Chasidut על בראשית 1:5
Kedushat Levi
Deuteronomy 1,1. “These are the words which Moses spoke to the entire people of Israel in the desert, facing the wilderness near Suph between Paran and between Tophel and Lavan.”
It seems reasonable to see in the word ערבה, wilderness, a reference to the first time the word ערב appears in the story of Creation (Genesis 1,5) where the meaning is “evening,” a transition from day to night. At the time of the creation the evening preceded the first morning, as before the creation of light the universe had been in darkness, as we read there in verse 2, and as the Talmud points out in the beginning of tractate B’rachot, when discussing the times for reciting the keriyat sh’ma. If we take our cue from that paragraph in the Torah, the early years of our lives would be described as ערב. Having this in mind, the Torah, i.e. Moses, alludes here to the need for every human being from his earliest youth to focus all of his activities on the aspect of G’d familiar to us by the name Shechinah, “G’d’s Presence.”
The deeper meaning behind the words: בין פארן, is that this is the site on earth from which the ability for living creatures on earth to become fruitful and to multiply is derived. As to the words: ובין תפל, we follow Rashi, who quotes Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai who claims that no one has ever been able to find these two locations. He therefore concluded that these names are similes, used by Moses to rebuke the Israelites who had spoken derisively of the manna (Numbers 1,7), which was white, לבן. The word תפל, [possibly as root of: תפלה “prayer”. Ed.], according to Rashi, is another word for “speech” (presumably Israel’s accepting the Torah with the words נעשה ונשמע, “we shall do and we shall listen (to instruction).” Moses’ address teaching the Israelites to make G’d their focus at all times, and to observe these covenants meticulously, covers the period between the covenant of circumcision made with Avraham and that of the Ten Commandments made with the assembled Jewish nation at Mount Sinai.
It seems reasonable to see in the word ערבה, wilderness, a reference to the first time the word ערב appears in the story of Creation (Genesis 1,5) where the meaning is “evening,” a transition from day to night. At the time of the creation the evening preceded the first morning, as before the creation of light the universe had been in darkness, as we read there in verse 2, and as the Talmud points out in the beginning of tractate B’rachot, when discussing the times for reciting the keriyat sh’ma. If we take our cue from that paragraph in the Torah, the early years of our lives would be described as ערב. Having this in mind, the Torah, i.e. Moses, alludes here to the need for every human being from his earliest youth to focus all of his activities on the aspect of G’d familiar to us by the name Shechinah, “G’d’s Presence.”
The deeper meaning behind the words: בין פארן, is that this is the site on earth from which the ability for living creatures on earth to become fruitful and to multiply is derived. As to the words: ובין תפל, we follow Rashi, who quotes Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai who claims that no one has ever been able to find these two locations. He therefore concluded that these names are similes, used by Moses to rebuke the Israelites who had spoken derisively of the manna (Numbers 1,7), which was white, לבן. The word תפל, [possibly as root of: תפלה “prayer”. Ed.], according to Rashi, is another word for “speech” (presumably Israel’s accepting the Torah with the words נעשה ונשמע, “we shall do and we shall listen (to instruction).” Moses’ address teaching the Israelites to make G’d their focus at all times, and to observe these covenants meticulously, covers the period between the covenant of circumcision made with Avraham and that of the Ten Commandments made with the assembled Jewish nation at Mount Sinai.
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Kedushat Levi
G’d called the light: ‘day;’" Bereshit Rabbah 3,8 comments that this phrase refers to the deeds of the righteous, whereas the line ולחושך קרא לילה, is understood as referring to the deeds of the wicked. In order to make it plain that the Creator preferred the deeds of the righteous, the Torah added the adjective כי טוב, “that it was good,” when defining the word אור in verse 4.
The average reader of this Midrash surely is puzzled by the fact that there was any doubt as to whose deeds the Creator would prefer so that the Torah had to indicate that G’d preferred the deeds of the righteous! Rabbeinu Yonah, in his commentary on the last Mishnah in B’rachot chapter 9, explains that the Mishnah, when referring to the need to serve the Lord with both parts of our hearts, the urge to do good as well as the urge to do evil, speaks of people who do serve the Lord. The Midrash quoted, was careful to refer to the deeds of the wicked as opposed to the wicked themselves, also does so. We may therefore understand the Midrash as also referring to good deeds, the origin of which, however, differs. The difference between the two “urges” is that the urge to do evil is by definition the result of anger and hatred, whereas the deeds that are prompted by the urge to do good, are by definition prompted by feelings of goodwill and love. No wonder that G’d prefers the positive deeds that are also the result of constructive attitudes, to the good deeds that are the result of the urge to do evil, even when both deeds may be identical. This idea has been portrayed by Proverbs 3,17 where Solomon has described the ways of Torah as being דרכיה דרכי נועם, “her ways are ways of pleasantness;” in other words, it is not only what you do that counts but how you go about doing it.”
The average reader of this Midrash surely is puzzled by the fact that there was any doubt as to whose deeds the Creator would prefer so that the Torah had to indicate that G’d preferred the deeds of the righteous! Rabbeinu Yonah, in his commentary on the last Mishnah in B’rachot chapter 9, explains that the Mishnah, when referring to the need to serve the Lord with both parts of our hearts, the urge to do good as well as the urge to do evil, speaks of people who do serve the Lord. The Midrash quoted, was careful to refer to the deeds of the wicked as opposed to the wicked themselves, also does so. We may therefore understand the Midrash as also referring to good deeds, the origin of which, however, differs. The difference between the two “urges” is that the urge to do evil is by definition the result of anger and hatred, whereas the deeds that are prompted by the urge to do good, are by definition prompted by feelings of goodwill and love. No wonder that G’d prefers the positive deeds that are also the result of constructive attitudes, to the good deeds that are the result of the urge to do evil, even when both deeds may be identical. This idea has been portrayed by Proverbs 3,17 where Solomon has described the ways of Torah as being דרכיה דרכי נועם, “her ways are ways of pleasantness;” in other words, it is not only what you do that counts but how you go about doing it.”
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