Parasha bereshit

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Parsha Bereshith



The Love of G‑d for Man Created in His Image

It is written, “And G-d created man in His image, in the image of G-d He created him” (Gen 1:27). On this the Mishnah comments, “Beloved is man, for he was created in the image [of G-d]” (Perkei Avoth 3:14). The image of G-d in man is what allows him to serve his Creator and have an understanding of Him, each man according to his intelligence and abilities, as the Rambam says in his Book of Knowledge (Yesodei Hatorah 2:
2). It is through proper conduct that a man manifests this image of G-d that’s within him. This requires a person to work hard and strenuously on himself, for we have to correct our actions and acquire lofty values and traits in order to perceive this image of G-d, and to sense the reality of the Holy One, blessed be He. We should accustom ourselves to act properly in everything we do, especially in synagogues and houses of study, places that are particularly sanctified by G-d’s Presence (Berachot 6a; Bamidbar Rabba 11:
3; Shir Hashirim Rabba 2:21; Zohar III:4). As it is said, “G-d stands in the Divine assembly” (Ps 82:
1), which means that in such an assembly, more than in any other place, we can sense the closeness of G-d and vividly feel His reverence. Not only that, but we will be able to sense His glory and His power, as it is said, “Know before Whom you stand” (Testament of Rabbi Eliezer Hagadol 18; Derech Eretz, end of chapter 3). It is only when ones knows and senses the image of G-d in man that one can understand before Whom one stands – in front of the King of kings, blessed be He. Alternatively, if one doesn’t make this distinction, and if one doesn’t clearly perceive the image of G-d that is in man, this image and likeness will vanish (see Gen 1:26), and thus one will no longer understand or comprehend that G-d’s existence manifests itself everywhere.
If a man is to preserve the image of G-d that is within him, it follows that he must preserve this image in his neighbor, for he too was created in the image of G-d. This is why everyone must respect his fellow man, as we are taught, “Let the honor of your fellow man be as dear to you as your own” (Perkei Avoth 2:13). It is specifically stated “your own” honor, meaning that in the same way in which you watch over the image of G-d that is within you, so must you watch over and protect the image of G-d that’s in your fellow.
In wronging our fellow man, we commit a sin towards G-d. Our fellow is also created in the image of G-d, and so an insult directed at him is an insult directed at G-d. And yet, the one who sins in one of his obligations towards G-d is not like one who sins in one of his obligations towards man, for with regards to his fellow, when one sins against him, he also sins against G-d. This is why we are taught that repentance or suffering effects forgiveness for sins against G-d (Yoma 85-86a), but sins committed against one’s fellow are not pardoned unless we have made peace with the person in question. It’s only after having restored the image of G-d that is within one’s fellow that the
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repentant one is accepted and obtains pardon for the sin that he committed against him. That’s also why we should want the best for our fellow man, to the point of being able to once again perceive and sense the image of G-d that’s within him, the image that we had attacked when sinning against him. And so things begin to come together and make sense. Concerning the verse that states, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev
19:18), Rabbi Akiva said, “it is a fundamental principle of the Torah” (Yerushalmi Nedarim 9:4). For if someone were to attack the honor of his fellow, may G-d help us, it’s as if he were to have denied the existence of He who gave the Torah. Which is to say that, by attacking the honor of his fellow, one denies G-d Himself. Loving one’s fellow as oneself is a fundamental principle of the Torah, the everlasting delight of G-d.
With respect to Abraham Avinu, it is said that on that day that he obeyed the divine command and circumcised himself, he became perfect and bore the Divine Presence. It’s written that on the third day after his circumcision, “the L-RD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre” (Gen 18:1). On this verse, Rashi cites the comment of the Sages: “It was the third day after the circumcision, and G-d saw how Abraham regretted that he had no passer-by, and no one to welcome into his home. This was because G-d didn’t want Abraham to be disturbed by visitors, so He created an intense heat” (Bava Metzia 86b). But this saddened Abraham, so he sent his servant Eliezer to search for guests (ibid.). G-d then had compassion on Abraham and sent him three angels, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, under the guise of Arabs (Bereshith Rabba 48:9). Abraham was overjoyed to have the opportunity to welcome guests, and therefore he asked G-d, “If I have found favor in Your eyes, please pass not away from Your servant” (Gen 18:3), then “ran to meet them” (Gen 18:2). This shows us that Abraham left the Divine Presence to rush after his guests, to the point that the Sages learn from this that “receiving guests is greater than greeting the Divine Presence” (Shabbat 127a).
This is a very surprising, and requires explanation:
1.    The absence of guests caused greater pain for Abraham than that which he felt from being circumcised. And that was on the third day, when fatigue is most felt! (See Shabbat 134b and the commentary of Rabbeinu Nissim 31b).
2.    Abraham found himself in G-d’s Presence, Who had come to visit and heal him. Yet despite this, he regretted not having visitors. Does being in G-d’s Presence thus have less meaning?
3.    As soon as visitors arrived, Abraham left the Divine Presence and ran to meet them. Was it proper for him to act in such a way with respect to G-d? This is very surprising! And what allows the Sages to affirm that receiving guests is more important that standing in the Divine Presence? What permits us to say that Abraham acted correctly when he withdrew himself from the Divine Presence?
4.    Why  did Abraham  experience  such  discomfort  from  not  having
visitors, and why did he want so much to welcome them into his home?
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5.    What is remarkable about the fact that, after his circumcision (when he became perfected), he wanted so much that passers-by come visit him? Why just at that moment?
We will attempt to explain, with G-d’s help, each of these points.
Abraham Avinu had a great love for all of G-d’s creations. He never considered their exterior appearance but, on the contrary, he saw and felt only their internal demeanor
– their essence – that which is hidden inside. As we saw earlier, everyone is created in the image of G-d, and that’s what must be revealed. The role of Abraham in this world was to prove to men that their way of life was a failure. He was to convince them of the error of their ways so as to bring them to the knowledge of G-d and have them come under His Providence. This is what the Sages said concerning the verse that states, “And the souls that they made in Haran” (Gen 12:5), namely that “Abraham converted the men…” (Bereshith Rabba 39:21). This is also what Abraham told Eliezer his servant: “the L-RD, G-d of the heavens and G-d of the earth” (Gen 24:3), and Rashi explains (citing the words of the Sages) that, “up to now He was but G-d of heaven, but since I’ve taught and accustomed the people to proclaim His Name, He is also G-d of the earth.” Abraham made men realize that the image of G-d, which they once carried, had left them, and from that moment on (and thanks to his teaching) they found it once again.
Beginning from the moment that Abraham was circumcised, he became perfect and bore the Divine Presence. It was precisely at that time, in fact, that Abraham desired most of all to resemble G-d in everything. He desired to conduct himself in a way that reflected His image and His likeness, just as it’s written, “Attach yourself to His ways and to His attributes: Just as He is merciful, you should be merciful; just as He is kind, you should be kind…” (Sotah 14a, amongst others). This is why Abraham, when he became G-d’s partner, felt great anguish at not having visitors that he could be kind to, just as G-d acts kindly towards others. This is why G-d sent him three people – so that he could receive them. In seeing these visitors, Abraham left the Divine Presence and ran to meet them for two reasons:
1. Because he wished to emulate his Creator and perform an act of kindness.
2. Because he recognized in them the image of G-d, just as he saw it in all people.
From here on in, we can see how every one of the questions that we asked earlier can be answered. The anguish felt by Abraham because he didn’t have visitors was greater than the pain of his circumcision because he wanted nothing to do but to bring men closer to, and resemble their Creator. This desire was so ardent that he forgot about the pain of his circumcision. All this occurred precisely when he was circumcised and had become perfect, in the sense that he would henceforth bear the Divine Presence. For it was at that moment that he became a partner with his Creator, in His image and in His likeness. That’s the reason why Abraham, even though he found himself in the presence of G-d, regretted not having visitors, for being in the presence of G-d is the goal of perfection only if we act in love to bring people back to G-d’s protective care.
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We now understand why Abraham withdrew himself from before G-d and ran after the visitors. It was because in them, also, Abraham recognized the Divine Presence and the image of G-d. Therefore he hastened towards the Divine Presence he found with them, and it’s in that sense that welcoming guests is greater than welcoming the Divine Presence (since receiving guests means also receiving the Divine Presence). And so Abraham did not slight G-d’s honor by withdrawing to run after his guests. Rather, he only expressed great kindness towards them and, just as the Creator is kind, so too was Abraham. He thus followed in His ways, and it’s by actions such as these that the Divine Presence never leaves us.
The sacred obligation of all Jews, descendants of Abraham, is to conduct themselves as he did in order to reveal the Divine Presence in the world. It is to bring people back to G-d, and to restore in them the image of G-d that they lost because of their sins. It is not only for those who committed one mistake, but for those who committed great sins as well. It is to return them to G-d.
The Sages said, “Whoever causes the many to have merit, no sin shall come through him” (Perkei Avoth 5:18). For what reason is this? It is because the one who causes the many to have merit, as Abraham did, acts in accordance with the image and likeness of G-d. How could someone who acts like this therefore have something in his heart that brings dishonor to the Divine Presence and thus lead him to sin? The fear of G-d is what prevents him from sinning, and hence such a person can make the many acquire merit because he reveals the image of G-d in himself. He also can see it in others, and so he respects them, he brings them back to G-d, and he increases their faith. How does one recognize the image of G-d? One must put in great effort in order to sense it, and strive to have great success both with oneself and with others.
“Everyone must recognize the image of G-d in himself and his fellow, and this will prevent him from sinning. Peddling in gossip is a sin that cries out to Heaven” (Erchin 15b). As it is written, “They set their mouths against Heaven, and their tongues strut on earth” (Ps 73:9). “Gossip is a sin that is as serious as the three most heinous crimes: Idolatry, sexual immorality, and murder. And it is much more harmful” (Erchin 15b). But if we were sensitive to the image of G-d that is in our fellow, we would no longer utter words of gossip. There would be no more jealousy, hate, or competition among men. For finally, what can we possibly achieve from the Torah, from our own intelligence, or even from our own good deeds, if we lose the essential realization that, at all times and at every moment, “it is G-d that I fear” (Gen 42:18)? To show respect for the presence of G-d that is upon our fellow man, we must respect him and guard his honor close to heart.

