New Beginnings: Bereshit, Rosh Hashana, and Last Week's Torah Portion

Hi family and friends! When I thought about how far away I would be from you all for the next two years, and how much I would learn during this time, I was scared of the distance it would create between us. I am so excited to be writing this blog so that you all can share in my learning. I intend to write weekly, usually just before Shabbat, on my favourite lesson from the week. 

In just a couple of hours here in Jerusalem, the sun will set and Rosh Hashana will officially be upon us. Rosh Hashana, literally the head of the year, celebrates the creation of the world. How fitting it was that this week in Chumash class (the Chumash is comprised of the Torah, or the Five Books of Moses) we began studying the first two chapters of Genesis/Bereshit, which outline the creation of the world. 

As Jews around the world celebrate its creation over the next two days, we will focus our hearts and minds toward new beginnings and commitments as we work to become the best versions of ourselves that we can be. For me, this Rosh Hashana marks the start of a year of learning. This past week, I begun a commitment that I made to myself to engage deeply in the study of Jewish religious text, in order to feel a sense of ownership over and accessibility to my peoplehood and tradition. 

In this past week’s Torah portion that we read yesterday on Shabbat, Parashat Nitzavim from the book of Deuteronomy, Moses urges the People of Israel that the Torah is accessible to them as they prepare to enter into a new reality in the land of Israel. “״לא בשמים הוא; “[Torah] is not in the heavens” Moshe says. It is not distant and it is not hidden. Rather, Torah, and all of the wisdom, tradition, and cultural context that it contains, is and should always be accessible to its people- the Jewish people. This struck me as exactly why I chose to study at Pardes. At Pardes, I am learning with people young and old, some who deffered medical school and some who are mechanical engineers. My peers are not necessarily studying Torah to teach Torah, but rather are studying Torah to ensure that Judaism, peoplehood, and religion will remain relevant and accessible to them even as they engage meaningfully in the secular world around them, too. 

That brings me back to the first two chapters of Genesis/Bereshit, which was my most favourite Torah that I learned this past week. In Bereshit Chapter 1, we understand that there are a few words used for the formation of the world. They are speech, creation, and doing- in Hebrew אמר, ברא, ועשה. We read that each time something new comes into being as earth is shaped and formed, whether it be light and darkness, vegetation, animals, or people, it is first spoken, and only afterwards is it createdor done. We all know the famous line, “And God said let there be light, and there was light”; “וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֖ים יְהִ֣י א֑וֹר וַֽיְהִי־אֽוֹר” (Genesis 1:3). You may know that the Hebrew for “let there be” and “there was” is the same word- (Va)yehi (you might recognize this word from the title of my blog). The idea here is that immediately as God spoke something into happening, it already was. As the idea was released into the universe through speech, it became real. 

So, what can this mean for us? As beings created in the “Image of God”/“Betzelem Elohim” (Genesis 1:27), we too have the ability to manifest what we put out into the world. It must have been on one of the Instagram pages I follow that I came across a quote this past week which I really love- “Vibrate as if it is and it will be”. Just as Parashat Nitzavim reminds us לא בשמים הוא; “It is not in the heavens”, our fate does not lie beyond our grasp or our control. In this coming year, may we all be empowered to grab life by the lapels, to speak our greatest wishes and desires into action, and to remember that we have the power to infuse our lives, and the lives of those around us, with goodness and with kindness.  

I am wishing you all a Chag Sameach and a Shana Tova. May it be a sweet year of growth, love, and fulfillment for all.

Lots of love always, 

Lara