(1) When God began to create (2) the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water— (3) God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. (4) God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. (5) God called the light Day and called the darkness Night. And there was evening and there was morning, a first day.
(ז) אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בַּר סִימוֹן, יְהִי עֶרֶב אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן, אֶלָּא וַיְהִי עֶרֶב, מִכָּאן שֶׁהָיָה סֵדֶר זְמַנִּים קֹדֶם לָכֵן. אָמַר רַבִּי אַבָּהוּ מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהָיָה בּוֹרֵא עוֹלָמוֹת וּמַחֲרִיבָן, עַד שֶׁבָּרָא אֶת אֵלּוּ, אָמַר דֵּין הַנְיָן לִי, יַתְהוֹן לָא הַנְיָן לִי. אָמַר רַבִּי פִּנְחָס טַעְמֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי אַבָּהוּ (בראשית א, לא): וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת כָּל אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וְהִנֵּה טוֹב מְאֹד, דֵּין הַנְיָין לִי יַתְהוֹן לָא הַנְיָין לִי.
Rabbi Abbahu the son of Simon said: This teaches us that God created worlds and destroyed them, saying, “This one pleases me; those did not please me.”
Rabbi Pinhas said, Rabbi Abbahu derives this from the verse, “And God saw all that God had made, and behold it was very good,” as if to say, “This one pleases me, those others did not please me.”
Midrash
Bereshit Rabbah is a talmudic-era midrash on the book of Genesis. It interprets most of Genesis (with the exception of genealogies and such) with verse-by-verse and often word-by-word commentary. Written in Hebrew, mixed with Aramaic and occasional Greek words, its style is simple and clear.
Composed: Talmudic Israel (400 CE)
The Holy Fire: The Teachings of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto, Nehemia Polen
Before the world was created, God alone existed, one and eternal, beyond any boundary, without change or movement, concealed within Godself. When the thought arose in God to bring the world into being, God’s glory became visible. God began to trace the foundations of a world before Godself, and in this way God brought a heaven and earth into being. But when God looked at them, they were not pleasing in God’s sight, so God changed them back into emptiness and void. God split and rent and tore them apart with God’s two arms, and ruined whole worlds in one moment. One after another, God created a thousand worlds, which preceded this one. And all of them were swept away in the wink of an eye.
Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira (b. 1889–d. 1943), otherwise known as the Piaseczner Rebbe, was a creative mystical thinker and an important Hasidic leader. The scion of a minor Hasidic dynasty, he went on to found one of the most important Hasidic educational institutions in interwar Poland. He is best known for his sermons in the Warsaw Ghetto, but his many writings, most of which were published posthumously, offer rich depictions of the inner life, the nature of spiritual fellowship, and the revitalization of religion in the wake of secularism. https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199840731/obo-9780199840731-0202.xml
"Miscarriage and Creation" in Dirshuni: Contemporary Women's Midrash, Tamar Biala
At the beginning God created the heaven and the
earth. And the earth was tohu va-vohu, darkness
over the face of the deep, and the spirit of God
hovering over the face of the waters (Gen 1:1).
Brings everything to pass precisely in its time (Ecc
3:11). Rabbi Abahu said that we learn from here
that the Holy Blessed One was building worlds
and destroying them, creating worlds and
destroying them, until he created these (Kohelet
Rabbah, Vilna ed. §3).
And God saw all Her worlds falling at Her feet,
and She said to Herself: I will just let my heart fall
along with them, and I will sit in darkness, like
those long dead (Lam 3:6). Her tears and blood
were scattering in space, searching for land that
would absorb them, and they wept to fragments
and pieces, until all of existence was the cloud
and fog of the great deep. God tried to look again
at the ruins of Her worlds, and just couldn't. She
covered Herself with this great deep, as is
written, You made the deep, covered it as a
garment (Ps 104:6), and She beat Her chest and
wailed: for I shall be a desolation forever (Jer
51:26).
What did She think at that moment, when She
could no longer bear to look on those worlds?
She remembered that it is said of Her, You
brought forth the earth and the world (Ps 90:2)
and her womb, eternal (Jer 20:17), and She felt
her sons and daughters straining to be born so
that they could say in gratitude, for I was not
killed in the womb (Jer 20:17). She closed Her
eyes, swallowed the pain lodged in Her throat,
and pleaded for Herself, that She might find
more loving-mercy, and faith, as is written, I
declare, a world of loving-mercy will be built, Your
faithfulness will be established in the heavens (Ps
89:3). And from that She went and created new
heavens and a new earth.
