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בְּרֵאשִׁית

בְּרֵאשִׁית. בְּרֵאשִׁית The Beginning had a Plan Torah is the Plan of Creation Ceaser. Chumash Talmud Zohar Genesis Rabba. Rav Shimon bar Yochai author of the Zohar Rabbi Baruch Shalom Halevi Ashlag, and Rabbi Michael Burg Translation of the Zohar to English

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בְּרֵאשִׁית

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  1. בְּרֵאשִׁית בְּרֵאשִׁית The Beginning had a Plan Torah is the Plan of Creation Ceaser

  2. Chumash Talmud Zohar Genesis Rabba Rav Shimon bar Yochai author of the Zohar Rabbi Baruch Shalom Halevi Ashlag, and Rabbi Michael Burg Translation of the Zohar to English Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson Rashi Arizal Rav Ovadia Soforno Ibn Ezra Nachmanides Sources

  3. Overview Our sages tell us that you have to dig in the Torah and you will find truth. As an example, the final letters of the first three words of the Torah are the mixed up letters of the word Emet (True). Dig a little deeper, and the truth will be clearer: The final letters of the second through fourth words spells Emet in order. (1:1-2:3) The world is created in six days. The first Shabbat. (2:4-25) The creation and, in particular, the creation of humanity. Adam and Eve are placed in the Garden of Eden “to till it and to tend it.” (3:1-7) The snake tempts the woman to eat of the forbidden fruit. She persuades the man also to eat it. They become aware of their nakedness, and they make clothing for themselves from fig leaves. (3:8-24) God’s first question of human beings: “Where are you?” God punishes the snake by making it crawl on its belly, and by the enmity of human beings; the woman by the pains of childbirth; the man by alienation from the earth. Expulsion from the Garden of Eden. (4:1-15) Cain’s murder of Abel and God’s response. (4:17-26) The descendants of Cain. The taunting song of Lamech. The birth of Seth, and his son Enosh. (5:1-6:8) The ten generations from Adam to Noah The Torah begins with the narrative of creation, how G-d brought the world into being from absolute nothingness. That is an awesome lesson. Whenever an entity is made - brought into being although it did not exist before - a question is immediately raised: Why was it made? Even a mortal acts with purpose, doing things with a goal in mind. Surely, this applies with regard to G-d. He brought our world into existence, because He had a goal and a purpose. What was that purpose? On the verse, "And the spirit of G-d was hovering over the waters," our Sages comment: "This refers to the spirit of Mashiach." And in other sources, they state: "The world was created solely for Mashiach." To explain: Our Sages tell us G-d created the world because He wanted a dwelling, a home. A person lets loose and functions without inhibitions in his own home. So too, G-d wanted a place where He could reveal Himself without constraints, where who He is can come into expression. That's why He created our world. (Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson)

  4. בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים,אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. HaShem Creates The Spiritual World Heaven The Material World Earth בְּרֵאשִׁית • It is forbidden to inquire what existed before creation, as Moses distinctly tells us (Deut. iv. 32): "Ask now of the days that are past which were before thee, since the day God created man upon earth." Thus the scope of inquiry is limited to the time since the Creation.(Midrash Rabba Beresheet) G-d looked into the Torah and created the world. Man looks into Torah and sustains the world. (Zohar Beresheet A) The Hebrew verb bara ("created") employed by this verse specifically means the creation of something from nothing. (Ibn Ezra) "In the beginning" refers to the beginning of time --the first, indivisible moment, before which time did not exist. (Soforno)

