Rabbi Corey Helfand
This week’s Torah portion is Bereishit: Genesis 1:1 – 6:8.
There are many lessons and teachings to share about each weekly Torah portion. The only challenge is deciding which one to go with. This is particularly challenging and important as we begin the cycle anew. The Book of Genesis in particular, a book that is nearly 100% narrative, is filled with drama, character development, conflict, the works. Yet as we mark a transition from the end of the Torah to the beginning, from two years of chaos and war to healing, rebuilding and new beginnings, I want to highlight one simple yet illuminating idea: Light.
“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light ‘Day,’ and darkness God called ‘Night.’ And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” (Genesis 1:1-5)
In the first five verses of the Torah, the word light is mentioned five times. Understandably, the rabbis ask, “Why?” In a collection of midrashim known as Genesis Rabbah (3:5), Rabbi Simon taught that the five references to the word “light” correspond to the five books of the Torah:
- In the Book of Bereshit (Genesis), God engaged in the creation of the world, which started with the creation of light.
- In the Book of Shemot (Exodus), God takes the Israelites out of Egypt, from a place of darkness to light.
- Vayikra (Leviticus) is filled with the numerous laws that provide us with direction throughout our lives, the light to guide us along on our journey.
- Bamidbar (Numbers) shares with us the stories of the Jews as they wander through the desert. Because of God’s light, a new generation of Jews was redirected back on the right track, before entering the Land of Israel.
- Finally, the midrash explains that Devarim (Deuteronomy), like Vayikra, is filled with numerous laws that provide the Jewish people with direction throughout their lives.
Why does the Midrash repeat the same rationale for both Vayikra and Devarim? This teaches us that our constant commitment to Torah and to its laws, at the beginning of the Torah, at the end of the Torah, and also every moment in between, is all part of God’s light in the world, not to mention the light that we can shine on others through our individual and communal obligations.
For far too long, it’s been hard to find light in the world. For two full cycles of Torah, the seemingly powerful image of light that’s embedded in each of the five books of Moses has been eclipsed by darkness: of war, of hate, of fear, of loss, of devastation and of brokenness. And now, finally, it’s time to begin again, just as God hoped for all of us and our world, with light.
As we transition from the end of the High Holy Days, the end of the war, and coming full circle with beginning the reading of the Torah anew, I hope and pray that we can experience the blessings of light. Let us find light in the simple and in the complex. Let us find light through rebuilding and healing. Let us find light through mourning and remembering. Let us find light through continued hope. Let us find light in solidarity and in coming together in community. Let us find light in experiencing God’s presence. Let us find light in each other. And most importantly, let us spread that light throughout the world.
Rabbi Corey Helfand is the rabbi at Ohr Kodesh Congregation in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
