GENESIS I:1-VI:8
THE GOD-MAN COVENANT
Every reading of biblical texts is different. The text is immutable, the reader changes. Therefore, the beginning of a new cycle of the Torah constitutes a milestone in the intellectual and spiritual evolution of the Jew.
The challenge of the first chapters of Genesis does not disappear: it is the challenge of those who propose that the Torah is a composite based on primary texts. This fact stands out with the repetition of the story of the creation of the universe because, according to some, it represents an imprint of the texts that served the supposed human author or authors of the Holy Scriptures.
According to many traditional exegetes, there is a didactic reason for the two versions. While the first chapter constitutes a general account of the origins of what surrounds us, the second chapter is specific: it concentrates on the history of man, who is the earthly reference point of creation and his unique relationship with the Creator. Only the human being can enter into a mutual correspondence with God, a Brit, pact, which establishes obligations of both parties.
The religious history of mankind refers to the structure and conditions of this Brit, the violations and fulfillments that invariably have to do with that “covenant” with God. When the relationship with God is fractured, we find the seed of destruction, a fact that is increased by the unstoppable process of globalization, which has turned the globe into a village.
The Chachamim were attentive to textual difficulties, so they had serious discussions about the inclusion of some texts in the Tanach compendium. The book of Esther presented the great question: is it possible to insert into the Holy Scriptures a text that does not mention the name of God? They made an affirmative decision because of the phrase: “kiyemu vekibelu hayehudim aleihem ve’al zaram ve’al kol hanilvim aleihem velo ya’avor lihyot osim…“, “the Jews decided that they, their seed and all who joined them, should continue to observe scrupulously according to the established…”
The fulfillment of the instructions of Esther andMordechaito the Jewish population was the decisive fact for the book of Esther to be included in the canon of the Bible. In addition to the criticism that can be made with reference to the text, one must take into account the influence that the writing has exerted to correct and perfect the disposition and moral attitude of society.
The Genesis account is majestic. Creation is not the result of a collision of wills between gods, or the product of cataclysms in the cosmos. The world was born as an expression of the will of God, who with the expression “Vayomer Elohim“, “And God said”, placed the idea and thought above any physical activity.
Bereshit teaches that there is purpose in creation, not a universe in which chaos and uncertainty, whim, and chance reign. There is a Creator and, therefore, purpose and design coexist.
The location of man and woman in idyllic Gan Eden shows a friendly nature that provides the fruit for sustenance. When this nature rebels it can be trained or controlled, anti-seismic constructions can be made, for example. On the other hand, the one who endangers, in a sustained manner, the existence of the human species is man himself due to his aggressiveness, a quality probably necessary for growth and development, evolution and improvement, but which demands a very high price. Therefore, the Torah demands that man’s conduct be governed by a set of Laws that Judaism wisely teaches, according to a direct revelation from the Creator that he received at Sinai.
God could not abandon his creation in the hands of those beings whom he endowed with great intelligence and whose potential can take the course of construction or destruction. To ensure the survival of the species and nature along with the flora and fauna it possesses, he legislated the Mitsvah to ensure a behavior that guarantees Yemot HaMoshiach, an era of coexistence that will not be a consequence of the Will of God but will be the product of the conviction of his last-minute creation, on the sixth day: the human being.
MITZVAH: ORDINANCE OF THE TORAH IN THIS PARSHA
CONTAINS 1 POSITIVE MITSVAH
- Genesis I:28 Procreate and multiply (human beings)