When the heavens and earth stood, in
wonderment and bewilderment, tohim uvohim,
She took off the garment of the deep with which
She had been covering Herself, and that deep of
cloud and fog, Her blood and tears, went and
gathered into living waters, and She hovered
over them back and forth, as is written when the
earth was tohu vavohu, darkness over the face of
the deep, and the spirit of God hovering over the
face of the waters (Gen 1:1).
And what was She saying at that moment? That
it should not totter and fall, forever. (Ps 104:5).
And Her sons and daughters joined their prayers
to Hers, and they themselves said: That it should
not totter and fall, forever; that it should not
totter and fall, forever.
Dirshuni
Contemporary Women’s Midrash
Edited by Tamar Biala
Dirshuni: Contemporary Women’s Midrash, is the first ever English edition of an historic collection of midrashim composed by Israeli women, long anticipated by multiple American audiences – of synagogues, Rabbinical seminaries, adult learning programs, Jewish educators and scholars of gender and religion. Using the classical forms developed by the ancient rabbis, they express their religious and moral thought and experience through innovative interpretations of Scripture. The women writers, from all denominations and beyond, of all political stripes and ethnic backgrounds, contribute their Torah to fill the missing half of the sacred Jewish bookshelf. https://brandeisuniversitypress.com/title/dirshuni-contemporary-womens-midrash/
(26) And God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness. They shall rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the whole earth, and all the creeping things that creep on earth.” (27) And God created humankind in the divine image,
creating it in the image of God—
creating them male and female. (28) God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.”
(ה) אָמַר רַבִּי סִימוֹן, בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁבָּא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לִבְרֹאת אֶת אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן, נַעֲשׂוּ מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת כִּתִּים כִּתִּים, וַחֲבוּרוֹת חֲבוּרוֹת, מֵהֶם אוֹמְרִים אַל יִבָּרֵא, וּמֵהֶם אוֹמְרִים יִבָּרֵא, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (תהלים פה, יא): חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת נִפְגָּשׁוּ צֶדֶק וְשָׁלוֹם נָשָׁקוּ. חֶסֶד אוֹמֵר יִבָּרֵא, שֶׁהוּא גּוֹמֵל חֲסָדִים. וֶאֱמֶת אוֹמֵר אַל יִבָּרֵא, שֶׁכֻּלּוֹ שְׁקָרִים. צֶדֶק אוֹמֵר יִבָּרֵא, שֶׁהוּא עוֹשֶׂה צְדָקוֹת. שָׁלוֹם אוֹמֵר אַל יִבָּרֵא, דְּכוּלֵיהּ קְטָטָה.
מֶה עָשָׂה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא נָטַל אֱמֶת וְהִשְׁלִיכוֹ לָאָרֶץ, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (דניאל ח, יב): וְתַשְׁלֵךְ אֱמֶת אַרְצָה, אָמְרוּ מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, רִבּוֹן הָעוֹלָמִים מָה אַתָּה מְבַזֶּה תַּכְסִיס אַלְטִיכְסְיָה שֶׁלָּךְ, תַּעֲלֶה אֱמֶת מִן הָאָרֶץ, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (תהלים פה, יב): אֱמֶת מֵאֶרֶץ תִּצְמָח........ רַב הוּנָא רַבָּהּ שֶׁל צִפּוֹרִין אֲמַר עַד שֶׁמַּלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת מִדַּיְּנִין אֵלּוּ עִם אֵלּוּ וּמִתְעַסְּקִין אֵלּוּ עִם אֵלּוּ בְּרָאוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא. אָמַר לָהֶן מָה אַתֶּם מִדַּיְּנִין? כְּבָר נַעֲשָׂה אָדָם.
R. Simon said: When the Holy One, blessed be God, came to create Adam, the ministering angels formed themselves into groups and parties. Some of them said, “Don't create him,” while others urged, “create him,” as it is written, "Lovingkindness and truth met, justice and peace kissed" (Psalms 85:11). Lovingkindness said, “Create him because he will do acts of loving kindness.” Truth said, “Don't create him, because he is full of lies.” Justice said, “Create him because he will perform acts of justice.” Peace said, “Don't create him, because he is full of conflict.”
