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This a commentary about Parshat B'reisheet, which we will read this Sunday on the holiday of Simchat Torah.
This poem is written for those who have been called to recreate worlds in the face of Covid-19. For the teachers, for the parents, for the school administrators, for the restaurant owners, for the small business owners. For mothers and fathers and grandparents, for children of all ages, for the doctors and the nurses, for the religious leaders and for all of you who are recreating a world, this poem is for you. You are strong, you are creative and you are resilient.
BET
Aleph is for what was
Aleph is the past, its lines smudged and blurring,
Aleph is for worlds already created, slowly fading
Bet is for B'reisheet, for new beginnings
Bet opens its arms outwards, embracing the potential
Bet is the new day ahead and the optimism of a sunrise
Va'yihee Erev, Vayihee Boker
Bet is for B'Tzelem Elokim, created in image of God
Bet is a spark deep inside of us
It urges us forward
Bet is for Barah, for creation
Ideas become words, words become actions
Actions take root and grow
From the nothingness a form is revealed
A deep well of ideas, expanding actions
From the void comes brilliance
K'Zohar Harakiyah
We all are creators
So find the spark of creation that waits within
Be like God, begin to create
Everything needs a beginning
What you need is already there
Gather your strengths like the four winds,
Build on your ideas
Join and connect, let them rise
Build your universe
Create something new, whether small
or large, it doesn't matter
The Bet of creation lives in all of us
It is the gift of kedushah placed in each of us
It is there for the taking
Find it, seize it, never let it go, for it is a gift from The Creator
Remember, Ki Tov, "it is good"
בראשית
בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃ When God began to create heaven and earth—
וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃ the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֖ים יְהִ֣י א֑וֹר וַֽיְהִי־אֽוֹר׃ God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
וַיַּ֧רְא אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶת־הָא֖וֹר כִּי־ט֑וֹב וַיַּבְדֵּ֣ל אֱלֹהִ֔ים בֵּ֥ין הָא֖וֹר וּבֵ֥ין הַחֹֽשֶׁךְ׃ God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.
וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ לָאוֹר֙ י֔וֹם וְלַחֹ֖שֶׁךְ קָ֣רָא לָ֑יְלָה וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר י֥וֹם אֶחָֽד׃
Translation of Breisheet taken from Sefaria
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