It’s All in the Head
The head/brain contains all of the energy of the entire body. The “head” or first word of the Torah, Bereishis, contains within it all of the Torah and its objective to lead us to the Messianic Age.
The First Word
Much has been said about the first word of the Torah: Bereishis, which is usually translated as “In the beginning.” Hundreds, if not thousands, of commentaries have been attached to this word, arguably, much more than that which has been said and written about any other word in the Torah? Indeed, there are even hundreds of explanations why the first letter of the Torah is the letter beis.
Why has so much been said about the first word?
The answer lies in a premise that the first word of the Torah is not just the first word; it is also the head of the entire Torah. Just as the head contains within it the energy for the rest of the body, so too, the first word of the Torah encapsulates all of the Torah.
The above is even more pronounced considering that the first word of the Torah contains the word rosh-head in it. Thus, this word can be viewed as the fountain-head of all that which follows in the Torah.
One may take this point a step further. If the word Bereishis contains within it all of the Torah, even what might appear to ne minutia, it certainly alludes to the most overtly fundamental aspects of Torah.
Based on this premise, we may further suggest that the word Bereshis contains within it an allusion to the very purpose of creation, particularly because Bereishis is about creation. It therefore stands to reason that at the beginning of creation, as it is recorded in the Torah, we will discover hints to the Messianic Age, the ultimate goal of creation, as the Talmud states: “The world was created exclusively for Moshiach.”
Where in the word Bereishis is there an allusion to the Messianic Age?
The Beis Hamikdash: The First Step of the Final Redemption
The very first letter of the word Bereishis is the letter beis. This letter is the initial of the word Beis Hamikdash-The Holy Temple.
According to Maimonides, Moshiach’s arrival is divided into two stages. The first stage establishes his credentials as a leader, who is descended from King David, steeped in Torah, inspires Jews to walk in the path of Torah and its commandments, repairs the breaches in its observance and wages war with evil. Anyone who has all these qualifications is presumed to be Moshiach.
When this presumed Moshiach defeats all the enemies that surround Israel, builds the Beis Hamikdash and gathers all Jews to the Land of Israel, then he is confirmed as Moshiach.
In other words, all of Moshiach’s activities before building the Beis Hamikdash are to establish his “resume” as a worthy leader who, in the tradition of all great leaders before him, such as Moses and King David, has the potential to usher in the Final Redemption, when G-d’s presence will be fully revealed and all the positive changes that were predicted will follow as a matter of course.
The first stage in the unfolding of the Messianic process is the building of the Beis Hamikdash, G-d’s chosen location that channels His overt presence into the world.
Thus, the very first letter of the Torah is the letter Beis, to mark the very first step of the Final Redemption, at which time the world will realize the purpose for which it was created.
The Final Stage
The final stage in the Messianic process is the Resurrection of the Dead. This phenomenon, where the souls of the deceased will return to a reconstituted body, has been foretold by many of the prophets and is regarded by Maimonides as the 13th and final principle of faith.
The Resurrection of the Dead is not just a miraculous revival of the dead, but it represents the climax of the entire process of creation. If the Messianic Age is the climax of all of creation, the Resurrection of the Dead is the climax of the Messianic Age.
At that time, we will be exposed to G-d’s very essence, a revelation so sublime that, as the Talmud states, we cannot presently even fathom its loftiness. G-d’s presence will pervade all of existence in ways that are unimaginable today. First and foremost is that the dichotomy between the soul and the body, the physical and the spiritual will no longer endure.
The Hebrew term for the Resurrection is Techiyas Hameisim, the initial of which is the letter tav; the final letter of the word Bereishis.
In effect, the first letter of Bereishis alludes to the first step in the Final Redemption, the building of the Beis Hamikdash and the last letter of the word Bereishis alludes to the climax and ultimate objective of the Messianic Age, the Resurrection of the Dead.
This leaves us with four middle letters of the word Bereishis: reish, aleph, shin and yud. What do these letters stand for?
The Reish: The Humble Moshiach
The letter reish can be said to allude to Moshiach himself. In the Biblical prophecy of Zecharyah, Moshiach is referred to as a “poor man (ani) riding on a donkey.” The letter reish is a synonym for poor. This alludes to Moshiach’s humility, a trait he inherits from Moses the first redeemer, which qualifies him to be the final redeemer. The Talmud explicitly refers to Moshiach’s distinction as a humble person.
Indeed, the Midrash cites Moshiach’s announcement to the world that “the time of your Redemption has arrived” with the preface, “Humble ones.”
