Parashat Bereshit- The Word “Bereshit”
**Shabbat Candle lighting Time in NYC, Friday Oct 24th 2008: 5:44 PM
**Minha, Seudat Shelishit, Derasha, and Arbit on Shabbat Oct 25th starts at 4:45 PM
The field of Torah is fundamentally different from all others fields of study. Unlike all other areas of study, the Torah can be studied and appreciated both by kindergarten children and by our nation’s leading scholars. Young preschoolers come home and share with their parents the stories from Parashat Bereshit that they learned, and that same day Hacham Ovadia Yosef studies this Parasha and finds new insights. And this repeats itself each and every year. The depth and breadth of Torah are endless; no matter how much one studies, he always finds more knowledge and arrives at deeper understanding. Studying Torah can be compared to trying to empty the Atlantic Ocean. A person can take his bucket and stand at the shore for hundreds of years removing water from the ocean, and not even make the slightest dent. Similarly, no many how many years a person spends delving into the waters of Torah, an infinite amount of knowledge and insight will always remain.
One remarkable example of the unlimited depth of Torah is the very first word of the Torah – "Bereshit." Many Rabbis throughout the generations have shown how this single word alludes to numerous Torah laws and concepts. In fact, the Gaon of Vilna (Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna, 1720-1797) claimed that the word "Bereshit" contains allusions to all 613 Biblical commands. He gave as an example the Misva of Pidyon Ha’ben ("redeeming" one’s firstborn son), noting that the word "Bereshit" can be read as an acronym representing the clause, "Ben Rishon Ahareh Sheloshim Yom Tifde" ("The first son – you shall redeem after thirty days").
The Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1806) noted that this word also alludes to the Halacha that it is preferable to recite Berachot audibly, rather than silently, so that people can hear the Beracha and answer "Amen." (Even if a person recites a Beracha with nobody present, he should still recite it audibly so that the angels can hear the Beracha and answer "Amen.") The Hida commented that the letters of the word "Bereshit" spell the phrase, "Be’kol Ram Abarech Shem Hashem Tamid" – "I shall always bless the Name of God in a loud voice."
The Ba’al Ha’turim (Rabbi Yaakob Ben Asher, 1270-1340) observed that the letters of the word "Bereshit" can be rearranged to spell "Alef Be’Tishri" – the first of Tishrei. The phrase, "Bereshit Bara Elokim" ("In the beginning God created") thus alludes to the fact that God created the world on the first of Tishri. Another Rabbi noted that the letters of "Bereshit" spell the phrase, "Yereh Shabbat" – "fear Shabbat" – such that the very first letter of the Torah emphasizes the severity of Shabbat desecration.
A particularly insightful reading of this word was suggested by the Ben Ish Hai, Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad (1833-1909). There are three letters in the Hebrew alphabet, he noted, whose names end with the letters "Yod"-"Tav." These letters are "Bet," "Het" and "Tet." Now the combined numerical value of the letters "Yod"-"Tav" equals 410, the same numerical value as the word "Kadosh" ("holy"). These three letters – "Bet," "Het" and "Tet" – allude to the three occasions when parents must have proper intention in order to ensure that their child’s soul will be well-suited for sanctity, for a life of spirituality. First, the letter "Bet," which has the numerical value of two, refers to the moment of conception. The spelling "Bet"-"Yod"-"Tav" indicates that at the moment of "Bet" – when the parents come together to create a child – they should have in mind "Yod-Tav" – sanctity, their wish that the child should grow to become a righteous, God-fearing person. The second stage is symbolized by the letter "Tet," which has the numerical value of nine and thus symbolizes the period of pregnancy. During these months, the mother must conduct herself with extra diligence so that the fetus avoids all negative influences. Finally, the letter "Het" – eight – alludes to the day of circumcision, during which the child should be surrounded with sanctity, with prayer and Torah learning, as this will yield a significant impact upon his soul.
The Ben Ish Hai noted that this important concept is encoded within the word "Bereshit," which can be read as "Be’rosh Yod-Tav" – "at the head of the letters ‘Yod’ and ‘Tav’." Already from the outset, the Torah tells us to take note of the letters that end with "Yod"-"Tav," and pay attention to the first letters of their spelling, so that we know what we need to do to ensure our children’s spiritual development.
This is how profound the Torah is – even a single word conveys important lessons touching upon a wide variety of Torah laws and ideals.
This should give us a sense of how seriously we should take the Torah and approach each and every word. There is a wealth of information for us to learn, and it behooves us to spend the time and invest the effort to amass as much as knowledge and understanding as we possibly can. A person can never feel satisfied with what he has accomplished – because there is always so much more for him to learn and understand.