The Renewal of the Work of Creation: An Act of Kindness

As we know, the work of Creation renews itself every day, and we mention this fact in the Morning Prayer: “In mercy He gives light to the earth and to those who dwell thereon, and in His goodness He renews each day, continuously, the work of Creation.” It is a permanent miracle that is renewed every day.
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It seems necessary to explain the language of this blessing. Four questions immediately arise.
1. What is the sense of the expression, “He gives light to the earth and to those who dwell thereon”? For in the final analysis, if G-d gives light to the earth, if necessarily follows that the inhabitants of the earth also benefit from this light. Why, then, add the term “and to those who dwell thereon”?
2. If light is destined to the inhabitants of the earth, it would have been enough to say, “He gives light to those who dwell on the earth.” What need is there to state, “He gives light to the earth”?
3. In addition, the word “mercy” must be explained. How is giving light to the inhabitants of the earth an act of mercy on G-d’s part?
4. Furthermore, why specify that in His goodness G-d renews each day the work of
Creation? Is it not obvious that this demonstrates G-d’s goodness?
With G-d’s help, we will answer these questions.
The Sages tell us that at the time of Creation, not only the angels, but also some of the midot (virtues) pleaded before G-d against the creation of man because he would inevitably sin. They asked, “What is man that You are mindful of him?” (Psalms 8:5). Yet G-d in His goodness and infinite kindness silenced these dissenting and accusatory voices and He gave light to the earth despite them, in particular the light of which it is said, “G-d saw that evil men did not merit the light, since by their wicked acts they only spread darkness upon the earth. As it is written, ‘their deeds are done in darkness’ [Isaiah 29:15]. This is why G-d hid the primordial light. He separated it and reserves it for the righteous in the future” (Bereshith Rabba 12:6). If such is the case, the entire world should at present be plunged into darkness because of the sins of men, as was actually the case in Egypt during the plague of darkness. Concerning that plague it is written, “No man could see his brother, nor could anyone rise from his place for a three-day period” (Exodus 10:23). Nevertheless, “for all the Children of Israel, there was light in their dwellings” (ibid.), for G-d in His goodness continued to give light to the Jews. He performs this miracle for us every morning and gives light to the world and to those who dwell thereon.
Concerning the verse that states, “In every place where I cause My Name to be mentioned, I will come to you and bless you” (Exodus 20:21), the Sages have said that if someone commits a sin in a particular place, that place will be destroyed forever; it can never be rebuilt (Zohar II:28a). Blessing is only found in a place where G-d’s Name is invoked and His will performed. However a place where one commits a sin, where one transgresses the Divine will, is cursed and merits destruction. We learn in the Mishnah: “If two sit together and no words of Torah are exchanged between them, this is a company of scorners” (Perkei Avoth 3:2). Why is the expression “this is” used? The book Beit Aaron explains as follows: “This is” is like a sign that forever designates that this place is one where scorners congregate. If others want to use this place, they cannot
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study there, for this area is not blessed; on the contrary, there hangs over that place a
harmful influence and a curse.
We have numerous proofs to support the fact that our senses are capable of perceiving places where sins have been committed or that are stained with impurity. This being the case, we must distance ourselves from these places. The warning to distance ourselves from places where idolatry is practices is often repeated (see Avodah Zarah 17a). Even the one who only passes by such a place suffers from its influence and the practices performed there, and (may G-d protect us) an impure spirit attaches itself to him.
The book Lev Eliyahu relates a terrible fact from which we can all draw an important lesson. In a certain hospital, many sick individuals were suddenly struck by a grave illness, unknown until then. The hospital’s administration began an inquiry and finally discovered that certain microbes had been causing all these ills, yet they were not able to isolate and eliminate them. After having discussed the problem for a long time, the administration concluded that the only solution was to destroy the building from top to bottom and to burn the rubble. That a place could have a harmful influence on everything it contains gives us pause to think and invites us to undertake a deep introspection.
The earth does not merit receiving the Divine light, since men, through their unnatural acts and the damage that they cause, have a harmful influence on the earth, the place where men commit their sins. Consequently, the earth should have darkened mornings and be deprived of light. Yet despite this, G-d in His infinite goodness illuminates the earth and the entire world, including the sullied areas that do not merit light. This is why the blessing specifies that, aside from illuminating the earth’s inhabitants, G-d “gives light to the earth.” This is an admirable and fantastic thing, which moreover happens every day without stop.
In fact, we are witnesses every day to another miracle of Creation. It is written, “In the same way that G-d makes peace in the Heavens, thus will He make peace for us.” What is meant by “peace in the Heavens”?
Each commandment is limitless with regards to the possibilities that we have to carry it out to perfection. Yet this is not the case with light and darkness, which are limited by G-d’s will itself, as it written, “And G-d called the light ‘Day’, and the darkness He called ‘Night’” (Genesis 1:5). Commenting on this subject, Rashi states: “He saw that the light was good and that it was not proper for light and darkness to operate together and become mixed with one another. And so He fixed limits to them, to one the day, and to the other the night.” As our Sages say, “G-d brought the light forth and put it in charge of the commandments of the day, and He brought the darkness forth and put it in charge of the commandments of the night” (Pesachim 2a). He limited them in time, forbidding each from encroaching on the domain of the other. Yet light and darkness would have continued to oppose one another if G-d had not made peace between them, which is an additional miracle.
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Light as much as darkness depends on the actions of men. If men are good and act correctly, they produce light; if not, darkness. The blessing, “In mercy He gives light to the earth and to those who dwell thereon” means that the light on earth stems from the merit of the good acts of those who dwell thereon, and G-d, “in His goodness renews each day, continuously, the work of Creation.” Each day He reconciles the light with the darkness in order to illuminate Israel in this world.
We need to say a few words of censure here concerning the subject of mixed dancing during celebrations. How many sins are caused by promiscuity? How much is the power of evil increased when, during mixed dancing, men and women make impure physical contact with one another? This is extremely detrimental. It is the same with a husband who can, during normal times and in private, abstain from all contact with his wife when observing the laws of family purity, yet when a celebration involving mixed dancing occurs, he will by necessity touch his wife if they dance together. It is an extremely serious matter to transgress the laws of family purity.
Today, we are witnesses to the fact that the sins of the generation and the spreading of impurity have rendered us unworthy of the Divine light. Without this light, we would not be able to exist if it were not for G-d ignoring people’s evil ways and renewing, in His infinite goodness, each day the work of Creation and illuminating the earth and its inhabitants. Yet we rejoice in His light, whether we merit it or not. That being said, we should on our own correct our ways in order to merit, in all fairness, the beneficial influence of the Divine light, and not to profit from it as a result of His great leniency, each day, always.
On this basis, we can understand the continuation of the verse that states, “and it was evening, and it was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). The word vayehi (“and it was”) connotes affliction (Megillah 10b). What affliction could there be in Creation, to the point that this expression is repeated on each day of Creation?
The Sages say that each day that passes, the attribute of Justice presents its grievances before the Creator, asking Him not to continue the work of Creation because of the sins committed by Israel. At the end of each day of Creation it is stated “vayehi [and it was] evening and it was morning” in order to express that G-d had displeasure, as much during the day as during the night, because of the grievances brought forth by the attribute of Justice. However, G-d did not pay attention to the words of this attribute, and He nevertheless created the world, day after day, which is why the word “day” is repeated. The word yom (“day”) designates the light of day, and this light is the Torah, as it is written, “For the commandment is a lamp and the Torah is light” (Proverbs 6:23). Likewise, in the Midrash it is said that light represents the good deeds of upright men (Bereshith Rabba 1:16). This means that G-d created the world for the light of the Torah and for the righteous, and to create it He connected the attribute of Mercy to the attribute of Justice. The day also alludes to the Torah, as it is written, “even today, if we but heed His call” (Psalms 95:7). In the same way, it is written, “you are all alive today’ (Deuteronomy 4:4) and “The Torah of the L-RD is perfect, restoring the soul”
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(Psalms 19:8). The Torah guides the heart of man towards G-d and it gives life to those who make it the foundation of their actions.
Despite the pain that Creation causes Him, G-d connected Justice to Mercy. He connected Justice to light – to Torah – and He created the world with these two attributes, for Justice is necessary in order to properly punish those who scorn Torah.
The blessing, “Who in His goodness gives light to the earth and on those who dwell thereon” is accurate to the greatest degree, for light is nothing but Torah. Moreover, for the righteous, G-d in His goodness “renews each day, continuously, the work of Creation” despite the objections of the attribute of Justice. The goal of the world’s creation is that Israel follows the paths of the righteous, as it is written, “in order that you may walk in the way of the good and keep the paths of the righteous” (Proverbs 2:20). This is done through obedience to Torah, and thus the work of Creation is allowed to renew itself day by day, continuously, according to His will.


