BEREISHITH 1995

In the Torah portion BEREISHIS we learn about the sin of Adam and Eve. We learn how Adam and Eve for a piece of fruit jeopardized their whole future existence. The rabbis are amazed at this. How is it possible that Adam and Eve could have jeopardized their whole future for just a piece of fruit? What's more, they do not understand how it is possible that Adam and Eve, who were not subjected to the very strong pulls of the yetzer hora that they were after they ate the fruit, could have succumbed to eating the fruit.

We do not believe in the concept of original sin and we believe that we have power over our impulses, but, yet, until Adam and Eve actually sinned they really did not know the power of sin, so how is it that they were dragged into eating the fruit? How were they for a little piece of fruit willing to jeopardize their future? The question can also be asked, why is it that all Jewish holidays and days start a night? "And it was evening and it was morning the first day." Also, Cain, when he killed his brother, Abel, he killed him knowing that he was still his brother. Why did Cain do such a thing?

It is true that the word Cain in Hebrew means to acquire. He was an acquirer and his brother was interested only in spiritual things. He was a Roetzon. He got in his way so, therefore, he killed him. He killed him because of a momentary emotional response. He was jealous of him because G-d did not turn to his sacrifice and also his brother was getting in his way of acquiring things and ruling over the world. Also, if we look at the seventh day of creation, it says, "And they were finished the heavens and the earth and all their hosts and G-d finished on the seventh day His work which He did and He rested on the seventh day from all the work which He made, and G-d blessed the seventh day and He hallowed it because in it He rested from all His work which G-d created to do." What does it mean, "which G-d created to do"? What does it mean "that He hallowed it and sanctified it and also blessed it"?

The rabbis say that actually there are two holidays that celebrate the creation. This is according to the Ramban. He said that the first holiday which celebrates the creation is, of course, Shabbos, because G-d can created out of nothing. We cannot create out of nothing. The rabbis ask, how did G-d create the world since everything was G-d, so He had to contract Himself. Therefore, He brought the world. G-d can create out of nothing. We cannot create out of nothing. We can only create from those things which are already existing. When G-d created the world He actually did two things. He created a process and then from that process everything can spring. In other words, there is a physicist in Austin, I believe, named Weinberger who wrote the book The First Three and a Half Seconds in which it says that everything after the Big Bang happened is pre-determined.

We all know that, even in our own personal lives. We know that things are pre-determined. First certain hormones shoot off and we become infants, we become children, and then other ones shoot off and we become teenagers and then middle aged and then old aged and then death. Everything is pre-programmed. However, we have an input on it. We can short-circuit this programming. We all know that in Africa where children do not get the right diet they go blind or end up with mental problems. We know that accidents can happen. We cannot do what we are required to do and, therefore, we can short-circuit this pre-programming. We are partners with G-d in making sure that the process continues. The rabbis say that Succos is a holiday which is really devoted to creation. That is why it is seven days and that is why we go back to nature because everything is within nature; we just have to unlock its secrets. Everything can be beneficial. Even a Lulav and Arova and a Hadas which do not seem to be as beautiful as an Esrog can have very beneficial effects for mankind. Therefore, we are called upon to help G-d in the process of development of the creation of the world. G-d created from nothing and He created this process and we are His partners in promoting this process.

That is our job. G-d has given us great powers. Adam and Eve did not sin because they wanted a piece of fruit, the rabbis say. They sinned because they wanted power. In fact, that is exactly what the snake said to Eve to entice her to eat from the fruit. He said, "G-d knows that from the day you will eat from it your eyes will be open and you will be like G-d knowing good and evil." They wanted to exercise great power, this great power that G-d had reserved for them to help Him in perfecting the world. That is what they needed and wanted.

Of course, Eve never heard the command of G-d. It was only given to Adam. Eve thought that she could right now exercise this power. According to the Aree, the author of Kaballah, G-d was going to give them the power to eat from this tree of knowledge, but He wanted them first to go through a Shabbos. He wanted them to first know and understand and mature before He would give them great power. In fact, we know that after Shabbos was over G-d gave Adam and Eve great power. When Shabbos was over and they had to leave the Garden of Eden they were afraid and Adam said, "How can I go out into the darkness?" G-d said, "I will give you a great power," and He gave them fire, the havdallah candle.

