A Midrash on Bereshit

Rabbi Gary S. Creditor
October 12, 2001

We are living in scary times. I listened to the President on Thursday night telling us, normal, regular citizens to be vigilant and report any suspicious people or things to the police. Several days ago Capitol One was emptied out and yesterday the Virginia Tech library. At the same time, we want and we need for our country and for our lives, for our livelihood and for the country's economy, to live "normally;" go about our business, make the big purchases and big commitments, have babies, celebrate b'nai mitzvoth, and dance at weddings. The FBI issues this amorphous warning while the airlines are encouraging us to fly. Ich bein a meshuga! It can make you crazy. We need help to sustain us and preserve our sanity.

Our faith in God and the teachings of our Torah can be of great support to us in times like these. This Shabbat we renew the reading of the Torah from the first book of Genesis, the very first chapter of creation. We do not know what existed prior to that moment. But we do know that the Torah lays out for us a scheme that moves along a continuum of growth and development from chaos to order. What was there before the "Big Bang" posited by scientists? That, no one can answer. But from its explosive first moments has evolved an entire universe and galaxies that have great internal organization. The Torah reflexes this development.

When we read the Torah we learn than human beings stand at the pinnacle of creation. Only we are created in His image with the ability and the obligation to be moral, caring creatures, to be able to chose right from wrong, to bring order out of chaos, love out of hate. After our creation on the sixth day the Torah says: "And God saw all that He had made, and found it very good."

We study this Torah text through two prisms, that of peshat, the simple, plain meaning, and that of midrash, a deeper delving and perception of other messages embedded in the text. Our great teacher Rashi tells us that we can never ignore the peshat. Yet often we need to read the text with our "midrashic glasses."

In the miracle of electronic mailing, Rabbis throughout the country are sharing their ideas. Some of my sermons have been circulated also. Sometimes these are just to stimulate one's imagination and personal creativity. But if you are going to use a piece exactly as it was written, our Rabbis tells us to always cite our source, quote in the name of the author brings redemption to the world. I composed this introduction to set the stage for a beautiful and meaningful piece of midrash on our Torah portion of Bereshit, which speaks most eloquently to our neshamas in these trying days. Its author is Rabbi Jodie Futornick of Mc Henry County Jewish Congregation of Crystal Lake, IL. written for the Chicago Jewish News. It is entitled: Torah commentary on Parashat Bereshit: A Contemporary Midrash. I pray that it will lift up our spirits.

When God began to create heaven and earth, the earth being tohu vavohu (unformed and void), with darkness over the surface of the deep and the spirit of God sweeping over the water, God said, Let there be light; and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness God called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. (Genesis 1: 1-5)

And then on September 11, 2001, the forces of darkness momentarily took over, in the form of terrorists who followed the teachings of a different god, one who they believed willed the slaughter of innocents. These unholy creatures used airplanes and tall buildings -- among the greatest of humanity's achievements on earth -- to create tohu vavohu anew. And humanity called this terrible pile of destruction and death Ground Zero.

And the world momentarily seemed to come to a standstill. People remained glued to the television news for days. Commercial airplanes didn't fly for a week. (Even Major League Baseball temporarily was put on hold.)

And God looked out at the horrific devastation that human beings had wrought upon one another, and God's heart was sorely grieved. And God cried tears of anger, frustration and bitterness.

But the spirit of God moved swiftly over Ground Zero, over that awful pile of steel and of decimated human remains, that used to be the site of life and bustling activity, and God said, "Let the light of the human spirit shine through the pain!"

And the Light of the human soul began to manifest itself in many great and small ways:

In the selfless courage of the hundreds of firefighters who rushed into the burning skyscraper in order to rescue other lives, never stopping to think that they would soon be crushed in a giant human tomb.

In the minds and souls of the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93, who, knowing they were about to die, nonetheless found the courage to overpower their hijackers so as to prevent the destruction of yet more innocent lives.

In the renewed patriotism of the often complacent American people, as demonstrated by the presence of American flags flying outside homes and businesses everywhere.

In the hearts of hundreds of millions of people who were shocked into a realization of the tenuousness of human existence, and so to begin to treat each other more kindly.

In the households of families who are now more attentive to one another and more likely to express love and caring for each other without reservation.

(And when baseball did resume, at every game was sung "God Bless America.")

And God called the Light "The Beauty of the Human Spirit," and the Darkness God called, "Worship of Death and Destruction."

And with God's help, human beings proved definitively that there is an eternal separation between Darkness and Light.

And God looked at all the good and wonderful acts of kindness and heroism that humanity performed in the midst of the remains of terror, and God's heart swelled with pride. And God once again cried, though this time, God shed tears of happiness and pride in humanity. And God separated between the tears of grief and the tears of joy.

And human beings learned never again to take Light and Goodness and Life and Love for granted.

And God saw that it was very, very good.

And it was many evenings, and many mornings, the dawn of a new era in human spiritual awareness.

We cannot know what the days and weeks hold for us, for our nation, for Israel, for the world. Yet we can live our lives in such ways that kindness and love will radiate from within our hearts and illuminate the path before us. God implanted in us seeds of righteousness, of courage, of decency and graciousness to overcome all tzouris, every adversity and hardship.

Let us rise to the challenge.

Let us reflect God's divine love towards each other.

Let us lift up and children and each other.

May God watch over us all.

Amen.