B'simana tova, we start another cycle of Parashat Hashavua, and we're able to start from the beginning, literally, Parashat Bereshit. B'siyata Dishmaya (with Heavenly assistance), I pray that God should give us the ability to communicate these special ideas on a weekly basis, in good health, in good spirit, and that it should exit from my mind and mouth and enter your ears and your heart. And the Torah should be an elevation for all of us.
There's much to say in Parashat Bereshit. It's obvious the difficulty in Parashat Bereshit is what to pick. So many important subjects. So I'll start from the first three words. We're not going to get further than that, I don't think. Bereshit Bara Elohim. Now everybody knows what that means: in the beginning God created. What did he create? Continue the Pasuk (verse): he created the heavens and the earth.
It sounds like a very easy Pasuk, but I want to talk to you about grammar for a minute. I know nobody likes grammar, but when we were young, when we wrote compositions, when you write a sentence, the sentence has to be a complete sentence. You can't write half an idea in a sentence. The sentence has to have a noun, a verb, a predicate, an adjective, whatever the rules of writing sentences are, but one thing is clear: you can't have half a sentence.
Now if you look at the first pasuk, the first pasuk is divided into two parts: Bereshit bara Elohim, and if you look at the notes in the Torah, there's a pause over there. The boys who read ta'amim (cantillation marks) will notice under the word Elohim there's a note that's called Atnach. Atnach basically means period or pause, so basically the sentence ends there. There's a pause. Now let's see if that makes sense: in the beginning God created, and the question is what did he create? He didn't finish the sentence. How is there a pause after that? I would put more like a comma. We have notes that represent comma, like a Zakef Katon, two dots. I would read it together: Bereshit bara Elohim, comma, what did he create? The teshuva (response): et hashamayim ve'et ha'aretz (he created the heavens and the earth).
But how do you learn the Pasuk? Bereshit bara Elohim, period. In the beginning, God created. If you handed this in school, they'd give you a zero. They would put next to that sentence, incomplete. Now, we know God knows the rules of grammar. And clearly, when God's writing the Torah, every Pasuk is perfect, and every dot is perfect, and every note is perfect.
So what I came to discuss today is just a simple question, which I think most people neglect. How do you understand the first three words? Bereshit bara Elohim. In the beginning, God created. So I'd like to say two answers. I saw these answers in a sefer called Emet LeYaakov. Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky, alav hashalom (upon him be peace), the Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Vodaath.
Let me ask you a question, boys and girls. I know this is now going to make your minds a little overheated. We have a concept of time. Our whole lives are based on time. Because we have watches. We know what time the period starts. We know what time the period ends. There's 24 hours in a day. As Jews, we always have to know when sunrise is, when sunset is. The ladies always wonder when candle lighting is. Everything is time. Our whole lives are based on time. The PTA spends a lot of time and energy making a calendar telling us the times of where to be, at what time, at what place. Everybody knows what winter vacation is. That's the first thing we look at on the calendar. At least that's the first thing I look at on the calendar. So we're very bound by time. We're creatures of time.
Can I ask you a question? When did time begin? When did they push the clock? Okay, begin. Second one, second two, second three. Time had to start at a certain point. Before the creation of the world, there was no time. There was no need for time. There were no people. Time only begins from creation. Because then God says, day one, day two, day three. Now already you're measuring a certain amount of time.
So you know how you would say the first moment of time? You know how you would say that in Hebrew? The first second, the first moment of time, the entity of time. You know how you would say that? Bereshit. Bereshit means the first second of time. And that's the first thing Hashem created. Bereshit bara Elohim. Bereshit is the creation. He created the concept that now we're going to measure events by units of time. This is how we're learning the Pasuk. So therefore, it's not an incomplete Pasuk at all. The Pasuk actually flows very nicely. Bereshit. It is Bereshit that Bara Elohim. God pushed the stopwatch. Start. And all of a sudden, one second, two seconds. When did that happen? Right there, in Pasuk number one. Where do you see Hashem created time? Read the Pasuk correctly. Bereshit, not in the beginning. Bereshit, the first moment. Bara Elohim, Hashem created that. That's also a part of creation. So that's very important to remember. Not only did God create space, which is the world, but God also created the time, which we use in the space that He created.
The second part of the Pasuk says space, that's the space we live in. So the Pasuk was talking about two things: time and space. Time, space. The Pesukim work very, very, very nicely. Are we clear on this first interpretation? I feel very comfortable talking on a higher level to our members of our yeshiva, because most of you are sophisticated and you didn't come here to hear stories, bible stories, Magen David. Their brains are already sophisticated to hear proper derashot (homiletic teachings).
Second interpretation: Bereshit bara Elohim. Rashi makes a comment. Rashi says what was the purpose of the creation of the world? It's a good question. We know what Hashem did. The question we have to ask is why did He do it? There has to be a purpose. So the purpose is actually in the first word. Bereshit Bishvil Reshit Bara Elohim. If you want to know why Bara Elohim, it's because of Reshit. Great. What is Reshit? So Reshit tells us there are two things that are called Reshit. One of them is us. The Jewish people are called God's first. God has a second, he has a third, he has seventy. But who's the first?
When God was taking us out of Egypt, the last plague was Makat Bechorot (the plague of the firstborn), where God smote all the firstborns of the Egyptians. Now whenever God does something, he does it measure for measure, midah k'neged midah. What's the midah k'neged midah? That the Egyptians should get punished, that their firstborns should all die, because we're considered the firstborn of God. We're the reshit, and therefore God said you picked on my firstborn for 210 years, Avodat Perech (back-breaking labor), and therefore as a result your firstborns are going to have to take that punishment.
