A teaching of the Rebbe on the parsha
adapted for children
The Torah starts with the word bereshit that begins with the letter bet. Apparently it would have been more appropriate to start with the letter alef, the first of the alphabet, and then the second word of the first verse with this letter, beginning like this: “E-lo-him (with alef) created (Bara with bet) the heaven and earth”. Why was it so important that the Torah began with the letter bet? And what can we learn from this for our daily service to HaShem?
The Torah wants to teach us that there is a previous stage to study it, the letter alef, and only afterwards does it begin with the letter bet. What is that stage? The Jew should know that the Torah he studies is the Torah of G-d. It is not a book of stories, or one that speaks of human wisdom, but rather it is Divine wisdom, and therefore before studying it we must bless "Blessed are You, G-d who gave us the Torah." The Torah is the Torah of G-d, which was given to us, the Children of Israel, the great merit of studying the Torah from him. The Torah is also the thread that unites the Jew with G-d, because when the Jew studies the Torah of G-d he puts in his mind the Divine understanding through which he communicates with the giver of the Torah through this introduction the study of the Torah itself is in a different and more meaningful way and this is what the Torah came to teach us when begin with the letter bet.
Through Torah study, after proper preparation, we communicate with G-d, the giver of Torah. In each chapter, in each halacha, in each word and word, the Jew will be more and more united to the Giver of the Torah. In each word and phrase the eternal flame of his soul intensifies and illuminates the whole world, because "the mitzvah is luminary and the Torah light". In this way our righteous Mashiach will come quickly, then "The earth will be filled with the knowledge of G-d as the waters cover the sea"
