PARSHAS BERASHIS

 Good Shabbos! A Rabbi once asked his students, “If G-d wanted to destroy the world, how would He do it”?  The first student suggested “G-d would make another flood”. 

“That can’t be”, said a second student, “because G-d promised to never again bring a flood upon the face of the earth.  Instead, he suggested, “a series of enormous fires might be the way G-d would choose to destroy the earth”. 

A third student suggested a great tsunami and a fourth thought that G-d could destroy the world through massive global warming.  The Rabbi just smiled and continued to shake his head no.  Finally he explained that if G-d wanted to destroy the world He would not have to take any of these major castasrophic actions.  Instead He would simply stop “actively creating the world” and it would immediately cease to exist, sort of like unplugging the TV set and the picture disappearing. 

The verse states, “In the beginnig, G-d created the Heaven and the Earth.”  Yet we also learn: ”G-d renews with kindness the works of creation each and every day.”  Our sages explain that in the beginning there was no world.  There was just G-d.  Then, G-d decided to create the world. However, creation is not a one time event that was done thousands of years ago.  Creation is an ongoing process.  If G-d would stop actively creating the world for even one instant, the entire universe would revert back to a state of nothingness. 

This is an amazing lesson which applies to many parts of life.  Many people go through life burdened by issues from sometimes long in the past.  We do not need to be slaves to those weights pulling us down!  G-d is recreating the entire world at this very instant.  We can be FREE men and women. 

It is a brand new world.  Every day, every minute, every second - G-d is creating the world again.  The past is behind us.  We can affect the future in any way we choose - for beginning this moment we can, and must, start again. 

Which brings me to an important question about creation!  Why would G-d create the world in such a way that we need to sleep for almost 1/3 of our existence?  Surely G-d wanted us to make a positive impact upon the world.  If so, why make us require sleep?  If G-d could create the entire world, couldn’t He also create a world in which people don’t need to sleep?  Imagine if people could work 24 hours a day - just imagine just how much more we could get done. 

At first this question might seem pointless, but I think, based on what we just discussed regarding creation being an ongoing process, the need for sleep teaches a most valuable lesson.  For if we had no sleep we would have no tomorrow.  Life would be one long unending series of events.  Sleep allows us to change from passive to active.  Tomorrow can be a new start.  When we wake up tomorrow we can choose to begin the day and the rest of our lives with no limits to our potential. 

I heard of a story of a man who asked his sons to each take turns at filling a room as fully as they possibly could.  The oldest son was a farmer and chose to fill the room with dirt.  He brought bulldozers and dump trucks and shovels and filled every inch with as much dirt as it could possible hold.  When he was done, the boy was quite proud of his accomplishments.  His father said nothing, showed no emotion, and waited to see what his brothers would do. 

The second brother was an accountant.  He chose to fill the room with piles and piles of papers.  He had boxes and files and reams of paper.  He brought in records that had been accumulating for many years and filled the room from floor to ceiling.  He, too, was quite proud of his accomplishments.  Yet, his father still showed no emotion and waited to see what the youngest brother would do. 

The youngest brother was a Yeshiva student.  He did not have experience on the farm or the acres of dirt that his brother had used.  Nor did he have the massive papers that his second brother had accumulated over many years.  But, with the wisdom that he had attained in the Yeshiva, this son waited until night and then invited his father and brothers into the empty room.  He closed the door and the room was engulfed in pitch black darkness.  Then he took a candle out of his pocket, lit the candle, and suddenly the room was filled with light.  Now, the father smiled. 

As we go forward into a new Jewish year, we would do well to remember that some fill their homes with things that are earthly - jewels and furs and the most expensive of furniture.  Others are more interested in paper, especially those papers with pictures of Presidents on them.  They fill their homes with stocks and bonds and portfolios.  Both of these life choices leave much to be desired. 

The truly wise person fills their life with light. 

• Torah is light.
• Sabbath candles are light.
• Kindness to strangers is light.
• Values are light.
• Good deeds are light.

G-d is creating a new world starting this moment.  Tomorrow we will wake up from our sleep to yet a new and beautiful world.  Let us choose together to fill our world with light.

May our lives be forever illuminated with that Divine glow and brilliance, and, let us say Amain!