בְ ּרֵ אשִ ׁית בָ ּרָ א אֱ לֹקִ ים אֵ ת הַ שָ ּׁמַ יִ ם וְ אֵ ת הָ אָ רֶ ץ (א, א)
In the beginning, Hashem created Heaven and earth. (1:1)
Starting a New Cycle:
The Shinova Rov zy”a quotes his son-in-law, the author of Sefer Aryeh D’bei Ilai zy”a, as asking why the Shabbos when we read Parshas Bereishis is known as “Shabbos Bereishis”, while we do not find the same thing regarding other Parshios (for example, we do not call the next Shabbos “Shabbos Noach). He answers that during the Yomim Noraim, it is certain that every Jew experienced thoughts of teshuva and accepted to do good things in the future. Therefore, this week is called “Shabbos Bereishis”, the first Shabbos, because it represents a new start in a person’s life. This name is meant to remind a person that whatever occurred in the past is over and he should utilize his fresh start to be good.
A Cheshbon Hanefesh For the Moon:
The Rebbe of Kishanov zy”a (quoted in Sefer Divrei Dovid) writes that one year on Shabbos Bereishis, which fell the day after Simchas Torah that year, his father, the Sanzer Rov picked up his cup to make Kiddush with his talis covering his face, but he stood for a long time, immersed in his thoughts, before he actually made Kiddush. He then explained his actions with a moshol of a merchant who traveled a long distance to get to a large fair, where he wanted to purchase various merchandise to resell when he got home. The entire time he was at the fair, he didn’t have time to calculate how much profit he would make from his merchandise. It was only after he got home that he was able to relax and make an accounting of everything he bought. So too, he said, we just went through the holy days of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkos, when we acquired many mitzvos, such as hearing the tekios, fasting, eating in the sukkah, taking the daled minim, the hakafos, etc. But I didn’t have time to make an accounting of how valuable my mitzvos were. Now that I can finally relax, I quietly made a cheshbon to myself.
The King is Happy to Come Home:
The Sanzer Rov zy”a also once related another incredible moshol: A king once decided to travel around to see his kingdom. Everywhere he went, he was given much honor and glory. Thousands of people gathered to catch a glimpse of him. Of course, he derived much satisfaction from all of this honor, but the biggest source of satisfaction for him was when he got back to his palace, where he was able to rest and relax after all of that pomp and ceremony. He preferred this relaxation over all of the honor he received during his journeys because this was his familiar home where he was comfortable and where he could finally unwind. So too, Hashem stands before us throughout the yomim tovim, as we honor Him with selichos, tekias shofar, tefillos, hakafos, etc. During those days, He is comparable to the king who is taking a tour of his kingdom. On Shabbos Bereishis, Hashem returns home, so to speak, as we recite in Zemiros: “Bah Shabbos bah menucha.” (When Shabbos comes, serenity arrives.) This “relaxation” is more satisfying for Him than all of the avodos of the previous days, and he can now enjoy the familiar sounds of Hodu, Mizmor L’Dovid, Hakol yoducha, Nishmas, and all of the songs of praises that we sing to Him with love.
The Entire Year Goes After This Shabbos:
Rav Avrohom Yaakov of Sadigur zy”a (Sefer Emes L’Yaakov) explains in the name of the Ruzhiner Rebbe zy”a why only Shabbos Bereishis is referred to in this manner as follows: This is the first Shabbos that falls out after all the yomim tovim. It is also the first Shabbos of the year. Therefore, it is known as “Shabbos Bereishis”, the first Shabbos, as it is the beginning of all Shabbosim of the year and the way a person acts on this Shabbos with regards to his avodas Hashem, that is how the entire year will go.
Like Bringing a Child to Cheder:
The Tzemach Tzedek zy”a (Sefer Hasichos 5696) compares Shabbos Bereishis to when a father takes his son to cheder for the first time. Of course, the father is extremely happy at this time. So too, Shabbos Bereishis is a time of great joy for Hashem, as His children are starting to learn His Torah from the beginning. Hashem, so to speak, is bringing us to cheder.
