Beresheet/Genesis
1:1-2:3
Our congregation has decided to follow the Triennial Torah Cycle (three
year cycle of Torah study). Note: If you who are reading this Blog prefers to
follow the one year Torah cycle then you can find notes for the one year cycle
in the Archives of this Blog).
Below is a brief description of the triennial cycle.
“The Triennial cycle
of Torah reading may refer to the historical practice in ancient Israel by
which the entire Torah was read in serial fashion over a three year period, or
to the practice adopted by many congregations in which the traditional weekly
Torah portions were divided into thirds, and in which one third of each weekly “parasha”
of the annual system is read during the appropriate week of the calendar.
According to the Jewish
Encyclopedia, the triennial cycle "was the practice in Palestine, whereas
in Babylonia the entire Pentateuch was read in the synagogue in the course of a
single year," As late as 1170 Benjamin of Tudela mentioned Egyptians
congregations that took three years to read the Torah”. (Wikipedia)
Blessing for the Torah:
Baruch atah
YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-O’lam, asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim,
v’natan lanu
eht Torah-to. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the Universe,
you have selected us from among all the peoples, and have given us your
Torah.
Blessed are you, YHVH, giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)
With its opening statement, the Torah is
establishing that it is not merely a rulebook, a list of things to do or not to
do. It is YHVH's blueprint for creation, our guide for realizing the purpose
for which everything in heaven and earth was made. Every creature, object and
element, every force, phenomenon and potential, every moment of time, was
created by YHVH toward a purpose. Our mission in life is to discover and become
one with His purpose.
Only
in Messiah Yashua can we begin to understand the purposes of YHVH.
Col 1:16 Because in Him(not “by him”) were created all
that are in the heavens and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or rulerships or principalities or authorities – all have been created
through Him and for Him.
Col 1:17 And He is before all, and in Him all hold
together.
Col 1:18 And He is the Head of the body, the assembly,
who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that He might become the
One who is first in all.
Col 1:19 Because in Him all the completeness was well
pleased to dwell,
Col 1:20 and through Him to completely restore to
favour all unto Himself, whether on earth or in the heavens, having made peace
through the blood of His stake.
Sidra (teaching)
Beresheet/Gen 1:1 In the beginning Elohim created the heavens
and the earth.
Vs 1“Bereshit bara Elohim et
ha-shamayim v’et ha-aretz …” –
The Torah begins with
a preposition “b” in Hebrew can mean “in, with or on”
It would appear that
the very first thing that YHVH creates is time. We understand that the only
measured time we have any knowledge of is a 7000 year period of time – from the
birth of Adam to the second return of Messiah. Outside of this 7000 year period
we believe we have eternity past and eternity future and there is no physical
measurement for this time.
“Time
was the first creation; thus the first mitzvah is kiddush hachodesh--the
setting apart of time by setting the months and seasons of the Hebrew calendar
(The Lubavitcher Rebbe).”
Eph 5:15 See then that you walk exactly, not as
unwise, but as wise,
Eph 5:16 redeeming the time, because the days are
wicked.
Eph 5:17 So then do not be foolish, but understand
what the desire of יהוה is.
What is the desire of YHVH?
I believe the first letter of the Torah
gives us a clue to this question. The first letter “beit” is enlarged and it
demands our special attention (yut or tittel). This letter can also mean
“house” in Hebrew. The first letter of
the last word in the Torah is “Iamed.” Combined in Hebrew these two letters
“lamed and beit” give us the word “heart”.
The last word in the Torah is “Yisrael” – is it not possible that we can
assume that the heart of the Torah is a dwelling place for Yisrael where YHVH
Himself desires to dwell?
We
go on to see in the account of creation that everything YHVH creates, He fills
with life.
First verse in Beresheet has 7
words and the fourth word and the sixth word contain the letters “aleph and tav”
which some commentators believe refer to
Yahshua – aleph and tav – and his appearing at the end of the fourth and
sixth millennium.
According to Panim the very first verse of the
scriptures "In the begining Elohim created the heavens and the earth" (Ber 1:1), contains over
30 different combinations of seven.
This verse has seven Hebrew words having a total of 28 letters 4 x 7.
