We read this morning the Parsha Toldot, the 6th chapter of Sefer Bereyshit (Genesis). I would like however, to go back to the first chapter of Genesis, Bereyshit, because Rashi (the classic commentator of the Bible and the Talmud (1040-1105)) and Ramban (the acronym of Moshe ben Nachman (1194-1270)) struggled with the interpretation of the Creation story. They questioned also whether Genesis should even be a part of the Bible.
The Torah is supposed to be an accumulation of Laws and commandments, not a history of mankind. The Torah should start with the first Mitzva, "Hachodesh haze lachem, rishon lachoshei hashana." Bnei Israel should stop using the Egyptian calendar, the solar system, and establish a Hebrew calendar based on the moon; the first month of the year should be Nissan.
I am not an attorney, but I will try to defend the status quo of the Torah without a license.
We started to read the Bible beginning with Genesis. The first paragraph starts, "Bereyshit bara elokim eth hashmayim v’et haaretz • In the beginning God created heaven and earth." We have a problem here: how can we rationalize the unclear and confusing narrative of this portion of the Bible?
To illustrate the difficulties, let me specify just a few points in the text:
1. Recently, we celebrated the New Year that marked 5769 years since the Creation of the world. We know that Chinese history goes back over ten thousand years; how can we reconcile these two facts?
2. The first paragraph of the Torah states that on the first day God created heaven and earth, meaning the universe. Were the creation activities reported on the following days necessary?
3. The cycle of day and night—caused by the rotation of the earth—results from the rising and setting of the sun. We are told that the Meorot (the sun and moon) were created on the fourth day of the "week." Therefore, the first statement that "there was evening and morning first day" is absurd.
I would like to suggest a different translation and meaning of the word Bereyshit. The Hebrew expression of Bereyshit has various meanings, one of which is, "prior to." The emphasis here should be on the end of the verse, and we should read and understand this passage as follows: "Prior to the creation of heaven and earth, there was chaos."
The Creation is not linked to the sequence of time. The "days" mentioned in the text are God’s days: "Elef shanim beeinecha kayom etmol" (Psalm). This fits perfectly, in essence, with modern scientific explanations of the origin of the universe.
Historians use the expression "myth" not to mean something never happened, but to suggest that nobody witnessed the event being described. Secondly, a myth tells the story of a people’s origin symbolically, poetically, or metaphorically.
The first statement of Bereyshit is a symbolic declaration of faith that God is the creator of the universe. This reflects the first of the ten commandments, "Anochi hashem eloheychu • I am your God."
In the book of DVORIM • Deuteronomy, Chapter 4:19, God warns Bnei Israel, "When you lift up your eyes unto heaven and you see the sun, moon, and the stars you should not be driven to worship them." The text draws a distinction between Jews and the despised pagan peoples who worship nature and nature-gods. We simply assume the pre-existence of an omnipotent God who acts but is never described or visualized. The rest of the Ten Commandments given on Mount Sinai demonstrates the need to control human shortcomings and evil behavior; it's a simple matter of cause and effect.
The event of two brother Cain and Abel illustrates the criminal behavior of Cain toward his only brother Abel, after God rejected Cain’s offering but accepted Abel’s. Cain commits the first murder by killing his brother Abel. When God asks Cain, "Where is your brother?" Cain lies to God, saying "I am not my brother’s keeper."
The first murder could be seen a first act of evil. There were as yet no guidance or codes for immoral conduct, so the Ten Commandments were a necessary response to correct the moral corruption of primitive society.
We read in Bereyshit the famous story how God placed a man and woman in a garden, who wore not a stitch of clothing on their back. They had no material possessions; they only had each other; insofar as they were concerned they were in paradise. But along comes the greedy serpent who ruins the party by getting Eve to focus not on what she has but what she lacks and is missing.
The serpent argued: How can you be happy when there is one tree from which you cannot partake, one fruit you cannot consume, one pleasure you cannot enjoy? The serpent injects the poison of instability into Eve and Adam. And ever since then, human beings have committed the crime of not focusing on their blessings but on what they are missing.
Over the course of time, they consequently end up losing their blessing and failing short of happiness and joy.
I would like to conclude with the first Mishna, chapter five in Pirkeh Avoth (The wisdom of the Fathers) I quote "Bassara Maamaroth Nivra Haalom", by ten decrees was the world created.
When we consider the fact that the creation story contains ten decrees and that these decrees echo the Ten Commandments, we can see that the Genesis story serves as a cause-effect narrative that leads us directly to the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai.
Genesis (1:3-22) See Psykta 21, the statement "Beemar Echad Yachol Lehabria," The world could have been created by a single decree (echad) this mirrors the "Shema Israel Hashem Elokeynu Hashem ECHAD."
The message of the Mishna is teaching us that the Ten Commandments are a package deal for humanity, we cannot pick and choose; IT'S ALL OR NOTHING. Just believing in God is not enough. The Mishna concludes "Lehipura Min Harshaim Shemeavdim Et Haolam," which means to emphasize that God will punish the wicked who destroying the society and the world.
Adam and Eve disobeyed, so God punished them by expelling them from Paradise. Cain murdered Abel and was cursed. The world had become corrupt and evil, so the Lord caused the flood. Corruption and greed in our time caused a financial tsunami. God had to curb mankind’s tendencies to do wrong, by issuing the Ten Commandments and other laws. It’s all cause and effect.
Seen in this way, the stories in the early chapters of Genesis become the settingor perhaps even the matrixof the Torah. These stories at least make it easier to understand why the laws are necessary. That alone gives them special significance ... and a logical place in the Torah. SHALOM