The Greatness of Man and His Purpose

The author of Chesed l’Avraham writes: “Life spreads to all the worlds by emanations from on high, and the spreading of this abundance is possible only by means of the connections that exist between them. The connections between the worlds are accomplished solely by man, for it is to achieve the union of all these worlds that he was created, and it is through him that an abundance of blessing and success spread to all the worlds.” He continues and states, “The vitality of man comes from the world of Asiyah, his mind from the world of Yetzirah, and his soul from the world of Beriah. He carries the name Adam, which pertains to all the worlds, and it is through him that an abundance of good fills all the worlds.” Such are his holy words.
Due to the fact that a man has a portion of all these worlds within him, only he can establish connections between them, connections through which abundance spreads to all the worlds. We see that, essentially, it is man’s responsibility and mission to connect these worlds to one another, for he stems from each of them. If he were to sever one of the links that connects these different worlds, be it only for a moment, all of Creation would suffer as a result!
Let us try to understand this. It is written, “And G-d blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which G-d created to make” (Genesis 2:3). G-d finished the work of Creation on the sixth day, just before the arrival of Shabbat, and man (G-d’s preferred creation) was made last so that he could be responsible for all of Creation. This is like a king who builds a magnificent palace, splendid in all its details, and who calls for a servant and commands that he guard the property, telling him, “This house is mine, and it must always be kept in a state of perfection, always as splendid as now.”
And yet, at the end of the verse, it is written, “to make,” which indicates that there is still something to complete, that the world still lacks something. According to what
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we have seen above, it is clear that in this world man has the task of watching over Creation as he received it, and to add to the beauty of the world. The Sages have said, “Man was created on the eve of Shabbat … so that he could immediately enter the banquet. It is like a king that builds a palace that is splendid in its least detail, prepares a great banquet, and when everything is ready he brings his guest into it, as it is said,
‘Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out her seven pillars. She has prepared her meat; she has mingled her wine; she has also furnished her table. She has sent forth her maidens; she calls upon the highest places of the city’ [Proverbs 9:1-3]” (Sanhedrin 38a). For man to accomplish his task, he should be concerned that, above all, he never severs the connections between the worlds, this in order that an abundance of light emanating from G-d can spread to all places.
We know that the first man was created in such a way that he contained within himself a part of all the worlds, hence it is man who commands and connects them. It is in this way that G-d’s light and abundance can flow to all corners of Creation, for these worlds are connected one to the next.
How can man connect the worlds, as well as the Ten Sephiroth, to their source, to G-d? Only by means of the Torah, as it is said, “The uppermost knot of the Tefillin is a commandment of the Torah” (Menachot 39a). The Torah is a light (Proverbs 6:23) that illuminates all the worlds. G-d’s intention is for man to fulfill his holy task – that he live from the sweat of his brow without becoming indebted to others. When he lives a holy and pure life, he receives a reward from G-d that is in proportion to his good deeds, according to G-d’s promise.
That being said, let us now return to the subject of the first man. On the day G-d
created man, he placed him in the Garden of Eden “to till it and to guard it” (Genesis 2:
15). Yet this work and safeguarding were only for a few hours a day (see Sanhedrin
38b). If, during those hours, man had maintained his state of purity and holiness, all the connections between the worlds could have been interlinked, and the infinite light would then have continued to flow for all the generations. Such is what the Sages have said: “G-d showed the first man all the generations and its leaders” (ibid.). That is to say, all the generations were dependant on the first man. If he had carried out his task to perfection, he would not have been chased from the Garden, and death would not have entered into the world.
That is why it is written, “to make” (Genesis 2:3). G-d left man a certain task to perform in order to provide him – him and all the generations to come – with the merit of living and rejoicing in the infinite light. Yet to our great misfortune, the first man failed in his task on the very first day he was created, and he was chased from the Garden. G-d laments over him (Bereshith Rabba 19:18) because of this sin, a sin that up to our day we have not succeeded in rectifying so as to make G-d reign in this world through the connections that link the worlds.
And yet, even in our day, man has the ability to carry out this reparation. He possesses the means and the power to do it by his Torah study, as the Sages say, “Great
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is Torah, for if not by its merit, heaven and earth would not exist” (Nedarim 32a). It is by the study of Torah that man spreads abundance in all the worlds by means of holy connections, and all of Creation perpetuates itself by the merit of the uppermost knot of the Tefillin, which attaches man to the Torah.
At present, we understand the need to immerse ourselves in a mikveh on the eve of Shabbat, which as we know is helpful for effecting the repair of the brit, the sign of the covenant that sanctifies the Jewish people.
The word mila alludes to the 40 days of the formation of the embryo (see Sotah
2a). During these 40 days, it is determined if the fetus will be a male, a man being the one who has the mission of connecting all the worlds in order to make the waters of life – the abundance that spreads in a holy way to all the worlds – spring forth. A man should understand and never forget that G-d desires and wants that the embryo should be a male at the end of its 40 days of formation, this in order for him to connect all the worlds by the abundance that spreads through the sanctified connections that link them. This also allows us to understand the statement of the Sages: “Up to 40 days, it is permitted to pray and ask that the infant not be deformed and that it be a boy or a girl. However after 40 days, it is forbidden to pray that it be a boy or a girl, for it is useless to pray and ineffective to ask for something that has already occurred” (Berachot
60a). This is because, as we have said, after 40 days G-d Alm-ghty has already decided what the fetus will be.
The letter mem in the word mila has a numerical value of 40 (referring to the 40 days of the formation of the child), and the word yeled (“child”) has a numerical value of 45, which is also the numerical value of one of G-d’s Names. We see, therefore, that the task which man is responsible for, as well as his purpose in life, is to make sure that he does not damage the holiness of this connection (which the sign of the covenant represents). It is through it that all the worlds are linked, and it is the mark of the covenant between him and G-d. Whoever harms this sign harms the Name of G-d as much as he harms man himself, who was created to be the permanent connection between all the worlds. If he harms this sign, it is as if he denied the Name of G-d that he carries within him (G-d forbid).
Let us now explain the sin of the first man, who was created on the sixth day. G-d left him the task of continuing the work of Creation and perfecting it, this during the few hours that preceded the beginning of Shabbat. If he had obeyed G-d’s will, death would never have entered the world, yet because of our great sins he damaged the sign of the covenant (see Sanhedrin 38b). The Arizal explains that the first man did not wait until Shabbat to join with his wife Chava, which provoked the jealously of the serpent. The deterioration of man began as a consequence of his premature union with Chava. If he had waited until the night of Shabbat instead of uniting with her during the day, the Divine light would have protected him. Yet for not having waited, he ended up eating from the Tree of Knowledge. All this happened on the day before Shabbat (see Arizal, Ta’amei HaTorah).
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The mikveh on the eve of Shabbat comes to correct the sin of the first man. Whoever purifies himself in the mikveh on the eve of Shabbat receives the holiness of Shabbat and its enveloping light, which prolongs the creation and the formation of man, and which connects the worlds to each other in order to fill them with abundance. We therefore see how awesome the secret of the purifying waters is. When a man descends into a mikveh, he prolongs the beam of the primordial, infinite light upon himself, the light from which all the worlds were created. Which beam of light is this?
We know that when G-d wanted to make His creations know His goodness and mercy, and to lavish them with the abundance of His goodness, He, so to speak, “withdrew” Himself to create a void in reality. He then made a beam of the infinite light descend from Him, and it reached that nothingness, that void. From that void and beam of light the Ten Sephiroth were created, and from them came the worlds. This “withdrawal” of G-d was only meant for man, only for beings capable of rejoicing in G-d, and from the moment that He created them, He put all the worlds into their power, with the obligation to connect and unite them. This is a sign of G-d’s great generosity.
Such is the secret of the mikveh. In descending into the mikveh, which holds 40 seahs of water, a man accepts the sovereignty of G-d, his Creator. At the same time, he accepts the fact that at the end of his 40 days of formation in the womb of his mother, he became a man, attached to the Name of G-d. From that moment on, all the worlds are connected to one another and receive an abundance of Divine goodness.
When a man finds himself in the water of a mikveh, he prolongs this beam of infinite light upon himself, a beam with which G-d created the Ten Sephiroth, and this beam continues and gives birth to all that exists and fills all the worlds with an outpouring of abundance.
Everything that we have asserted thus far is indicated by the word mikveh itself. The letter mem (whose numerical value is 40) represents the 40 seahs of water in
the mikveh, as well as the 40 days of the embryo’s formation in the womb, so that it
can carry the name “man”. The letter kuf represents the beam (or line, kav in Hebrew) of infinite light that descended into the void, a void created as soon as G-d “withdrew” Himself, and into which the light spread. From there the Ten Sephiroth, as well as the worlds of Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah were created. Without this light, the void would not exist. The letter he (whose numerical value is 5) represents the five forms of purity that a man takes upon himself on the eve of Shabbat when he is immersed in the mikveh.
All of the above illustrates just how the meaning and goal of the mikveh are profound and awesome. A man immerses himself in the mikveh on the eve of Shabbat to repair the foundation that was damaged by the first man, and he receives the infinite light in order to connect and unite the worlds to one another, for it is to continue the work of Creation that man was created, as it is written: “which G-d created to make.” A man must be extremely careful not to damage the sign of the holy covenant, for that
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would be damaging the foundation of the creation of man and denying the Name of G-d that he carries within himself. If he guards and purifies himself, he becomes like the first man before his sin, and thanks to the purification that occurs in the mikveh, he unites all the worlds together in holiness and purity. He also prolongs upon himself an abundance of goodness, which surges forth by means of the worlds, starting from that very same beam of light that connects them. It is for this purpose that man was created.
By virtue of being purified and sanctified, we will merit what the Sages have mentioned: “The one who sanctifies himself a little is sanctified a great deal; the one who sanctifies himself below is sanctified from above; the one who sanctifies himself in this world is sanctified in the World to Come” (Yoma 39a). Amen.