Everything Depends on the Beginning:
It is stated in Medrash Rabbah (Vayikroh Rabbah 36:4): “Bereishis – (the world was created) because of Yisroel, who are called ‘reishis’ (the first).” Sefer Kisvei Rama”m quotes Rav Mordechai of Lechovitch zy”a as explaining this to mean that a Yid is “the beginning” because a Jew must take the initiative to start doing the right thing, and he will then receive help from Hashem. Hashem created the world because of this “beginning” that every Jew must do. All Hashem asks of us is to take the first step and to sanctify the beginning, as is seen from the mitzvos of challah, terumah, and bikkurim, which are taken from “the first”, and from the fact that we daven at the beginning of the day in order to sanctify the entire day.
Remembering the Creation of the World:
Rav Henoch of Alexander zy”a (Sefer Chashbah L’Tova) explains the pasuk of “Bereishis bara Elokim es hashamayim v’es ha’aretz” as follows: “Bereishis”, at the beginning of the day, in the morning, one should contemplate how “Hashem created Heaven and earth”, and he should work on his emunah. Once one does this the earth will be “tohu vavohu” (empty and barren), meaning that he will not be impressed by the desires of this world at all. The Yesod Ha’avodah of Slonim zy”a writes similarly that the pasuk is saying that a person’s first job is to remember that Hashem created Heaven and earth, and that He is in full control of all that occurs. He adds, “This is the main purpose of life for every Jew.”
Starting With Children, Life, and Sustenance:
Rov Boruch of Mezhibuzh zy”a (quoted in Botzina D’Nehora) states that the word “Bereishis” contains within it the concepts of “bani, chayei and mezoni”, children, life and sustenance, which are the three bases of life. The word “Bereishis” contains the word “bar”, meaning “son”, as well as the word “barya”, which means a healthy life. Additionally, the word “bar” also means sustenance. Accordingly, at the very beginning of the Torah, we find the three best gifts one can have, which teaches us that Hashem gives those who learn Torah all of the goodness of this world.
Illuminating Golus:
Rav Noach of Lechovitch zy”a explains this to mean that if a Jew finds himself in a dark situation, he should look up to Shomayim and call out to Hashem, “Ribono Shel Olam! Please have mercy on me. How long can I sit in darkness? Give me light!” Once one does this, Hashem will grant him light and He will illuminate his life.
With Siyata D’Shmaya, The Light Rests:
Rav Tzvi Hirsch of Kretchnif zy”a (Sefer Torah Chaim V’Emunah) explains that the main way to serve Hashem is by putting forth all of one’s efforts and attempting to do His will with all of one’s heart and soul. However, one must also know that without His help, one cannot accomplish anything (Kiddushin 30B). Accordingly, the pasuk is saying that only if one believes that Hashem makes light, will he be able to have the light of Torah and mitzvos in his life.
וַיֹ ּאמֶ ר אֱ לֹקִ ים יְ הִ י אוֹר וַיְ הִ י אוֹר (א, ג)
And G-d said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. (1:3)
With Teshuva, One Goes Back to His Old Level:
The Yesod Ha’avodah of Slonim zy”a explains that Hashem was teaching us with these words that anyone can do teshuva and return to the proper path. After Odom and Chava committed their sin, they thought they could never go back to the level they were on before. So Hashem said to Odom, “Where are you?” He was telling him to think about himself and contemplate where he was before his sin, and to know that he could go back to that level through teshuva.
A Gesture of Disdain:
The Chidushei Harim zy”a said that we can learn an important lesson from these pesukim. Sometimes, a person can just make a dismissive gesture with his hand or head, without even saying a word, and this can weaken his friend’s avodas Hashem and cause him to sin. This is what the snake did. It said, “Although Hashem said...” in a dismissive way, as if it to say: “Who cares what He says?” By doing this, he weakened Chava’s commitment to Hashem and led her to commit a serious aveirah.
