Bereishis 5786
“IN THE BEGINNING, GOD CREATED ES...” (BEREISHIS 1:1). That is to say, at the very beginning He created the aspect of es—meaning the twenty-two letters, from Alef to Tav—through which everything was created, as is well known.
“IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED ES HASHAMAYIM AND ES HAARETZ” (BEREISHIS 1:1). This means that there are letters from Alef to Tav which are conceptually unique to the “shamayim”, the more spiritual realm, and another set of letters Alef to Tav which are conceptually unique to the aspect of “aretz”, the more physical realm. Understand this well.
“IN THE BEGINNING (BEREISHIS) GOD CREATED” (BEREISHIS 1:1). The word bereishis can be read as beis reishis which would read as: “the second beginning (beis reishis), after which He created the aspect of Elokim.” Meaning, at first there was only Echad, One and nothing else, so there was no concept of judgment. Only after there was the aspect of “the second beginning” could there be the aspect of din (judgment) which is expressed in the Name Elokim.
Rabbi Yitzchak said, “The nations will claim: You are bandits.” This can be understood as follows. Chazal state: “The Torah begins and ends with acts of kindness.” The claim of bandits is the opposite of kindness, for a thief takes for himself. Therefore it says, “Bereishis bara”—an act of kindness through giving from the very beginning.
“Darkness (choshech)” has the same letters as “forgot (shachach).” Forgetting comes through concealment which is an aspect of darkness.
“Vohu” has the numerical value of 13 as does the word “Echad”, one. This can be understood as follows. Vohu is a terminology of emptiness. When everything is empty then all is equal without any differentiation, as the aspect of Echad, oneness.
“AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD HOVERED OVER THE FACE OF THE WATERS” (BEREISHIS 1:2). This can be understood as follows. There are the four elements, corresponding to the levels of the soul (nefesh, ruach, neshamah, chayah yechida). As such, ruach (spirit) corresponds to water and they are connected as one with each other. However, in the imperfect/physical world they were not joined. Thus it says, “the Ruach Elokim hovered over the Mayim”—it only hovered, lacking in its full connection to Mayim.
There are four elements—fire, air, water, and earth—and each one underwent restriction (tzimtzum):
- In the element fire (an aspect of light): “God separated between light and the darkness”—He limited the light.
- In the element of air (ruach): “The ruach of God hovered over the waters”—hovering the waters but not inside them, thus limiting the element of ruach.
- In the element of water: “Let the waters gather together underneath etc.”—a restriction of the element of water.
- And in the element of earth: Our sages said that Hashem is called Shakai “for He said to His world, ‘Enough!’”—meaning He limited the element of earth.
“GOD SEPARATED BETWEEN THE LIGHT” (BEREISHIS 1:4). Rashi explains: “He saw that it was not fitting for the wicked to use.” The depth of this is that through the wicked—who are the aspect of separation (the opposite of oneness)—the separation of light and darkness was brought about.
“LET THERE BE ROKIA (FIRMAMENT)” (BEREISHIS 1:6). Rashi explains: “Let the Rakia become strong.” This can be understood as follows. The first day corresponds to Chesed, softness, therefore the Rakia was soft/moist. However, the second day which corresponds to Din, judgment, they hardened—this came through His harsh command, an aspect of din. The word Rakia (firmament) contains the letters of keri’a (tearing)—He separated and divided.
On the first day, the separation was between light and darkness, two opposite things. On the second day, the separation was between water and water—things that are similar. This can be understood as follows. The first day was Chesed, as such, only from evil, darkness, was there a separation. However, the second day was Din, judgment, as such there was a separation even between equals.
The word Erev (evening) is translated in Targum as ramash—its letters also form shomer (guard) an aspect of feminine which guards, watches over. The word Boker (morning) is translated in Targum as tzefar, whose letters also form retzef which is an aspect of continuity and unity that is an aspect of kindness, day.
“LET THE WATERS BE GATHERED” (BEREISHIS 1:9). The term yikavu (gather) is an aspect of kav (line)—an aspect of Kav Ein Sof, an aspect of unity. In Targum it is written yiskanshun—an aspect of unity, connection. On the third day, the creations received their unique boundaries. The waters were confined to their place, and the dry land in its set place. This is the aspect of the sefira of Tiferes, which unites kindness and judgment.
“AND IT WAS EVENING AND IT WAS MORNING, THE THIRD DAY” (BEREISHIS 1:13). It is known that until this pasuk, each pasuk contained the Name Elokim which is the attribute of Din, judgement. However, this pasuk, the thirteenth, it ceases to be mentioned hinting to the thirteen attributes of mercy. It is known that before Adam’s sin, the evil inclination was external from him, but after the sin it became included of him. Nevertheless, his inner essence remained refined and pure; only the external part of the soul absorbed the scent of evil whereas prior to the sin, evil was a completely external force of Adam. This means that at the time of his creation, Adams external levels were equal to his deep internal levels. Only after the sin was it established that the internal levels, which are the root, remain good while the external levels can connect to evil. Similar to this was the root of the sin of the earth as it corrupted by not producing trees whose wood tasted like their fruit. For although the root of the tree is good as we see that from it emerge fruits that do carry flavor, however, the outer/revealed part of the tree has no taste. Consequentially they share a similar form of punishment: “Thorns and thistles shall sprout for you, and by the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread.” Even though the inner power of Adama can produce good things, that power remained hidden in the internal layers, a similarity of the sin. This is also the concept of the thirteen attributes of mercy. The attribute of mercy is rooted in the attribute of Keser, the root of all creations. Therefore since the root is pure rachamim, when a person sins Hkb”h has mercy because of his root, and does not look at the external.
(translated from the hebrew sefer תורת הרמז)
