Parashat Bereshit
Iyunei Shabbat, 5754
Rabbi Gilah Dror
Moslem areas in Bosnia are under siege. Relief convoys of the U.N. carrying food to the area often have to surrender half of the supplies to buy their way in. Cholera is spreading in Africa. The Neo-Nazi leadership in Europe convenes an international meeting to honor the memory of Rudolph Hess. And here at home the peace process is in constant jeopardy.
It appears that the entire world is in a state of chaos. It seems as though the creation described in Genesis - the imposition of order in the world - has not yet begun.
We are accustomed to read the story of the creation in Genesis as a description of a perfected creation. But it can be read another way.
Immediately after the announcement of the creation of the heavens and the earth, we read: "And the earth was filled with chaos and darkness was upon the face of the deep" (Genesis 1:2). But today, too, the power and truth of the verse echoes in our ears. Today, too, there is chaos and darkness on the face of the deep. We are still far from the fulfillment of the prophetic vision of Isaiah: "And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb" (Isaiah 11:6). We have not yet reached the point where people dwell in peace with their neighbors. And yet, precisely for this reason, there is a very important message for us in the story of the creation.
We are engaged in the process of trying to create pace and order and justice and to propagate these in the world. But, just like the creation described in Genesis, this cannot be done instantaneously, nor in a single day. It is a gradual process which requires continuous confrontation with chaos. God, too, confronted chaos in creating the world. But despite the chaos, Bod related to the points of light created in the process and gave them positions of prominence - the sun "to rule the day", and the moon "to rule the night" (Genesis 1:16). And although the process was not completed all at once, at every stage God related to the positive achievements and stressed the good that was brought into being in each stage, as is written over and over: "And God saw that it was good" (Genesis 1:10). This is the secret of progress in the unfolding process of creation.
We too have the option, not only in the national and international spheres, but in the personal sphere as well, to relate to the chaos or to the points of light - to relate to the failures and disappointments or to the achievements.
The secret of creation is that "the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:3), and the spirit of God is the spirit of optimism that does not surrender to chaos. The spirit of God is the same strength that sees "that it was good" even when the job is not yet done. And it is this spirit which step by step will bring us closer to the justice, peace and holiness that is immanent in the creation.
May we learn from the story of the creation, to relate to the positive achievement in the process of which we are a part, and to our strengths rather than to our weaknesses, so that ultimately we will progress toward the fulfillment of the prophet's vision and true peace.