This Shabbat - the Shabbat after Simchat Torah - is Shabbat Bereishit (“Shabbat of Beginning”). It is the first Shabbat of the annual Torah reading cycle on which the Torah section of Bereishit (“In the Beginning”) is read.

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The weekly Torah reading is what defines the Jewish week, serving as the guide and point of reference for the week’s events, deeds and decisions; Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi called this “living with the times.” Hence the theme and tone of this week is one of beginning and renewal, as we launch into yet another cycle of Torah life. The Rebbes of Chabad would say: “As one establishes oneself on Shabbat Bereishit, so goes the rest of the year.”

Chabad.org

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This week’s parshah is Bereishit, and the Torah reading contains the story of creation, beginning with the well-known line commonly rendered, “In the beginning, Gd created heaven and earth.” But the Chassidic Masters have interpreted it to also mean: “Gd created beginnings.” Not only did He create a new world, but He created the idea of new beginnings and new opportunities for all time.

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Imagine if there was never a time or opportunity to start over again? Our lives would be significantly poorer for it. You may be surprised to learn that, according to the Midrash and Kabbalistic tradition, ours was not the first world Gd created. He created other worlds too, but they did not please Him and so they did not endure. Only when it came to our world does it say, “And Gd saw that it was good.” This world found favor in His eyes. The others did not.

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What is the Midrash telling us? That Gd made mistakes? That He messed up and had to keep trying over and over again until he got it right? That doesn’t sound like the perfect Supreme Being we subscribe to. I heard a beautiful answer in the name of Rabbi Joseph Dov Soloveitchik: Of course, Gd doesn’t need to practice until He gets it right! By creating several worlds before ours, Gd was deliberately teaching us an important lesson for life. That it’s OK to make a mistake. That we can start again. That there can be new beginnings.

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This Shabbat, known as Shabbat Bereishit, is a time of new beginnings. It is the first Shabbat as we get back to the routine of the new year following the festive Yom Tov season. Most synagogues keep the white curtain over the ark and the white Torah mantles on for this Shabbat, as it is still connected to Yom Tov. It is a bridge into the new Jewish calendar year, and is rich with opportunity and potential. It helps us infuse the new year with the inspiration of our High Holiday experiences. Even if there may be areas of our lives which haven’t quite gone the way we would have liked them to, we can be assured that it is not too late to try again. Don’t be discouraged. Let’s grasp this wonderful opportunity for a fresh start and a new beginning.

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From an article by Rabbi Yossy Goldman

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Adam trudged past the gates of Eden, his head low, his feet heavy with the pain of remorse.

Suddenly he stopped. Then he spun around and exclaimed, “You had this planned! You put that fruit there knowing I would choose to eat from it! This is a plot! But tell me: Why?”

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There was no reply. But we have found an answer. Without failure, we can never truly reach into the depths of our souls. Only once we have fallen can we return and reach higher and higher without end. Beyond Eden.

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Rabbi Tzvi Freeman

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Adam’s soul was a composite of the souls of all his descendants - all of mankind. The Hebrew term for a human thus is adam. Mystics note that adam is an acronym for the names of three central figures: Adam, (King) David and Moshiach. The Baal Shem Tov derives from this that there is a spark of the soul of Moshiach within every single Jew.

Thus he concludes that it is incumbent upon every individual Jew to perfect and prepare that part of the spiritual stature of Moshiach to which his soul is related. By virtue of his bond with every Jew, because there is a part of him within every Jew, Moshiach is able to redeem the entire Jewish people. Conversely, every Jew is able to effect and hasten the actual manifestation of Moshiach. This is accomplished by means of Torah and mitzvot.

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From an article by Rabbi J. Immanuel Schochet

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It was my granddaughter’s first day of playgroup. My daughter had prepared her well. They had packed her knapsack, including some of my granddaughter’s favorite comfort toys. I listened as my daughter described how difficult this was for her. She was filled with uncertainty. Should she wait another year to enroll her, or would that just create more separation anxiety? I was about to console her. To tell her that although right now she is consumed with sadness and doubt, these strong emotions will pass. One day, when her all-grown-up baby eagerly waves goodbye as she runs off to play with her friends, she will vaguely remember the emotions of this day and laugh at how far away it seems.

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 I wanted to say that, but I didn’t. I didn’t because I remembered my own mother listening to me as I told her about my own inner turmoil as I sent off each of my children—first to playgroup, then to overnight camp, yeshivah or even a whole year away in seminary in Israel. She listened as I detailed my worries in each of my parenting dilemmas.

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At every stage of my life, each time I felt frightened, nervous, overwhelmed and incapable of meeting a challenge, I’m sure my mother wanted to tell me: “Don’t worry, it will be alright. I know it feels so huge now, but it will pass.” But she didn’t. She just quietly infused me with her confident warmth, compassion and understanding. Because my mother knew what I am learning: as much as you want to help a person avoid their challenge, it doesn’t work. They need to work through every experience for themselves. They need to learn its lessons on their own.

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At the end of the creation story in this week’s Torah portion, we read an interesting sentence which is also part of the Friday- night Kiddush. “Then Gd blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it He rested from all His work which He created to do.” (Gen 2:3) The wording is curious. Why the need for the words “to do”? G-d created our world, but to whom or what does the “to do” refer to?

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The commentaries explain that Gd created the world intentionally unfinished, so that humanity can be actively involved in bringing it to its intended goal, to become a home for Gd. (Bereishit Rabah 11:6)

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Each of us has areas in this world which we need to finish. Each of us has areas of our personalities that we need to develop, expand, stretch and improve. While we can give advice or share wisdom with another, none of us can gift another person with the experiences that they need undergo. Only in “doing” the work that we were meant to do, and experiencing the challenges and growing situations of our lives, do we each partake in making our world a home for Gd.

Chana Weisberg

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