Teshuva Through Eating:
The Medrash Rabbah (19:2) states: “It does not say ‘And I ate’. Rather, it says, ‘And I will eat.’ This means that he was going to eat more. The Divrei Shmuel asks why he answered Hashem this way. Why did he add on to his sin by saying that we would have eaten more? He answers that Odom was saying that although he did eat the forbidden fruit, he would rectify this sin by eating “mitzvah foods”, i.e., eating food at Shabbos and yomtov meals and at seudos mitzvah, as eating such foods atones for eating forbidden foods.
The Snake’s Curse:
Hashem cursed the serpent by saying that it would have to crawl on its belly and eat dirt its entire life. One may ask why this is so bad. The snake will have food wherever it goes. It won’t ever have to worry about what to eat. This doesn’t sound like a curse! Rav Bunim of Peshischa zy”a answers that, in fact, this is a terrible curse. Hashem was telling the snake, “You’ll be given whatever you need to survive and you won’t have any more connection with Me. You won’t need to ask Me for anything.” This is the worst curse possible. Hashem was saying that He didn’t want to hear from the snake at all and would no longer be connected to him. The same idea is seen from Gemara that states (Yoma 76A): “Rav Shimon ben Yochai’s students asked him, ‘Why didn’t the mann fall for Yisroel once a year?’ (Why didn’t a large amount fall once a year that could last all year.)” He answered them with a parable of a king who had an only son. He gave him food for an entire year, and the son never visited the father all year. (He only visited his father once a year to get his ‘check’.) The king then started giving him food every day, and he visited his father every day. So too, if a family had four or five children, they would be worried that perhaps mann would not fall tomorrow and they would all be hungry. Therefore, they would all daven to Hashem.” We see that the reason the mann fell every day, rather than a lot at one time, was so that the people would daven to Hashem and remember that He was the one sustaining them. We can learn an important lesson from this. Some people want to get very rich. They want be millionaires. However, they don’t realize that this would not be a blessing for them. In fact, it would be a curse. They would be like the snake, which had everything it needed so it lost its connection to Hashem. If a person wouldn’t constantly have to ask Hashem for parnassah, he too is in danger of losing the connection. It is related that a chasid once came to the Satmar Rov zy”a and said that he had two options for parnassah. He could either open a store and run the business on his own, or he could take a job working for someone who would pay him a salary. The Rov told him to open the store. He explained that if his income was the profits from a business, he would need to daven to Hashem every day to send him customers. However, if he was paid a set salary, he wouldn’t feel the need to daven, as he would feel more secure. Thus, running his own business would benefit his emunah.
Odom’s Sin of Listening to His Wife:
Rov Boruch of Mezhibuzh zy”a (quoted in Botzina D’Nehora) asks why Hashem had to mention that he listened to his wife and ate. Why didn’t He just say that his punishment was because he ate from the tree? He answers that Hashem was saying that Odom’s first sin was listening to his wife, and eating from the tree was his second sin. This is as the Gemara says (Bava Metziah 59A) that “one who takes advice from his wife will fall into gehenim.” The Gemara adds that this is referring to spiritual matters, but in regards to physical matters one should listen to his wife. Since Odom listened to his wife in regards to a matter of ruchnius, that was considered a sin.
Taking the Middle Road:
Rav Shalom Yosef zy”a, the oldest son of the Ruzhiner Rebbe zy”a explains the pasuk as follows (Even Yisroel, page 23): ”Im teitiv” – if you think about how good you are by only thinking about all of the mitzvos you have done. “S’eis” – you will become haughty. “V’im lo teitiv” – but if you only think about the aveiros you have done. “L’pesach chatas roveitz” – you will fall to despair and depression, which will lead you to do many other sins. Therefore, “nah v’nad tihiyeh” – you should go back and forth from one to the other. You should take not go either extreme. Rather, you should take “the middle road.”