The Light is Hidden For the Righteous so That the Wicked Cannot use it

It is written, “G-d saw that the light was good, and G-d separated between the light and the darkness” (Genesis 1:4). Concerning this verse Rashi wrote: “Here too the Aggadaic explanation is necessary. He saw that it was not fitting that the wicked should use it [the light]. He set it apart for the righteous in the World to Come.”
Let us also examine the following text: “Rabbi Elazar said, ‘With the light that the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the first day, a man could see from one end of the world to the other. When the Holy One, blessed be He, saw the generation of the flood and that of the dispersal, He saw that their deeds were wicked and He hid it from them, as it is written: “As light is withheld from the wicked” [Job 38:15]. For whom did He hide it? For the righteous in the future, as it is written: “And G-d saw that it was good,” and there is no “good” but the “righteous”, as it is written: “Tell [each] righteous man that it is good” [Isaiah 3:10]. He rejoiced when He saw the light that He had hidden for the righteous, as it is written: “The light of the righteous will rejoice” [Proverbs 13:9]’ ” (Hagigah 12).
Rav Eliyahu Dessler asks why the Holy One, blessed be He, hid this light. Would it not have been better to leave it? In that way, the wicked would have acknowledged the reality of G-d, and this light would have prevented them from committing wicked deeds. Even if they had acted wickedly, they would have immediately repented.
I thought that I would answer by responding that in the World of Action (Zohar II:258a), there exists no simple way of ensuring that a person will not sin, for he has to work hard to reach a state of perfection and accomplish all his duties in this world.
Moreover, even if the light had not been hidden, that would not have prevented the wicked from pursuing their evil ways. The proof is that even without the hidden light, if someone goes to the trouble of looking around a little, he can easily conceive of the existence of a Creator by realizing that “this great city” must have a “governor”. As King David wrote, “When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars…” (Psalms 8:4).
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In addition, even the generation of the desert – who were filled with knowledge (Vayikra Rabba 9:1) and witnessed with their own eyes miracles and wonders, and saw that the Holy One, blessed be He, spoke with Moses face to face (Numbers 12:8), without mentioning the fact that they were surrounded by clouds of glory – even they ignored all this and sinned, going so far as to protest against Moses and Aaron. What was the reason for this? It was because of their material concerns, yet they paid no attention to the fact that their behavior was considered as a protest against the Shechinah itself. In fact, Rabbi Chanina bar Papa said, “Whoever rebels against his Rav, it is as if he rebelled against the Shechinah, as it is written: ‘Not against us are your complaints, but against the L-RD’ [Exodus 16:8]”. Rabbi Abahu said, “Whoever has doubts about his Rav, it is as if he had doubts about the Shechinah, as it is written: ‘The people spoke against G-d and Moses’ [Numbers 21:5]” (Sanhedrin 110a). It is only though G-d’s kindness that the generation of the desert was not wiped out.
We may ask why everything that the Children of Israel saw and lived through did not have enough of an affect to strengthen their faith to the point that they would be incapable of sinning. We may even ask why not everyone has tried to contemplate the beauty of Creation and its Creator.
We must reply that the reason is because of the power of habit. It is this that blinded and prevented them from reflecting upon the greatness of the Creator. Even though they observed Torah mitzvot, they did so by rote – through habit – and did not put much thought into it.
This is why the Holy One, blessed be He, did not reveal the hidden light to the entire world, bur reserved it for the righteous in the future. Even if the light had remained, the wicked would have become accustomed to it. In that case, not only would the light have not brought the wicked closer to a knowledge of G-d, they could possibly have used it to commit even more evil.
As for those who had no intention of acting wickedly, they could have also sinned and used this light for evil purposes because of their ignorance and inability to distinguish between good and evil. In fact, without the Torah, there is no way of making such a distinction. What can this be compared to? To a child who was given a handful of diamonds and precious stones, and who because of limited intelligence and understanding threw them all into the garbage. And why? Because the child put them in his mouth and discovered that they did not taste good. The child does not know what purpose they serve. Even if the child is given something refined and delicious to eat, he can also throw it away because he lacks understanding.
The same applies to a person without Torah. He is exactly like a child lacking understanding – like one who doesn’t know how to make proper distinctions – to the point that even if he could use the light to see from one end of Creation to the other, he risks using it harmfully because he doesn’t understand its value. This is why a person must toil in Torah and mitzvot in this world, the World of Action, to learn how to appreciate the Torah. He will then merit this same very light that the Holy One, blessed
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be He, hid for the righteous. However the main thing is not the study of Torah alone; by Torah study a person must arrive at a level such that he recognizes the Creator and understands the depths of His secrets. A person will then have his reward beginning from this present world, as the verse states, “Taste and see that the L-RD is good” (Psalms 34:9), and his principle reward will be kept for the World to Come.