The numeric value of the three nouns "Elohim", "heaven" and
"earth" totals 777. Any number in triplicate expresses complete, ultimate
or total meaning.
The very first letter “beit” is an enlarged letter (yut and tittel –
because it is out of the ordinary to suddenly have an enlarged Hebrew letter). We believe this enlarged Beit is a reference to the Messiah
who himself would embody all the revelation of YHVH.
In the Zohar (mystical writings of the Yahudim) the Aramaic meaning of the word “beresheet”, means
“son” (“bara”) and “prepared“ (“sheet”) – “a son is prepared”.
(I have not been able to prove this)
Dr. Chacham Dan A. Hayyim writes: “The rabbis of earlier generations
saw Mashiach as the very reason for the creation of the heavens and the earth. ‘Everything
was created for his sake.’ The primary light, which is revealed in
Beresheet, before the sun and stars were created, was considered as Mashiach’s
light
I believe it is clear from this scripture
that everything YHVH created was intended to be filled with Messianic life. We
were meant to be infused with this Messianic life and thus reveal the light of
YHVH’s perfect wisdom and desire to be joined together with His creation for
ever and ever. There is therefore a higher purpose for His creation: it is so
we can enter into an everlasting covenant of friendship with our Creator.
Gen 1:2 And the earth came to be1 formless
and empty, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of Elohim
was moving on the face of the waters. Footnote: 1Or the earth
became.
We are not sure why
the earth became “tahoo vavohu” or chaotic and vacant. No one really knows why.
Some speculate that this is when Satan rebelled against YHVH and was cast out
of heaven with one third of the messengers.
“and darkness was over
the face of the submerged chaos. Yet the Ruach/Spirit of Elohim is vibrating
over the face of the waters”.
Maybe haSatan tried to
destroy the one place YHVH had chosen to enter into a covenant with man.
I believe YHVH is telling
us that no matter how dark the darkness may become, His light will always
“hover” over such darkness and create perfection and beauty.
I believe that our
shalom(completeness) and very existence is established on this fact – that darkness
will NEVER prevail … and so He says “light be”….
Gen 1:3 And Elohim said, “Let light come to be,” and
light came to be.
One of the first acts
we see YHVH doing is SEPERATING. He makes a distinction between light and dark.
When we have a
“havdalah” service at the end of Shabbat going over into the First day of the
new week, the word “havdalah” is derived from the Hebrew word “badal” or
“separate.” We see from the very beginning that YHVH separates things which are
essentially different. YHVH is an Elohim of distinction and those who desire to
please Him will also need to make distinctions – to separate those things that
are pleasing to Him and those that are less pleasing.
Whatever YHVH creates
He fills. He creates the heavens and fills them with sun moon and stars. He
creates the water masses and fills them with marine life. He creates the skies
and fills them with birds. He creates the dry land and fills it with animals
and man to rule over it.
This should remind us
that YHVH’s Ruach will only dwell in whatever He has initiated and created. Man
often creates and initiates and expects YHVH to bless these efforts which have
not been inspired by Him.
Man creates ideas and
doctrines about truth which YHVH has not created and man then serves and
attaches himself completely to what has come from his own understanding and not
from YHVH’s Ruach.
Yirmeyahu/Jer 5:30 -31
“An astounding and horrible matter has come to be in the land:
The prophets have
prophesied falsely1, and the priests rule by their own hand, and My
people have loved it so.2 And what are you going to do at the end of
it? Footnotes: 1See 27:14,15. 2Isa. 30:10, 2 Tim. 4:3.
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of
Elohim, these are sons of Elohim.
Gen 1:4 And Elohim saw the light, that it was good.
And Elohim separated the light from the darkness.
Gen 1:5 And Elohim called the light ‘day’ and the
darkness He called ‘night.’ And there came to be evening and there came to be
morning, the first day.
Gen 1:6 And Elohim said, “Let an expanse come to be
in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”
Gen 1:7 And Elohim made the expanse, and separated
the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the
expanse. And it came to be so.
Gen 1:8 And Elohim called the expanse ‘heavens.’ And
there came to be evening and there came to be morning, the second day.
Gen 1:9 And Elohim said, “Let the waters under the
heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And
it came to be so.