In other words, humility is not just a qualification for Moshiach; it is also a qualification for us to be receptive to his message and to be worthy of Redemption.
The letter reish is also the initial of the word Rabeinu, our teacher. Moshiach’s qualification is based on his fidelity to the teachings of Moshe Rabeinu. Moshiach personifies all the qualities of Moses and then some. Moshiach takes all the ideals of Moses and implements them, fully.
Moreover, Moshiach will become the world’s greatest teacher, whose students will include all of the greatest of the past including the Patriarchs and even Moses! Moshiach is the ultimate Rabeinu because he embodies everything of Moshe Rabeinu and more in his capacity as the preeminent teacher of the Jewish people and of all humanity.
The Aleph: Master, Teacher and Wonder of the World
The next letter, aleph, stands for Alufo shel Olam-Master of the World. The Rebbe would frequently refer to the Alter Rebbe’s teaching that the sole difference between Golah-exile and Geulah, is the letter aleph. The underlying message here is that Redemption will not negate exile and erase all of our accomplishments during this pre-Redemption period; it will retain all of the positive features of exile with the “mere” introduction of the “aleph.”
This aleph, the Rebbe says, actually has three dimensions:
a) Recognition of G-d as the Master (Alufo) of the entire Universe.
b) The word alpeh also has the connotation of wisdom and knowledge. The entire world will be inundated with Divine knowledge.
c) The letters of the word aleph, rearranged, forms the word peleh, which means “wonder.” The world will be exposed to the most wondrous and transcendent Divine energies, all of which will be comfortably contained within the parameters of the world.
The aleph, can also allude to Elijah the prophet, whose name in Hebrew begins with the letter aleph.
Elijah will be Moshiach’s accomplice in many areas. First he will pave the way by bringing the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers. His focus will be in bringing peace to the world. Elijah also have a role in announcing the arrival of Moshiach, resolving unanswered question of Jewish law and assisting Moshiach in the Resurrection of the Dead, among other roles he will fill.
The Shin: Shalom and Shabbos
This leads us to the next letter shin, which is the initial of the word Shalom-peace. One of Moshiach’s pronouncements is the word “shalom” because the Messianic Age will bring the ultimate peace between G-d and the world, which will, in turn, remove all the barriers that exist between people. Not only will there be true unity within the Jewish community; all of the nations will join the Jewish people in serving one G-d, although they will not have to convert to Judaism.
The shin can also refer to the Shabbos because the entire Messianic Age is compared to the tranquility and serenity that the Shabbos introduces. Whereas in the present we have a taste of the future Shabbos one day a week, in the Era of Redemption it will be a perpetual Shabbos; perpetual delight and bliss.
The Yud: Yechidah and Ultimate Oneness
This leads us to the penultimate letter yud. This letter, besides being the first letter of G- d’s name, is also the initial of the word Yechidah, which is one of the five names our souls has. However, of all these five names it represents the highest, most essential level of the soul. In Chassidic source it is often identified as the very essence of the soul. It is the soul’s purest expression of its connection with G-d’s essence; Yechidah is the essence of the soul as it connects to the essence of G-d.
This level of the soul, which can only be expressed, intermittently, in the present day and age will become the staple in the Messianic Age.
Moreover, Moshiach’s soul is referred to as the general Yechidah soul. This means that he possesses the ultimate expression of Yechidah which represents the ultimate in oneness with G-d and who ignites the Yechidah spark within all of us.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the word Bereishis stands for six features of the Messianic Age:
Beis: Beis Hamikdash-The first stage in the Final Redemption. This aspect was hinted first because, as Maimonides states the building of the Bais Hamikdash is one of the tests to verify Moshiach’s identity.
Reish: Moshiach, the epitome of humility and the ultimate teacher. Moshiach will be fully revealed after the construction of the Bais Hamikdash and the ingathering of the exiles. After that process is concluded he will then turn towards the ultimate goal of the Messianic Age to reveal G-d’s oneness to the entire world. This is alluded to in the next letter.
Aleph: The introduction of the Divine Master, Teacher and Wonder of the world into the parameters and framework of our exile lives. When the world wil experience Divine revelation it will lead to Shalom, peace, indicated by the next letter.
Shin: Shalom-universal peace and the eternal Shabbos. This will be followed by the complete revelation of the essence of our soul represented by the next letter.
Yud: The revelation of the Yechidah-essence of our souls which is not subject to death. When our Yechidah is actualized we will enjoy eternal life together with all those who will be brought back to life; hinted in the next letter.
Tav: The Resurrection of the Dead.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Breishis by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