The Torah and Israel: The Purpose of Creation

It is written, “In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was desolation and waste, and darkness was upon the face of the abyss, and the spirit of G-d moved upon the face of the waters. And G-d said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:1-3).
We know that the Torah is called reshith (beginning), as it is written: “The L-RD made me as the beginning of His way, before His deeds of yore” (Proverbs 8:22). Rashi explains this to mean: “At the beginning of His creation – before He created the world.” The Torah preceded the creation of the world by 2,000 years, as our Sages have said (Avodah Zarah 9a). G-d rejoiced in the Torah during all that time, as it is written: “I was then His delight every day” (Proverbs 8:30), which according to Rashi refers to the
2,000 years before Creation. The Sages said, “All of Creation has but one purpose: The Torah. It was for the Torah, which is called reshith [beginning]” (Bereshith Rabba 1:1), and the world was created by the Torah (ibid. 1:4). Furthermore, “G-d looked into the Torah and created the world. It was the instrument of His work. His only goal was to give His chosen ones, the Jewish people, the Torah by which and for which the world and everything it contains was created” (Zohar I:24).
We read in the Talmud, “Rabbi Eleazar said, ‘Great is the Torah, since but for it heaven and earth could not endure, as it is written: “If not for My covenant [the Torah], I would not have appointed days and nights, the decrees of heaven and earth” [Jeremiah
33:25]’ ” (Nedarim 32a). This is an additional proof that everything was created by and for the Torah.
The verse states, “The spirit of G-d moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). Now water symbolizes Torah (Bava Kama 17a), as it written: “Ho, everyone who is thirsty, go to the water” (Isaiah 55:1). Water existed from the start of Creation, since the heavens themselves  are  composed  of  fire and  water,  as  the  word  shamayim  (“heavens”) indicates: Eish-mayim (see Rashi on Genesis 1:1). We therefore see that water was brought into existence at the very start of Creation.
The rest of the text also indicates that the world was created for the Torah, in order that man may serve G-d, observe Torah, and proclaim G-d’s Name in the world. Concerning man’s creation, it is written: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the heavens” (Genesis 1:26). Now that Creation was complete, in all its splendor and glory, man was created in the image and likeness of G-d. This was in order that he may resemble G-d in all His deeds and attributes, and that he may be holy like Him, as it is written:
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“You shall be holy, for holy am I, the L-RD your G-d” (Leviticus 19:2). Man also received a task: “Have dominion over the fish.” This means that he is to plumb the depths of Halachah and Torah, which is represented by water, since it was for it that the world was created. What is the goal of Creation, if not to observe the Torah and to obey the commandments that G-d gives us? It was for this purpose that man was created in the first place, coming into a world where everything is ready and set, and enabling him to receive the Torah and its laws.
Know that all of Creation is a secret of the Torah and wisdom. The Immanent One wanted to raise noble minds, and so He created four worlds (Atzilut, Briyah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah) into which He placed the 10 Sephirot: Keter (Crown), Chochmah (Wisdom), Binah (Intelligence), Chesed (Kindness), Gevurah (Power), Tipheret (Beauty), Netzach (Eternity), Hod (Glory), Yesod (Foundation), and Malchut (Royalty). These are the foundations of the heavens and the earth. Without the Torah, it is impossible to know or understand them. This means that all of Creation and every treasure it contains – visible and non-visible – exist only for the holy Torah.
If all of Creation exists only for the Torah, then why does the Torah begin with “In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), rather than the verse, “The L-RD made me as the beginning of His way, before His deeds of yore” (Proverbs 8:
22) and then describe the order of Creation? This would have clearly taught us that the
Torah preceded Creation and that the world was created for it.
When the Jewish people were at Mount Sinai, it is written: “They stood at the bottom of the mountain” (Exodus 19:17). This teaches us that G-d held the mountain over their heads and said, “If you accept the Torah, good. If not, there shall be your burial” (Shabbat 88a). We know, however, that the Jewish people had already promised, “Everything that the L-RD has said, we will do and we will obey” (Exodus 24:7).
It is difficult to understand why G-d forced the Jewish people to receive the Torah with this threat hanging over their heads, given that they had already accepted the Divine yoke of their own free will (see Shabbat 88a).
We know that each person has free will and the choice of doing good or evil in this
world. If G-d forces us to accept the Torah, what becomes of our free will?
We must first understand why the Children of Israel said, literally, “We will do and we will hear” (Exodus 24:7). Logically, one must first hear a command in order to carry it out. Should they not have said, “We will hear and we will do”? This was the argument used by a godless Sadducee when he mockingly said to Rabba, “You rash people… who gave precedence to your mouth over your ears? You still persist in your rashness. First you should have listened: If it was within your powers, accept; if not, you should not have accepted” (Shabbat 88a).
We may be permitted to suppose that the Jewish people did not declare “We will do and we will hear” under duress, for well before gathering at the foot of Mount Sinai, Jews knew that G-d was watching over and protecting them, and they always had faith
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in His providence. They knew that they had been saved from the furnace of Egypt and the 49 degrees of impurity (Zohar Chadash Yitro 39a) because they had not changed their names, their way of dress, or their language, since they continued to speak Hebrew (Vayikra Rabba
32:5). It was always to G-d that they addressed their prayers, and it was through Him that they hoped to be delivered from Egypt, as it is written: “The Children of Israel groaned because of the work and they cried out. Their outcry because of the work went up to G-d” (Exodus 2:23). Already before receiving the Torah, the Jewish people had accepted a certain number of commandments at Marah (Rashi on Exodus 15:25), including the bringing of a Passover sacrifice (v.21), the prohibition against eating or possessing leaven during Passover (vv.15,19), the commandment to eat unleavened bread (v.8), the redemption of firstborn cattle (Exodus 13:2), the commandment of Tefillin (vv.9-16), just as they had accepted to observe the holiness of Shabbat (which is equal in importance to all the other commandments – Yerushalmi Berachot 1:5), circumcision (Genesis 17:12), and many others.
This is to say that the Jewish people already possessed some knowledge of Torah well before it was given on Mount Sinai, and they cherished it – particularly since “its ways are ways of pleasantness and all its pathways are peace” (Proverbs 3:17). This is why, when they stated, “We will do and we will hear,” their intention was to say: What we have already practiced up to now and what G-d commands us, we will do, for all the ways of the Torah are good and we will obey Him in everything without fail. But that is not all. We want to know more. May G-d Himself give us more commandments.