Gen 1:10 And Elohim called the dry land ‘earth,’ and
the collection of the waters He called ‘seas.’ And Elohim saw that it was good.
Gen 1:11 And Elohim said, “Let the earth bring forth
grass, the plant that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit
according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth.” And it came to
be so.
Gen 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, the plant
that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose
seed is in itself according to its kind. And Elohim saw that it was good.
Gen 1:13 And there came to be evening and there came
to be morning, the third day.
“good” is used twice
in the third day of creation. Here we find plants that yield seeds, we find on
the third day a special kind of life introduced to YHVH’s creation.
The third day reminds
us of many other “thirds” in scripture.
*Yahshua rose from the
dead on the third day.
* Yahshua will return
to earth to rule for one thousand years in the third millennium since his birth
(He was born in the fourth millennieum).
*Yahshua’s miracle
ministry began on the third day at a wedding (Yahuchanan/Joh2:1). The third day
of the week is a preferred day of marriage for some Hebrews.
There can be no life
unless there is death.
Yahuchanan/Joh
12:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But
if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Joh 12:25 “He who loves his life shall lose it, and he
who hates his life in this world shall preserve it for everlasting life.
Joh 12:26 “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me. And
where I am, there My servant also shall be. If anyone serves Me, the Father
shall value him.
The very foundation of
Messianic life is established in these first few verses in Beresheet. There is
no other way, the pattern given to us is very clear, there was first deep
darkness over the earth before life began to come forth. So it is with us,
unless we die to ourselves and take up our execution stakes daily we have no
part of this Messianic life. It has never been any other way and it will never
be any other way.
Gen 1:14 And Elohim said, “Let lights come to be in
the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and appointed times,
and for days and years,
The Appointments of
YHVH (Vayiqra/Lev 23) were appointed so that we may identify and walk in the
light of our Messianic Redemption.
Gen 1:15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of
the heavens to give light on the earth.” And it came to be so.
Gen 1:16 And Elohim made two great lights: the greater
light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the stars.
Gen 1:17 And Elohim set them in the expanse of the
heavens to give light on the earth,
Gen 1:18 and to rule over the day and over the night,
and to separate the light from the darkness. And Elohim saw that it was good.
Gen 1:19 And there came to be evening and there came
to be morning, the fourth day.
Gen 1:20 And Elohim said, “Let the waters teem with
shoals of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth on the face of
the expanse of the heavens.”
Gen 1:21 And Elohim created great sea creatures and
every living creature that moves, with which the waters teemed, according to
their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And Elohim saw that it
was good.
Gen 1:22 And Elohim blessed them, saying, “Bear fruit
and increase, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds increase on
the earth.”
Gen 1:23 And there came to be evening and there came
to be morning, the fifth day.
Gen 1:24 And Elohim said, “Let the earth bring forth
the living creature according to its kind: livestock and creeping creatures and
beasts of the earth, according to its kind.” And it came to be so.
Gen 1:25 And Elohim made the beast of the earth
according to its kind, livestock according to its kind, and all that creep on
the earth according to its kind. And Elohim saw that it was good.
Gen 1:26 And Elohim said, “Let Us make man in Our
image, according to Our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea,
and over the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock, and over all the
earth and over all the creeping creatures that creep on the earth.”
Gen 1:27 And Elohim created the man in His image, in
the image of Elohim He created him – male and female He created them.
This text has and
still creates all kinds of problems for Jew and Gentile. The Jews believe that
there was some kind of eternal counsel that co- existed with YHVH. The Gentiles
believers believe it is evidence of the Trinity.
My own conviction is
that the “Oneness” of YHVH remains the one supreme foundation of all spiritual
revelation. YHVH did not need any help from anyone to create anything. I
believe YHVH intended from the very beginning that He would be willing to
partner with mankind in such a way that they together would become joint
creators of life and blessing. I believe we see evidence of this in the fact
that mankind is able to reproduce likenesses of himself – likenesses who too
are made in the very image of YHVH. In fact I believe that after the millennial
reign of Messiah, we will come into a perfect oneness with YHVH and in so doing
will fill every corner of the unending universe with His perfect life.
Therefore I believe vs
26 can also be understood as YHVH’s plan to include mankind in His creation of
perfection.
