From the Teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Zt”l
"In the beginning G-d created the heaven and the earth." With these momentous words, the very first portion of the Torah, Bereishit, establish G-d's Kingship over all of creation.
The Torah, however, is not a history book. The Torah is our guidebook. We can apply its teachings to every aspect of our existence.
The ancient Sage, Rabbi Yitzchak, raises a pertinent question. "Why does the Torah open with the story of Creation?" he asks, as quoted by Rashi in his commentary. "Why didn't G-d begin with the words, 'This month is to you,'- the first commandment containing practical implications?"
"The might of His deeds He told to His nation; to bequeath to them the heritage of the nations," Rabbi Yitzchak himself answers.
"If the nations of the world will one day accuse the Jewish people of being thieves, having 'stolen' the land of Israel from the seven nations who formerly inhabited it, they will counter, 'The entire earth belongs to G-d! He is the One Who created it and bequeathed it to whom He saw fit. It was His will to give the land to the nations; it was His will to take it from them and give it to us."
According to this explanation, the entire order of the Torah's portions was changed solely to refute the world's complaint that the Jewish people misappropriated their land. But is their accusation really so important that G-d would change even one letter in His holy Torah for its sake? Would not a refutation in the Oral Tradition have been sufficient to counter whatever complaint Gentiles would one day lodge against the nation of Israel?
In truth, the Torah's choice of language holds significance not only for the nations of the world but for Jews themselves.
"In the beginning" contains an important lesson for every Jew to apply in his daily life.
In general, the life of a Jew may be divided into two realms: the religious and the secular.
The Jew willingly observes his various religious obligations because the Torah requires him to.
When, however, he is asked to also sanctify those mundane aspects of daily existence that seemingly fall outside the domain of religious observance, he balks, rejecting this demand as an invasion of privacy.
The secular realm of a person's life, pertaining to the physical and material domain, metaphorically belong to the "seven nations."
Yet it is precisely this realm that the Jew is called upon to conquer, elevating his every action by performing it solely for the sake of heaven.
"You are thieves!" the world cries out against the Jew. "How dare you conquer the domain of the seven nations and blur the distinction between religious observance and the mundane?!"
To which the Jew replies, "All of creation belongs to G-d." Every realm of existence is part of Divine plan and can be made holy.
Indeed, such is the mission of every Jew -- to transform wherever he may be into a spiritual Land of Israel.
Judaism demands that we sanctify even the lowest aspects of the material world, thereby imbuing all of creation with holiness and demonstrating the unity of the One Creator.
Reprinted from the Parashat Bereishis 5763/2002 edition of L’Chaim, a publication of the Lubavitch Youth Organization. Adapted from Likutei Sichot of the Rebbe, Vol.
