BEREISHITH 2001

In the Torah portion, BEREISHIS, we have some of the basic concepts of Judaism laid out We learn, first of all, that G-d created the world. The world did not just come into being by chance. We also learn about physical and moral evil. We learn that Adam and Eve were punished by being expelled from the Garden of Eden when they ate the forbidden fruit. They were now placed in a very imperfect world. We do not believe, as other religions do, that their genetic makeup was altered so now they had no choice but to do evil. However, they were now placed in a world in which it was very difficult to determine what is good and what is bad, and by nature, they were always going to be able to choose good. Their nature was now neutral. They could choose either good or evil. It was up to them to study each situation and choose the good.

We also learn about moral evil, how Cain killed Abel. G-d had told them that sin crouched at the door, but you can rule over it. You do not have to do evil. When G-d discussed the creation of the world, on almost every day, He says it was good and it was so. On the first day, when G-d created light, it says and it was good, but it does not say it was so. On the second day, it does not   say that it was good, but it says that it was so. On the third and fourth day, it says both it was good and it was so. On the fifth day, it says was good, but it does not say it was so. On the sixth day, after G-d created the animals, it said it was good and it was so, but when G-d created man, it just says it was so, but it does not say it was good. The reason He does not say that it was good with man is because it is up to man to choose good. Man could either be good or not.

On the first day, it does not say it was so because, according to the rabbis, the world is still evolving. The Big Bang Theory fits especially well the way the rabbis explain creation, that all creation started from something smaller than a mustard seed, and it explains how, and it is continuing to do so, that the light that was created on the first day was really radiation and other emanations. They have not reached their full potential yet. On the second day, G-d does not say it was good because the waters were divided, but they were not reunited on a higher plane. When we divide to unite on a higher plane, it is good.

For example, when a child leaves his parents to get married, it is good. You are reuniting on a higher plane. When states divide to fulfill their individual destinies, but unite on a national or international level, it is good. On the fifth day, it does not say it was so because, again, these creatures are still developing, especially the bacteria and viruses, etc. At the very end of creation, it says, "And G-d saw all which   He made, and behold, it was very good." What does it mean, Maod, very? The rabbis explain that this Maod stands for the selfish impulse, the Yetzer Hora, the angel of death, and death, itself The rabbis all ask, how is this possible to say that the selfish impulse can be good? They answer by saying that sometimes selfish ambition is very good, and altruism is evil.

We see this very clearly today with the suicide bombers who thought they were doing a good thing by committing suicide for their religion and killing 6000 innocent people, but they did an evil thing. As Rabbi Soloveitchik has pointed out, good things that end in inevitable death are evil. Even the soldiers who landed at D-Day were not all killed. It was not inevitable. In Judaism, we know we are not supposed to die for our religion, except for three cases: if somebody tells you to kill somebody else or they will kill you; if they tell you to commit incest or be killed; or to worship idols, but even then it is in public before a minyan of Jews. We are supposed to live for our religion, not die for it. The Tov can turn into great evil. The Tov can turn into death, into the angel of death.

The rabbis explain that evil is good that has burst its bounds. That is one of the underlying themes of this Torah portion. Adam ate from the fruit that his wife gave him, because he said, "How can I not be loyal to her?" Actually, Eve never was   commanded by G-d not to eat from the fruit. It was Adam who told her, and what Jewish wife ever listens to her husband anyway, but Adam also exaggerated the command, and said that even if you just touch the tree, you will be punished. The snake then, according to the Medrash, pushed the woman against the tree, and nothing happened. She then assumed that nothing would happen if she ate. Adam pushed loyalty to the extreme when he ate the fruit.

Cain killed Abel not because he hated him, but because he got in his way. G-d had given mankind a divine mandate to conquer the world and rule over it, and Cain was doing just that. Abel, on the other hand, concentrated on the divine nature that G-d gave us. He concentrated on relationships. He was a Roetzon, a spiritual leader. Cain did not have any time for this. That's why he killed his brother. He was in the way, but he still considered him his brother after he killed him. He said, "Am I my brother's keeper?" He did not even know he could kill him. Idol worship, too, was good bursting its bounds. The people thought that if they worshipped the prince, they would bring honor upon the king. By worshipping G-d’s servants, the moon and the sun, they would bring honor to G-d. Why did G-d destroy the world with a flood? Water is a good thing, but too much water is very destructive. We all know the story of the man who   loved his wife so much that he climbed the highest mountain, crossed the widest river, sailed the biggest ocean, crossed the hottest desert, all for the love of his wife, but, of course, the marriage ended in divorce because he was never home. The pagans indulged in child sacrifice thinking they were doing a good thing, but they were not.

The same thing applies for sacred prostitution. The women were sacrificing the opportunity to get married and have children. It was the ultimate fund raising affair, but what they did was evil. It is good bursting its bounds. We must be careful to balance things carefully otherwise we will create evil. These terrorists think they are doing G-d’s will, and that they are doing a good service for their religion and are doing the ultimate good by committing suicide, they are wrong. They are committing great evil. They have lost all sense of balance.

I am reminded of the story they tell about a day school that had a big table in their lunchroom. At one end of the table there was a big bowl of apples. The principal put a sign on the apples that said, "Only one apple per student. G-d is watching." At the other end of the table, he put a big bowl of cookies. He had to leave for a few minutes, and when he returned there was a sign on the   cookies, which said, "Take as many cookies as you want. G-d is watching the apples."

G-d wants us to balance what we do. When it comes to man, He did not say he was good because it is up to us to be good, and we do that by leading balanced lives. Evil is good that has burst its bounds. Let us hope that all of us will realize this so the Mashiach will come quickly in our day. Amen.