Category — Breishis

If G-d decided to make a point in a way that we - humans should understand, how would He do it?

He would write an extra letter in the Bible.

Then twenty Rabbis would debate it, filling up a few 2000 word pages in the Talmud, all the commentaries with the small words would debate what the Talmud meant when he explained what G-d meant.

Then Maimonides would offer his interpretation, some other rabbi would write a book proving him wrong. Then for the next thousand years till this very day, many pulpit rabbis would take the audacity and right to offer their own interpretation/twist on that one seemingly extra letter in the Bible. (Hey,even I try to do it once in a while…)

Point is, that when G-d Wants to get a point across he knows how to, short and sweet.

Ask anyone out there, ‘what is the Bible?’ and he’ll tell you that it is the book of laws for the Jewish people. And if he’s a bit of a scholar he might add that the word Torah can be translated as lesson and guide, a rule book.

If that’s the case, then why is the first quarter of the Torah (the entire book of Genesis and half of Exodus!) telling a story? Creation, flood, patriarchs, Twelve Tribes, Egypt, exodus, Sinai… If G-d wanted us to know our history He should have written a history book, why insert it into the Bible? And in the beginning of the Bible at the top of it!

Says Rashi in his opening commentary on the Bible, that when the nations of the world will question our legitimacy to the land of Israel, we will reply, “The entire earth belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He; He created it and gave it to whomever He deemed proper. When He wished, He gave it to them, and when He wished, He took it away from them and gave it to us.”

Question: Ok, so G-d wanted to bring out the point that Israel belongs to the Jewish people; but did He need to write the longest speech in history (quarter of the Bible!) to do so? Wouldn’t we have gotten the hint if it were to be said in just one letter or a word?

Do you know the answer?

You don’t? Then maybe go ask the UN, and they’ll explain you why the country with the most condemnations in the world, is a country not found on many maps, a democratic state somewhere in a region of tyrants and terrorists. Ask them why the mere mention of that country makes their blood boil.

Then you can meet the many of the residents of that very tiny country who doubt their very own legitimacy to the country they live in!

And then maybe you’ll understand why G-d had to bring out His point by “spending” a quarter of the Bible telling us a story…

Mother 1: My son loves me so much; he sends me a beautiful bouquet of flowers for mothers’ day!

Mother 2: That you call love? That’s a “one-time-a-year-get-it-off-my-back-move.” My son, on the other hand, loves me so much that he bought me a Rolls-Royce for my 60th birthday!

Mother 3 (with a snort): What do you ladies know about love? Let me tell you about true love: my son, for the past twenty years, goes to a special doctor twice a week and pays over a hundred dollars a visit – and who do you think he talks about during all those expensive visits? ME!

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“Dear G-d,” the man cried out, “there is so much suffering in this world; why don’t you send help?”

And G-d responded, “I certainly did. I sent you.”

*

What are the two most destructive words in the dictionary?

They are neither “global warming” nor “American politics”; not even “Hillary Clinton”.

The winning words are none other than: I CAN’T.

A wise man once said that someone who is scared to fail will never succeed.

Just a few days ago, I asked my friend why he doesn’t begin developing his speaking and writing abilities. He whisked away the idea with two words: “I can’t”.

With that little utterance, opportunities are lost, achievement is spurned… and lives are wasted.

Each time you say “I can’t,” you should know that what you’re saying is: “I am afraid of failure. I don’t want people to lose respect for me.” And yes, this statement has many versions, many languages – it even comes in slang. But to the world it sounds very benign: “I can’t.”

This Shabbos, the Torah scrolls will be rolled back to the beginning. Once again, we will read the weekly portion about the creation of Adam. There’s a lot to talk about, but let’s focus on one point.

We learn that each creature was created with a mate-companion. Man was created alone, only later to be joined by Eve. Why?

The Torah is teaching us that just like, 5768 years ago, Adam had no one judging his successes and failures, but G-d (and a snake), so too, you have no one to be intimidated of.

Our sages taught that man must tell himself: “The world was created for me.” For you. For you to enlighten, perfect and illuminate.

Yes you can.

A call to action:

Close your eyes: there is no one. That’s not an illusion; it’s the true reality.

An architect, a doctor and a lawyer are arguing about who came first.
The architect makes his pitch: “Well, I came first; after all, when Noah built the ark, who was there to help design and construct it? Obviously, there was one of mine on the scene.
The doctor pushes the architect to the side. “What are you talking about?” he dismisses him with a haughty look. Don’t you realize that already on the sixth day of creation G-d operated on Adam and made a woman out of him? That’s complicated surgery! In order to create Eve, G-d must have had a surgeon on premises to help out.”
The lawyer smirks and pulls the winning argument out of his hat: “Ha! In the second verse, the Torah states that before the creation there was ” tohu vavohu” (void and confusion.) Now who could create tohu vavohu if not a lawyer?”
* * *
This week, we start all over again from the beginning, as if we have never heard the fascinating account of the creation of the world, feeling amazed yet again at how, already on the first day of his creation, man made the biggest mistake in world history, with repercussions for all time.
The kaleidoscope of events in our Parsha spans over a millennium, yet the most prominent event of all is, of course, the first one. So let’s discuss the beginning:
What did G-d create on the first day of creation?
Light!
For whom exactly did G-d create light if there were not yet any creatures, or, for that matter, any existence which could enjoy the light? In our world, first one builds a house, and then he installs the light bulbs; not vice versa. Not only is that most practical, it’s the only possible way of doing things! So why, with this first, monumental building project, did everything work backwards?
In the answer lies the secret of the world, the purpose of all existence. Before starting on a project, we outline our goals and plans. So too, before creating His world, G-d laid out his blueprint for creation.
What’s the plan?
The plan is to imbue this seemingly mundane physical world, with light, life and vitality. The goal is that created beings, namely each and every one of us, will reveal holiness and spirituality in this black and dark universe, lighting up the surroundings.
And so the first thing G-d created was that blueprint – the light. We aren’t talking about physical light; the sun and moon were created on the fourth day. Here the Torah refers to spiritual radiance – the holy revelation which we must constantly strive to reveal.
And that is what we have been doing all this time. Every Mitzvah performed, every time Torah is learnt, more of that light is revealed. Now, the construction work is about to end. Hold tight; the clouds are here…