Hearing G-d’s voice corresponds to a profound yearning on the part of the Jewish people, and they wanted to hear more. This is the sense of Im shamoah tishmah (“If you hearken diligently” – Exodus 15:26), meaning that if you adhere, without reservation, to your promise to listen to G-d’s words, you will continue to hear them. This is the sense of “we will do and we will hear.”
We now understand why the Sages said, “One who walks on the road and studies [Torah], and interrupts his study and remarks, ‘How beautiful is this tree!’…Scripture considers it as if he were guilty of a mortal sin” (Perkei Avoth 3:7). A tree symbolizes Torah, as it is written: “It is a tree of life to those who grasp it, and its supporters are praiseworthy” (Proverbs 3:18). In other words, one who interrupts his study and says, “How beautiful is this tree!” – how greatly have I learned Torah up to now, knowing the Talmud and its laws; how happy I am with myself, for I understand the Torah and do not need to review what I’ve learned – such a person puts his life in danger. This is because “the Torah is an elixir of life” (Eruvin 54a) only if we continue to study it in depth. The Torah presents 70 different faces; there are 70 facets to the Torah (Bamidbar Rabba 13:
15), and a student must review his studies. Otherwise, just like one who sows without reaping, he will forget what he has learned (Sanhedrin 99a). Our ancestors at Mount Sinai are proof of this: Even though they possessed a knowledge of Torah, to the point that they are called “the generation of knowledge,” they also wanted to hear G-d’s voice so as to understand the Torah and its laws. Each of us must follow their example, for the wise listen and increase their understanding (see Proverbs 1:5).
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The Jewish people therefore had reason to mention action before understanding, for action referred to the past while understanding referred to the future.
The Torah was nevertheless given with the threat of the mountain hanging over their heads. They had no way to escape, and thus they had no choice. Given that “we will hear” concerns the future, we may understand why G-d held the mountain over their heads even though they had already begun to obey the Torah. Just as both body and soul exist, so too do the written Torah and oral Torah exist. The written Torah is like the body and the oral Torah is like the soul; they both need one another. Just as the body cannot live without the soul, there can be no soul without a corporal housing. By saying, “We will do and we will hear,” the Children of Israel only accepted the written Torah. For them, it was enough to obey the commandments without plumbing the depths of the ideas on which they are based. Such obedience, devoid of every urge to uncover G-d’s secrets, is certainly a good thing, for “Seek not what is too difficult for you.” Nevertheless, G-d wanted it otherwise. He threatened them by holding the mountain over their heads and saying, “If you accept the Torah, good. If not, there shall be your burial.” The Children of Israel had no way to escape, and so G-d said to them: Just as you are now under the mountain and are lost with no way to escape, neither to the right nor to the left, so too if you accept only the written Torah. You will not be able to understand it and you will remain lost, not knowing left from right, and you will be deprived of the advantages of the Torah and its goodness, to the point that it will bury you. If you accept only the written Torah, it will be like a body without a soul, which must be buried, and you will be lost in the written Torah. You must therefore also accept the oral Torah, and then you may come and go from this mountain, for you will also have a soul.
Those who understand the depths of Torah know that the oral Torah is a revelation of the written Torah’s hidden meaning. Rabbi Menachem M. Halperin, in the introduction to his book Eypha Shlema, writes that the Torah hides sublimes secrets that constitute its soul.
The oral Torah is the soul and life of the written Torah, and it is impossible to understand one without the other. This allows us to assert that G-d did not force the Children of Israel to accept the Torah under duress, since they declared, “We will do and we will hear.” Rather, G-d only wanted to explain to the Jewish people that the foundations of the heavens and the earth were created with the purpose of carrying out both the written and oral Torah. The oral Torah is the soul of the written Torah, and it is essential for understanding what is written – the body of the Torah.
The answer to the question asked earlier (namely why the Torah begins with the words “In the beginning G-d created” rather than “The L-RD made me as the beginning of His way, before His deeds of yore”) becomes clear. The world was created for the Jewish people to receive and observe both the written Torah and the oral Torah. The word bereshith (“in [the] beginning”) demonstrates this, for be represents the written Torah and reshith represents the oral Torah. These are the foundations of Creation,
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and only after them were the heavens and the earth created. In other words: In the beginning, for the written Torah and the oral Torah, G-d created the heavens and the earth, the entire universe, and everything it contains.
At the beginning of Creation, the heavens were created. They represented the oral Torah, which is celestial, the soul of the Torah. Its secrets are only revealed to one who is diligent and persistent in Torah study, one “who fears the L-RD, who greatly desires His commandments” (Psalms 112:1). The creation of the earth connotes the written Torah, the body of the Torah that was given on Mount Sinai, which is as humble and submissive as the earth.
Afterwards it is written, “And the earth was desolation and waste, and darkness was upon the face of the abyss.” This means that if a man only studies the written Torah (the earth), he will only be desolation and waste. Being only a body, he will not be able to come and go at will, and he will seem like a dark abyss. This is because an ignorant man walks about in darkness, without knowing where he is going. But then “the spirit of G-d moved upon the face of the waters.” The spirit of G-d, which is the oral Torah – the life and soul of the written Torah – moved over the waters, and “water is the Torah” (Bava Kama 17a). Man can therefore become fulfilled in this world. How is that possible? “And G-d said, ‘Let there be light.’ ” Light is necessary to understand the hidden secrets of the Torah, and this light is the oral Torah, which illuminates the written Torah. The written Torah and oral Torah are like two inseparable lovers, and it is by their merit that the world and all Creation exist.
Israel and the Torah (written and oral) form the essential elements of the creation of the world and the foundation of the heavens and the earth. They teach us the meaning of life and show us the path to follow. The world rests on the merit of the Jewish people, who observe the written and oral Torah, and who obey its laws as they were given by G-d, the Creator of the world.


