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Parshat Bereshit
1997
"God created" (Gen. 1:1) An unbeliever came to Rabbi Akiva and asked, "Who made the world?". Rabbi Akiva replied, "The Holy Blessed One". The unbeliever said, "Prove it to me." Rabbi Akiva said, "Come to me tomorrow". When the unbeliever returned, Rabbi Akiva asked, "What is that you are wearing?" "A garment", the unbeliever replied. "Who made it?" Rabbi Akiva asked. "A weaver", said the unbeliever. "Prove it to me," said Rabbi Akiva. "What do you mean," said the unbeliever, "how can I prove it to you? Here is the garment, how can you not know that a weaver made it?" Rabbi Akiva said, "And here is the world; how can you not know that the Holy Blessed One made it?" After the unbeliever had left, Rabbi Akiva's disciples asked him, "But what is the proof?" He said, "Even as a house proclaims its builder,a garment its weaver or a door its carpenter, so does the world proclaim the Holy Blessed One Who created it. --Midrash Temurah
This midrash illustrates the fundamental human problem between faith and certainty. We want to believe, but we also want to be able to know "for sure".
When we read the story of the creation of the world, many questions come to mind. What prompted creation? What preceded creation? Tradition tells us that these are not questions that should be explored in public. "Why was the world created with the letter bet?", asks Midrash Bereshit Rabbah, "Just as the bet is closed at the top and at the sides, so you may not investigate what is below, what is above, and what is before; only what is in front."
Judaism is a pragmatic way of life. It concerns itself with how we conduct ourselves in this life, almost to the exclusion of speculating upon life in the world to come. Judaism's precepts are in the here and now, performing mitzvot, trying to understand what God wants of us, trying to make the world a better place. Rashi's very first comment upon the text of the Torah is that Rabbi Isaac said that the Torah, which is the book of the law of Israel, should have begun with, "This month shall be unto you the first of months" (Ex.12:1), which is the first commandment given to Israel. But that is not where the Torah begins. Instead, it begins with the account of Creation, robed in mystery, provoking questions that could easily lead us to doubts or heresy. Judaism also allows for the mysteries of the universe. We live in the balance of knowing what is expected of us in this life, and not knowing what came before, or what will come after. The first gives us direction, and the second gives us awe. But how does it solve our question? How can we know "for sure"?
Rabbi Akiva gives us the answer. The proof is in creation itself. We cannot see God, but the world around us is filled with reflections of God--human beings, created in the divine image. We can see God reflected in the eyes of a person who loves us or in the actions of a person who helps us, in a kind gesture, or an expression of comfort. And we can be a reflection of God in our actions, in the way we treat our loved ones, our employees, our students, or even strangers on the street. Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said: "A procession of angels pass before each person, and the heralds go before them, saying, 'Make way for the image of God!'. (Deut.Rabbah, 4:4) May we be able to see those angels as we look at each human being with whom we come into contact, and may they remind us of Who created the world.
Prepared by Rabbi Leslie Bergson, Hillel at the Claremont Colleges.
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