The Rosh Hashanah prayer book (machzor) tells us that this holiday is the anniversary of the creation of the world.
(קלג) הַיּוֹם הֲרַת עוֹלָם.
(133) On this day, the world came into being;
But what does that mean and why was the world created? By many, it is considered to be the day when the first humans were created. So let’s start at the beginning--or rather, before the beginning.
Before Creation
The very first verses of the Torah give us some insight into what was before creation.
(א) בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (ב) וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃
(1) When God began to create heaven and earth— (2) the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—
The Earth was unformed and void. Can you imagine what a void is like? It is complete nothingness, unlike anything we have ever experienced. Medieval Torah commentator Rashi even tells us that the word used for void, tohu, signifies astonishment because if we were to experience it, we would be amazed at its emptiness.
How the world was created
One chapter later, we have Earth. From nothing to everything in the natural world: something from nothing.
(א) וַיְכֻלּ֛וּ הַשָּׁמַ֥יִם וְהָאָ֖רֶץ וְכָל־צְבָאָֽם׃
(1) The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array.
As we see, something was created from nothing, but how did it happen? The Talmud tells us that the entire universe was created when God spoke the words “in the beginning.”
הי נינהו ויאמר דבראשית הני תשעה הוו בראשית נמי מאמר הוא דכתיב (תהלים לג, ו) בדבר ה' שמים נעשו וברוח פיו כל צבאם
The expression: “In the beginning” (Genesis 1:1) is also considered an utterance, as it is written: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth” (Psalms 33:6), which indicates that the first utterance of Creation was the general creation of the entire universe.
Speech is considered a powerful form of creation throughout Jewish tradition. There is even folklore suggesting the word abracadabra comes from the Aramaic “avra kehdabra” meaning “I create as I speak”.
Why the world was created
Now that we know what creation is and how it happened, we can start to look at why the world was created in the first place.
(ב) בראשית ברא אֵין הַמִּקְרָא הַזֶּה אוֹמֵר אֶלָּא דָּרְשֵׁנִי, כְּמוֹ שֶׁדְּרָשׁוּהוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ בִּשְׁבִיל הַתּוֹרָה שֶׁנִקְרֵאת רֵאשִׁית דַּרְכּוֹ (משלי ח'), וּבִשְׁבִיל יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁנִקְרְאוּ רֵאשִׁית תְּבוּאָתוֹ (ירמיה ב');
(2) בראשית ברא IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED — This verse calls aloud for explanation in the manner that our Rabbis explained it: God created the world for the sake of the Torah which is called (Proverbs 8:22) “The beginning (ראשית) of His (God’s) way”, and for the sake of Israel who are called (Jeremiah 2:3) “The beginning (ראשית) of His (God’s) increase’’.
This explanation of Genesis 1:1 from Rashi tells us that the world was created for the sake of the Jewish people, as well as for the Torah itself (which is said to have been created before the world).
The word “creation” can refer to many things. We can find from these sources that the world was created from nothing with speech. We also learn that creation was “complete” when people were formed, the ultimate purpose of creation. This is a powerful sentiment and also a heavy responsibility. If the world was created for us, what must we do to ensure its continuation?