#1 — Parshat Bereishit
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Beauty and Suffering
Where does the beauty in our world come from? But also, from where does the pain and suffering come? Why are we such amazing creatures and yet still do terrible things? Parashat Bereishit provides the answer to both of these questions. In fact, it goes beyond just answering these questions. It also lays a foundation for real hope.
Best Explanation
What better explains the beauty of our world, the amazing complexity and mystery of vibrant life? What better explains the existence of us humans, who are conscious, who can think, communicate, and create things? A vague impersonal force, unguided energy, or a G-d of endless intelligence who speaks things into being? How else can we explain the existence of conscious personal beings as we are?
Bereishit reveals the personal G-d, who in the beginning created heaven and earth and everything in it. He created us, human beings, in His image as a beautiful climax. All the beauty of creation comes from the Creator. We are repeatedly reminded that what He created was good: it was good, it was good, it was very good, we read…. (Genesis 1:4, 9, 12, 18, 24, 31) It was good because G-d Himself is good. This good, Creator G-d even chooses to speak and have a relationship with us.
How Evil Came in
But what about all the ugly, bad things which are part of our reality? Bereishit also tells us where that came from. True, many have the hope-killing view which says: “Well, evil is just part and parcel of nature; this is just the way things are.” Parshat Bereishit has a much more hopeful take. A serious corruption spoiled the good creation! It didn’t come directly from our Creator.
So from where did it come? What is the source of evil, death, and decay in our world, if a good G-d created everything perfectly?
Part of our glory as humans is that we are not puppets. We were created as people who have free will. But Parshat Bereishit tells us we abused that freedom. We listened to a deceiver who convinced us to doubt G-d’s intentions. And we rebelliously transgressed His clear command.
The Disastrous Results
The results are calamitous. We are cast out of G-d’s presence and lose access to everlasting life. Mankind becomes terribly corrupted. We soon encounter the first murder. And at the end of Parshat Bereishit we don’t read: “It was good.” Rather:
“The L-RD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth
and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5)
How quickly mankind fell from free will into slavery to evil!
Yet there is hope.
The hope-giving promise
In spite of G-d’s absolute holiness, He is still patient and doesn’t let go of us. In cursing the deceiver, the serpent, He gives us hope:
“I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise your head
and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)
Here we see a focus on a specific seed. The Hebrew makes clear this is a singular individual: “He, he shall bruise your head.” That is: kill you. It is a promise that a special descendant of Eve will one day be completely victorious over evil. This is about the Messiah. We have bright hope after all.
Parshat Bereishit both explains our reality and gives us hope for the world around us. Not hope based on our efforts, which always seem to fall short, but on what G-d will do through the Messiah.
Is your hope for the world based on failing human effort, or on the eternal goodness of our Creator?
We’d love to talk more with you, especially how you personally can share in this God-given hope. Let’s chat about the real hope for Shalom!
The Serpent and the Sacrifice of the Woman’s Seed
The Serpent of Genesis 3 is no mere snake, but he is defeated by a special seed of Eve in a special way.
After everything went wrong, a beacon of hope starts shining. It is hidden in a curse…
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