So what did God do? God held Truth and cast it to the ground, as it is written, "And truth will be sent to the earth" (Daniel 8:12). The ministering angels said before the Holy One, "Sovereign of the Universe! Why do you despise Your seal [truth]? Let Truth arise from the earth!" Hence it is written, "Let truth spring up from the earth." (Psalms 85:12)…While the ministering angels were arguing with each other and disputing with each other, the Holy One created the first human. God said to them, "Why are you arguing? Adam has already been created."
(1) Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild beasts that God יהוה had made. It said to the woman, “Did God really say: You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?” (2) The woman replied to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the other trees of the garden. (3) It is only about fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said: ‘You shall not eat of it or touch it, lest you die.’” (4) And the serpent said to the woman, “You are not going to die, (5) but God knows that as soon as you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like divine beings who know good and bad.” (6) When the woman saw that the tree was good for eating and a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable as a source of wisdom, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, and he ate. (7) Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they perceived that they were naked; and they sewed together fig leaves and made themselves loincloths. (8) They heard the sound of God יהוה moving about in the garden at the breezy time of day; and the Human and his wife hid from God יהוה among the trees of the garden. (9) God יהוה called out to the Human and said to him, “Where are you?” (10) He replied, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” (11) “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat of the tree from which I had forbidden you to eat?” (12) The Human said, “The woman You put at my side—she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
(ז) וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶת קוֹל ה' אֱלֹהִים מִתְהַלֵּךְ בַּגָּן לְרוּחַ הַיּוֹם (בראשית ג, ח), אָמַר רַבִּי חַלְּפוֹן שָׁמַעְנוּ שֶׁיֵּשׁ הִלּוּךְ לַקּוֹל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶת קוֹל ה' אֱלֹהִים מִתְהַלֵּךְ בַּגָּן, וְהִלּוּךְ לָאֵשׁ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות ט, כג): וַתִּהֲלַךְ אֵשׁ אָרְצָה, אָמַר רַבִּי אַבָּא בַּר כַּהֲנָא מְהַלֵּךְ אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן אֶלָּא מִתְהַלֵּךְ, מְקַפֵּץ וְעוֹלֶה. עִקַּר שְׁכִינָה בַּתַּחְתּוֹנִים הָיְתָה, כֵּיוָן שֶׁחָטָא אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן נִסְתַּלְּקָה שְׁכִינָה לָרָקִיעַ הָרִאשׁוֹן, חָטָא קַיִן נִסְתַּלְּקָה לָרָקִיעַ הַשֵּׁנִי, דּוֹר אֱנוֹשׁ לַשְׁלִישִׁי, דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל לָרְבִיעִי, דּוֹר הַפְלָגָה לַחֲמִישִׁי, סְדוֹמִיִּים לַשִּׁשִּׁי, וּמִצְרִיִּים בִּימֵי אַבְרָהָם לַשְּׁבִיעִי. וּכְנֶגְדָן עָמְדוּ שִׁבְעָה צַדִּיקִים, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן, אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקֹב לֵוִי קְהָת עַמְרָם משֶׁה, עָמַד אַבְרָהָם וְהוֹרִידָהּ לַשִּׁשִּׁי, עָמַד יִצְחָק וְהוֹרִידָהּ מִן שִׁשִּׁי לַחֲמִישִׁי, עָמַד יַעֲקֹב וְהוֹרִידָהּ מִן הַחֲמִישִׁי לָרְבִיעִי, עָמַד לֵוִי וְהוֹרִידָהּ מִן הָרְבִיעִי לַשְּׁלִישִׁי, עָמַד קְהָת וְהוֹרִידָהּ מִן הַשְּׁלִישִׁי לַשֵּׁנִי, עָמַד עַמְרָם וְהוֹרִידָהּ מִן הַשֵּׁנִי לָרִאשׁוֹן, עָמַד משֶׁה וְהוֹרִידָהּ מִלְּמַעְלָה לְמַטָּה. אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק כְּתִיב (תהלים לז, כט): צַדִּיקִים יִירְשׁוּ אָרֶץ וגו', וּרְשָׁעִים מַה יַּעֲשׂוּ פוֹרְחִים בָּאֲוִיר, אֶלָּא הָרְשָׁעִים לֹא הִשְׁכִּינוּ שְׁכִינָה בָּאָרֶץ.
