Thank G-d: once again it is Friday, and accordingly for Jews this means the beginning of the Holy Shabbat. Every week, Jews read a portion of the Torah and study it. Highly pertinent to many on this blog, this week we are reading a highly contentious portion around some parts called Bereishit (“In the beginning”) (Genesis 1:1-6:8).
The Creation of the World, and Adventures of the First Humans
Dateline: December 1968
From his window he could watch the blue orb of planet earth getting smaller and smaller. Looming in front of him in all its detail was a giant moon. Astronaut Frank Borman of Apollo 8 was filled with emotion, as he drew closer and closer to the fulfillment of one of man’s greatest dreams of landing on the moon. As the lunar module orbited, the crew could perceive the moon in its pristine state, untouched by human hands, exactly as it left the hands of its Creator. (One could imagine Adam opening his eyes for the first time and viewing a pristine Earth with the same awe.)
Borman wanted to convey this feeling to everyone glued to their TVs and radios, just so they could in some sense share the experience of this milestone in history. What text could express this feeling? What human poet or author could capture in words that awesome feeling of the smallness of man and the vastness of the universe?
To the ears of billions of earthlings, Borman declared, “In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth!” The first chapter of Genesis was read on that historical day to all mankind. (In contrast to the Cosmonauts who orbited the Earth in Sputnik and proclaimed, “We went to Heaven and didn’t find God!”) This is the beginning of the story of man and his world.
Despite false claims to the contrary, Creation is deeply rooted in Torah. The following are a few exceptionally general, and basic statements of Jews regarding Creation.
“IN THE BEGINNING” – INTRODUCTION TO THE TORAH
Judaism believes that the Bible is a Divine book. Just as a human author generally writes about topics that interest him, we can similarly assume that the Divine Author of the Torah writes about things that interest Him. Here’s a bird’s eye view of the opening chapters of the Torah:
(1) “In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth” (Genesis 1:1). What a contrast between the vast endless heaven containing countless stars, and one tiny speck in the universe called Planet Earth! Yet the following verse begins, “And the Earth was…” and the rest of the book focuses on Earth. Conclusion: God is interested in Earth!
(2) The six days of creation are described in detail. The trees and grass, the animals, fish, birds, and insects. Then was created one human. What a contrast between the vast expanse of planet Earth, and one individual person! Yet from this point on, the Torah focuses exclusively on humans (and NOT on the trees or insects). Conclusion: God is interested in humanity!
(3) After expounding upon the first human, the Torah lists 10 generations with no events recorded. These generations evidently did not interest the author and are only included for the purpose of chronology. Finally we find the passage, “and Noah was a righteous man” (Genesis 6:9), followed by an entire section concerning Noah. Conclusion: God is interested in “righteous people”!
(4) This is followed again by a list of names for chronological purposes. Another 10 generations go by, until we come to Abraham our Father. Abraham is 75 years old at the time the Torah speaks of him (more details of his youth are found in the oral tradition). From this point on, the Torah records exclusively the story of Abraham’s life and then that of his descendents – right up until the emergence of the Jewish people. The rest of the Torah recounts God’s relationship with the Jewish people. Conclusion: God is interested in the Jewish people who undertake a unique mission, to be a “light unto the nations,” to teach the world about spirituality and our Creator. (Rabbi Avigdor Miller)
There is a lot covered in the above article (many debated issues) so, if interested, I highly recommend the above link.
An antidote on the subject of Creation from a Jewish source.
“A disbeliever once asked Rabbi Akiva, ‘Who created the world?’ ‘The Almighty,’ replied Rabbi Akiva. ‘Prove it,’ demanded the disbeliever. Rabbi Akiva replied, ‘Come back tomorrow.’
“When the man returned on the following day, Rabbi Akiva asked him, ‘What are you wearing?’ ‘A robe,’ replied the man. ‘Who made it?’ asked Rabbi Akiva. ‘The weaver,’ said the man. ‘I don’t believe you! Prove it,’ demanded Rabbi Akiva.
” ‘That is ridiculous. Can’t you tell from the fabric and design that a weaver made this garment?’ answered the man. Rabbi Akiva then responded, ‘And you – can you not clearly tell that God made the world?’
“After the disbeliever left, Rabbi Akiva explained to his students, ‘Just as a house was obviously built by a builder and a garment obviously sewn by a tailor, so was the world (which follows a natural order) obviously made by a Creator!’ ”
{The source}
Creation from a Christian Source:
(Author Note: This Thread is not to a space for name-calling, personal attacks, angry vitriol, etc. I expect those who are small minded, and intellectually constrained on this issue to be discussed, but I encourage you to please do so politely, and factually! In short, this is a Thread about G-d – so act in His image!)
I wish the Jews a blessed Holy Shabbat, and to all else a meaningful weekend and day(s) of worship!
Bereshit: Shabbat is the spiritual soul of the world
by Rabbi Ya’aqob Menashe (edited for clarity by WrathofG-d)In the Torah portion of Bereshit we read that G-d rested on the Seventh day and blessed it and sanctified it.
The Alshikh Haqqadosh mentions that anything physical that is devoid of a spiritual dimension will surely perish. A perfect example is a human being who cannot survive once the spiritual soul leaves him. This is true of all that G-d created in this world.
The world that G-d created was purely physical and would, therefore, have not been able to exist. But when the Holy One Blessed Be He, imbued the abundance of holiness and blessing of the holy Shabbat into the world, it now had its required element of spirituality to permit it to survive. As it says in Ki Thissa: “Shabbat Vayinafash” (He ceased from work and was rested) [lit. and obtained a soul]).
The world, at first, was like a body lacking a soul. But what gave it a soul and the ability to exist was the Shabbat, which gave abundance and holiness to everything that was created.
Tags: Bereishit, Christianity, Creation, G-d, Judaism, Love, Science, Shabbat