So if you ask the Torah what was the purpose, the purpose is for us, but there's something else that's called Reshit. Does anybody know the second item that's called Reshit? The Torah. And then she quotes Pesukim to prove it. So it comes out that the reason why Hashem created the world is for the Jews and for the Torah. So those are the two most important assets. Now everything else in the world is nice, but that's not purpose. If you want to know the essence of why Hashem created it, it says it in the first three words and the Pasuk. And what is the Bereshit, Bishvil Yisrael (for the sake of Israel), and Bishvil Torah (for the sake of Torah)?
So now look what's happening over here, at this gathering. This is 5787, Tav Shin Peh Zayin (the letters for 5787). This is 5787 years from the creation. A long time. And what are we doing here? We have God's children, His firstborn, us. And what are we doing here? We're learning Torah. At this moment, we are fulfilling the purpose of why Hashem created the world, for moments like this. A lot of other things you'll be doing in life. But if you want to know what Hashem has the most pleasure in when He looks down from heaven, and He looks down at this event, and He loves all of you, as I do. But much more than I do. I can't love you when you're sleeping. God doesn't sleep. So then He loves you 24 hours a day. Seven days a week. And as much as I have admiration for all our students, I have to confess, I don't think about you all day long. But God does. His love is eternal.
So therefore God looks down at this gathering and he tells the angels, Look, they're fulfilling the purpose. This is why I created the world. To see that 5,787 years later they're still fulfilling the purpose why I should have created the world, so Jews can study Torah.
I want you to appreciate that Torah is not like every other subject. Of course you have to study every subject. Boys, this is what I tell you: if you don't know mathematics and you don't know what's good, you probably will not be good in Gemara, because a lot of the Gemara that you're going to study is based on mathematic skills. You can probably learn math from the Gemara, but you have a better chance of probably learning it from a math teacher, and then applying what you learn in the Talmud. And all the subjects for that matter that we learn, girls: history, science. You must learn all these subjects. It will broaden your education, so you should never think that when you learn secular subjects, oh, it's a waste of time. It's not a waste of time at all.
As a matter of fact, I'm considered the Rosh Yeshiva of this Yeshiva, so you would think that when I was in school I was the most religious one in my class and therefore I got valedictorian in Hebrew, but I'll remind you that in 1981 when I graduated Magen David Elementary School I was the valedictorian in English, so therefore there's not a contradiction. You need to know everything in order to be well rounded, but it will help you in studying Torah, because we know history, because we know mathematics, because we know the sciences, we're able to now see the Torah in a much — but don't forget, nothing is greater than Torah. Hashem didn't create the world for math or science or all the other things. They're important, but this is the purpose: the Torah. That's why we have a statement that there's nothing. There's nothing greater you can do with your time than to study the Torah. And then of course after you study it, to put it into application.
And I'll give you an example. You heard of the Verrazzano Bridge? Verrazzano-Narrows bridge, a suspension bridge. Probably interesting to see how they built it. It's fascinating. There's certain people that are not afraid of heights. I don't know how that's possible. They climb up on these straps and they're very, very high. And they're building, and they look down, and if they slip, just like they built the Empire State Building. People are not afraid of heights. I think they said the Indians are not afraid of heights. Anyway, they built this bridge. And could you imagine how many hundreds of thousands of cars on a daily basis go across the bridge, both ends? Whether you're going to New Jersey, or you're coming back. There's always something going on on the bridge, and how much in tolls they collect.
So one time Rabbi Kotler, alav hashalom, was a great Rosh Yeshiva. He was on the bridge, and where was he going? He was going to Lakewood. In those days he opened up a yeshiva, small yeshiva, maybe 10 boys, 15 boys. Today it's twelve thousand boys, but in those days it was 10, 12 boys. In Jersey, in Lakewood. And you can't get to Lakewood unless you take the Verrazzano Bridge. So he's taking the bridge, and he turned to the guy in the car and said, you know why we have the Verrazzano Bridge? Hashem willed this bridge in order that the boys who want to study in Lakewood will have a way to get there. That's why the bridge was built. "What do you mean? But everybody else is using it," the guy said. "Yeah, that's secondary. But the real reason is so the Jewish people can study Torah. That's the purpose of creation," he replied.
And therefore the great Tzadikim (righteous people) looked at everything in that form. Why did Hashem give us this building? I don't know the history of how we got this building. But I'm sure it wasn't easy. We got this property. We were able to build it gorgeous. You know why? So Jewish students, boys and girls, can study Torah. That's the purpose. And why did we get so lucky that we got this new property on Quentin and McDonald, which you're going to, God willing, enjoy? The new school, the new and improved Magen David, although I have no claims against this building. It's beautiful, actually. We had a lot of good luck in this building. A lot of good luck. But we're going to have even better luck in the new building. All these things Hashem gave us, why? To fulfill the purpose.
So therefore, the first three words of the parasha are actually a full sentence. Bereshit bara Elohim. Bereshit, time. The beginning of time. Bara Elohim. The clock started in the beginning of creation. Yeah, and also he created Shamayim Va'aretz (the heavens and the earth). He also created space. Second interpretation: Bereshit, bishvil reshit. The purpose of why Hashem created the world is for us. For us to do what? For us to study Torah.
So boys and girls, know that the moments that you spend studying Torah are the most purposeful moments not only of your lives but are the most purposeful moments of the creation. You cannot be doing anything greater when you sit and study God's Torah. Hashem says that's why I did all this. That's why I created the sun and the moon. Everything is created so Jewish boys and girls could sit down in a class and study the Torah. Hence it is a complete sentence. Imagine that.
It took us 20 minutes just to explain the first 3 words of the parasha. At this rate it will probably take us 150,000 years to explain the parasha, but there is no rush. As long as we understand one word at a time, we have accomplished something. We will stop over here. Shabbat Shalom.