Bereishit: Putting the Power of Renewal into the Creation

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach — Fri, 02 Nov 1990 14:16:36 +0000

Shlomo Carlebach

Reb Shlomo zt”l was once flying to upstate NY for a concert and sitting next to him on the plane, was a holy non-Jewish brother. Reb Shlomo got into a conversation with him, and he told Reb Shlomo that in his community, about 40 families, had broken away from the church in order to form a community that was wanting to really pray, to really learn.

Reb Shlomo saw that this man was a very special holy soul. A few minutes before landing Reb Shlomo felt that he wanted to share a holy Torah with this man. Reb Shlomo, who always had a sefer with him simply opened the sefer on his lap, and started teaching from the first Torah he saw on the page before him. (i believe the sefer was the Beis Yakov on Bereishis). And this is what he taught:

Everyone knows the famous question; why does the holy Torah start with the word ‘bereishis’, which is usually translated as ‘in the beginning’? Would we not otherwise have known when G-d created the universe? The Torah does not even have any superfluous letters, and certainly not any superfluous words! So then why does the Torah not start simply, “G-d created heaven and earth”? Should anyone ask you: ‘when did Hashem do this’?, you would certainly answer ‘it was in the beginning’.

There is an entire Kabbalah sefer, the Tikkunei Zohar, in which there are seventy different answers to this question alone. The Beis Yakov gives the following answer. This is a teaching from a rabbi who lived about one hundred and fifty years ago, the holy Beis Yakov.

The Beis Yakov says that the word ‘bereishis’, ‘in the beginning’, is not intended to tell us when G-d created the universe. Rather the Torah is teaching us; “Bereishis”, ‘with the power of renewal’, “bara Elokim es hashomayim v’es ha’aretz”, ‘G-d created heaven and earth’. Meaning that G-d put the power of renewal, into the creation.

Why is it that when you are feeling down, and you go for a walk in the forest, fifteen minutes later you find yourself feeling better? It is because of the power of renewal that Hashem put into the creation. Walking in the forest, connects you with the power of renewal, that is what is refreshing you.

At this point the plane landed, and Reb Shlomo and this young man parted in friendship and love.

About two or three years later, Reb Shlomo was once again in Poughkeepsie, NY. At his concert Reb Shlomo noticed a very special couple with a young child, sitting in the front row. During intermission, the couple came over to greet Reb Shlomo. The woman said to Reb Shlomo, “I don’t know if you remember my husband, but a couple of years ago, he was sitting next to you on a plane flying to Poughkeepsie and you taught him a teaching from a Rabbi who lived a 150 years ago?” Reb Shlomo immediately remembered the young man.

“You know, that teaching saved my husband’s life! At the time you met my husband he was a multi-millionaire. About six months later, something went wrong in his business and he lost all his money. It was very hard for him to live with his downfall and he decided to commit suicide. You know my husband is a very organized and methodical man. So he had everything planned out. On such and such a date, at 7:30 in the evening he was going to commit this final act.

“At 7:15 my husband sat down at his desk in the study, to write his last letter to us. He finished the letter five minutes before 7:30, signed it and put it in an envelope. My husband is a religious man, so he always kept a Bible on his desk. Since there were a couple of minutes left, he thought he would take one last look in the Bible. He flipped it open, and staring him in his face were the words, “In the beginning, G-d created heaven and earth”. And he remembered you taught him, “With the power of renewal, G-d created heaven and earth.

“My husband closed the Bible and came up to my room. He said to me, “you know, a few months ago, I met a Rabbi on a plane, who taught me a teaching from a Rabbi who lived about 150 years ago, about the power of renewal, about starting again. Will you please help me start again, my holy wife?” And so here we are, thank G-d, and with all our hearts, we came to thank you.”

A few years after hearing this story from Reb Shlomo, the story came up again in our conversation. Reb Shlomo zt”l, smilingly said to me, “you know the Beis Yakov probably knew that 150 years later, this teaching would save this man’s life.

Transcribed by Sholom Brodt

Reb Shlomo: Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach » Bereshit

Bereishit: Putting the Power of Renewal into the Creation