The Entire World was Created Solely for Me

The holy Torah ends with the words, “That Moses performed before the eyes of all Israel” (Deuteronomy 34:12), and it begins with the words, “In the beginning [bereshith] G-d created.”
From this we learn what the Sages have said in various places (Bereshith Rabba
1:4 et al.), which is that the world was created for the Torah (which is called reshith) and for Israel (which is called reshith). This is the meaning of the expression, “before the eyes of all Israel – In the beginning [bereshith] G-d created.” All Creation is for Israel.
Just where do these words of our Sages lead us? In Sefer Yetzirah, it is stated that man is a microcosm of the world, meaning that everything found in the world is found in the body of man. The Sages have also mentioned this in the Talmud (Nedarim 32b). Consequently, a person should realize this fact and constantly be engaged in personal
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introspection with a humble and contrite heart. He should think, “I am like a world, and if I want the world to be in a good state, I myself must properly maintain my own world. But is that possible? Can I accomplish my task in this world? Was G-d correct in having created me? Perhaps it would have been better had my soul remained under the Throne of Glory?” Now we know that the soul does not want to descend into this world, yet G-d forces it to do so, for it is written: “He established it [the earth]. He did not create it for emptiness; He fashioned it to be inhabited” (Isaiah 45:18). Hashem created all living beings in order for the world to be inhabited.
Created beings were therefore not made without reason, but to fulfill the will of the Creator. How can we achieve this? When a soul descends into the world, it is nourished by spirituality, leaving materiality for the body. However the role of man is not to make this materiality the main thing in life, but instead to give priority to the spiritual. What is the primary thing? It is the Torah! The mitzvot! This is the goal of man’s creation. When a person accomplishes them, he thereby connects to G-d and the Torah, and everything becomes one. As the Zohar states, “The Torah, Israel, and Hashem are one.” This is why the Torah ends with the letter lamed and begins with the letter beit, which together form the word lev (heart). This teaches us that a person must put his entire heart into serving Hashem.
We learn something else from the letter beit at the beginning of the Torah. The letter beit resembles a container, which means that if a person wants the Torah to enter his heart, and if he always wants to do his Creator’s will, he must resemble a container that holds blessings. He must do everything necessary for blessings to remain in him. He must prepare himself and be open to the Torah, for in this way the Torah and mitzvot can find a home in him. In the opposite case, how can blessings rest upon him?
True, everyone can claim that it is sometimes difficult to resemble a container that can hold blessings. This is because the evil inclination lies within him and constantly tries to make him sin. What can we do in that case? How can we conquer it? The Holy One, blessed be He, grants His blessings to everyone for this purpose as well, a fact alluded to in the word keli (container). How does this occur?
Before each mitzvah we say, “For the sake of the union of the Holy One, blessed be He, with His Shechinah…in the name of all Israel.” Why do we add the words “in the name of all Israel”? It is because each person alone cannot perform all the mitzvot, for some can only be performed in Eretz Israel, others can only be performed by Kohanim, others only apply to Levites, and so on. Nevertheless, everyone is obligated to perform all 613 mitzvot. How is that possible?
This is why we say before each mitzvah, “in the name of all Israel.” It is in this way that we connect ourselves to the entire Jewish people, including the Kohanim and Levites, thus enabling us to perform all 613 of the Creator’s mitzvot.
This is the keli that Hashem has given each person. The word keli is formed by the first letters of the words Kohen, Levi, and Israel. This means that Hashem gives us all this keli in order that, by means of the entire Jewish people, we can all carry
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out the 613 mitzvot and the entire Torah. If it is sometimes difficult for someone in particular to become a container that holds blessings, then by means of the mitzvah “You shall love your fellow as yourself” – by helping one another – we can become such a container and reap all the benefits of the precious abundance that comes from the Creator. We therefore come to the conclusion that studying Torah alone is not enough. We must also give to others and love them, for in this way the world will continue to exist.
However if Adam and Eve sinned through the Tree of Knowledge, what can we accomplish? Adam was created on the sixth day in order for him to enter Shabbat and find everything ready for him, yet he still sinned! Imagine that a sumptuous meal had been prepared for someone, yet instead of appreciating it, he despised it. Such ingratitude is hard to imagine. Now where ingratitude exists, no container able of holding blessings can exist.
Let  us  draw  a  lesson  from Adam  and  his  wife,  who  sinned  by  the Tree  of Knowledge, by the tree of the Torah. Let us strengthen our Torah study, for in this way we will ensure the existence of the entire world. We will then have achieved the goal of Creation, namely that the entire world was created solely for Israel.

