The Talmud teaches that “All beginnings are arduous.” (Mechilta Yitro) The beginning Torah Portion, B’reishit; our world’s Beginning; our Beginning; the Beginning of our relationship with God – all certainly “arduous” (as well as wondrous) on many levels. From the first resoundingly simple seven Hebrew words, B’reishit bara Elohim et ha shamayim v’et ha-aretz,we recognize the intellectual effort, spiritual commitment, and energetic embrace of complexity that the mitzvah La’asok b’dvrei Torah (to engage in the study of Torah) demands.
I have open before me three different Judaic Torah commentaries and one Christian version of the Tanach. Each presents a different English translation of the first seven Hebrew words of B’reishit. Each Judaic commentary offers an explanation of its translation – and this is just the first line in the first of 54 Torah Portions in the yearly cycle! Already, there are questions raised, ancient and modern commentaries to consider, personal connections and conclusions to be drawn – a year’s worth of intense study, discussion, and reflection in the first seven Hebrew words of the Torah.
We have yet to even encounter the moon and sun, the Garden of Eden, the animals, Adam, Shabbat, Eve, the snake, banishment from the Garden, Cain and Abel and their many descendents. The drama of Creation swings from God’s approval on the Sixth Day, “God then surveyed all that [God] had made, and look – it was good!” (Genesis 1:31)* to God’s regret hundreds of generations later “When the Eternal saw how great was the wickedness of human beings in the earth, that the direction of their thoughts was nothing but wicked all the time, the Eternal regretted having made human beings on earth, and was heartsick.” (Genesis 6:5-6)*
From primordial chaos to rampant wordly corruption – “arduous,” definitely arduous!
How could I hope to effectively introduce my Sixth Grade students to their first Torah Study experience in just twenty minutes of Hebrew School time? I found a solution in a new resource called Experiencing the Torah by Joel Lurie Grishaver, published by Torah Aura Productions www.torahaura.com This book presents sections of the Torah Portions in the form of short plays, using the actual Torah Text (in English translation) as narration and dialogue.
After a brief rehearsal, my students performed expressively as Narrators, Adam, Eve, the Snake, and the most prized role – God!
They giggled a bit as “Adam” recited, “I heard you [God] in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”
We paused in the performance and discussed that this is exactly what the Torah text says and that Adam’s embarassment reveals to God that Adam has indeed eaten from the tree that God had forbidden.
The students excitedly finished performing just in time for dismissal. As I straightened up the classroom, I noticed that one student had spelled out in magnetic English letters on the chalkboard, “God was here!” While the student was referring to himself in his role as “God,” the words resonated. Isn’t that what Torah study is – a way to bring God into our midst as we struggle to understand how we can live according to the Torah’s teaching?
In the Portion B’reishit, Torah begins with seven immensely powerful Hebrew words, and like the Mobius strips which my students made in celebration of Simchat Torah,** Torah never ends. God is here!
Resources:
*Translations are from The Torah: A Modern Commentary, W. Gunther Plaut, General Editor
**This activity is one of several presented in the book, Experiencing the Jewish Holidays by Joel Lurie Grishaver, Torah Aura Productions
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