First Day – Creation of light and darkness
Second Day - Arrangement of the firmament (rokiah) to separate between heaven and earth.
Third Day – Dry land accumulates from the waters.
Fourth Day – Creation and placement of the Sun and Moon in the sky.
Fifth Day – Creation of sea life and birds.
Sixth Day – Creation of reptiles, animals, and finally Man.
Seventh day – A day of rest by God from all of His creations.
The man was called Odom (Adam) and from him, God created woman (Chava or Eve) by taking a rib from Odom. God places them in the Garden of Eden. God states that all fruit is edible except from the Tree of Knowledge. A serpent tempts Chava into eating the fruit and then having Odom taste it. God punishes them by casting them out of Eden.
Odom and Chava have two sons Cain and Hevel (Able). Cain was a tiller of the field and Hevel was a shepherd. Cain becomes jealous of his brother because Hevel’s offering to God was more pleasing. Cain murders his brother and runs away. When god confronts Cain he remarks, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Cain is punished to be a wanderer the rest of his life.
Odom and Chava have additional children which populate the earth. They spread all over the world. As the generations progress, they become wicked in God’s eyes except for one man named Noach.
In The Beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. How are we to interpret the opening words of the Torah? In Hebrew they read:
From the point of view of simple faith and the simple (p’shat) meaning, they are self explanatory. However, as Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzchak) points out, this verse calls out for a homiletical interpretation.
The Torah is not a textbook on cosmology. It doesn’t describe the process of creation. As the sages said, “the Torah is written in the language of man”. There is much that can be written about these opening verses. In the interest of space, I would just like to focus on a few aspects of them.
Rashi begins his commentary on the Torah with a quote from a Midrash (Yalkut, Exodus 12:2):
“Rabbi Yitzchak said, The Torah really should have begun with the verse (Ex. 12:1): ‘This month shall be to you, the beginning of months…’, because this is the first commandment that Israel was given. Why then does it begin with, ‘In the beginning…’? It is because of the idea expressed in the verse ( Psalms 111:6), ‘The power of His deeds He declared to His people in order to give them the inheritance of nations’. The meaning of this verse is as follows: if the nations were to say to Israel, ‘You are robbers because you took the lands of the seven nations
(that lived in Canaan before the conquest) by force’, Israel will be able to answer them: ‘The whole world belongs to God. He created it and gave it to whomever He pleased. When he wished, he gave it to them (the seven nations), and when He wished, He took it away from them and gave it to us.”
What Rashi is reminding us about is that the Torah is not just a historical tale or book of rules and regulations. Yes, the word “Torah” is derived from “Horah” which means “instruction”. However, if we accept the divine origin or inspiration of the Torah, then it must be a moral, spiritual, ritual, and civil guide as well.
The Sages used many methods to logically interpret the Torah. There are many places where the Torah is vague about specific stories, commandments, and ordinances. According to tradition, when Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher) ascended Har Sinai (Mt. Sinai), he was given two Torahs: the Written Torah and its oral interpretations. From this tradition, there are four very popular modes of “exegesis” whose first letters in Hebrew form the acronym PARDES (paradise): P’shat, Remez, Drush, and Sod.
P’shat- The simple literal meaning
Remez – Allusions
Drush – Homiletical (where the word “midrash” comes from)
Sod – secret or mystical meanings (Kabbalah)
We will not focus on the mystical interpretations of Creation in this commentary. Instead, as we follow the traditional sources, we will find extensive use of the other three. This commentary should not serve as a substitute for studying the original text or the full commentaries of the great Sages of our past and present!
Following Rashi, let us take a look at the opening Hebrew words. The usual translation of “bereishit” is “In the beginning”. However, in Hebrew, the prefix
can mean “in”, “by”, “at”, or “with”.
Following this line of thought, the first word can be interpreted as
“ with reishit”. What is “reishit”. Rashi points
out two proof texts which state that both the Torah and Israel are called
“reishit” or “firsts”: Torah is… “the
beginning (reishit) of His way (Proverbs 8:22) and Israel is called…”the
beginning of His crop” (Jeremiah 2:3). One could then say that
God created the universe with the Torah (or as the sages say God looked
into the Torah and created the universe). Rashi now homiletically re-interprets the first letter “bet” as meaning, “for the sake of”; “for the sake of Israel and the Torah (both of which are called reishit), God created the heavens and the earth”. This statement, for Rashi, is the main purpose of creation. In Rashi’s mind, the whole translation of the opening verse should be “When God was first creating the heavens and the earth”. Thus we need not ask the question “what preceded creation?”, since the Torah is not discussing that issue at all! The reason for this is that if the Torah wanted to state “In the beginning”, it would have used the word the expression “at first” or “ba-rishona”. The use of the word, “bereishit”, must come to teach us something different.
