Bereshit: In the Beginning
בראשית - In the beginning. These are the very first words of the Hebrew Bible, and they contain within them the entire story of creation, purpose, and divine intention.
The Word that Contains All Words
When we examine בראשית (Bereshit), we find that it's not just a simple temporal marker. The Hebrew root ברא (bara) means "to create" - but this is not just any kind of creation. This is creation ex nihilo - creation from nothing, the kind of creation that only אלהים (Elohim) can accomplish.
The word ראש (rosh) means "head" or "beginning," but in Hebrew thought, the beginning is not just the starting point - it's the source that contains everything that follows. Just as the head contains the mind that directs the entire body, בראשית contains within it all of creation.
The Divine Creative Act
"בראשית ברא אלהים את השמים ואת הארץ" "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
Notice how the text doesn't say God made or formed - it says ברא (created). This word is used exclusively for divine creative activity in the Hebrew Bible. When humans make something, we work with existing materials. When אלהים creates, He speaks into existence what was not.
The Silence Before the Word
Before בראשית, there was שקט (sheket) - silence. Not the absence of sound, but the pregnant silence that contains all possibility. This is the silence we must enter when we תפילה (pray), when we seek to hear the voice of יהוה (YHVH).
In that silence, we become like כלי (vessels) - empty containers waiting to be filled with divine purpose. Just as creation began with God's word breaking the silence, our spiritual journey begins when we learn to be quiet enough to hear His voice.
The Tree of Life and the Beginning
The עץ חיים (Etz Chaim) - Tree of Life - was planted in the beginning. It represents the connection between שמים (heaven) and ארץ (earth), between the divine and the human. Every word of בראשית is like a branch on this tree, connecting us to the source of all life.
Becoming Vessels of Beginning
When we understand בראשית properly, we realize that we too are called to be vessels of beginning. Just as God created the world through His word, we are called to be כלי (vessels) through which His creative power continues to flow.
Every morning we wake up to a new בראשית - a new beginning where God's creative power is available to us. Every prayer, every act of faith, every moment of שקט (silence) before the Almighty is an opportunity to participate in the ongoing creation of the world.
The Eternal Now of Creation
בראשית is not just about the past - it's about the eternal now. God is always creating, always beginning, always calling us into deeper relationship with Him. When we read these words, we are not just reading about ancient history; we are participating in the ongoing בראשית of our own spiritual journey.
May we learn to live in the silence that comes before the word, to become vessels ready to receive the divine בראשית that God desires to speak into our lives each day.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." - John 1:1