Parashat Bereshit Dvar Torah
Bereshit - Genesis 1:1–6:8
BEGIN AGAIN
בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” - Genesis 1:1
OPENING
Three years have passed since October 7.
Last week, we stopped counting the days.
We did not stop remembering.
Israel approaches an election. America approaches an election. The moral inversion that followed October 7 continues. The Phoney Peace continues. The diplomatic Kabuki theater continues.
The calendar has moved forward.
Our responsibility has not.
And this week, we return to Bereshit.
The beginning.
Not because the world has reset.
Because it is time to BEGIN AGAIN.
THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE
OCTOBER 7 - THREE YEARS LATER
This week marked the third anniversary of the atrocities of October 7, 2023.
We remember the murdered, the hostages, the fallen soldiers, the wounded and the families whose lives were forever changed.
Three years have passed.
The consequences remain.
But remembrance cannot mean standing still.
We remember the past.
We build the future.
TWO FREE SOCIETIES. TWO ELECTIONS.
Israel and the United States both approach elections.
Different countries. Different political systems. Different choices.
But the same fundamental responsibility:
Show up.
We may disagree about candidates, parties and policies.
That is the privilege of a free society.
Indifference is not a substitute for judgment.
MORAL INVERSION AND THE PHONEY PEACE
Three years after October 7, moral inversion continues.
Terrorism and self-defense. Aggressor and victim. Hostage-taker and hostage.
Too often, distinctions that should be clear are blurred or reversed.
Meanwhile, the diplomatic Kabuki theater continues.
Meetings. Statements. Proposals. Promises.
Diplomacy matters.
Genuine peace matters.
But words alone do not create peace.
Peace is measured by conduct, not press conferences.
TORAH RECAP
Bereshit - In the Beginning.
We have just completed the Torah.
Moses has died. The Israelites stand at the threshold of the Promised Land.
And immediately, we return to the beginning.
בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים
“In the beginning, God created…” - Genesis 1:1
The world begins in darkness and disorder.
Then:
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי אוֹר וַיְהִי־אוֹר
“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” - Genesis 1:3
God creates light.
And then God does something equally important:
וַיַּבְדֵּל אֱלֹהִים בֵּין הָאוֹר וּבֵין הַחֹשֶׁךְ
“And God separated the light from the darkness.” - Genesis 1:4
Creation requires distinction.
Light from darkness.
Land from water.
Day from night.
Order from chaos.
Creation continues.
The heavens. The earth. The seas. The plants. The animals.
And finally, humanity.
בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אֹתוֹ
“In the image of God He created him.” - Genesis 1:27
Human life is endowed with dignity.
But Bereshit does not give us an uncomplicated paradise.
Adam and Eve make choices.
Cain murders Abel.
Humanity confronts jealousy, violence and moral failure almost from the beginning.
The Torah’s first portion is not simply about the creation of the world.
It is about the creation of responsibility.
BRIDGE TO THE TORAH
Last week, we celebrated Simchat Torah.
We finished the Torah.
We began again.
And we danced.
This week, Bereshit reminds us why.
The Jewish people do not begin again because everything is suddenly right with the world.
We begin again because our responsibilities continue.
The Torah is not a straight line from beginning to end.
It is a Divine cycle.
Every year, we complete it.
Every year, we return to its opening words.
But we do not return as the same people.
We carry another year of experiences.
Another year of accomplishments.
Another year of loss.
Another year of lessons.
The words remain the same.
We have changed.
And so we begin again.
TORAH LESSONS FOR TODAY
1. THE BEGINNING IS NOT AN ERASURE.
Bereshit does not ask us to forget what came before.
It asks us to create what comes next.
Three years after October 7, the Jewish people carry enormous loss.
But our history is not defined solely by what others have done to us.
We have rebuilt after destruction.
We have created after catastrophe.
We have built families, communities, institutions and a nation.
Those who attacked us wanted October 7 to define what came next.
Bereshit reminds us that the Jewish people define what comes next.
2. LIGHT AND DARKNESS ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE.
Before the world can move forward, God makes a distinction:
Light from darkness.
That distinction matters.
Bereshit does not teach us that everything is morally equivalent.
It teaches us to distinguish.
Truth from falsehood.
Justice from its imitation.
Responsibility from indifference.
Peace from the performance of peace.
Moral clarity does not require abandoning compassion.
It requires refusing to abandon truth.
Compassion without moral clarity is not justice.
3. CREATION REQUIRES ACTION.
God does not merely contemplate creation.
God creates.
And humanity, created in God’s image, inherits responsibility for the world.
We cannot control every government.
Every institution.
Every international crisis.
But we can control whether we participate.
Whether we speak.
Whether we help.
Whether we build.
Whether we vote.
The approaching elections in Israel and the United States remind us that citizenship carries responsibilities.
We are not merely observers of the world we inherit.
We are participants in the world we create.
WE REMEMBER
Three years after October 7, we remember those murdered in their homes, at the Nova music festival and in their communities.
We remember those taken hostage.
We honor the soldiers who fell defending Israel.
We pray for the wounded and for every family still carrying loss.
We no longer count the days in these weekly reflections.
But remembrance does not end when counting stops.
NEVER FORGET.
NEVER DO NOTHING.
TURN WORDS INTO DEEDS.
STEWARDSHIP INSIGHT
WHAT WILL WE CREATE?
Bereshit begins with creation.
It also introduces humanity’s responsibility for what has been created.
וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ בְגַן־עֵדֶן לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ
“And He placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to guard it.” - Genesis 2:15
To work.
To guard.
Two responsibilities.
We are not simply beneficiaries of an inheritance.
We are its stewards.
That applies to our families.
Our communities.
Our institutions.
The State of Israel.
The question is not simply what we received.
What will we create with what has been entrusted to us?
FINAL TAKEAWAY
Last week, we finished the Torah.
This week, we begin again.
Not because we have forgotten.
Because we remember.
The threats have not disappeared.
The moral inversion continues.
The Phoney Peace continues.
The Kabuki theater continues.
But so does our Divine cycle.
Darkness.
Light.
Distinction.
Creation.
Responsibility.
The world has not changed enough.
So we begin again.
May Hashem protect the people of Israel and guard the courageous men and women of the IDF and the United States Military.
May He bring healing to the wounded, comfort to those who mourn, and wisdom to those entrusted with leadership.
May we have the courage to distinguish light from darkness—and the determination to create more light.
Shabbat Shalom. Am Yisrael Chai. 💙✡️🇮🇱✡️💙
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