Parshat Breishis: The Smallest Gap

Torah is a paradox. It is the height of our intellectual pursuits. And it is utterly unfathomable!

Where’s the Preparation?

The Torah is divided into 53 portions corresponding to the Sabbaths of the year. Although it is read on Shabbos, the entire week leading to a specific Shabbos is under the influence of that Torah portion.

Since Torah portions are read on Shabbos, we have a full week of study and preparation for the parsha that will be read publicly on Shabbos. The Torah portion was therefore divided into seven sections, corresponding to the seven days of the week. And it is customary to study one section each day of the week, so that in the course of the week we study the entire parsha.

There is one notable exception to this week of preparation rule. Of all the 53 Torah portions (some are read combined) only the Torah’s concluding one entitled V’zos Haberacha (“And this is the blessing..”) is not read on a Shabbos but on the festival of Simchat Torah, which can occur on either a Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday; never on Shabbos.

As a result of the scheduling of the last portion of the Torah on a weekday rather than a Shabbos, this is the only instance where there is a short gap between one Torah portion (V’zos Haberacha) and the next one (Bereishis).

The question begs itself: Why was the Jewish calendar set up in such a way that there is never a full week between the completion of one cycle of the Torah reading and the beginning of the next cycle?

Moreover, it would seem that if any parsha deserved a full week of preparation it would be the parsha of Bereishis. After all, Bereishis, in many ways, is the most important parsha of the Torah, inasmuch as it is the very beginning of the Torah, as its name underscores.

In addition, it discusses G-d creating the universe, one of the most fundamental principles of Judaism. It is also one of the longest portions and covers an expanse of time from creation to the flood a period of over 1,500 years. Certainly a portion so big, quantitatively and qualitatively, covering so much ground and expanse of time, should have at least as much time to prepare for as all the other Torah portions.

The Endless Cycle

Three answers come to mind.

The first answer is based on how we view the reading and study of the Torah. It is not simply an academic exercise or a ceremonial ritual. Jewish tradition looks at the reading and study of Torah as an endless cycle, reflecting the infinite nature of the Torah, which is divine wisdom; and just as G-d is endless so it His Torah. The Hakafos ceremony of Simchas Torah, where we dance with the Torah in a circle that has no beginning or end, is an illustration of the endless character of the Torah.

This also explains why, on Simchas Torah, we read the first section of Bereishis immediately after finishing the reading of the Five Books of Moses.

To further underscore and appreciate this endless process of Torah, we never allow ourselves the luxury of a full week between the two portions. This underscores the fact that there is really no end to the Torah.

The End is Wedged in the Beginning

Second, by limiting the gap between the two portions, we are compelled to reflect on the organic relationship between the end of the Torah and its beginning, highlighting the Kabbalistic idea found in the most ancient work of Kabbalah, Sefer Yetzirah, “the end is wedged in the beginning and the beginning is wedged in the end.” There is a certain dynamism and powerful energy that can only be experienced at the beginning and at the end of the Torah; particularly at their point of convergence.

In terms of the Torah, the very last word of the Torah is “Israel,” and the very first word is “Bereishis-In the Beginning.” This suggests that G-d’s original thought in creation will be actualized by Israel. The Jewish nation was chosen to implement G-d’s plan for the creation.

And just as G-d, the Creator is immortal, so too, are His chosen people Israel an immortal people. If Israel was just one part of creation it would be subject to the same law of entropy that occasions all of existence. Israel, however, is the force that implements G-d’s plan. And just as G-d and His plan are immortal, so too are the Jewish people.

The close proximity of the reading of the end of the Torah to the reading of the beginning drives home the tight relationship the people of Israel have with G-d’s plan of Creation.

Humbled

Third, the six days of preparation before the Shabbat Torah reading was designed to make it possible to fully digest the subject matter of the Torah. “Bereft” of these days of preparation, we find ourselves humbled at the very beginning of the Torah cycle. We can’t claim to have mastered the entirety of Torah, for we have not even begun to master its beginning. In essence, while we might cover the entire Torah in the course of a year, we actually never really began reading the Torah.

This notion is further hinted in the selection of the letter beis to start the Torah. By commencing our Torah study with the second letter of the Alphabet, we imply, ever so humbly, that we have never even began learning the Torah.

Every volume of the Babylonian Talmud begins with page two. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, the famous Chassidic master, is reputed to have said, that by commencing every volume with page two we are led to realize that even after we complete the entire volume we have not even begun learning it.

In truth, Nachmanides writes that the theme of this parsha is beyond our comprehension. The story of Creation embodies the greatest secrets of Torah. The more we study, the more we realize how little we really understand.

Thus, the parsha of Bereishis has fewer days of prefatory study, because no matter how much we learn we can never fathom, or even skim the surface, of the secrets of Creation.

Once we have this lesson of the elusiveness of Torah at the very beginning, we then recognize that, in reality, this is true for all sections of the Torah—even the ones we think we can understand.

Intertwined

In summation: The lack of a seven day period for Bereishis underscores:

(a) the endless nature of Torah;

(b) the intertwining of the end and the beginning of the Torah;

These three explanations as to why we have fewer days of preparation for this parsha are actually intertwined. Because the Torah is Divine wisdom and of infinite nature, the end and beginning are connected. Only when we have a finite linear wisdom are the beginnings and ends polarized. In an infinite world, they go hand in hand.

And because the Torah is infinite it is utterly unfathomable. This implies that the reason we cannot fully grasp the full meaning of the Torah is not because we are not smart enough; it is because the knowledge is inherently beyond understanding.

The Infinite Revealed

When we begin the study of Bereishis we are humbled by the realization that the knowledge of Torah we can achieve is so limited. In the Messianic Age, however, our knowledge will be elevated to another level.

The question can be raised. If the Torah is truly infinite and we are inherently finite beings, how can our limited understanding of Torah change? No matter how much we can stretch a finite mind it can never get any closer to grasping the infinite.

The answer to this dilemma lies in the aforementioned connection between the end of the Torah and its beginning. The last word of the Torah is “Israel,” referring to the people of Israel. The first word is Bereishis, which refers to the highest divine energies, from which the creative energies of G-d flowed. According to the various classical translations of the Torah, this word alludes to Divine will or Divine Wisdom.

The juxtaposition of Bereishis to Israel is to teach us that the souls of the Jewish people are rooted in the most sublime and infinite G-dly energies; in G-d’s will and wisdom.

Indeed, in the literature of Kabbalah we are told that the spiritual root of the souls of Israel is even deeper and higher than the root of the Torah.

In other words, while Torah is infinite because it derives from the infinity of G-d, so are the souls of Israel infinite because they too are rooted in G-d’s infinite being.

In the Messianic Age, the soul’s essential infinite nature will be fully revealed, so that we will be capable of fathoming and capturing the infinity of Torah.

However, even in the present, as we await the coming of Moshiach, we get a taste of that infinity on Simchas Torah and each and every time we commence the reading of Bereishis. At these times, our souls light cannot be eclipsed and we get a taste of the way we will appreciate the Torah in the future.

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