Bereishit – Back to the beginning.
Our sages observed/taught “Kol Hatchalot Kashot” – “All beginnings are hard”
Starting a new project is challenging as one has to overcome the natural “psychological inertia” that we tend to feel.
This is because as humans we are innately conflicted by the movement to change/be inspired/transform/build vs the emotional comfort of the status quo.
On Shabbat Bereishit we are not only starting a new cycle of reading the Torah. We are also starting a new cycle and chapter in our lives which ideally is supposed to reflect true Torah values.
On Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur we come up with new year resolutions. The days of awe inject us with renewed enthusiasm encapsulated in the verse “Return us O God and we will return, renew our days as of old”.
On Sukkot through the joyous festival and its Mitvzot we began the process of expressing our new found love of Hashem into practical life – building a sukkah and dwelling in the embrace of Hashem with faith.
But NOW on Shabbat Bereishit the real challenge begins. The days of awe and the festivals have concluded. We have come back down to earth with a thud (as I found out Motzei Yom tov looking at my plethora of emails).
We must open up new ways to live even better lives in all its multifaceted dimensions.
The inspiration must now be translated into perspiration.
We do this by taking small manageable and achievable steps that build our confidence in our ability to make change and progress – as only then can we truly say we are alive. The small steps then build to create a much greater structure which we can look back at with pride.
Maybe we can suggest that the 6 days of creation are a tutorial for our own creativity. God does not create everything in one go which of course He could easily have done seeing as He is infinite and without limitations!
Each day there is a new creation building up to the sixth day when God adds the description “And God saw that it was very good”. God is teaching us that our lives must be lived “towards meaning and higher purpose”.
We cant expect to reach our goals overnight.
But we can and should be proud of the small achievements we make
In building better relationships with our family friends, community, wider society and God Himself.
Shabbat Shalom