(Please note that this Drash was written prior to the events of October 7th.)
The Jewish Holy Days of Tishrei are behind us: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. Once more we begin reading our Torah from the beginning, “When God began to create heaven and earth— the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.” Our Torah begins with God creating the Universe by bringing order out of chaos and creating light. But why does the Torah begin with the creation of the Universe, rather than with Abraham, the first monotheist, or the story of Israelite enslavement and liberation in Egypt? Rashi (11th C. Germany) provides this explanation, “Rabbi Isaac said: The Torah which is the Law book of Israel should have commenced with the verse (Exodus 12:2) “This month shall be unto you the first of the months” which is the first commandment given to Israel. What is the reason, then, that it begins with the account of the Creation? Because of the thought expressed in the text (Psalms 111:6) “He declared to His people the strength of His works (i.e. He gave an account of the work of Creation)” In other words, the Torah begins with creation because it is more than a book of laws or a history of the Jewish people. It is an account of the human understanding of God and begins with God as the creative source of all existence. Without a universal God, the Jewish people do not have a universal message. This continues to be our task, to share the message of God with the world.
Bereshit Genesis 1:1-6:8, Parashat Hashavua for October 14, 2023
October 13, 2023 by Dean Kertesz • Drashot
(Please note that this Drash was written prior to the events of October 7th.)
The Jewish Holy Days of Tishrei are behind us: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. Once more we begin reading our Torah from the beginning, “When God began to create heaven and earth— the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.” Our Torah begins with God creating the Universe by bringing order out of chaos and creating light. But why does the Torah begin with the creation of the Universe, rather than with Abraham, the first monotheist, or the story of Israelite enslavement and liberation in Egypt? Rashi (11th C. Germany) provides this explanation, “Rabbi Isaac said: The Torah which is the Law book of Israel should have commenced with the verse (Exodus 12:2) “This month shall be unto you the first of the months” which is the first commandment given to Israel. What is the reason, then, that it begins with the account of the Creation? Because of the thought expressed in the text (Psalms 111:6) “He declared to His people the strength of His works (i.e. He gave an account of the work of Creation)” In other words, the Torah begins with creation because it is more than a book of laws or a history of the Jewish people. It is an account of the human understanding of God and begins with God as the creative source of all existence. Without a universal God, the Jewish people do not have a universal message. This continues to be our task, to share the message of God with the world.