Beginnings (1): Genesis 1

The New Year is always a time of new resolutions, new decisions – and of course, new beginnings. Therefore, it seems only natural for us to open this year with a new series called “Beginnings”. We will discuss here in depth the primeval history—the first eleven chapters of the book of Genesis. As most of my readers probably know, these chapters form a separate, integrated unit: while from Genesis 12 onwards, Scripture deals with the nation of Israel only, these first chapters are concerned with the topics that affect everyone, not just Hebrews. And yet, there are many details in these chapters that can only be seen in the original Hebrew text.  Therefore, we will go together through these chapters, discovering these hidden treasures along the way, and trying to better understand God’s design for this world and for each one of us.

The Beginning

The Book of Genesis is named in Hebrew after its first word Bereshit, which simply means “In the beginning”.  It is a book of beginnings or origins—of the world, of humanity, of the people of Israel. And the very first verse tells us indeed what was in the beginning: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth”.

Most people know these words. Some even know them in Hebrew: BERESHIT bara Elohim et hashamayim ve’et ha’aretz. Why? Why is this verse so significant that sometimes even people who claim not to believe in God, still know these words?

I’ve always had a feeling that this single line – the first line of the whole Bible – is like a secret pipe connecting us with God’s plans and His mysteries for all time and eternity. If we look closely through this pipe, we can catch a glimpse of the breathtaking depth of His mysteries from the beginning of the world.  It is hard to exaggerate the importance of this word that introduces the whole revelation of God to mankind: Bereshit, “In the beginning” – בְּרֵאשִׁית

There are so many things we can say about this one word; there are so many comments written about it, so many questions we can ask here. And the first question is: Why does it begin with Bet, the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and not Alef, the first letter? Why does the very first word of the Bible, the word that introduces God’s revelation to mankind, start with the letter Bet:  בְּרֵאשִׁית.  Even if you know nothing of Hebrew, you can probably guess that this letter, like letter ‘B’ in English, is the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Wouldn’t it be more proper to start the book of beginnings from the first letter? So why not Alef?

Rabbinic writings offer different explanations. According to one Midrash, since the numerical value of Bet is 2, Torah opens with a message of two worlds—this world and the world to come. Another Midrash suggests that we must approach Torah with the attitude of Bet – thus acknowledging a process that began long ago. We have to start, not as Alef, ignoring everything from the past, but rather as Bet, drawing from and building upon ancient Torah tradition.

I personally prefer another answer to this riddle: We are not meant to know everything. Yes, “there was no beginning to His beginning”[1] – but “the secret things belong to the LORD”: God never intended to reveal everything to mankind; He only revealed enough for us to know and to fulfill His will: “those things which are revealed belong to us… , that we may do all the words of this law.”[2] 

So Bet in the beginning, is like a wall separating the things that belong to the Lord, from the beginning of His revelation to us. Remarkably, in the original Hebrew text this Bet in the word Bereishit is larger in size than the other letters: even though there are no capital letters in Hebrew, it looks like a capital letter – and it signifies indeed the beginning of the things revealed!

I can’t skip another comment concerning the first two letters of this word – because not only does each letter in Scripture have its own deep meaning, but also each syllable. To our great amazement, we can see that God’s message to mankind – בְּרֵאשִׁית – begins with the syllable בר, which means, among and before all the other meanings, “son”. You’ve probably heard the expression, Bar Mitzvah – we have the same word here, bar, meaning Son of Commandment. This is a really precious revelation for those who believe in the Son: God’s Word opens with the word Son!

The Spirit or the Wind?

When we read the Christian Bible in English, we encounter God’s Spirit at the very beginning of the creation: the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, says Genesis 1:2. However, in many Jewish translations of Torah, the same verse speaks about the wind of God sweeping over the water. Which translation would be correct? You probably know that ruach in Hebrew means both wind and spirit, but how do we distinguish between the two meanings? How do we know what the text means? Is it God’s Spirit that hovers over the primordial waters, or just a wind that sweeps over these waters?

We find an answer through the verb that follows the word ruach: merahefet. Remarkably, this verb occurs only once more in Torah – at its very end, in the song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32: the love of God to Israel is being likened here to the utmost care, love and affection of an eagle fluttering (yirahef) over the young ones and bearing them upon its wings.

He kept him as the apple of His eye.
 As an eagle stirs up its nest,
Hovers over its young,
Spreading out its wings, taking them up… [3]

Whilst there is a certain similarity between spirit and wind (which is why in the NT Jesus compares them), there is also a very profound difference: wind cannot express tender love, care and affection! A wind blows dispassionately and indifferently – while the Spirit of God caringly and lovingly flutters over His creation. This loving, personal, passionate hovering that we see in Deuteronomy 32:11 and Genesis 1:2 can only pertain to God’s Spirit—not to the wind! Thus, through this one word alone, we can catch a glimpse of the amazing depth of the original Hebrew text.

[1] Shaharit, Jewish morning prayer

[2] Deut.29:29

[3] Deut.32:11

The insights you read on these pages, are typical of what we share with our students during DHB (Discovering the Hebrew Bible) or WTP (Weekly Torah Portion)  classes. If these articles whet your appetite for discovering the hidden treasures of the Hebrew Bible, or studying  in depth Parashat Shavua, along with New Testament insights, I would be happy to provide more information (and also a teacher’s discount for new students) regarding  eTeacher courses[1] (juliab@eteachergroup.com) .

If you like the  articles on this blog, you might enjoy also my books,  you  can get  them  from  my page:   https://blog.israelbiblicalstudies.com/julia-blum/  . Also, Also,  my last book “Unlocking the Scriptures”, with the Hebrew insights into the Torah and  Jewish Background insights   into NT,  is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=unlocking+the+scriptures+by+julia+blum&crid=2IHYED6W7ZVYI&sprefix=julia+blum+%2Caps%2C689&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_4_11

[1] At this point, we offer WTP course only in English, while DHB course exists both in Spanish and Portuguese.