בְּרֵאשִׁית - Bereshit Torah Portion

‘Bereshit’ in Hebrew is ‘In the Beginning’

A beginning of a start. It is not to do with the ‘language of reason’.

It’s very first word is about faith. A nature, above nature. A nature that gives a meaning and presence above themselves, which the human mind can’t explain. First people need to believe that G-D speaks Hebrew.

Why in Hebrew?

Why isn’t ‘Genesis’?

We actually need to use the Hebrew word – Bereshit?

There is a possibility to go above nature, beyond my belief – so it starts with faith. Going beyond what we were born with – ‘Will to Receive for Oneself’. Only those who have the inclination to seek that will be able to move over to this faith, and play with time. It’s about ‘Teshuva’ – returning in time – to the point where I sinned and reform it, and heal it.

The month of ‘Tishrey’, which is the month we study Bereshit – is about the start of the journey, representative by the Hebew letter ‘Vav’. A letter of connection.

We need to believe that we can rise above our reason and nature.

Rabbah Saphir Noyman Eyal connects the closing word of the Torah, Israel, with the opening of Bereshit, showing a cycle where the higher presence makes space for creation.

The verse “Let us make Let us make man in our image” (ADAM) highlighting its difference from earlier commands. Instead of a directive, it carries a tone of shared intention, revealing secrets accessible to those who approach with awe and humility.

Rabbi Shimon’s experience of being stripped of his spiritual stature and called only “Shimon,” illustrates how concealment becomes the opening for revelation. This humility opens the way for a hidden teaching to emerge—that moments of loss or unknowing are not failures, but invitations to deeper connection with the Creator. When we feel diminished or far from the Creator, it should not be resented but embraced as a calling to receive a higher truth, for it is in this empty space that hidden secrets can finally be revealed.

Israel is described as sanctifying time, attuned to moments when humanity is called to transformation, and able to invite light and presence to fulfill the purpose of creation. This link between creation and Israel points to the role of sensing and responding to the divine timing.

Zohar Bereshit is dealing on a few levels with the creation of Adam. One level is a deviation from the formula of being given an order by Chochma (Wisdom) and then executing it, such as “Let it be light and there was light” or “Let it be seas” and life, meaning animals, birds and creatures of the sea. The Creator says “And He saw that it was good” to approve the creation.

On the sixth day, with the creation of Adam, we see a different approach — not an order but a suggestion: “Let’s make.” It’s like Binah is addressing, because Binah identifies the need. From four aspects of direct light there is in Binah the quality to see the future in relation to proximity or distance from the Creator, meaning from Its qualities of bestowal.

Seeing that creation is beautiful and good, it seems that creation, as the partner or spouse of the Creator, is drifting apart from It. So the suggestion of Binah is “Let’s make a consciousness which will keep the intimacy, keep the closeness, and be in extreme inconvenience from the distance from You.” Binah became a Creator herself to bestow — to bestow a space for the other. She’s doing it as Keter and now, in Bereshit, she suggests creating something that will keep, like Zeir Anpin, the creation and the Creator always connected, feeling uncomfortable from distance, always yearning for intimacy, closeness, similarity of form, and the ability to bestow.