After all the spiritual and emotional ups and downs of the four weeks of holidays, beginning with Rosh Hashanah, through Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and ending with Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, we find ourselves back at the beginning of the annual Torah reading cycle with the first six chapters of Genesis (Bereshit).
It seems appropriate to come back to the beginning after all that we have gone through since the last new year. But the beginning is never the same. Each year we are changed, a year older, a year wiser, perhaps with greater sadness or greater joy than the year before.
But we find ourselves engaging with the same text, “When God began to create* heaven and earth—” (Genesis 1:1) Rashi (Germany 11th Century) asked why the Torah begins with the creation of the universe, rather than the first commandment “This month shall be unto you the first of the months” (Exodus 12:2)
Rashi’s answer is to show the nations of the world that God created everything and chose to give the Land of Israel to the Jewish people.
But perhaps another reason is to show us that God is the source of all existence. Without God, there can be no life. So let us begin the new year with deep gratitude for the gift of life and the opportunity to grow to become better people and do good in the world.
Bereshit 33:12-34:26; Genesis 1:1-6:8, Parshat Hashavua for Shabbat, October 22, 2022
October 21, 2022 by Dean Kertesz • Drashot
After all the spiritual and emotional ups and downs of the four weeks of holidays, beginning with Rosh Hashanah, through Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and ending with Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, we find ourselves back at the beginning of the annual Torah reading cycle with the first six chapters of Genesis (Bereshit).
It seems appropriate to come back to the beginning after all that we have gone through since the last new year. But the beginning is never the same. Each year we are changed, a year older, a year wiser, perhaps with greater sadness or greater joy than the year before.
But we find ourselves engaging with the same text, “When God began to create* heaven and earth—” (Genesis 1:1) Rashi (Germany 11th Century) asked why the Torah begins with the creation of the universe, rather than the first commandment “This month shall be unto you the first of the months” (Exodus 12:2)
Rashi’s answer is to show the nations of the world that God created everything and chose to give the Land of Israel to the Jewish people.
But perhaps another reason is to show us that God is the source of all existence. Without God, there can be no life. So let us begin the new year with deep gratitude for the gift of life and the opportunity to grow to become better people and do good in the world.