The First Letter and Beginning on Page Two

Unity is central to Judaism: One G-d, one Torah, One Jewish nation. Yet, the Torah begins with the letter beis, which is the number two. It’s G-d’s way of saying “I want a relationship with you.” It’s what makes the connection between G-d and His world.

THE FIRST LETTER AND BEGINNING ON

PAGE TWO

Importance of the First Letter

Beginnings are important. Beginnings of important and seminal works are even more important. Can one then even doubt the importance of the beginning of the word Bereishis, which means beginning, of the parsha named Bereishis (beginning) of the book entitled Bereishis-beginning or Genesis?

Genesis begins with the word Bereishis and the word Bereishis begins with the letter beis. The Talmud (Jerusalem Talmud, notes that the letter beis is the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and raises the question: Why does the Torah not begin with an aleph, the first letter of the alphabet?

Why Should we Begin with an Aleph?

There are many answers to this question. But before we cite one of the answers, let us attempt to better comprehend the question.

Why would it have been better for the Torah to commence with the letter aleph? Does it really matter if the Torah begins with any one letter?

In truth it does make a difference.

By beginning the world’s most important document with a given letter, we are compelled to derive a crucial lesson. If—as the Ba’al Shem Tov said, “We must learn a lesson from every occurrence”—how much more imperative, then, that we learn a lesson from something mentioned in the Torah? It is even more obvious that there must be an important lesson in the Torah’s choice of letters, to commence the Divine document.

Had the Torah begun with an aleph (the first letter of the alphabet and the letter that in Hebrew is also the number one), it would have underscored the singularity of the Torah; that there is a one and only Torah just like there is a one and only G-d.

Indeed, at first blush, it makes no sense for the one Torah to begin with the letter beis— the number that signifies division, discord and multiplicity—instead of beginning with the letter aleph that signifies unity, uniqueness and indivisibility.

The Paradox

To answer this question, we must reflect on the paradoxical nature of Torah. Torah is, first and foremost, G-d’s wisdom. But, the Torah is also a book that was given to people who reside in a physical and material world Were the Torah to begin with an aleph, we would have been made aware of the Torah’s singular divine nature. We would not have appreciated, however, the entire scope of the Torah. Torah, while never loses its divine nature, even as humans study it and implement its teachings into their daily lives; Torah continues to be relevant to our lives and times.

By beginning the Torah with the letter beis that signifies duality, the Torah thus conveys the notion that it is simultaneously a divineother-worldly document and an eminently relevant teaching.

There are those who might deny or underemphasize the role of G-d in the Torah. To them, Torah is but a human document; a beautiful work of literature and poetry, with an important message. Others subscribe to the divinity of the Torah but deny or fail to appreciate the Torah’s ability to inform us about even the most mundane and trivial aspects of our private lives.

Torah is either reduced to an ancient work, whose archaic teachings have been superseded and replaced by modern society, or placed on a pedestal, intimating that it is too lofty for us to use in our daily lives.

Tragically, an argument often heard from some of the most religious elements in our community is that we should not try to mix the Torah with the issues that confront modern society. Whether we denigrate Torah or put it on a pedestal, we strip the Torah of its true value and relevance to our lives.

Bricklaying

The letter beis is also related to the Hebrew word bayis that means house. By studying the Torah and by observing its Mitzvos, we create a “home” for G-d.

This interpretation that beis refers to a house, and the one that beis alludes to the idea of duality are actually complementary.

In order to realize the goal of making the world into a home for the Divine, the Torah must be understood to be, paradoxically, a thoroughly G-dly message that can “take up residence” in our human abode without compromising either our G-d or our humanity.

To connect G-d and our world—which is, essentially, what a house for G-d is; a place where the divine and mundane can not only co-exist peacefully but also synthesize and harmonize—one needs to know that the Torah must be relevant to every aspect of our lives. To build a bayis, one must have a beis.

