Weekly Torah portion: Bereishith

We read in Midrash Rabba that God, as planner of the world, had a comprehensive plan of creation before him when he began creation (Genesis Rabba 1:1-2), and he spoke and the world came into being. Six days of creation and, in systematic order, God proceeds from light to man. “And God saw all that He had made, and found it very good” (Genesis 1:31). That was the divine plan, and after that, he left it all to mankind.

All that was created was very good. What will become of creation afterward is up to man. If the Crown of Creation wishes that it continue to be very good, so it will be. If it wishes to ruin and destroy, that is its choice. Man decides. It is the gardener of Eden; it is developing humanity, for good and for bad. Man is granted absolute freedom. Professor Rabbi Ephraim E. Urbach explained Rabbi Akiba’s statement “All is foreseen, but freedom of choice is given” (Avot 3:15) as follows: “It is true that God foresees, but He does not interfere in man’s doings, thus freedom of choice is given.”

Man’s freedom is absolute, which is why its responsibility is so great. God asks “Where are you?” so that we will be responsible for our actions. Man surrenders to its nature and kills out of jealousy and provocation. But after creation, it is also the great builder. The list of names is long, and each generation develops. We find mankind so developed that Noah is capable of constructing an ark in order to be saved from the Flood. God intervenes in human affairs but once in human history, when he sees that man has become corrupt. Yet God hopes for the best, and so Noah and his family are saved. Ten generations from Adam to Noah represent the evolution of man from creation to discoverer and builder.

We do not know who discovered fire, but it was certainly discovered. Man discovers and creates and corrupts itself. Technological development is wonderful, and those ancients that learned to hunt, seed, plant and harvest were amazing. Each generation evolves further, but is this technological advancement paralleled by development in morals and values? Sadly no. Mankind knew so much that Noah could learn to build a vessel that could weather the Flood, but the moral decline was as great as the material achievement.

After the Flood, God promises that there will never be another. Our freedom of choice is absolute. Only humanity itself can bring about another deluge and annihilation. For thousands of generations we have developed a great material culture, but are we any different from those who preceded us? Have we learned to live in accordance with moral values at the same pace that we have created material goods? I very much doubt it. It is therefore appropriate that we look again to the ancient words of Genesis in order to learn about what we were given and what we have done with our world. And we should recall the words of Ben Azzai in the Jerusalem Talmud (Nedarim 9:41) that “This is the record of Adam's line – When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God ” (Genesis 5:1) is a great principle of the Torah. Amidst all of our material progress, we must strive to become worthy people in the likeness of the Creator.

Rabbi Shmuel Shaish - Rabbi of Kehillat Tagel Arava congregation in Eilat

Parasha courtesy of the Schechter Institute