The first letter of the very first word of the Torah is the Hebrew letter bet (ב). Numerous commentators have written on this choice of a bet, rather than an alef ( א)- the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
One particularity of the letter bet is to be enclosed on three sides and open to the front. Our sages understood this as meaning that we shouldn’t speculate on the origins of God or on what may have existed before the act of Creation. (Genesis Rabbah 1:10)
This does not mean that we should not inquire into the origins of the universe but rather that we are not to try to prove the unprovable. Thus what matters is not the “before” but the “now”.
The bet indicates that we are not to look backward but forward. Thus we are told, right from the begining of the first scroll, that the Torah is not an ancient book with old tales but that God gave it to us to live with, in our time.
7 Comments
October 23, 2008 at 2:55 am
Looking forward to a new year with divrei torah like this one.
October 23, 2008 at 5:34 am
You’ve rekindled a very powerful memory with this wonderful entry. I was a little guy in elementary school. We had just started learning Torah. I hung on my teacher’s every word as we dissected the meaning of each letter.
Thank you for sharing this.
(And because you have shared happiness, I have done the same on my blog. Hope you can drop by for a visit.)
October 23, 2008 at 6:58 am
Leora: And I’m looking forward to reading yours soon.
Carmi: I hope to have some time today to join in your challenge.
October 24, 2008 at 5:29 pm
[...] to this week’s portion. Both Chavi and IlanaDavita have things to say about the first letter of the first word of B’reishit – very interesting [...]
October 26, 2008 at 9:44 pm
that was great, I once learned this but I had forgotten it.
btw, this comment box seems huge! or at least the letters do. It’s like that on purpose?
October 26, 2008 at 10:20 pm
The Babysitter: I’m not sure why the comment box is so big, it must be part of the settings.
October 27, 2008 at 3:46 am
Very nice post. I have been very busy, I hope to post this week.