Bereishis

Divrei Torah

In the beginning Hashem created the heavens and

the earth
(Bereishis 1:1)

Why did Hashem create the world? Ramchal (Daas Tevunos, 2:18) comments
that Hashem created the world because He is absolutely Good. Part of being
Good is wanting to bestow Goodness onto others. Hashem therefore sought
to make creations so that He may bestow goodness onto them.
As Chovos Halevavos observes (Shaar Habechinah, 5), Hashem bestows
goodness is a wide variety of ways. One of these ways is by providing for
mankind's physical needs. What Man needs most urgently is found is most
ubiquitously. Hence, oxygen enabling respiration is found everywhere. Water,
also necessary for life but not as urgently needed as oxygen, is found in less
abundance. Food, without which man could survive for some time, is found in
less frequency.

And Hashem called the Firmament, "Sky." And it

was evening and it was morning, a second day.
(Bereishis 1:8)
Why did Hashem call the Firmament, "Sky?" Why did He not simply call the
Firmament, "firmament?"
Kli Yakar observes that the very word for Firmament, "rakiya", connotes
division and separation. This word is used (Shemos 39:3) to speak of beating
gold into fine plates to form the threads of the priestly garments. As we wish
to avoid the ideas of separation and division, the heavens were named
"shamayim"(sky) rather than "rakiya."

And Hashem completed His work on the seventh

day which He had done, and He rested on the
seventh day from all His labor He had done
(Bereishis 2:2)

R. Yosef Dov Soloveitchik (Beis Halevi) comments that in general, there are
two types of mitzvos (commandments). There are commandments which call
upon Man to distance himself from his baser nature. The commandment to
observe the Sabbath is a mitzvah of a different kind; it calls upon Man to
sanctify nature. The Sabbath attests that everything in the world was created by
Hashem. As such, it stands to reason that we must use the world's contents to
serve Him. By using everything around us to serve our Creator we make the
mundane world holy.

And Hashem formed man of dust from the ground,

and he blew into his nostrils the soul of life; and
man became a living being
(Bereishis 2:7)
 R. Yehudah Leib Chasman (Or Yahel) comments that this verse shows that
Man is made up of two contradictory elements. One element is physical matter
("dust") and the other is spiritual ("a soul of life"). The physical part of Man is
attracted to material desires making him similar to an animal. But his "soul of
life" makes him similar to an angel.
As the verse says, Hashem made Man into a "living being." This means He
gave Man the ability to control his animal nature and to subject it to the will of
his angelic side.

*


And Kayin knew his wife and she conceived
and begat Chanoch; And it was that he built a
city and he called the name of the city like the
name of his son, Chanoch

(Bereishis 4:17)

After being banished, Kayin, Adam's murderous offspring, builds a city and
names it for his son, Chanoch. R. Moshe Sternbach (Taam V'Daas) says that
this teaches us a lesson about repentance. After killing his brother and
reducing the world population, Kayin sought to undo the damage by building a
city to encourage repopulation. It befits one who wishes to repent to find a
way to benefit the masses.

Hashkafa

In the beginning Hashem created the heavens and

the earth
 (Bereishis 1:1)

The first of Rambam's Thirteen Principles of Faith is that Hashem "creates and
leads" all creations.
As Midrash Hagadol points out, the word "bara" (created) connotes a
creation from absolute nothingness. Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim 2:30) remarks
that the creation of the world ex nihilo (from utter nothingness) is a
fundamental principle in itself.

The fact that the wording of the First Principle is that Hashem "creates" (in the
present form) is not accidental. Creation is an ongoing process, constantly
occurring. In the shacharis (morning) prayers we recite that Hashem "renews
each day the works of His creation," meaning that everything in existence is
constantly being recreated (see also, Seforno, Shemos 34:6). Were Hashem to
cease to constantly recreate every piece of matter, all would fall into non-
existence (see Nefesh Hachaim, 1:2).
*

And Hashem created Man in his image; in the image

of Hashem He created him, male and female He
created them
(Bereishis 1:27)

What does it mean to be created in the "image of Hashem?"