Why does the Torah use the name “Elokim” for God? There are many names of God (see the commentary for parshat shemot). The two most common names are “Elokim” and the four lettered name YHVH, which is pronounced “Adonai”, Hashem”, or “Havayah”. The Sages teach us that the name “Elokim” alludes to a master of all forces. It represents God’s “Attribute of Strict Justice”. God is revealed in this world by means of his Attributes. The name Hashem, alludes to God’s Attribute of Mercy. Thus, Rashi implies, the Torah is teaching us that when God first formed the world, he was using the Attribute of Justice. In the Midrash, the Sages state that while this was God’s intent, He soon realized that the world could not survive with justice alone; it must be tempered by Mercy. This is suggested by the switch in names later in the parsha.
The second word “barah” has a unique connotation. One
could use “yotzer” for creation, but “barah”
implies yesh me-ayin, creation from nothing (ex nihlo). In the prayer
after the barchu, we say “yotzer or u’voray choshech,
oseh shalom u’voray et ha kol”, Who forms light and creates
darkness, makes peace and creates all. If we follow the creation story
literally, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Instead of a general statement, the literal meaning would be that
the heavens and the earth were formed first, even before the creation
of light. Thus we saw in the prayer “yotzer or”, “fashions
light”. If light preceded the creation of the sun, what kind
of “light” was it? How could there be a “day”
without the rotation of the earth? These are tough philosophical questions
and we could spend many, many pages on them. Suffice to say, the sages
felt that this light was a “spiritual light” formed by
the divine presence.
In the beginning, if the universe did not exist, only God did. He
occupied all of space at time. It was both infinite and finite; a
paradox for the Human mind to comprehend. In the kabbalistic (mystical)
view of creation, in order for the universe to come into being, God
had to step away (contract), to make room for the physical world.
The word they used is tzimtzum. This divine contraction hides the
true nature of the world as alluded to in word olam for world (which
means concealment). In today’s world, we do not see the divine
nature of matter. Still, we say in our prayers “meloh kol ha-aretz
kivodo”, the fullness of the earth is Your Glory (or the whole
earth is filled with Your Glory). It is our job, as Jews, to elevate
the mundane and bring it to a state of holiness. We do this by reciting
a bracha(blessing), studying Torah, or performing a mitzvah. We must
repair the world through tikkun olam and reveal the hidden Godliness
in all things.
This concept can be understood if we think of the world as a veil
or garment. A garment hides the essence of a thing, but doesn’t
really change it. If we break up the word “bereishit”
into the words “barah” and “shit” (not pronounced
like the English expletive! Use the long “ee” sound!).
This second word means “garment” or “veil”.
Thus, when God created the world, He created a veil that, like the
layers of a veil, gradual degrades the brilliance of light until it
seems to be disconnected from its source. In the same way, when a
teacher, who has acquired a vast storehouse of knowledge, tries to
convey a lesson to a student, he/she cannot use the full force of
their intellect but start from simple concepts and gradually build
up in level. The student will never fully grasp the material in the
same way as the teacher (they being different people), but the idea
is that the teacher must undergo a sort of “tzimtzum”.
Another analogy may be a parent who, at some point, must step back
from his/her child to allow them to grow and mature on their own.
It is interesting, just on the side, that the shin, yud, tav can also
be vocalized as “sha-yit” which means “thorn bush”.
If this alludes to the burning bush where Hashem revealed Himself
to Moshe, it homiletically means that even the burning bush was created
on the first day!
The fourth word “et” seems linguistically superfluous.
However, the sages would not accept that and so they interpreted it
to represent the Hebrew alphabet, which ranges from the letters alef
to tav. Thus another interpretation could be, in the beginning, God
created the alphabet!
Mystically, the letters of the Torah are Holy. Hebrew is Loshen HaKodesh,
a Holy Language. Each letter is filled with meaning and instruction.
Even the shape of the letters, have meaning. The Torah is written
without vowels and so the vocalization of the letters is handed down
by tradition (the Mesorah) . Numbers, in Hebrew, are also written
using the letters. Thus the method of analysis called gematria (see
the appendix of this commentary), analyzes the numerical value of
each letter in a word for meaning and understanding.
Another interesting Midrash on the opening verse of the Torah is
as follows:
“Rabbi Yonah said in Rabbi Levi’s name: Why was the world
created with a ‘bet’? Just as the ‘bet’ is
closed at the sides but open in the front, so you are not permitted
to investigate what is above and what is below, what is before and
what is behind. Bar Kappara quoted: For ask now of the days past,
which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the
earth (Deut. 4:32); you may speculate from the day that days were
created, but you may not speculate on what was before that. And from
one end of heaven unto the other-you may investigate this, but you
may not investigate what was before this…”
“Why was it created with a ‘bet’? To teach you that
there are two worlds (‘bet has the numerical value of two).
Another interpretation: why with a ‘bet’? Because connotes
a blessing (berachah). And not with an alef? Because it connotes cursing
(arrur)…Why with a ‘bet’? Just as a ‘bet’
has two projecting points, one pointing upward and the other backward,
so when we ask, Who created thee? It intimates with its upward point,
He who is above created me. And if we ask further, What is His name?
it intimates with its back point (which points to the alef which represents
Adonai, or the One singular God, Hashem).”
