Parshah Bereshit - Genesis 1:1c
The First Day of Creation
By Rabbi Moshe Weiner
How Great are You
Parashat Bereshit Chapter 1
The First Day of Creation
1. In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth.
2. Now the earth was astonishingly empty, and darkness was on the face
of the deep, and the spirit of G-d was hovering over the face of the water.
3. And G-d said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
4. And G-d saw the light that it was good, and G-d separated between the light and between the darkness.
5. And G-d called the light “day”, and the darkness He called “night”, and it was evening and it was morning, one day.
G-d: This name, [Elohim in the Hebrew], is one of the names of the Holy One, Blessed be He. The meaning of this name is Rulership and Dominion, as God acts as a Judge and Adjudicator, how He judges and adjudicates over the entire world. This name is mentioned first in the act of Creation [Chapter 1. No other name of G-d is mentioned until Genesis 2:4 “on the day which Hashem created Heavens and Earth”], because the Creation is performed by means of this name, that the existence of the world should appear as a created existence. And the beginning of Divine conduct with the world is by means of the attribute of Justice, as exemplified by the name Elohim [and only later will the Holy One, Blessed be He, appear as described by other names which indicate other types of conduct, such as the attribute of Mercy or other attributes].
Elohim: This name means dominion, a fact that gives importance to the created [world, man] as the sages said "there is no king without a nation". In contrast - the name Havaya (YHWH) means the creator of existence, hence the created [world, man] has no self-importance in regard to his power of creation, only He [the Creator] is the sole figure in true existence, therefore all that is created is nullified before Him. See Chapter 2:4.
Sources: Bi'ur Torat Moshe - Explanation of the book of Moses - Genesis by Rabbi Moshe Weiner
By Rabbi Moshe Weiner
Rabbi Moshe Weiner is the Rabbinical Director of the Academy and the author of the Divine Code of Law for Noahides. He is also the Overseeing Authority of the Legal Noahide Movement.
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