בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ.
“In the beginning God created
the heaven and the earth.” (Bereishis 1:1)
רשי: בראשית: אמר רבי יצחק לא היה צריך
להתחיל [את] התורה אלא (שמות יב ב) מהחודש הזה לכם, שהיא מצוה ראשונה שנצטוו [בה]
ישראל, ומה טעם פתח בבראשית, משום…
“In the beginning: Said Rabbi Yitzchak: It was not necessary to begin the
Torah except from “This month is to you,” (Shemos 12:2) which is the first
commandment that the Israelites were commanded. Now
for what reason did He commence with “In the beginning?” Because…”
(Rashi, Bereishis 1:1)
 |
| Figures at top of stele "fingernail" above Hammurabi's code of laws. [Wikipedia, source] |
Parashas Bereishis
establishes Hashem as the Creator. He creates the world. Then He creates Adam and Chava, places them in a
wonderful garden, and then gives them the first commandment.
Sefer Bereishis outlaying the
early history of the world, showing how He was concerned with humanity behaving
in a moral manner, interceding when necessary, in the Dispersal, the Flood, and
in Sedom. Sefer Bereishis also explains the special relationship Hashem
developed with the forebears of the Jewish nation, and how He took a wandering
Aramean, Avraham, and transformed him first into a great family and then, from
a great family into a great nation. The beginning of Sefer Shemos, prior to
that first commandment, explains how Hashem redeemed the Jewish nation from
servitude in Egypt. Indeed, we see this role of Creator or Redeemer as a basis
for the laws of Shabbos (see Shemos 20:7-10 and Devarim 5:11-14).
We rely on zechus avos, the
merits of our forebears, for Hashem’s continued kindness to us. But, in
parallel, one big reason for our continued relationship with Hashem is gratitude
for how he treated our forebears.
A tangential, related thought,
about mirrored kindness and zechus. We read in Sefer Yirmeyahu:
הָלֹךְ וְקָרָאתָ בְאָזְנֵי יְרוּשָׁלִַם לֵאמֹר,
כֹּה אָמַר ה', זָכַרְתִּי לָךְ חֶסֶד נְעוּרַיִךְ, אַהֲבַת
כְּלוּלֹתָיִךְ--לֶכְתֵּךְ אַחֲרַי בַּמִּדְבָּר, בְּאֶרֶץ לֹא זְרוּעָה.
“Go, and cry in the ears of
Jerusalem, saying: Thus saith the LORD: I remember for thee the affection of
thy youth, the love of thine espousals; how thou wentest after Me in the
wilderness, in a land that was not sown.” (Yirmeyahu 2:2)
What is this חֶסֶד נְעוּרַיִךְ, this “affection
of thy youth”? The standard explanation, given by Rashi, is that this is the
kindness that the Israelites showed to Hashem:
זכרתי לך. אם הייתם שבים אלי תאוותי לרחם עליכם כי זכרת חסד נעוריך ואהבת
כלילת חופתך שהכללתיך לחופה, ולשון הכנסה הוא, כלולותיך נוצי"ש בלע"ז, ומה
הוא חסד נעוריך? לכתך אחר שלוחי משה ואהרן מארץ נושבת יצאתם למדבר, ואין צדה לדרך
כי האמנתם בי.
“I remember to you: Were you
to return to Me, I would desire to have mercy on you for I remember the loving
kindness of your youth and the love of the nuptials of your wedding canopy,
when I brought you into the wedding canopy, and this (כלולתיך)
is an expression of bringing in. Your nuptials (Noces in O.F.). Now what was
the loving kindness of your youth? Your following My messengers, Moses and
Aaron, from an inhabited land to the desert without provisions for the way
since you believed in Me.” (Rashi, Yirmeyahu 2:2)
An alternative explanation
can be found in the commentary of Mahari Kara on the same pasuk:
(זכרתי לך חסד נעוריך) את שכחת חסד שעשיתי לך מנעוריך שגאלתי אתכם מתחת סבלות מצרים
והולכתי אתכם במדבר וספקתי צורכיכם במדבר ארבעים שנה והריני מזכיר לך חסד שעשיתי
לך מנעוריך כשהלכת אחרי.
“I remember to you: You have forgotten the kindness I have done for you
from your youth. For I have redeemed you from under the burdens of Egypt and
have taken you through the wilderness, and provided for your needs in the
wilderness for forty years. And I am now reminding you of the kindness I
performed from you from your youth, when you went after me.”
Sof
davar, as we begin sefer Bereishis, we should consider this possible purpose.
We don’t start out with the dry laws – the what. Rather, we begin with the role
of Hashem, as Creator, as Redeemer from Egypt, and as Developer of the Jewish
nation. In this way, we can appreciate why we should perform the mitzvos.
Thus, בְּרֵאשִׁית -- in the beginning, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ, we should know and appreciate that Hashem created the heaven and the earth.
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Sources:
[1] Bereishis 1:1
[2] Rashi, Bereishis 1:1
[3] Yirmeyahu 2:2, zacharti lach chesed ne'urayich
[4] Rashi, Yirmeyahu 2:2
Hebrew:
English:
[5] Mahari Kara, Yirmeyahu
2:2
[6] Shemos 20:7-10, commandment of Shabbos
[7] Devarim 5:11-14, commandment of Shabbos