  5. The unity of God is at once set before us in the history of creation, where we are told He, not they, created. (Midrash Rabba Beresheet) What was Created first? Talmud - Mas. Tamid 32a The heavens were created first, as it says. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. He said to them: Was light created first, or darkness? They replied: This question cannot be solved. Why did they not reply that darkness was created first, since it is written, Now the earth was unformed and void and darkness, and after that, And God said, Let there be light, and there was light? Talmud - Mas. Chagigah 12a Our Rabbis taught: Beth Shammai say: Heaven was created first and afterwards the earth was created, for it is said: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Beth Hillel say: Earth was created first and afterwards heaven, for it is said: In the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. Beth Hillel said to Beth Shammai: According to your view, a man builds the upper storey [first] and afterwards builds the house! For it is said: It is he that buildeth His upper chambers in the heaven, and hath founded His vault upon the earth. Said Beth Shammai to Beth Hillel: According to your view, a man makes the footstool [first], and afterwards he makes the throne! For it is said: Thus saith the Lord, The Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. But the Sages say: Both were created at the same time. (63) For it is said: Yea, Mine hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand hath spread out the heavens: When I call unto them they stand up together. And the others? What is the meaning of ‘together’? — [It means] that they cannot be loosened from one another (63) C. Taylor in ‘Sayings of the Jewish Fathers’, p. 107. n. 40, points out that ‘the three views’ (of the Schools of Shammai and Hillel, and of the Sages) may be taken as texts for three philosophies, viz., idealism, evolutionism and dualism (quoted by Streane). בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ

  6. בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ 1. With the beginning of the manifestation of the King's will, THAT IS, WHEN THE KING DESIRED TO CREATE THE WORLD, a hard spark made an engraving upon the supernal light. THIS HARD SPARK, WHICH emanated from the most concealed of all concealed things--from the secret of ein-sof (endlessness)-and took a shapeless form. THE SPARK was then inserted into THE CENTER OF a circle that was neither white nor black nor red nor green, nor any color at all. When He began its measurements, He created bright colors that shone into THE EMPTY SPACE AND THE ENGRAVING. From within the spark - THIS HARD SPARK - a fountain spouted, from which the shades down below received their colors. 2. From the most concealed of all concealed things, the secret of ein-sof (endlessness), EMANATED TWO FACES: ONE cleaved and THE OTHER DID not cleave. Its atmosphere was unknown until forceful blows split ATIK, and a concealed supernal point shone. Beyond this point, nothing is knowable and, because of this, He is called by the name Beginning, WHICH MEANS the First of the Sayings. (Zohar Beresheet A) 1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Zohar Beresheet A The Zohar discusses the primordial phase that ignited the process of creation. This phase produced a vacated space, a void into which our physical universe would eventually be born. By this act of creation, the infinite gave birth to the finite. Just as a seed contains all the stages that will produce a full grown tree, including the final fruit, the seed of our cosmos contains all the souls of mankind, including our complete and final fulfillment. Recognizing this motivates us to complete our own spiritual work. It accelerates our spiritual transformation by revealing our connection with the seed, which is the cause of all causes. (Rav Ashlag 1936-1978 Translation of the Zohar and Commentary with Rabbi Michael Burg) א

  7. Talmud - Mas. Chagigah 12a Rab Judah further said that Rab said: Ten things were created the first day, and they are as follows: heaven and earth, Tohu [chaos], Bohu [desolation],light and darkness, wind and water, the measure of day and the measure of night. R. Zulra b. Tobiah said that Rab said: by ten things was the world created: By wisdom and by understanding, and by reason, and by strength, and by rebuke, and by might, by righteousness and by judgment, by lovingkindness and by compassion. By wisdom and understanding, The Torah was to God, when he created the world, what the plan is to an architect when he erects a building. (THE BERESHITH OR GENESIS RABBA) The Shaloh explains that the two luminaries within Torah refer to the Written Torah (the sun) and the Oral Torah (the moon). The Oral Torah is called "the moon" because it obtains its illumination from the Written Torah, just as the moon obtains its luminosity from the sun. Thus the Talmud often employs the expression "From whence do we know? For the verse states...." In other words, the Oral Torah is based on the Written Torah. (Likkutei Sichos, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson The first word of the Torah is Bereishis, usually translated as "In the Beginning." The word better translates as "Two firsts", (Beis = two, reishis = first). We learn that the world was created by HaShem for two firsts, the Torah and Am Yisrael. (Likkutei Sichos, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson Plans