If we were to create a dichotomy between Torah and our physical existence by declaring that Torah is an aleph, a singular Divine entity that has no relevance to our world, we could never build a house for G-d, and the very purpose of creation would be thwarted.

Blessings and Curses

Perhaps this is what our Talmudic Sages had in mind when they answered the question of why the Torah begins with a beis rather with an aleph in this way: Aleph is the initial of the word arur which means curse, whereas beis is the initial of the word beracha which means blessing.

Ibn Ezra raises the obvious question: Aren’t there positive words that begin with an aleph and negative words that begin with a beis?

In light of the above analysis of the letter beis, this question can be answered. When people put the Torah on a pedestal, claiming that it is too sublime for it to have real meaning in the context of their reality, they are seeing Torah exclusively as an aleph; they cannot prevent the curses from our world.

When, however, we recognize the duality of Torah—that Torah is a beis, simultaneously, a sublime Divine document and an eminently relevant one—we can transform the curses of life into blessings. Then, and only then, will Torah be the source of blessings, exclusively.

[See Likkutei Sichos volume 15, where the Rebbe gives a different but related explanation to the selection of the letter beis and its relationship with beracha.] The Original Plan The word Bereishis has also been divided by our sages into two words: “Rosh Bayis-The first thing is the home.” Alternatively, it may be rendered: The home was G-d’s original and primary purpose for creating the world. This, too, has dual meaning: Our goal is to create a Jewish home. This, in turn, enables us to make the universe G-d’s home.

Since G-d is perfect and infinite, it follows that G-d’s plan of making this universe a “dwelling place” for Himself, will certainly come to fruition. This will occur, our Sages tell us, when Moshiach will usher in the Messianic Age. At that time, all of our human efforts that involve Torah and Mitzvot will have completed the structure, “brick by brick”, Mitzvah by Mitzvah. The “beis-house” (read: universe) will finally be completed because it will house both G-d and those of us whose efforts transformed the universe into a dwelling place for G-d (beis-two).

A Principle of Faith

This is one of the reasons the belief in the coming of Moshiach, who will usher in the Messinaic Age, is considered by Maimonides to be one the Thirteen Principles of Faith.

Why is this belief so pivotal to Judaism? Why can’t we be good Jews without the emphasis on the coming of Moshiach?

If we were to posit that the world will just continue aimlessly, never to become a dwelling place for G-d, that would mean that G-d’s plan was ill-devised, G-d forbid. Obviously, belief in the Messianic Age validates our belief in G-d’s omnipotence. To be sure, we have free choice as individuals to decide whether to perform the individual Mitzvah that forms one of the building-blocks of G-d’s “palace.” Nevertheless, G-d has so structured our universe that the cumulative effort of all of our Mitzvos will ultimately culminate with the Redemption.

If belief in Moshiach were merely a belief in ultimate reward it would not have been included in the Thirteen Principles of Faith. But belief in Moshiach is actually belief that G-d’s plan for our universe will succeed. Belief in Moshiach is belief that our actions count and that Torah and Mitzvot will ultimately change the world.

The Time of Your Redemption has Arrived!

The Lubavitcher Rebbe has declared that we have reached that milestone. Our collective and cumulative efforts—over the last few thousand years—have placed us on the threshold of the Era of Redemption. Even one Mitzvah, the Rebbe states, citing the Talmud (Kiddushin 40b) and Maimonides (Hilchos Teshuvah,), can be the final Mitzvah that pushes us and the entire universe over the top.

When we have questions about the value of a particular Mitzvah, we ought to consider that perhaps that one Mitzvah will be the most important Mitzvah ever perormed! It may be the one that will validate G-d’s original plan and make this world the world G-d had intended it to be at the very beginning of creation. That solitary act of goodness and kindness can turn all of the curses of the past into the greatest blessings.

All this is alluded to in the opening letter of the Torah—the beis.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Breishis by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.