The Lessons of Bereisheet

Apart from the Revelation of God/the Law at Mount Sinai, the most perplexing and mysterious narratives in Jewish Scripture are the first 3 chapters of the book of Genesis. It contains the story of the Creation, the unfolding of the universe as well as the narrative of Adam and Eve. They should not be read through a scientific lens, although there are many identical and similar points both share. These portions contain more than anything deep moral messages with profound meaning as to how the human race should view and conduct itself in the eyes of God.   

Here’s a partial list of messages I would like to share:

1. There is One Creator of all, hence, no conflicts or chaos in the laws of the universe. The universe has a beginning, an order that is set in motion and progresses, which is continuous even now, consequently, the universe is still unfolding. 
2. Without God’s natural Laws in the universe, the universe is in a chaotic state. Without God’s Law in our lives, our lives are chaotic, with no direction and no meaning.
3. The probability of life on earth is so astronomical, and infinitely times more for intelligent life (the human mind) that many scientists and mathematicians are convinced there is an intelligent designer/Creator, God that caused all to exist. Genetics thrusts this view even further since there is intelligent information in the DNA code, how it is structured and functions.
4. The Torah teaches us that nothing is a coincidence, not God, not the universe, not human intelligence, and not our lives. This view causes us to keep interpreting and finding meaning in ourselves and everything we encounter so we are always giving value to ourselves, others, the universe, and God. The Tora helps and guides us through this life journey and keeps us on track.
5. The story of the Hebrew creation concludes with the 7th day, SHABBAT. It’s a sacred day since we emulate God. We work for 6 days and on the seventh, we cease from the mundane work we are involved in. We own our own time on Shabbat, we sanctify time.  
6. God is the Creator of humanity, both male and female in His image, therefore, we are all equal but clearly not the same. This is the premise of how we can eliminate racism, discrimination, oppression of others, etc.
7. Since God created humans with freedom of choice it means responsibility and accountability for all our decisions, therefore, God is the only One who can instruct/guide humans to know right/wrong, good/evil, morality/immorality, and truth/falsehood. 

The story of Adam and Eve is the story of what all humans go through. It’s presented in the Tora to learn about our conscience, how we process reality, our freedom of choice, how we are tempted, tricking, and failing ourselves and others as well as how to rectify our wrongdoings. Adam and Eve represent the first humans with a higher level of conscience, who realized they have freedom of choice and reason/logic, hence, they were able to be instructed by God with a set of responsibilities and expectations.

In conclusion, the Torah always teaches the most valuable lessons for humanity. How so? Since God is the Creator of humans, then only God perfectly knows the human and the human condition. Because of this, the Tora recognizes these fundamental points and offers the best way to live according to the instruction of God; how one should view and process reality, life, challenges, the universe, God, and ourselves. By choosing to live through God’s lens, the Torah, it promises meaning in one’s life and how to achieve the most out of our lives with as little failure as possible. It is the Human Challenge that all Humans undergo.