  8. וְהָאָרֶץ, הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ, וְחֹשֶׁךְ, עַל-פְּנֵי תְהוֹם; וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים, מְרַחֶפֶת עַל-פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם. 2 Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. 2. Now the earth was astonishingly empty, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the water. (Chabad Interpretation) Talmud - Mas. Chagigah 12b ‘And the earth was unformed and void’. Consider: [Scripture] began at first with heaven, why then does it proceed to relate [first] the work of the earth? — The School of R. Ishmael taught: It is like a human king who said to his servants: Come early to my door. He rose early and found women and men. Whom does he praise? The ones who are not accustomed to rise early but yet did rise early. Talmud - Mas. Shabbath 77b Rab Judah said in Rab's name: Of all that the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His world, He did not create a single thing without purpose. "And the earth was without form and void." There seems to be some reason for the earth's despondency, as though she was aware of her lot beforehand. (Midrash Rabba) 2. astonishingly empty. Heb. תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ. תֹהוּ is an expression of astonishment and desolation, that a person wonders and is astonished at the emptiness therein. astordison in Old French; [tourdissement in modern French], astonishment. בֹהוּ an expression of emptiness and desolation. (Rashi)

  9. 4. "And the earth was without form" The Creation process, the Zohar explains, began in a state of utter chaos. Out of this chaos emerged the concept of order. The Zohar reveals the process by which order emerges form chaos. The more furious and frenzied the initial chaos, the greater the order and the perfection that will eventually emerge. We can attain the ability to remove chaos from our lives. We can begin to grasp the hidden spiritual truth that chaos is really opportunity for bringing order and fulfillment. (Rav Ashlag 1936-1978 Translation of the Zohar and Commentary with Rabbi Michael Burg) ב  וְהָאָרֶץ, הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ, וְחֹשֶׁךְ, עַל-פְּנֵי תְהוֹם; וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים, מְרַחֶפֶת עַל-פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם. 2 Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. 17. "And the earth was without form and void..." (Beresheet 1:2) THE TERM "was" is exact IN THAT IT IMPLIES the earth's previous state, during which snow was mixed inside water. The act of the snow forming inside the water resulted in a foul substance. And AFTERWARD, a mighty fire beat upon it and refuse was formed inside it. It then conceived and became without form. The place where at first there was only filth, has become now a nest of refuse that is described as Tohu (without form). IT WENT THROUGH FOUR STAGES UNTIL IT BECAME TOHU: (1) LIGHT TURNED INTO WATER; (2) WATER TURNED INTO SNOW; (3) SNOW TURNED INTO REFUSE WITH THE INFLICTION OF THE FIRE; AND (4) THE REFUSE, OVER TIME, BECAME SUFFICIENTLY DISTINGUISHABLE TO BE CALLED TOHU. THE WORDS "and void" REFER TO the refined matter that emerged from the refuse and was set there. Darkness is the secret of the powerful fire and this darkness hovers above the Tohu, over that refuse, and is based upon it. IN OTHER WORDS, DARKNESS DOES NOT MEAN ONLY THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT--THAT IS, EMPTINESS-- BUT RATHER THE ASPECT THAT PRODUCES EMPTINESS, LIKE A STRONG FIRE THAT BURNS AND CONSUMES EVERYTHING IT TOUCHES AND LEAVES EMPTINESS IN ITS PLACE. THE REASON WHY IT IS CALLED DARKNESS AND NOT FIRE IS THAT THE BURNING FORCE IS NOT FROM THE FIRE ITSELF, BUT FROM THE REFUSE OVER WHICH IT HOVERS. THEREFORE, THIS DARKNESS IS BASED UPON THE TOHU, FROM WHICH IT RECEIVES. (Zohar Beresheet A)

  10. Day One Light and Darkness ג  וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, יְהִי אוֹר; וַיְהִי-אוֹר. ד  וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת-הָאוֹר, כִּי-טוֹב; וַיַּבְדֵּל אֱלֹהִים, בֵּין הָאוֹר וּבֵין הַחֹשֶׁךְ. ה  וַיִּקְרָא אֱלֹהִים לָאוֹר יוֹם, וְלַחֹשֶׁךְ קָרָא לָיְלָה; וַיְהִי-עֶרֶב וַיְהִי-בֹקֶר, יוֹם אֶחָד. 3 And God said: 'Let there be light.' And there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. For The Sake Of His Light It is written, “All the works of God are for His sake” (Mishlei 16:4), for all that has been created is for His own glory. However, this does not mean for His own end or good, God forbid, but rather the deeper explanation is in order to reveal His light and Glory to those who are worthy. [Arizal]

