Two Minute Torah Podcast

Bereshit 5769 by Richard S. Moline

Shalom, this is Richard Moline, Director of KOACH, and I am pleased to welcome you to the start of year two of KOACH's Two Minute Torah, a project of the College Department of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

This week, after we have completed our commemoration and celebration of a string of holidays, we begin our reading of the Torah anew with Parashat Bereshit, the first few chapters of the Book of Genesis. The creation story is well known to us – we are provided a narrative taking us through the seven days of creation – each day providing us with something new to find its place and its purpose in God's world. We learn about the creation of heaven and earth, of land and water, of animals that walk, swim and fly, of plants and of human beings. The narrative seems to have accounted for everything – everything, that is, except for God.

Where does God come from? Is it enough to accept God's presence as a given and simply move on? Do we take the story literally - or do we accept it as metaphor and attempt to figure out its meaning? And here's the heretical question – does it really matter?

These questions, of course, are not new. They are the centerpiece of many a theological discussion and political debate; discussed by the devoutly religious and the unabashed secularist.

One midrash, an exegetical text called Midrash Rabbah, suggests that the Torah begins with the Hebrew letter bet – the first letter of the word Bereshit (meaning "in the beginning") – because the bet is closed on three sides and open only in the front, suggesting that what happened before creation is simply impenetrable. Human knowledge and human understanding clearly is limited. Perhaps we don't have the ability to fully comprehend. If we accept this premise, we find ourselves confronting emunah – confronting faith. How much do we take on faith – how much do we simply accept?

While belief and faith in God forms our foundation, blind faith and blanket acceptance of "God's will" has little basis in Jewish life. Our ancestor Jacob had his name changed by God to Israel – Yisrael – after he had a dream where he wrestled with an angel. That name, Yisrael – means "to wrestle" or "to struggle" with God. Our mandate is to balance faith and struggle; we don't accept things blindly, nor do we stifle our questioning.

We live in an uncertain world in uncertain times. Fundamentalist approaches may provide easy answers and comfort when things are tough. But they deny us the opportunity to engage in that struggle – to truly become b'nei Yisrael – God's children who struggle with the Divine.

Thank your for making this first year of Two Minute Torah such a resounding success. I'm Rich Moline. Keep struggling.