That is why we make havdallah over a candle even to this day. G-d said, "With this fire you will be able to tame the wilderness. With this fire you will be able to overcome all the obstacles in your path and you will be able to create a good world, a world in which you will be able to live in such a way that your children will have good health and you will be able to overcome all the physical obstacles in your path." So G-d was going to give them this power. He was going to give them the knowledge necessary to make it in the world, to be His partner in unveiling the creation, but they were not ready for it at the beginning. They wanted to get something for which they were not prepared. Unfortunately, we see this today in our society. We talk a lot in economic terms of buy now and pay later. That is perhaps okay in the economic sphere but we know that in the moral sphere this is wrong. Many people say they will enjoy what they want right now and worry about the consequences later.

We see this in the children. We see that there are already a third of the children in America that are illegitimate and perhaps in a very short time the experts say it will be 50%. We know, too, about how many youngsters are on drugs. They know that drugs are addictive but they do not want to think about it now. They want to enjoy themselves now and then worry about the consequences later. We also see this very clearly in much of the popular culture where people desert their families. Husbands do not want to take care of their children anymore. We know that 25% of the children in America live in poverty because their fathers have deserted their families and they do not pay child support, not because they do not have the money but because they do not want to. They would rather enjoy themselves now and worry about the consequences of their children later on. This is exactly what Cain did. He was not thinking about the consequences of his actions. He just wanted the emotional satisfaction of getting his brother out of his way so he could do what he felt he had to do.

This, of course, has caused a great deal of problems in the world. We all know that if we are to accomplish things we have to be prepared for them. We cannot do things before their time. Many times we have to struggle and understand things. That is why it says "and it was evening and morning" because we have to go through a process of struggle and maturing before we can come to the morning of using the power that we have. We all know that that is the importance of Jewish education. The importance of Jewish education is to give our children a firm foundation so that when the time comes they will be prepared to handle the different powers of life which are before them.

We now know, too, that in our society children are experimenting too early with sex and doing things that should wait for later on because they are not prepared for it. They want to exercise powers for which they are not prepared. This is a terrible thing, and we all know that if we are going to accomplish anything we have to be prepared. If you want to be a lawyer you have to study. If you want to master any craft you have to be prepared for it. You cannot seize the power of the profession without first being trained for it and understanding how it works.

The same thing is true here. G-d linked man's partnership with Him in saving creation until the Shabbos. It is only the Shabbos which gives us the spiritual dimension to understand how to handle the physical things of life. We have to understand that the physical things of life can overwhelm us, as they did Cain. We have to balance our ambition and our drive for conquest with a love for the family, with learning the Torah, with spiritual things. Only then can we be prepared to use the great power which G-d has given us.

Therefore, it is imperative if we want to live decent and good lives that we understand the power of the spirit, that we understand that there are certain things that we can do and certain things we cannot do. We have to understand about Shabbos before we can go on to be G-d's partner in creating this world and making the world that it should be even physically.

I am reminded of the story they tell about a Jewish atheist who was very upset and called his friend and said, "You know, my oldest son of going to yeshiva and even goes with his tzitzis out, and my daughter now wants to keep kosher and  my youngest son has become Shomer Shabbos. What happened?“ His friend said, "Well, have you checked your mezuzahs?"

We all know that we have to have a spiritual element in our life in order to handle all the powers that G-d has given us so we should handle them constructively and not destructively so that they should not destroy us and our family and our relationships. Therefore, it is important that we be prepared. We can only be prepared if we understand Torah and understand Shabbos and if we, ourselves, are immersed in Jewish learning. It is only in this way that we will be sufficiently mature to handle the power that G-d wants to give us so we can help Him make this the kind of world that it is supposed to be. Let us all hope and pray that we will be able to make this world the way it is supposed to be because we will have the adequate spirituality that we all know that we need so the Mashiach will come quickly in our day. Amen.