This Midrash also discusses “why” the universe was created
and is not concerned with the process of “how”. We can
ask many questions on this subject: How does the creation story match
the modern scientific view of physics and cosmology? What about the
theory of evolution? What about archeology? Many books and treatises
have been written on these subjects, so we will not discuss them hear.
There is also much written on this entire parsha covering the sin
of Odom and Chava, the story of Cain and Hevel, and the further significance
of creation ex nihlo (something from nothing). We do not have the
time or space to cover these in this commentary.
Going back to the homiletic interpretation of bereishit, consider
this selection from
Pirke Avot (Ethics of the Fathers, 5:1-2):
“With ten utterances the world was created. What does this come
to teach us? Indeed, could it not have been created with one utterance?
This was to exact punishment from the wicked who destroy the world
that was created with ten utterances and to bestow goodly reward upon
the righteous who sustain the world that was created by ten utterances.”
“There were ten generations from Adam to Noah-to show the degree
of His patience; for all those generations angered Him increasingly,
until he brought upon them the waters of the Flood.”
What were the ten utterances and how do they relate to the Ten Commandments?
The interpretation is that it refers to all of the verses that begin
“and God said…” Indeed, with this beginning we find
in the Ten Commandments “I am the Lord your God who brought
out of the land of Egypt”. This is a fundamental premise and
one of the Rambam’s (Rabbi Moses Maimonides) first principles
of faith; To know that there is a God, that He is One, and that He
is the creator of all things. We relate this back to the all of the
Midrashim emphasizing again the Torah is not just a book of stories
and legends. The Torah is the blueprint for life and, some may say,
even the blueprint for the Universe.
In chapter 2(verse 4), we read:
These
are the issue of heaven and earth when they were created
on the day the Lord G-d made earth and heaven.
Ignoring the debate about why the Torah shifts from “heaven
and earth” to “earth and heaven” (which sparked
a debate in the Talmud between the two sages Hillel and Shammai),
we can focus on the fact that the word be-hibaram is written in the
Torah with a small letter “hey”.
Rashi writes:
“The verse teaches that all of them (the issue of heaven and
earth) were created on the first day. Another explanation: he created
them with the letter “hey”, as it is said (Isaiah 26:4):
For by Y-ah the Lord formed worlds” meaning, By means of these
two letters yud-hey of the Name (referring to YHVH), he formed two
worlds. Thus, it teaches here that this world was created by means
of the letter “hey”-a hint that the wicked will descend
to seek the pit of Gehenna (Hell). The world is like the letter “hey”;
closed on all side but widely open at the bottom for the wicked to
fall through there.”
Rashi interprets the word be-hibaram as though it said “be-hey
baram”, with the “hey” He created them. This is
the first “hey” in the four lettered name of G-d. His
proof text from the book of Isaiah, is interpreted that two worlds
were created – a spiritual one above and a physical one below.
The shape of the “hey” is alluding to the fact that one
call fall out from the bottom (indicating wickedness). However, the
“hey” is also open at the top for those who do “teshuva”
repentance and a return to the ways of righteousness. The letter “chet”,
which looks like a “hey” is closed on top. This alludes
to ‘chait’ or “sin” (as in the al chait prayer
on Yom Kippur).
Let’s conclude with the verses from the beginning of chapter
two. It is recognizable as forming part of the Friday night Kiddush
and begins with 
:
va-yichulu ha-shamayim v’ha-aretz v’chol tz’va-am:
“The heavens and the earth were finished together with all their
hosts. And on the seventh day G-d finished His work which He had been
doing, and he ceased on the seventh day from all His work, which he
had done. G-d blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because
on it he ceased from all His work which G-d created.”
The word “va-yichulu” contains within it, the word for
vessel , 
(k’li).
When the act of creation was finished, it was a vessel prepared to
receive Godliness. As Human beings, we are endowed with a soul that
came from God when we were created “b’tzelem Elokim”
(in the image of Hashem). When God says to Moshe in the Parsha Terumah:
“let them build me a Sanctuary that I may dwell among them”,
it does not say “dwell within it”. By stating the Hebrew
b’tochem (among them), the implication is that God dwells within
each of us as a spark of divinity. In Yiddish it is called the pintele
yid.
That spark of divinity or holiness endows us with the ability to move
spiritual mountains. This is what the Torah is all about. When we
prepare are homes for the Sabbath, and prepare our minds and bodies
with Torah study, acts of loving kindness and mitzvos, then we become
a vessel for God as it is written in Psalm (Tehillim) 24:
“Hashem’s is the earth and its fullness, the inhabited
land and those who dwell in it. For He founded it upon seas, and established
it upon rivers. Who may ascend the mountain of Hashem, and who may
stand in the place of His sanctity? One with clean hands and pure
heart; who has not sworn in vain by My soul, and has not sworn deceitfully.
He will receive a blessing from Hashem and just kindness from the
G-d of his salvation…”