Yahuchanan Aleph/1Jn
3:1 See what love the Father has given
us, that we should be called children of Elohim! For this reason the world does
not know us, because it did not know Him.
1Jn 3:2 Beloved ones, now we are children of Elohim.
And it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is
revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
1Jn 3:3 And everyone having this expectation in Him
cleanses himself, as He is clean.
Yeshayahu/Isa 44:24 Thus said יהוה, your
Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb, “I am יהוה, doing
all, stretching out the heavens all alone, spreading out the earth, with none
beside Me, (Ps 8 and 147 – He makes the
stars with His fingers and appoints each one a name)
Isa 43:10 “You are My witnesses,” declares יהוה, “And My servant whom I have chosen , so that you know and
believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no Ěl formed, nor
after Me there is none.
Isa 43:11 “I, I am יהוה, and besides Me there is no saviour. (Moshia or one saving)
Gen 1:28 And Elohim blessed them, and Elohim said to
them, “Bear fruit and increase, and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over
the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over all creatures
moving on the earth.”
Gen 1:29 And Elohim said, “See, I have given you every
plant that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree
whose fruit yields seed, to you it is for food.
Gen 1:30 “And to every beast of the earth, and to
every bird of the heavens, and to every creeping creature on the earth, in
which there is life, every green plant is for food.” And it came to be so.
Gen 1:31 And Elohim saw all that He had made, and see,
it was very good. And there came to be evening and there came to be morning,
the sixth day.
Gen 2:1 Thus
the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their array.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day Elohim completed His
work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work
which He had made.
Gen 2:3 And Elohim blessed the seventh day and set it
apart, because on it He rested from all His work which Elohim in creating had
made.
Only through the favourable revelation
of YHVH is Shabbat/Sabbath known. Shabbat was made for those who truly desire
to enter into a deeper revelation and intimacy of YHVH.
What does the Shabbat
teach us?; That there is a rest for those who have been called according to His
redemptive purpose. When we come into harmony with the Shabbat of YHVH we come
into harmony with His redemptive plan for mankind. The Shabbat reminds us that
in all our strivings and efforts we cannot secure ourselves rest and
deliverance. Only in Messiah will we ever be able to find rest and deliverance
for our beings/souls. The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Shabbat/Sabbath
(Mark 2:27) so that we would forever be reminded of His love for us. In fact it
is the sign of our marriage covenant with Messiah.
Shemot/Exo 31:13 “And you, speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl,
saying, ‘My Sabbaths you are to guard, by all means, for it is a sign1
between Me and you throughout your generations, to know that I, יהוה, am setting you apart. Footnote: 1The
only sign of יהוה setting
us apart, the only sign of the everlasting covenant, is His Sabbaths, one of
them being the seventh day Sabbath. This is repeated in Ezek. 20:12 & 20.
If the history of the
earth (the seven thousand year salvation plan of YHVH) is patterned after the seven
day week then the six days of a week is symbolic of the first six thousand
years on this earth and the seventh day (the Shabbat) is symbolic of the
Millenial reign of Yahshua from Yerushalayim. The Eighth day will then again be
a First day, but this time this Eighth Day will be a brand new beginning –
renewed heaven and earth and renewed Yerushalayim (Rev 21 and 22). In fact, the
last Torah commanded Festival that we have just observed in this recent week after
the seven days of Sukkot, called the Eighth day Assembly (Shemeni Atzeret) will
then be symbolic of the Olam haBa, the New World to come when YHVH Himself will
dwell with us forever. (Rev 21-22- also see 1Co 15:23-24 And each in his own order: Messiah the
first-fruits, then those who are of Messiah at His coming, then the end, when
He delivers up the reign to Elohim the Father, when He has brought to naught
all rule and all authority and power.
Isa 46:10 declaring the end from the beginning,
and from of old that which has not yet been done, saying, ‘My counsel does
stand, and all My delight I do,’
Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-‘Olam,asher
natan lanu Toraht-emet,
v’chay-yeh o’lam nata-b’tochenu.
Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you YHVH, our Elohim, King of the
Universe,
you have given us your Torah of truth,and have planted
everlasting life within our midst.
Blessed are you, YHVH giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)
Please note these notes
are under construction and are subject to correction and are in no way a final
authority on any subject.
