by Rabbi Adam Ruditsky
Shalom Yisrael , White Plains, New York

I had a friend who used to say that the Bible was all about baseball and even more so the Yankees! After all, it starts out by saying, "in the big inning," obviously referring to the house that Ruth built, reminding us of Purim and the Jewish people. I know that it is the end of the baseball season except for those fans whose teams are entering the post-season playoffs, but baseball is called the American pastime, so why not? My son Joel is a big baseball fan and in February something magical happens for him--spring training signals the beginning of the baseball season. Well, Genesis 1:1-6:8, or the portion Bereisheet (in the beginning), signals the beginning of the Torah cycle for another year, and the beginning of so much more.

This portion begins with the creation and the making of mankind in God's image. It continues with the story of Adam and Eve and the dominion of humans over everything else, God-mankind fellowship, sin, deception, family, consequences, murder, promises, curses, serpents, angels, lineages and the like. A famous saying about the beginning of our scripture comes from Rashi, who asks, "v'ma ta'am pa'tach biv'raysheet," or what is the reason that [the Torah] began with the Book of Genesis? After all, consider how Pirke Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) begins:

"Moses received the Torah from Sinai, and handed it down to Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets delivered it to the men of the Great Synagogue. They said three things, 'Be deliberate in judgment; raise up many disciples; and make a fence about the Torah.'"

Rashi asks this because he knows the Jewish concern is Torah, so why begin with the Book of Genesis and maybe not Exodus 20? Genesis shows "The power of the His acts He told to His people," Rashi explains that in Genesis God is established in power to be the one who would give us Torah at Sinai. Hence, in the beginning the same God, of whom it is said, "By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth" (Psalm 33:6), met Israel at Sinai. "And God spoke all these words, saying . . ." (Exodus 20:1). The creation of the world and the giving of the Torah are closely related. In fact, according to Jewish tradition,
Israel, Torah and the Messiah were among the six things that "preceded the creation" to be revealed to mankind (Genesis Rabah 1:4).

This can be seen in the words of 1 Peter 1:11, speaking of the prophets who wondered about "what manner of time, the Spirit of Messiah who was in them" would be revealed, the same Spirit of Messiah that was before the creation.

Today, I am going to speak about the Messiah as he relates to both creation and beginnings. First, I would like to talk about the creation as it relates to the Jewish people. Let's begin by looking at Jeremiah 31:35-36:

"Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The LORD of hosts is His name): If those ordinances depart from before Me, says the LORD, Then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever."

It is not common to make the connection between creation and Israel, but it is in the text. David Novak, a modern Jewish scholar, writes concerning the election of Israel that Israel out of all God's created nations is chosen. Concerning the creation Shaul haSheliach (Paul the Apostle) writes in Romans 1:20,

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

Creation contains God's "invisible qualities," which testify to His "eternal power and divine nature." The purpose of creation is to make mankind aware of God. Psalm 19:2-4 seems to affirm this dynamic about the creation:

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

Day to day utters speech, and night to night expresses knowledge. There is no speech nor are there any words; their voice is not heard."

There is no audible voice, but the creation tells us its message by virtue of what it is and thus testifies to the glory of God. One can say the creation was "elected" by God to reveal his "eternal power and divine nature." The same can be said about Israel as well, according to Isaiah 43:1, 6-7,

But now thus says the Lord who created you, O Jacob, and he who formed you, O Israel, bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; Every one who is called by my name; for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yes, I have made him."

The people of Israel also declare the glory of God. Jeremiah 31:35-36 makes this connection between creation and Israel, with the sun (shemesh) and Israel (shamash), each serving God in its own way as part of revealing the "eternal power and divine nature" of HaShem.

What does this mean for the Messianic Jewish community? For one thing, we are part of that elected people who will not perish since the creation cannot perish. As we continue to discuss our identity this needs to be part of how we make our conclusions. Second, being part of Israel's remnant iscentral to our location within the Jewish people, or Israel. Too many Jewish Yeshua-believers still do not understand that their identity as Jews has everything to do with God's continued revelation in this world. When Jewish Yeshua-believers make the choice to cast off that yoke of connection and identity with the Jewish people they are proving Jeremiah wrong. One might say how is that possible, since I did not stop being a Jew? Well, Israel is a historical people birthed from our Patriarchs and Matriarchs. When scattered or redefined we lose the integrity of that elected nation as part of the immutable creation itself and its revelation to the world. It is not my way to stand in judgment of another's choice as they are free to make it, but I wonder if the larger consequence of that choice has been taken into consideration.

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," and the people of Israel, whom God spoke into being, testify to that being so. May we wear that banner well.