B'reisheet בְּרֵאשִׁית - In the Beginning
Torah Portion: Genesis 1:1-6:8
Day #1: Genesis 1:1-2:3
1:1 In the beginning, Elohim created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep, and Elohim’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 Elohim said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 Elohim saw the light, and saw that it was good. Elohim divided the light from the darkness. 5 Elohim called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day.
6 Elohim said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Elohim made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 8 Elohim called the expanse “sky”. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.
9 Elohim said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;” and it was so. 10 Elohim called the dry land “earth”, and the gathering together of the waters he called “seas”. Elohim saw that it was good. 11 Elohim said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the earth;” and it was so. 12 The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after their kind; and Elohim saw that it was good. 13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
14 Elohim said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs to mark seasons, days, and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth;” and it was so.
16 Elohim made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17 Elohim set them in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. Elohim saw that it was good. 19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
20 Elohim said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” 21 Elohim created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. Elohim saw that it was good. 22 Elohim blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
24 Elohim said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind;” and it was so. 25 Elohim made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. Elohim saw that it was good.
26 Elohim said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 Elohim created man in His own image. In Elohim’s image He created him; male and female he created them. 28 Elohim blessed them. Elohim said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 Elohim said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food. 30 To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so. 31 Elohim saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
2 The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished. 2 On the seventh day, Elohim finished His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Elohim blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because He rested in it from all His work of creation which He had done.
Today’s Meditation:
Hashem essentially created the entire universe, including His planet Earth, in six days. The question asked over the centuries is: Why? Some think that He wanted companionship. Others believe He wanted to be worshiped. I speculate He wanted both.
During His creation, He made stars for us to enjoy in the evening. A beautiful sun to warm us during the day. Water to drink, and plants to eat. And the best part was to be walking with Him, the Almighty, together in a very beautiful place. Worshiping and loving Him every minute of the day. He created a place to love, to expand His love. He created us so that we would reside in His presence and worship Him with all our hearts, souls, and strength. Only we messed it all up. We disobeyed Him, got selfish, and were removed from His presence.
Now we have His planet, but it is bruised and damaged. We can catch glimpses of His presence only through prayer, His Word, and worship. But in the end, we will walk with Him again. And once again, we will be surrounded by His perfect creation. It might be good to start planning for that day.
Today’s Challenge:
In verse 3, Elohim creates “light”. You may want to think about your own life. Are you a light, a representative of Hashem’s love for others? When people look at you, do they see the Spirit of Hashem lighting up your life? Make some changes today and try to be a mirror of who Hashem can be in one’s life. When people perceive you as religious or spiritual, they tend to watch you more closely. If you make a mistake, admit it and try to rectify the situation. That will teach them about Hashem’s grace and forgiveness, rather than making you appear hypocritical.