(7) “They heard the voice of the Lord God moving about in the garden with the day breeze; the man and his wife hid from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8).
“They heard the voice of the Lord God moving about [mithalekh] in the garden with the day breeze” – Rabbi Ḥalfon said: We have heard that walking about [hilukh] is [an expression] used regarding sound,
(30Even though “walking about” would seem to be appropriate only for people.) as it is stated: “They heard the voice of the Lord God moving about [mithalekh] in the garden,” and that walking about is used regarding fire, as it is stated: “And fire went [vatihalakh] earthward” (Exodus 9:23).
Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Mehalekh is not written here, but rather, mithalekh, [which connotes] leaping up and ascending.
The essence of the Divine Presence had been in the lower world, but when Adam the first man sinned the Divine Presence removed itself up to the first firmament; when Cain sinned, it removed itself up to the second firmament; at the generation of Enosh, to the third; at the generation of the Flood, to the fourth; at the generation of the dispersion, to the fifth; upon [the sins of] the Sodomites, to the sixth; upon [the sins of] the Egyptians in the generation of Abraham, to the seventh.
Corresponding to them there arose seven righteous men, and these were: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Levi, Kehat, Amram, Moses.31Each one the son of the preceding one. Abraham arose and brought it down to the sixth level; Isaac arose and brought it down from the sixth to the fifth; Jacob arose and brought it down from the fifth to the fourth; Levi arose and brought it down from the fourth to the third; Kehat arose and brought it down from the third to the second; Amram arose and brought it down from the second to the first; Moses arose and brought it down from above [in the first firmament] to down below [earth]. Rabbi Yitzḥak said: It is written: “The righteous will inherit the earth [and dwell [veyishkenu] upon it forever…” (Psalms 37:29). And what of the wicked, will they float in the air? It means, rather, that the wicked did not allow the Divine Presence [shekhina] to rest on earth.
(ט) וַיִּקְרָא ה' אֱלֹהִים אֶל הָאָדָם (בראשית ג, ט) אָמַר רַבִּי אַבָּהוּ בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי חֲנִינָא, כְּתִיב (הושע ו, ז): וְהֵמָּה כְּאָדָם עָבְרוּ בְּרִית, הֵמָּה כְּאָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן, מָה אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן הִכְנַסְתִּיו לְתוֹךְ גַּן עֵדֶן וְצִוִּיתִיו וְעָבַר עַל צִוּוּיִי, וְדַנְתִּי אוֹתוֹ בְּשִׁלּוּחִין וּבְגֵרוּשִׁין, וְקוֹנַנְתִּי עָלָיו אֵיכָה. הִכְנַסְתִּיו לְתוֹךְ גַּן עֵדֶן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית ב, טו): וַיַּנִּיחֵהוּ בְגַן עֵדֶן. וְצִוִּיתִיו, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית ב, טז): וַיְצַו ה' אֱלֹהִים עַל הָאָדָם, וְעָבַר עַל הַצִּוּוּי, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית ג, יא): הֲמִן הָעֵץ אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִיךָ לְבִלְתִּי אֲכָל מִמֶנּוּ אָכָלְתָּ. וְדַנְתִּי אוֹתוֹ בְּשִׁלּוּחִין, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית ג, כג): וַיְשַׁלְּחֵהוּ ה' אֱלֹהִים מִגַּן עֵדֶן. וְדַנְתִּי אוֹתוֹ בְּגֵרוּשִׁין, דִּכְתִיב (בראשית ג, כד): וַיְגָרֶשׁ אֶת הָאָדָם. קוֹנַנְתִּי עָלָיו אֵיכָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיִּקְרָא ה' אֱלֹהִים אֶל הָאָדָם וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ אַיֶכָּה, אֵיכָה כְּתִיב.
