This week’s parsha is dedicated to the memory of Sergeant (Res.) Shmuel Gad Rahamim z”l, a graduate of Ohr Torah Stone's Jacob Sapirstein ‘Ohr Torah Ariel’ High School in Ramot, Jerusalem, who succumbed this week to heavy wounds inflicted in battle in southern Gaza; and to the memory of Captain Daniel Peretz z”l, whose body was finally returned to Israel and buried this week. May the memory of all our fallen soldiers and heroes of Israel be a blessing.
This week we begin the yearly cycle of Torah readings anew, in a time of hope after two years of unimaginable pain, loss and crisis for the Jewish people. Even as we rejoice at the freeing of our remaining living hostages, as I write these lines, the bodies of some of our brothers and sister who were murdered have not yet been returned from Gaza. The horrors of these years still weigh heavily on our hearts and souls. Our nation continues to mourn its fallen and murdered; our spouses, children and grandchildren are still serving for a prolonged period in uniform; countless are wounded - in body and in spirit.
As we open the Torah scroll to Bereshiet once again, starting anew even as our future still feels uncertain, we ask: What mindset should we be bringing to this beginning?
One answer lies in a striking aggada recorded in the Talmud Yerushalmi (Chagiga 2:1) which asks why the Torah begins with the letter bet rather than alef, the first letter of the alphabet. The Yerushalmi explains that alef is the first letter of arira ("curse"), while bet is the first letter of berakha ("blessing"). Hence, it is preferable that the Torah begin with bet, signaling blessings rather than curses.
R. Baruch Epstein however, in his commentary Torah Temima (Bereshiet 1:1(4)), challenges the Yerushalmi's teaching. True, the Hebrew word for curse begins with alef - but so do a wide array of other words with positive meanings, and the converse is true of the letter bet as well! R. Epstein therefore suggests that the aggada must be pointing to a deeper symbolism of these letters, beyond the simple words themselves.
In the spirit of R. Epstein's insight, I would like to point out an aspect of great significance to the Torah beginning with bet. As the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, bet signifies togetherness, beyachad, the fundamental necessity of not being alone. The world in which we live requires partnership – we must join forces with one another to improve the world, and we must partner with the Almighty to have any hope of success in that process. If the world were founded on the first letter alef, with its ethos of ani - individualism and self-sufficiency - it simply could not endure. Only through a commitment to solidarity and shared purpose will we fully realize our potential in the world.
The power of unity has been revealed on multiple levels. We have just witnessed the unity of nations joining together to pressure Hamas (ימ"ש) for the release of our hostages and, please God, peace. It is not coincidental that this spirit of unity came to its pinnacle point on the holiday of Sukkot, the most universal of Jewish holidays, when our ancestors in the Beit haMikdash offered sacrifices on behalf of all nations of the world. The heroism and solidarity of the Jewish people from the beginning of this crisis have been both humbling and inspiring. Hundreds of thousands of reservists have mobilized, including many who rushed to the front lines from overseas, and proceeded to spend hundreds of days in uniform, away from the comfort and safety of their homes and families. Thousands more have galvanized to support the families of the fighting and the fallen, preparing meals, collecting and distributing essential supplies, and donating from Jewish communities worldwide. Places like Hostage Square in Tel Aviv have remained centers of unity, conversation and prayer. Strangers continue to gather at military bases, shiva houses, and the homes of bereaved parents, bound together by a common purpose and shared identity.
The letter alef, focusing on the self, is an inevitable path to arur - curse and destruction. It is only through bet, through the solidarity we have witnessed, globally and within our own nation - and which we pray will continue - that we can breathe new life into ourselves and into our recovering people.
This complex period is a testament to the strength of our shared resolve, and a clarion call to never lose sight of what binds us together. As we begin Bereshiet once again, may we do so with renewed spirit, unity and purpose!