Bereishis 5786. Baruch she’he’chi’yanu v’ki’yi’manu v’hi’giyanu l’zman ha’zeh - Blessed is Hashem Who has kept us alive and sustained us and allowed us to reach this time. אַשְׁרֵינוּ מַה־טּוֹב חֶלְקֵנוּ וּמַה נָּעִים גּוֹרָלֵנוּ - Happy are we! How good is our portion, and how pleasant is our lot.

Unlike other limudim, the limud of Torah never ceases, is never exhausted, depleted or diminished! Hence, on Simchas Torah, Chassan Torah is followed by Chassan Bereishis (when we read the first perek [chapter] of Sefer Bereishis). 

Just as the last words of Chumash are heard: וּלְכֹל֙ הַיָּ֣ד הַֽחֲזָקָ֔ה וּלְכֹ֖ל הַמּוֹרָ֣א הַגָּד֑וֹל אֲשֶׁר֙ עָשָׂ֣ה משֶׁ֔ה לְעֵינֵ֖י כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל - and for all the strong hand, and all the great awesomeness, that Moses did before the eyes of all Israel (Devarim 34:12);

The first words of Chumash follow: בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹקים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ - in the beginning Elokim created the heavens and the earth (Bereishis 1:1). 

This Shabbos is Shabbos Parshas Bereishis, which spans from Creation through the ten generations from Adam to Noach. The parsha begins before time as we know it and ends with “And Noach found favor in the eyes of Hashem” (ibid.,6:8).

The first chapter of Bereishis details the account of Creation. In the beginning, there was nothing: וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָֽיְתָ֥ה תֹ֨הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְח֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹקים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם, and the earth was chaos and void, and darkness over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of Elokim was hovering over the face of the water (ibid.,1:2). On each of the six days of Creation, another element of our world was created, until finally the world was in order, each element existing according to its kind. When Hashem stopped creating, the pasuk tells us:

וַיַּ֤רְא אֱלֹקים אֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֔ה וְהִנֵּה־ט֖וֹב מְאֹ֑ד וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר י֥וֹם הַשִּׁשִּֽׁי - And Elokim saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good, and it was evening and it was morning, the sixth day (ibid.,v.31). After creating, Hashem looked at His handiwork (keviyachol) and He declared that it was very good. He was pleased with the world that He fashioned, and taken in its totality, it was not simply ‘tov,’ it was ‘tov me’od.’

And yet, when we look at each day of Creation, it is apparent from the pasukim that something actually went “wrong” on each day. 

Rav Yaakov Bender shlita, quoting HaRav Avrohom Pam zt’l, explains as follows: “From the reading of the pesukim, we see that Hashem was pleased with His world… and yet, simply reading the pesukim with the peirush of Rashi, we see the full story:

“On the first day, the light He created proved too strong for mankind to endure, and Hashem had to put it away for the future. On the second day, there was a clash between the upper and lower waters, each one wanting to be close to the King… On the third day, the trees made a calculation that caused them to disregard Hashem’s commandment: Instead of their bark having the taste of the fruit they produced, only the fruit itself had that taste. On the fourth day, the moon contested the fact that both it and the sun had the same role, and so Hashem diminished its size, the sun remaining superior. On the fifth day, the livyasan Hashem created was far too massive… and might have destroyed the world. So Hashem preserved it for the tzadikim le’asid lavo, in the future to come. On the sixth day, man was created, the pinnacle of all creation. And on that same day… man sinned, bringing darkness into the world.

“And it is of this world, in which there was disagreement and discord, in which Hashem had to reassess and reconsider, that Hashem said it was very good… And [this world] is considered not just good, but very good” (A Heart for Another, Rabbi Yaakov Bender, Artscroll Mesorah, p.63-63).

This is an incredible insight from the Melamed Torah l’Amo Yisrael - the One Who teaches Torah to His nation Israel. So often, in life, we invest effort in a certain area, we have high hopes and fervent prayers for success, we believe the path before us will be smooth and ‘good,’ we do not anticipate ‘speed bumps’ on the road, we believe that we will merit to see that the works of our hand are “very good.” 

And yet… often, our plans are thwarted, situations change, our plans for good may become - in our frail and mortal eyes - dismal and very “not good”. 

But as long as we have put forth our best effort as ovdei Hashem, planning, producing, working, investing effort and going forward al pi Torah v’halacha, the end result is not in our hands (cf. Mishnah Avos 2:16 - לֹא עָלֶיךָ הַמְּלָאכָה לִגְמֹר, וְלֹא אַתָּה בֶן חוֹרִין לִבָּטֵל מִמֶּנָּה). Hashem is teaching us that when the end result is not as we planned, or hoped, there is still much to be thankful for, and we must train ourselves to see that “behold, it is very good.”

In the words of Rav Yaakov Bender, “And in this parashah, the first one of all, we are being told the secret to success in any area. Keep going. Do not become dissuaded or discouraged by the inevitable mistakes or miscalculations. There will always be impediments, so the response is to resolve them and keep going… Our children stumble and fall. We stumble and fall. It happens. What matters is that we don’t let it hinder us, that we don’t get bogged down by guilt and despair. In the way He created His world, the RS”O taught us how to react to disappointment: It happened, and now we move on” (A Heart for Another, p.63,65).

May we merit to serve Hashem as best we can, contributing to the well-being of our families, our nation, and our Land. May we merit that the work of our hands always be blessed by the goodwill of HKB”H, and may we merit to always see - and understand - that all that He bestows upon us, in indeed, very good. 

בברכת בשורות טובות ושבת שלום