אַף בָּנָיו הִכְנַסְתִּים לְאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְצִוִּיתִים וְעָבְרוּ עַל הַצִּוּוּי, דַּנְתִּי אוֹתָם בְּשִׁלּוּחִין וּבְגֵרוּשִׁין וְקוֹנַנְתִּי עֲלֵיהֶם אֵיכָה. הִכְנַסְתִּים לְאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ירמיה ב, ז): וָאָבִיא אֶתְכֶם אֶל אֶרֶץ הַכַּרְמֶל. צִוִּיתִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות כז, כ): וְאַתָּה תְּצַוֶּה אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. עָבְרוּ עַל צִוּוּיִי, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דניאל ט, יא): וְכָל יִשְׂרָאֵל עָבְרוּ אֶת תּוֹרָתֶךָ. דַּנְתִּי אוֹתָם בְּשִׁלּוּחִין, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ירמיה טו, א): שַׁלַּח מֵעַל פָּנַי וְיֵצֵאוּ. דַּנְתִּי אוֹתָם בְּגֵרוּשִׁין, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (הושע ט, טו): מִבֵּיתִי אֲגָרְשֵׁם, קוֹנַנְתִּי עֲלֵיהֶם אֵיכָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (איכה א, א): אֵיכָה יָשְׁבָה.
(9) “The Lord God called to the man, and said to him: Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9).
Rabbi Abahu said in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina: “But they were like men [adam] who violated the covenant” (Hosea 6:7) – they were like Adam the first man.42Who violated God’s command. They were like Adam the first man, whom I put into the Garden of Eden and commanded him, but he violated the command, and I sentenced him to banishment and expulsion, and I lamented over him: ‘How could it be [eikha]?’43Its spelling is identical to ayeka. I put him into the Garden of Eden, as it is stated: “He placed him in the Garden of Eden” (Genesis 2:15). And I commanded him, as it is stated: “The Lord God commanded the man, saying” (Genesis 2:16). And he violated the command, as it is stated: “Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from it?” (Genesis 3:11). And I sentenced him to banishment, as it is stated: “The Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden” (Genesis 3:23). And I sentenced him to expulsion, as it is stated: “He expelled the man” (Genesis 3:24). And I lamented over him: ‘How could it be [eikha],’ as it is stated: “The Lord God called to the man, and said to him: Where are you [ayeka]?” – eikha is written.
So it was with His descendants: I brought them into the Land of Israel, I commanded them and they violated the command, I sentenced them to banishment and expulsion, and I lamented over them: Eikha. I brought them into the Land of Israel, as it is stated: “I brought you to a fruitful land” (Jeremiah 2:7). And I commanded them, as it is stated: “You shall command the children of Israel” (Exodus 27:20). And they violated the command, as it is stated: “All Israel has violated Your Torah” (Daniel 9:11). And I sentenced them to banishment, as it is stated: “Banish them from My presence” (Jeremiah 15:1). And I sentenced them to expulsion, as it is stated: “I will expel them from My house” (Hosea 9:15). And I lamented over them: Eikha, as it is stated: “How [eikha] does…it sit” (Lamentations 1:1).
Hevrutah:
- Read through the story that follows by Elie Weisel
- What do you think it is about?
- Does it resonate? Does it ring true? How so?
- What does do you think Weisel means by the line "God created humans because God loves stories?"
“God Loves Stories”
A Story, as told by Elie Wiesel: When the great Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov saw misfortune threatening the Jews it was his custom to go into a certain part of the forest to meditate. There he would light a fire, say a special prayer, and the miracle would be accomplished and the misfortune averted.
Later, when his disciple, the celebrated Magid of Mezritch, had occasion, for the same reason, to intercede with heaven, he would go to the same place in the forest and say: "Master of the Universe, listen! I do not know how to light the fire, but I am still able to say the prayer." And again the miracle would be accomplished.
Still later, Rabbi Moshe-Leib of Sasov, in order to save his people once more, would go into the forest and say: "I do not know how to light the fire, I do not know the prayer, but I know the place and this must be sufficient." It was sufficient and the miracle was accomplished.
Then it fell to Rabbi Israel of Rizhyn to overcome misfortune. Sitting in his armchair, his head in his hands, he spoke to G-d: "I am unable to light the fire and I do not know the prayer; I cannot even find the place in the forest. All I can do is to tell the story, and this must be sufficient.”
And it was sufficient. G-d made man [sic] because He [sic] loves stories.
Elie Wiesel (born September 30, 1928, Sighet, Romania—died July 2, 2016, New York, New York, U.S.) was a Romanian-born Jewish writer, whose works provide a sober yet passionate testament of the destruction of European Jewry during World War II. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1986.