All Beginnings Are Hard
Parashat B’reisheet, Genesis 1:1 - 6:1
Rabbi Dr. Joshua Brumbach, Congregation Simchat Yisrael, West Haven, CT
The Torah begins with the famous opening words:
בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃
When God began to create the heavens and the earth—
וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃
the earth was unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep,
and the spirit of God hovered over the waters —
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֖ים יְהִ֣י א֑וֹר וַֽיְהִי־אֽוֹר׃
God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
-Genesis 1:1-3 (JPS 1985 with my own modifications)
According to the 12th/13th century Spanish commentator, Ramban (Nachmanides), the Torah relates the story of the seven days of creation in order to refute other theories that claim that the universe came into being through some cosmic accident or coincidence. The Torah’s narration of creation speaks only in general terms to illustrate that nothing came into being except through God's command. This is emphasized by the use of the Hebrew word בָּרָא (bara), the word used for “create,” because grammatically, the word bara can only be used in connection to God (never for humans) and alludes to the creation of something from nothing.
The Torah's narrative of creation is meant to directly establish Hashem as the sovereign of the universe. Unlike other creation accounts circulating throughout the Ancient Near East, the Biblical account makes no attempt to explain the origins of God or persuade the listener of God's existence. Rather, the existence of God is understood as an axiomatic fact. As such, it immediately jumps into the explanation of God's creation of heaven and earth.
Which leads us back to the opening phrase of the Torah: “When God began to create the heavens and the earth.” There are actually different ways to translate (and interpret) this verse. And although the phrasing “In the beginning . . .” is the most common translation into English, it may not be the most accurate.
Every translation requires an amount of interpretation, as it is difficult to always accurately render a phrase (and its underlying worldview and assumptions) from one language into another. Anyone who speaks another language understands this. Sometimes specific vocabulary, word plays, or concepts don’t exist in other languages. And a single word might have multiple nuances. Translators are therefore forced to make decisions regarding how such words or ideas are rendered into another language. When this is done, the various nuances within the original language are lost. This is very common when translating, for instance, from Hebrew into English. The method of interpretation called Midrash often utilizes these ambiguities to make homiletical and hermeneutical points, and these points are often lost in English translations because the word plays and nuance are not immediately evident.
Such nuances are what led the medieval French commentator Rashi (11th cent.), following a midrash, to comment that the opening phrase of Genesis should be understood as “with reisheet God created.” Rashi’s interpretation is based on the use of the word reisheet elsewhere in the Tanakh, where the word reisheet is used to refer to the Torah (Prov 8:22) and to Israel (Jer 2:3). Therefore, Rashi intentionally leaves the word reisheet untranslated, implying that the Torah and Israel were somehow present and involved in God’s act of creation.
Expanding on this even further, another way to translate the opening words of Genesis could be: “With beginnings, God created . . .” This rendering plays on the opening word, emphasizing that everything in life has a beginning. Although there are times when everything seems to just fall into place, the reality is that most beginnings are not easy.
Rashi arrives at this alternative interpretation of “beginnings” (in the plural) based again on the way the Tanakh uses the word reisheet for both the Torah (Prov 8:22) and the Jewish people (Jer 2:3). Rashi then additionally supports this interpretation by dividing the word b’reisheet into two different words: B reisheet (ב ראשית) where the bet (ב) is read as a number rather than a prefix . . . thus arriving at the idea of two beginnings: “With beginnings, God created.”
The idea that everything in life has a beginning is what led the author Chaim Potok to begin one of his most famous novels with the phrase: “All beginnings are hard.” An expression that gets repeated over and over in his book In the Beginning (originally published in 1975). Potok drew this idea from the rabbis of the Talmud who characterized all beginnings as being difficult. Rashi, commenting on Exodus 19:5, echoes this same motif: “And now . . . all beginnings are difficult.”
The most obvious difficult “beginning” is that of life itself. Consider childbirth and the extreme hardship, pain, and discomfort through which life is brought forth into the world. I still remember so vividly the traumatic birth of our eldest son and the following days he and my wife spent in the hospital due to unexpected difficulties. Had our son not had immediate medical intervention, he certainly would not be with us today. Yet years later, we just experienced the joy of celebrating his Bar Mitzvah.
Throughout the Torah we repeatedly find difficult beginnings. Following the creation of Adam and Eve in the Garden, things quickly run amuck. Later, the beloved son Joseph is hated by his brothers and sold into slavery long before he ever becomes vizier to the pharaoh in Egypt. The Jewish people wandered in the desert for forty years hungry and tired after centuries of exile in Egypt before finally experiencing redemption and receiving the Torah. And even as we look toward the future, before we can experience the fulness of Messianic redemption we must first struggle through the pangs of exile.
All beginnings are hard because they are intended to strengthen us and build character. A baby bird or reptile must first struggle to free itself from a shell. All mammals must survive the trauma of the birthing process. Each of these initial struggles establishes the strength needed for survival.
When we look at our own experiences, we recognize that God often uses the most difficult challenges in our lives to work something new in us … to birth a new beginning. And yet, with new beginnings come new challenges to overcome.
When I began my rabbinical studies, I remember a time when my mentor, Rabbi Murray Silberling, handed me a plunger after one of the stalls in the restroom got plugged up during a busy holiday service. He asked me: “How are you at plunging toilets?” He immediately responded: “If you are not willing to plunge toilets you have no business being in ministry.” His intention was to use an unpleasant moment to instill humility and build character. His lesson was that you cannot be a shepherd if you are not first willing to be a servant of others. That was an important lesson. I did not start at the top, but rather had to work my way up through various tasks and roles, demonstrating servanthood and responsibility.
God often uses the same methodology for building character within us. Consider James 1:2-4 (CJB):
Regard it all as joy, my brothers [and sisters], when you face various kinds of temptations; for you know that the testing of your trust produces perseverance. But let perseverance do its complete work; so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing.
When life throws you under the bus, hits you with a curve ball, or knocks you down to the ground, it is easy to want to give up or shake our fists at God. But we have another choice, one far more difficult: to let those moments build character and birth something new within us.
If we are willing to be honest, we can often look back at some of the hardest times in our lives and see God working behind the scenes. However, while we are going through those “beginnings,” it is extremely difficult to often see God at work or to sense that God is even there.
That is why we always need to be reminded that we have not been abandoned. All beginnings are hard!
Our Torah portion reminds us, when things are difficult, we must learn again how to take a step back and regain a broader perspective. With God’s help, we must regather our strength, recollect our thoughts, and get back up on our feet.
As we enter a new year on the Jewish calendar, we will certainly face new challenges and difficulties. Therefore, I want to bless each one of us, that God will give us the strength to confront those challenges head-on, and provide his guidance and direction, so that we can emerge on the other side with new blessings and encouragement. May Hashem strengthen us for these new “beginnings” in the coming year.