Seeing One’s Own Fault in Others:
Rav Hersh of Rimanov zy”a explains the pasuk as follows: “Im titav” – if you improve your ways, you will be able to be “s’eis” – you will be able to tolerate others, as you will be able to see the good in them. “V’im lo titav” – if you yourself are not acting properly, then you will see the sins of others as soon as you get to their door, even before you enter their home (l’pesach chatas roveitz). Since you are full of sins yourself, you will only be able to see bad in others.
Chanoch Made His Entire Generation Look Bad:
Rashi says that Chanoch was a tzadik but he could easily have changed and become a rasha. Therefore, Hashem took him before his time while he was still a tzadik. Rav Meir of Premishlan zy”a asks why anyone would say that a great tzadik like Chanoch would have become a rasha had he lived longer. He answers that Chanoch was such a great and holy tzadik that everyone in his generation was considered to be wicked in comparison to him. Therefore, Hashem took him before his time so as not to make everyone else look bad. Rashi actually means that Chanoch could easily have made everyone else look like reshaim, and Hashem did not want this occur so He took him early.
Chanoch Could Have Annulled Free Will:
The Kotzker Rebbe zt”l (Ohel Torah) explains Rashi to mean that it would have been easy for Chanoch to speak to wicked men and convince them to do teshuva. Hashem was worried that this might remove their free will, as they would naturally listen to Chanoch, whether they really wanted to or not. Therefore, He took him before his time to prevent him from doing this, as the world cannot exist without bechirah.
Finding Favor in Hashem’s Eyes:
My grandfather, the Kretchnifer Rebbe zy”a (Sefer Torah Chaim V’Emunah) explains these words to mean that it is easy (noach) to find favor in the eyes of Hashem. However, in order to gain this favor, one must be “in the eyes of Hashem”, meaning one must constantly think about Him, in fulfillment of the verse (Tehillim 16:8): “Hashem is before me at all times.” The Metzudas Dovid explains this pasuk in Tehillim to mean that one must constantly act as if he sees that Hashem is watching him and helping him. If one does this, he will find favor in His eyes. This was the way Dovid Hamelech lived, as is stated (1 Shmuel 18:14): “And Dovid in all his ways enlightened and Hashem was with him.” He was enlightened in all of his ways because he always recognized that Hashem was with him.
Don’t Allow the Yeitzer Hara to Trespass:
Sefer Toldos Yaakov Yosef (Parshas Tetzaveh) relates the following incredible moshol in the name of Rav Menachem Mendel, the Magid of Bad zt”l and a student of Baal Shem Tov: There once was a miserly man who was so cheap that he would not even pay rent for an apartment. Instead, he slept between the shelves of food in his store. This man had never been married before and decided that he should find a wife. He approached the town shadchan and asked him to find him a shidduch. He added, “I will be providing a spacious and beautiful house for me and my wife to live in.” The shadchan knew the man and said that he didn’t believe that he would be willing to part with his money in order to buy a house. However, the miser assured him that within a short time, he would be the owner of a nice, big house. The miser went to the nicest neighborhood in town and looked at all the most beautiful houses. He knocked on the door of the fanciest house and told the owner, “I want is to buy a tiny spot on the wall in your house. It should be so small that I will only be able to hammer one nail into it. For that small space, I am prepared to pay you well.” The first two homeowners who heard his offer thought it was a joke and slammed the door in his face. At the third house, the owner asked him why he would want to hang a single nail in his house. He said that he wanted to hang his personal items on the nail. The owner said, “I will do it for 100 rubles.” The miser began to haggle, saying that one nail wasn’t worth that much. He offered to pay one ruble and, after some negotiating, they settled on a price of 10 rubles. The miser banged his nail into the wall, hung his hat on it and left. An hour later, the miser returned. He took his hat off the hook, put his jacket in its place and left. At the beginning of the night, there was another knock on the door and the miser came in to take his jacket and hang a bag on his nail. At 2am, the knocking on the door woke up the entire family. When the homeowner angrily...
