hebrew grammar the word Reishis is always found in the construct state, it is always connected to word which come after it. Therefore, the translation would have to be, “Bereishis (not Hashem), created G-d, the Heavens and the Earth”.
If the verse wanted to teach us the order of the creation, it would have stated “BaRishona” (at first) instead of “Bereishis”. (see the commentary of Rashi in 1:1)
Rashi brings a fascinating Midrashic interpretation. The word Bereishis is actually the word Reishis preceded by the preposition “beis” which means “in”, “with”, or “for”. Therefore, the translation of the verse is, “For Reishis, Hashem created the Heavens and the Earth”. Hashem created the world for the sake of the Torah as it is written, “(Said the Torah) Hashem created me as the beginning (Reishis) of His way, the first of His works of old.” (Proverbs 8:22)
The Holy Zohar (1, 24b) explains Bereishis “With (or by way of ) Reishis, Hashem created the Heavens and the Earth”. Reishis means Torah. Hashem created the world with the Torah. Hashem looked into the Torah and created the world. (Zohar
Terumah 161b)
R’ Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl, in his Me’or Einayim, writes. “(Said the Torah) Hashem created me as the beginning (Reishis) of His way, the first of His works of old.” (Proverbs 8:22) With the Torah, Hashem created the world.
Therefore, the essence of every speck of creation, is the vitality and spirit of the Torah. It is further written, “This is the (law) Torah; (when) a man dies in a tent. (Bamidbar 19:14). The essence and vitality of the Torah is also called man. And Hashem and the Torah are themselves One (Zohar 2, 90b).
Therefore all of creation is suffused with the vitality and spirit of Hashem as is written, “. . .and You enliven all things.” (Nechemia 9:6) Therefore Hashem diminished and contracted His vitality and His light in order that the world could exist; for His full influence is far too great. This allowed even the lowest spheres to be permeated with and contain His light without risk of shattering.
The task left for us in our world is to raise up our awareness of, and to reveal as
much of this light as possible.
This is B’Reishis
There is an argument brought in the Talmud and Midrashim (Chagiga 12a, Bereishis Rabba 1:15) between Beis Hillel and Beis Shammai. Beis Hillel maintained that the Earth was created first and Beis Hillel maintains that the Heavens were created first. Said R’ Shimon Bar Yochai, I don’t understand what the great sages are arguing about. I say that neither one of them was created first, rather they were created concurrently like a pot together with its lid; they are one thing.
Later commentaries were also surprised at the argument of Beis Hillel and Beis Shammai. What does it even matter which was created first, what was, is and that is that.
Rather says the Slonimer Rebbe, (Nesivos Shalom, commentary to Bereishis p.16)
there must be an underlying consideration for us in understanding the ways of Avodas Hashem.
There are two ways in Avodas Hashem. One is the path of the Heavens or spirituality; Torah, mitzvohs, prayer chesed (acts of loving kindness). The second is the path of the Earth, or the physical; money, eating, sleeping and other physical needs. One is obligated to serve Hashem with both aspects, even the physical!
The Maggid of Mezeritch once commented on a verse from Tehillim which is found in the daily prayers, “How great are your works Hashem, the whole world is filled with your possessions (kinyanecha).” (Psalms 104:24) Said the Maggid,
“Don’t read “kinyanecha” as your possessions, rather as your acquisitions. The
whole world is full of opportunities to acquire divinity (Elokus) and the ways of
Hashem.” Proper use of the physical world can lead to maximum holiness.
This then was the argument of Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel, writes the Slonimer Rebbe. What is the principle Avodah of a Jew in this world, the path of the
physical or of the spiritual? Beis Hillel held that the physical is the key Avodah, and by sanctifying it, one will come to the spiritual. Beis Shammai held that the primary Avodah is through the spiritual which will fortify one enough to successfully master the physical. R’ Shimon Bar Yochai said, “Not so”! These two paths of Avodas Hashem come to us as two parts of a whole, like a pot and its lid. Both paths were brought into the world synchronously and a person has to serve Hashem with both aspects equally. Full Avodas Hashem can only be through the physical and spiritual together in complimentary unity.
The account continues, (verse 2) “And the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. . .”. A Jew must know that even though the earthly/physical path is dark and lurking with danger, nevertheless, (verse 3) “And Hashem said, ‘Let there be light’. . .”. Through using the physical world as an essential aspect of ones Avodah Hashem, the result will be light, a great advance in spirituality and knowledge of Hashem.
From Out of the Attic
For seven years, R. Avraham – once a protégé of the Vilna Gaon – sat in an attic in Kalisk, immersed in Torah and d’veykus (communion) with Hashem, and oblivious
to the outside world. One day a Jew from Kalisk burst into R. Avraham’s secluded room and shouted, “How can you sit there in such isolation? Go out and seek the great light in Mezritch! The great Maggid says, ‘…the earth is full of Your possessions’ [Tehillim 104:24] – that is, the earth is full of means of acquiring
Godliness.”
“Is that what he said?” responded R. Avraham. Electrified, he leaped out of his
attic window and made his way to Mezritch.
Returning to Kalisk after his first encounter with the Maggid, he visited his former mentor, the Gaon of Vilna. “What did you see in Mezritch? What innovation did you find there?” the Gaon challenged him.
“’VeChai bahem’ – and you shall live by them” (Vayikra 18:5), was his brief reply.
“One remark by the Maggid would suffice for a long time,” he later commented.
“And we would guard it in holiness and purity until the next one came.”