Why Does the Torah Start With Beis, Not Alef?

Welcome to our weekly parsha class: Parshas Bereishis — the Torah’s first letter

Why does the Torah begin with beis and not alef? Alef is the first letter and stands for one, the oneness of God. So why does the Torah start with two?

As we begin the Torah anew, Rabbi Greenberg focuses not on the first verse or even the first word, but on its first letter. He starts with the Midrash of the letters applying for the job and the Jerusalem Talmud’s answer (beis for brachah, blessing), then brings the Rebbe’s answer: in Torah, intellectual study is always the second step. The first is attaching yourself to the Giver of the Torah, which is why we dance on Simchas Torah with the Torah closed.

From there, five meanings of the letter beis (two, in, with, because and house) and the Ohr HaChaim’s reasons, each one a different “two” that runs through Jewish life.

🔎 In this video we explore: • Why “reishis” hides the word “rosh”: a beginning that is really a head • Alef or beis? The Midrash, the Jerusalem Talmud, the Ibn Ezra and the Septuagint • The Rebbe: why Torah study without a blessing can become poison • Torah as God’s blueprint, and why your life can’t contradict it • “Because”: why the world was created for Torah and Israel • Beis as a house: a home for God, and where hospitality comes from • The Ohr HaChaim: fear and reverence, Torah and the sword, justice and mercy • Two tablets: why a frum Jew who cheats is like a frum Jew who eats bacon

💡 Key Insights:

• Commitment comes before comprehension; intellect is the second step.
• The Torah is the blueprint of creation, so it can’t be at odds with real life.
• Judaism is built on balance: heaven and earth, body and soul, God and people.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

📚 Sources discussed: Bereishis 1:1 with Rashi; Bereishis 2; the Midrash on the letters of the alphabet; Jerusalem Talmud and Midrash (beis for brachah); Ibn Ezra; Talmud Megillah 9a (the Septuagint); the Talmud on the blessing before Torah study; Mishnah Bava Metzia 1:1; Tanya; the Midrash on God’s “dwelling place below”; Ohr HaChaim; the Midrash on the Torah and the sword; the Midrash on the tablets; Talmud Kiddushin 30b (three partners); the Baal Shem Tov; the Rebbe

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