Man is the Pinnacle of Creation

What connection is there between the human body and the earth, given that they do not resemble one another in any way? The answer is that we can learn a great deal from both: From the earth, which was created at the beginning by the word of Hashem, and from the human body, which Hashem formed from the earth. When a person looks at the dust of the earth, he remembers that he was taken from it. He realizes that he is really nothing but dust, and that he will return to dust. The Name mem hei (same numerical value as adam) that is inscribed in a person, and the Torah of Hashem that is also inscribed in him, are what make him a man. When he merits it, a person differs both from animals and the earth. After creating all the land animals on the sixth day, Hashem said: “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26). Hashem made man and then his wife Eve from him. He called them adam, this name being in keeping with the earth (adama), since their creation originated from the earth. In fact it would seem that there’s no real difference between man and beast, since animals were also created on the sixth day, and even before man. However there is a divine spark in man that sets the two apart. Hashem breathed a divine spark into man’s nostrils so he could sanctify himself in everything he says and does. What Hashem breathed into man came from within Him. This is why man is called adam, a name with the same numerical value (45) as the Tetragrammaton (when “filled” with three alephs, two vavs, and one daleth), which represents greatness and loftiness. Furthermore, man has the power to prolong Creation, creating or destroying what he wishes. In fact a tzaddik rules through the fear of G-d (II Samuel 23:3; Moed Katan 16b) and possesses real power, for Hashem does “the will of those who fear Him” (Psalms 145:19).
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Hashem imposed a condition on Creation, namely that it must obey the words of a tzaddik. We know that certain tzaddikim of Morocco were able to stop the sun in order to prevent a desecration of Shabbat. That is, in order to reach their destination before Shabbat, they could stop the sun in the sky just as the prophet Joshua did when he said: “Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon in the valley of Aijalon” (Joshua 10:12). We also know the amazing story involving my grandfather, the tzaddik Rabbi Haim Pinto (may his merit protect us), who on the eve of Passover helped a Jew by taking out a small suitcase from his kiddush cup, one that had miraculously grown in size and become filled with seawater. Rabbi Haim Pinto wanted to help this Jew after he had miraculously survived a shipwreck, one in which his small suitcase (containing all his wealth) had been lost at sea.
It is therefore clear that each person is comprised of two components: Physical and spiritual. A person should not make the mistake, however, of thinking that the physical is greater than the spiritual component, for in that case he is liable to lose whatever spiritual strength he has. A very bad idea indeed! If that were the case – if a person were incapable of overcoming a physical trial – Hashem would have had no reason in creating him. This is because He only tests a person with what he is capable of overcoming. Hence the spiritual is greater than the physical.
What is the source of our spiritual strength? It is the living soul that Hashem breathed into man. Before doing this, man was like a corpse, and what Hashem breathed into man came from within Himself, meaning that it was divine. It is therefore the soul that sustains man, and without this soul his body is but a corpse. Thus man’s life derives from his soul. What levels of holiness can a person reach? We all know that everything which the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His world was for the purpose of holiness. Everything is therefore holy, whether it be nourishment, fragrance, or even what the eyes see. At the same time, every created being has an angel that looks over it and says, “Grow” (Bereshith Rabba 10:6). Now it is clear that anything having an overseer to protect it is important. Otherwise there would be no need to appoint a guardian for it. Thus the fact that Hashem created guardians for every created being proves that all of Creation is holy.
As for man, he is at a higher level than all other things. He has no angel responsible for protecting him or making him grow, for he is truly G-d’s handiwork (Bereshith Rabba
24:5; Aggadah Bereshith 11). The Holy One, blessed be He, personally saw to his creation and formation. The dust from which he was drawn was holy and spiritual, and he was infused with life from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He. His hands touched man as he was being formed, making him even more sanctified than the rest of Creation.
Thus everywhere that Hashem touched man, He commanded him to use his 248 members and 365 sinews to observe the Torah and its mitzvot. This is like the sound of the human voice being good for fragrant herbs (the analogy being that fragrant herbs are the Torah and man has the importance of a Sefer Torah). Hence when Hashem
Bereshit                                                            37


touched man’s body and breathed into him a living soul, he became so highly sanctified that the angels mistook him for a divine being. They even wanted to exclaim, “Holy” before him (Bereshith Rabba 8:10). In fact until the angels saw him eating, they did not realize that he was only a man created in G-d’s image.
It is true that man eats the same things that an animal does. However man differs from and is loftier than an animal because the latter is entirely physical, whereas man is made in G-d’s image. This is only true of an individual person, however, when he conducts himself like a being created as G-d’s handiwork. If a person fails to safeguard the divine characteristics that Hashem has placed in him (namely holiness, the Torah, and the Names of Hashem), he no longer differs from an animal.
Now that we have explained, to some extent, man’s greatness and importance in Creation, it does not take much to realize that we cannot derive satisfaction from the world for a single instant without praising the Creator. In fact our main purpose and goal in this world is to serve Hashem, to separate ourselves and be distinct from all other created beings. It is only in this way that we may bring satisfaction to the Creator.