Shabbos Parashas Bereishis - 5780

Shabbos Parashas Bereishis - 5780

Rabbi Hal Miller

In this first parsha of the Torah, we are introduced to numerous people, things,

and concepts. One primary character in the play, in fact The Primary Character,

appears very prominently, yet is not introduced at all, the Holy One, blessed is

He. In fact, we only begin to get an introduction to Him much later. Noach,

Hagar, and numerous others describe some facet of God's attributes in the

form of a name, but God does not introduce Himself at all in this week's portion.

Our parsha is all about how He created everything. Why is He not introduced

here anywhere (other than Malchitzedek in a couple weeks) as the Creator?

One might think we stepped into the middle of a story, rather than the beginning.

In fact, we could make the argument that this is exactly the case. God lives outside

of time, so there was no point of beginning where He could be introduced on stage.

We could say that there was nobody around for Him to introduce Himself to until

later. This is not really a play, where an actor could turn to the audience outside of

the story and establish a relationship. Therefore, there just was no need for Him to

introduce Himself until some specific points in time as the world understands it.

If so, why did He choose to do so at the points He did? Perhaps the answer lies in

the way He introduced Himself at each of those points.

In Bereishis [14:19], Malchitzedek calls Him "Supreme God, Maker of heaven and

earth." Numerous commentators tell us that Malchitzedek was in fact Shem, son of

Noach. This would explain why he described God as the Creator. We might wonder

why He did not introduce Himself this way to Adam, but there was no need, as Adam

could see this.

God appeared to Avram in a dream at the beginning of Lech Lecha [Bereishis 12:1].

Avram may not have questioned Who this was, since it was not a physical human,

therefore there was no need for introduction. God actually introduces Himself to

Avram in [15:7], with, "I am Hashem Who brought you out of Ur Kasdim to give you

this land to inherit it." In [17:1], He introduces Himself again to Avram, "I am El

Shaddai, walk before Me and be perfect."

God appears to Yitzchak in Bereishis [26:24], saying, "I am the God of your father

Avraham, fear not for I am with you." He then does the same with Yaakov in [28:13],

"I am Hashem, God of Avraham your father and God of Yitzchak, the ground upon

which you are lying, to you will I give it."

He introduces Himself is to Moshe at the burning bush, [Shemos 3:6], "I am the God

of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." This

is perhaps the only point in the entire Torah where God appears to someone who

did know know already who He was. There was a need here for Moshe to understand.

The beginning of the Ten Commandments is a similar introduction to the entire

nation, but by then the people knew through Moshe and the plagues Who this was.

The reference there is, "I am Hashem your God, Who has taken you out of the land of

Egypt."

To the Patriarchs, He named Himself the Almighty God. With Avraham, He uses it to

explain that Avraham is to grow to great heights. With Yitzchak, He explains that this

growing will be done at God's side. With Yaakov, He promises, not just some distant

land, but this very land where Yaakov stands. God is telling the Patriarchs how to

act, and what He will do.

But Moshe is different. Moshe gets a mission, which he has to work by himself. Moshe

does not truly recognize God at the point of the burning bush, so God must introduce

Himself. Moshe's mission is Divine, and he needs the assignment directly from the

Creator. From this point on, God need only mention the redemption from Egypt to

remind the people Who He is, but Moshe had nothing to fall back upon to understand.

Finally, God has a real reason to introduce Himself.