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Bereishit 5771


The Zohar

Lighten Up Partner

From the teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai; translation & commentary by Simcha-Shmuel Treister

If a person didn't have an urge to sin, there wouldn't be sinful acts committed that require rectification through repentance and corrective action. However, G-d created the good and bad inclinations in a person so as to provide him with free choice and thereby with the ability to receive reward and punishment.

The Holy Ari

Manifest from Non-Manifest

From the teachings of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria; translated and edited by Moshe Yakov Wisnefsky

Before any emanations were emanated or any creations created, there was one simple supernal Light that filled all existence. When it was G-d's Will to create worlds, He constricted that Light, leaving a vacated space and hollow void so that there was a "place" for all that was to be emanated [Atzilut], created [Beriya], formed [Yetzira], and completed [Asiya].

Mystical Classics

In the Garden of Eden

From Torat Moshe by Rabbi Moshe Alshich

Rabbi Alshich teaches that through the combination of all the elements that went into creating the garden, Adam became the most perfect physical creature imaginable. The fact that G-d placed man into such a superior environment prior to his having performed a mitzvah to merit such bliss teaches us that serving G-d is not like serving a human master. When one serves a human master, one’s nature does not change after one has done so loyally, to the best of one‘s ability. The reward one receives depends entirely on the goodwill of the master and does not become an integral part of the recipient. This is not so when one serves G-d. Every mitzvah one performs transforms the very nature of the person performing it, his whole body becoming suffused with a degree of holiness, so that gradually the distance between him and his Creator shrinks, barriers are removed, and, eventually, his entire life-force becomes rooted in the Garden of Eden.

Chasidic Masters

Desires from Eden

By Binyomin Adilman

Before Adam’s sin the spiritual force in the physical world had an intense desire for fulfillment and expression and to praise the Creator. After the sin the physical world became shrouded with a dark, filthy garment which obscured the underlying spiritual foundations of the world and actually encouraged one to chase after purely physical and carnal desires. Therefore, as a countermeasure, G-d gave us the holy Torah, which instructs us how to discern and reveal the spiritual within the physical and to shed the coarse and filthy garment. Then the world is elevated, returning to its original state and moving closer to perfection. When we utilize the physical not for our own enjoyment, but in accordance with the commandments of the Torah, then the spiritual in all things is cultivated, refined and uplifted.

Contemporary Kabbalists

Cobbler of the Cosmos

from the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe; translated and annotated by Moshe-Yaakov Wisnefsky.

The Midrash informs us that Enoch was a shoemaker. Because of his lofty level of holiness, his mundane stitching of leather did not distract him from his service of G‑d. On the contrary, with every stitch he caused a further degree of harmony within the spiritual spheres.

So it is with all righteous individuals: even their mundane actions have cosmic repercussions. We, too, on our own level, can emulate the righteous. Our earthly activities too can affect the heavens.

Ascent Lights

Everything for the Sake of Heaven

by Shaul Yosef Leiter

Although the primary purpose of the Torah is to teach the Jewish people about the commandments, we see that Bereishit opens with the story of Creation and not with a mitzvah. This is a lesson to us. While all of life belongs to G-d, we often make a distinction between our Jewish lives and our daily physical pursuits.

Therefore, the beginning of the Torah tells us: Everything you do should be for the sake of heaven. To serve G-d when we are involved with a specific commandment is nice, but what G-d really expects from us is that ”everything” should be part of our service to G-d.

Mystic Story

A Surgical Procedure

by Yerachmiel Tilles

"That is exactly how it will be when Moshiach arrives. G-d’s chosen one will rule over the entire world, and everyone will abandon their evil ways and turn towards G-d.”

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