  11. 31. "Let there be (Heb. Yehi) light," means that everything that comes forth AND EMANATES IN THE WORLD proceeds according to the secret OF THE WORDS: "LET THERE BE LIGHT." Yehi ALLUDES TO the secret of Aba and Ima, which are Yud-Hei OF YEHI (YUD- HEIYUD). THE LETTER YUD ALLUDES TO ABA AND THE HEI TO IMA. Afterward, THE LETTERS YUD-HEI return to the first point BY ADDING ANOTHER POINT, NAMELY YUD, JUST LIKE THE FIRST ONE--AS IT IS WRITTEN: YEHI (YUD-HEI-YUD)--to institute a beginning for an expansion of something else. (Zohar Beresheet) Zohar Light is mentioned five times in the opening chapter of the Bible. This points to the five books of Moses. "God said, let there be light," refers to the book of Genesis, which enlightens us as to how creation was carried out. The words, "And there was light," bear reference to the book of Exodus, which contains the history of the transition of Israel from darkness to light. "And God saw the light that it was good": this alludes to the book of Leviticus, which contains numerous statutes. "And God divided between the light and between the darkness": this refers to the book of Numbers, divided as that book is between the history of those who came out of Egypt and that of those who were on their way to possess the promised land. "And God called the light day": this bears reference to the book of Deuteronomy, which is not only a rehearsal of the four earlier books, but contains Moses's eloquent dying charge to Israel and many laws not mentioned in the preceding books. (Midrash Rabba Beresheet)

  12. 37. "And Elohim called..." (Beresheet 1:5). HE ASKED: What is THE MEANING OF "AND ELOHIM called THE LIGHT DAY"? HE REPLIED, THIS MEANS THAT He called and invited it to bring forth from within that perfect light that stands in the middle, REFERRING TO TIFERET, one light. AND THIS LIGHT is the foundation of the world, upon which all worlds are erected AND FROM WHERE ALL THE SOULS ARE BORN. From this perfected "light" emerges the Central Column, the foundation of the life of the worlds, this being the day from the right side. THE WORDS: "And the darkness he called Night" MEAN THAT He called and invited it, bringing forth one female from within the left side, the secret of darkness. THIS FEMININE PRINCIPLE IS THE SECRET OF the moon that governs the night. FOR THIS REASON, it is called night. AND THIS IS the secret of THE NAME 'Adonai' and THE 'NAME Master of all Earth.‘ (Zohar Beresheet A) Light of HaShem Light the Male Principal Giving Principal Darkness The Female Principal Receiving Principal The Central Column of Souls and of Free Will 3 Columns Three distinct spiritual energy forces permeate all existence. Using the language of metaphor, the Zohar identities these three forces as Right, Left and Central Columns. Right correlates to the positive [+] force, which manifests physically as the proton. Left signifies the negative charge [-], manifesting as the electron. Central is expressed through the neutron, the force that bridges the positive and negative poles. (Rav Ashlag 1936-1978 Translation of the Zohar and Commentary with Rabbi Michael Burg)

  13. Light of Torah 181. ….. It was right to create him thus WITH LIGHT AND DARKNESS, because the Torah was created for the sake OF MAN, for it contains punishments for the sinful and rewards for righteous. Thus, there can be no reward for the righteous or punishment for the sinful without the man of Briyah, WHO CONSISTS OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS. IT IS WRITTEN: "He did not create it a wasteland (lit. 'formless'), he created it to be inhabited" (Yeshayah 45:18). THE WORLD WAS NOT CREATED TO BE FORMLESS, TO BE IN DARKNESS BECAUSE OF THE SINFUL, BUT "TO BE INHABITED", WHICH MEANS FOR THE SAKE OF REWARDING THE RIGHTEOUS. THIS REWARD IS THE CONCEPTION OF THE TORAH, AS IT IS WRITTEN: "FOR THE EARTH SHALL BE FULL OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF HASHEM" (YESHAYAH 11:9), FOR THE TORAH AND THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, ARE ONE AND THE SAME. HAD MAN NOT BEEN CREATED BY LIGHT AND DARKNESS, WHICH ENABLE HIM TO CHOOSE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL AND REWARD AND PUNISHMENT, THEN THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO WAY TO REVEAL THIS REWARD FOR THE RIGHTEOUS. THIS REWARD REFERS TO WHAT IS ATTAINED FROM THE TORAH THAT WAS CREATED FOR HIS SAKE. THE FRIENDS said, Indeed, we have certainly now heard what we had never heard before. It is now clear that the Holy One, blessed be He, did not create anything that He did not require. (Zohar Beresheet A)

