This week’s Torah portion begins at the Beginning, at the Creation of the world, at the start of the Torah that, in truth, has no start and no end because we never cease studying it, and because the Torah is the still-used blueprint for our world which is Created all over again each day as much by us as by God.  For this reason, the Torah becomes more and more relevant to our reality as each day passes and the Creation of our world – and ourselves in it - becomes a creation made progressively more in the image of humankind rather than maintained in its essence as a Creation in the Image of God.

The Torah’s very first word, in fact, is perhaps the most instructive single word in the whole Torah for every Jew in the world today who cares about the State of Israel and, with it, the Jewish People. The classic Torah commentator Rashi opens his commentary on the entire Torah by noting that Bereshit, “In the Beginning” is the greatest statement of Zionism whose understanding we must internalize, publicize, and practice.

The Torah, says Rashi (quoting Rabbi Isaac), should have begun with the very first commandment given to Israel, “This month shall be unto you the first of months” (Exodus 12:1).  After all, the Torah is supposed to tell us Jews in detail how to live our lives, and we naturally should suppose that the Torah would begin chronologically with the first rule given to the nation of Israel in our first moment of freedom as we were set to leave Egyptian slavery.  Yet the Torah does not start with this commandment, it begins at the universal Beginning of everything, with bereshit.  Why?

Rashi’s answer is an answer on two levels, each indispensable to the other and both critical for the vision of Zionism that Rabbis for Human Rights is trying to educate towards and manifest through our deeds.  Rashi states that God gave this account of Creation first in the Torah in order that Israel should have “an inheritance among the nations.  For should the peoples of the world say to Israel, ‘You are robbers, because you took by force the lands of the seven nations of Canaan’, Israel may be able to reply to them, ‘All the earth belongs to the Holy One, Blessed be He.  God created it and gave it to whom God pleased.  When God willed it so, God gave it to them.  When God willed it so, God took it from them and gave it to us.”

On the first level we proclaim our basic right to exist, to our legitimacy as a People and a nation and to our state, Israel.  Unfortunately, as Rashi hints and history has proved, this basic legitimacy is not obvious to all the other nations of the world (nor even to all Jews), even today – especially today - and we have a responsibility to defend our right to live in peace here in Israel.

On a deeper level, however, Rashi is reminding us that the Torah is true to itself as a book of commandments, and we must remain true to it.  The commandments and bereshit are one and the same: Our legitimate claim to the land is valid only so long as our behavior accords with the ideals commanded in the Torah.  Yes, God gives us our land, but only on the condition that we behave properly here, that we maintain the moral integrity that this particular land demands of the nation that dwells within it.  Should we fail to live up to the Torah’s demand not to oppress the stranger, should we fail to care for the ‘widow’ and the ‘orphan’ and others defenseless in our society, should we become a nation that ignores its own just laws, or makes unjust laws, or if we degrade the holiness and ultimate value of each person Created in the Divine Image by failing in this land to defend the human rights of all who live here, then God will take the land from us and give it to some other nation more worthy than us.

Keeping these two complimentary ideals in mind is what being a Zionist human rights organization is all about.  Out of love for our people and our nation we must be critical of our shortcomings and work to rectify them.  By doing so, we strengthen the security of Israel and help recreate the world, each day, in the ideal of Creation which is our responsibility to maintain.

Recent Articles by Rabbi Michael J. Schwartz

• Huqqat: Human Rights and the Purification of Society - June 22nd, 2007
• Vayhi: Transgressions and unnecessary violence in securing the land are unacceptable - January 5th, 2007
• Bereshit: The ideal of Creation which is our responsibility to maintain - October 19th, 2006
• Shofetim: Human Rights as the secret of Jewish existence - August 25th, 2006
• Rabbi Michael J. Schwartz - June 24th, 2006

Categories: Bereshit, Bereshit / Genesis
Tags: Bo, ease, fen, human rights, ISM, order, palestinians, peace, settlers, truth