In the beginning of Bereishis, Rashi asks in the name
of the Midrash: "Said R' Yitzchok: The Torah should have begun
from `This month shall be unto you' which is the first
commandment transmitted to Israel. Why then, did it begin with
`Bereishis -- in the beginning'? The answer is that
"Hashem declared the power of His works in order to bequeath
to them the heritage of nations" (Tehillim 111:6). The
nations of the world accuse Israel of unlawfully seizing the
land of the seven nations. The Jews reply that the entire
world belongs to Hashem, Who created it and allocated it to
whomever He saw fit. When He wished, He gave it to the
Canaanites, and when He wished otherwise, He seized it from
them and gave it to us.
Ramban challenges Rashi: There is a deeper reason for the
Torah beginning with Bereishis. Belief in Hashem having
created the world is the root of our faith. Whoever does not
believe this and thinks that the world always existed of its
own is disclaiming a basic tenet and is denying the entire
Torah.
Ramban explains that the act of Creation is really a profound
mystery. It cannot be understood from the text alone except
through the Oral Tradition transmitted to Moshe Rabbenu from
Hashem. Those who understand this esoteric secret are bound to
withhold their knowledge. This is why R' Yitzchok said that
the Torah should not have begun from the story of Creation and
the breakdown of what was created on the first day, what on
the second and so on, an elaboration of how Odom and Chava
were created, their sin and their punishment, the story of Gan
Eden and the banishment of Odom therefrom. All this cannot be
understood from the text alone, anyway. All the more so the
chronicles of the generations of the Flood and the Dispersion,
which seem somewhat superfluous.
People of Torah orientation should suffice without these
accounts and should believe in general what is said in the Ten
Commandments: For in six days did Hashem make the heavens, the
earth, the sea and all that is contained in it, and He rested
on the seventh day. The knowledge of the full details should
be relegated to those few to whom it applies, those who
transmit the Oral Tradition given at Sinai and can understand
it.
Ramban's words are puzzling. Why wouldn't we be able to
understand parshas Bereishis sufficiently to be
inculcated with the basic principles of faith? Even if we
don't understand everything in depth, we should still know,
first and foremost, that there is a Creator. This knowledge
will naturally lead to the belief in reward and punishment,
for no homeowner, no master of property, would allow his
estate to be ruined or allow anarchy and chaos to reign.
The detailed data of Creation is also important to us because
it provides us with clear, precise information about our
world. We have the Torah scroll which has passed from person
to person, generation to generation, without a single letter
being changed or deleted, not even the lettercrown of the
small yud. This was given a few thousand years ago to a
generation that still remembered the original tribal heads,
sons of Yaakov. And he, in turn, saw Avrohom Ovinu who saw
Noach, who saw Odom Horishon. Thus, the Torah we possess is a
testimony to the order of Creation of heaven and earth and all
of their hosts.
This is a clear and reliable source of knowledge for the whole
mystery of the world. This vital clarity is provided to us
through parshas Bereishis. If so, why should Ramban
maintain that Torah adherents could suffice with the
commandments of the Torah alone, and not the narrative
part?
Maran HaRav Shach shlita explains the nature of the
understanding. There can be no purpose to the study of the
order of Creation without the preface and premise of mitzvah
observance. And this, we know, begins from the commandment of
"This month shall be . . . " in Shemos. This is so
because the marvelous Divine wisdom incorporated in parshas
Bereishis is Torah wisdom that cannot be absorbed into the
soul and can be of no avail if it is not preceded by piety.
If the learning is not based on G-d-fear, there can be no real
wisdom. A person who does not put on tefillin and does
not keep Shabbos will never fathom the secrets of Creation
expressed in the Genesis of the world as depicted in the
Torah. When the Torah of Hashem is whole and perfect -- it can
revive and inspire. It is only based upon the observance of
Torah and mitzvos through piety that there is any space to
absorb the wisdom of the Torah as revealed in parshas
Bereishis.
Midrash Rabba -- Mishpotim 30:12 tells how Akilas
(Onkelos) once said to Emperor Adrian: "I wish to convert and
become a Jew." The king exclaimed in astonishment: "You wish
to join that nation? How I abused them and belittled them!
They are the lowest nation in the world. What do you see in
them that you wish to become part of them?"
Replied that Greek savant: "The puniest amongst them
understands how G-d created the world. He knows what was
created on the first, second and all consecutive days. He
knows how old the world is and upon what it stands. And their
teachings are true."
Said the emperor: "Go and study their teachings but do not
circumcise yourself."
Said Akilas: "Even the cleverest sage in your kingdom or a
veteran of one hundred years cannot study their Torah if he is
uncircumcised, for it is written, `He tells His words to
Yaakov, His statutes and ordinances to Yisroel. He has not
done thus to any nation.' To whom did G-d teach His codes of
wisdom? To the Jews."
This was Akilas' answer: Even the most insignificant one of
them knows how and when the world was created, whereas a
gentile, no matter how wise and venerable, is baffled by this.
"Mishpotim bal yedo'um -- Ordinances which they cannot
know." For if there is no G-d-fear, there is no wisdom. The
genesis of the world is a branch of knowledge which cannot be
grasped without one having studied Torah and relating to that
study as "the Torah of life." Of this it was said: "A woman
who fears Hashem -- she shall be praised." Only when there is
the fear of Hashem can wisdom be absorbed.
Therefore, "The Torah should only have begun from the
commandment of `This month shall be . . . '" This is the first
mitzvah, and only where there are G-d-given commandments, that
is, the fear of Hashem, can one absorb in one's soul the
wisdom hidden in the aspects of Creation.
This is how we must understand another midrash: "R'
Yanai said: The Torah should not have been subject to analysis
(drush) up till the commandment of Hachodesh
hazeh. Why, then, did Hashem reveal to Israel what was
created on the first day and what on the second up to the
sixth? It was in the merit of the Jews declaring at Mt. Sinai,
"We will do and we will hear." Thereupon, Hashem immediately
revealed those secrets to them.
As we have just explained, it was this unilateral declaration,
this submission, that enabled them to absorb the profound
knowledge of Creation. Without piety, there is no wisdom.
Without carrying the mitzvos into practice, even the greatest
philosopher or scientist cannot attain a true and clear
picture of what took place at the time of Creation. At the
same time, those who do keep the mitzvos, including even the
youngest child who begins studying cheder, know the
truth of how and when exactly the world came into being, in
every detail. In each and every generation. This is the nature
of, "Hashem's testimony is reliable; it makes the simple one
wise."
In the merit of the Jews' declaration of Na'ase
venishma, that is, in the merit of their accepting the
commands of the Torah and assuming the yoke of G-d-fear, they
immediately became privy to the secret of Creation, of what
was created upon each day up till the end of the sixth. For
where there is yir'ah, there is wisdom.