  14. Serving • The above dialogue between the "nations of the world" and the "people of Israel" also takes place in the "miniature universe" within the heart of man. • The Jew serves G-d in two ways: 1) by fulfilling the Divine commandments (mitzvot) of the Torah; 2) by living his or her ordinary life--eating, sleeping, doing business, etc.--as an exercise in experiencing the Divine and serving G-d's purpose in creation (as expressed by the ideals "All your deeds should be for the sake of Heaven" (Ethics of the Fathers 2:12) and "Know Him in all your ways" (Proverbs 3:6)). • It is regarding the second area that the Jew's internal "nations of the world" (--worldly outlook) argues: You are thieves, for having conquered the lands of the seven nations! What business have you commandeering the "secular" areas of life? Must you turn everything into a religious issue? Serve G-d in the ways He has explicitly told us to serve Him, and leave the rest to their rightful, worldly owners! • To answer this argument, the Torah begins not with its first mitzvah, but with the statement, "In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth." "The entire world is G-ds, He created it"--the Torah is saying--not just the matzah eaten on Passover or the percentage of the ones income given to charity. • With its opening statement, the Torah is establishing that it is not merely a rulebook, a list of things to do or not to do. It is G-ds blueprint for creation, our guide for realizing the purpose for which everything in heaven and earth was made. Every creature, object and element, every force, phenomenon and potential, every moment of time, was created by G-d toward a purpose. Our mission in life is to conquer the lands of the seven nations and transform them into a Holy Land--a world permeated with the goodness and perfection of its Creator. (Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson)

  15. Plan of Creation Written and Oral Torah Material And Spiritual Worlds (Heaven and Earth) By Wisdom and by Understanding, By Reason, and by Strength, By Rebuke, and by Might, By Righteousness and by Judgment, By Lovingkindness and by Compassion. Punishments for the Sinful and Rewards for Righteous TWO FACES: ONE cleaved and THE OTHER DID not cleave. HaShem’s Temple in Heaven and His Temple in Jerusalem Two Columns Two Arks Two Cherubim Two Sets of Two Tablets Teffillin Head and Arm Two Goats on Yom Kippur Two Temples before the Mashiach One Temple after Two Mashiachs One God to Create Two People Two People to Create one World Duality The Lists are Endless

  16. Creation The first day of creation, which saw the creation of light, corresponds to the first millennium of history--the millennium of Adam, the light of the world, when the world was still saturated with knowledge of its Creator and was sustained by the indiscriminate benevolence of G-d. The second day, on which the Creator distinguished between the spiritual and the physical elements of His creation, yielded a second millennium of judgment and discrimination--as reflected in the Flood which wiped out a corrupt humanity and spared only the righteous Noah and his family. The third day, on which the land emerged from the sea and sprouted forth greenery and fruit-bearing trees, encapsulates the third millennium, in which Abraham began teaching the truth of the One G-d and the Torah was given on Mount Sinai. The fourth day, on which G-d created the sun and the moon, the two great luminaries: the greater luminary... and the lesser luminary, corresponds to the fourth millennium, during which the First Temple and the Second Temple in Jerusalem served as the Divine abode from which light emanated to the entire world. The fifth day, the day of fish, birds and reptiles, represents the lawless and predatory Dark Ages of the fifth millennium. The sixth day, whose early hours saw the creation of the beasts of the land, followed by the creation of man, is our millennium--a millennium marked by strong, forceful empires, whose beastly rule will be followed by the emergence of Moshiach, the perfect man who brings to realization the divine purpose in creation and ushers in the seventh millennium--the World to Come--a time of perfect peace and tranquility. (Nachmanides) All of what we are, we see, we did and will do, is the Work of HaShem that which we celebrate fifty-two Times a Year on Shabbat. “May it be Your Will, HaShem, the the Holy Temple be rebuilt speedily in our days and grant us our share in Your Torah….” Shabbat Shalom

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