R. Shimshon Raphael Hirsch explains that "image" refers to an external
cover. The "image of Hashem" means the concentration in physical form of all
the kindness, mercy, truth, justice and holiness of Hashem's ways. It is these
traits that Man constantly wears. These traits testify that Man has come from
the power of G-d and represents a type of divinity on earth.

And Hashem completed His work on the seventh

day which He had done, and He rested on the
seventh day from all His labor He had done
(Bereishis 2:2)

The advent of the Sabbath teaches us three things, according to R. Shimshon

Dovid Pincus (Shabbos Kodesh, pg. 113):

1) Hashem is the master of the world. Since Hashem provides us with what we
need, we do not need to work on the Sabbath. 2) Hashem is the creator and source
of everything. The above verse teaches that Hashem "finished" all the work He
did. This implies that He is the source of all the creation. 3) Hashem brings
existence to a halt. Not only is Hashem the master of the universe and creator of
everything, He also "rested on the seventh day from all His labor He had
done." This means, on the Sabbath, everything except Hashem ceases to be.
We are alone with Him and there is nothing, no reality, besides Him.

Bar/Bas Mitzvah

And Hashem formed man of dust from the ground,

and he blew into his nostrils the soul of life; and
man became a living being
(Bereishis 2:7)

The "soul of life" which Hashem breathed into Man is the neshama, loosely
translated as "soul." R. Moshe Kritzman (Likkutim Mazhirim, quoting the
Zohar) mentions that this soul is given to a man when he turns thirteen. Until
that age he has only a "nefesh chaya" an animal soul. His mature "nishmas chayim",
 "soul of life," comes from Hashem's Throne of Glory and lasts forever just like
its source, Hashem who breathed it into Man.
This idea is fundamental for a child who reaches the age of majority Many
focus on the fact that a bar/bat mitzvah boy/girl is more liable to Divine
punishment than he/she was before adulthood. Instead of focusing on this
harsh reality, we should be focusing on the elevation of the soul at such an
occasion! A bar/bat mitzvah is no longer like an animal following his base
needs. He now has a part of the Throne of Glory within him! This is a
tremendous privilege and elevation.

Wedding



And Hashem, G-d, said, "It is not good for
Man to be alone; I will make for him a helper
opposite him."

(Bereishis 2:18)

We read that because it is not good for man to be alone and so Hashem created
a helpmate for him. This supposition seems curious. Adam, the first man,
seemed to have it all. The entire world (literally!) was his. What could be "not
good" about his situation?
R. Chaim Kamil (quoted in Moser Derech, Meir Derech) says that we can see
from here that "having it all" without having the opportunity to bestow
goodness onto others, is not true goodness. Having true goodness means
being able to give and benefit another, to beget a new generation, and to be a
partner in Hashem's creation.

Sometimes a married person thinks in terms of what his or her partner can do
for him. In truth, it is a man's duty to seek goodness in a marriage true
 goodness. A man must always be thinking, "What can I give to my wife? How
can I give her goodness and, by doing so, fulfill Hashem's wish that I
experience goodness?"
A wife also must think how she can be "a helper opposite him." By trying her
utmost to achieve this end, and by a husband trying his utmost to bestow
goodness, both partners can be assured they will be meeting the Divine goal of
their holy union.

Birth

And Hashem blessed them and Hashem said to

them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the land
and subdue it and rule over the fish of the sea and
the fowl of the sky, and every living thing that
moves on earth
(Bereishis 1:28)

The birth of a child heralds a great spiritual milestone. As Ben Ish Chai (1:1)
observes, the height of Creation is when a soul achieves spiritual perfection.
As such our sages say (see Tur, Even Haezer,1:1) that the world was created for
the mitzvah (commandment) of "pru urvu", procreation. Creating children gives
us the opportunity to practice perfecting new souls.
We may add to this that the Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah, 1:4) teaches that the
world was created for the Torah. If so, we can join these two ideas together,
namely, that the world was created both for procreation and for Torah study.
It emerges that if the results of procreation is not coupled with Torah study,
one is not fulfilling the purpose of Creation. One must raise his children upon
the path of Torah and by doing so, one perfects his soul and achieves
justification for the world's purpose.