Breishit: "The End Is Rooted in Its Beginning"

by Rav David Dov Levanon, yeshiva.co, translated by Hillel Fendel

The eternal connection between the Torah's final and first verses – in praise of Israel.

A popular saying has it that "the end is rooted in its beginning" – and this is certainly true of the verses of the Torah, and of Torah study in general. 

We have just completed the Simhat Torah holiday, during which we customarily make a festive meal to mark the completion of the annual public Torah cycle reading. Similarly, a festive meal is held when we begin the cycle again with the Torah portion of Breishit on the following Sabbath – which we will celebrate this very week. The very fact that we begin the Torah again immediately after completing it shows that "the ultimate knowledge is to know that we do not know." There is always more to learn, and we have a great and constantly renewing desire to learn the Torah yet again. 

Along these lines, our Sages taught that the Kriyat Shema verse v'hayah im shamoa tishm'u ("If you hearken to My commandments," with a double instance of the verb 'hearken'), means, "If you hearken to the old, you will hearken to the new." The words of Torah are and should be constantly new to us [as can be felt by the great enthusiasm of the students in a Beit Midrash]. 

The Midrash teaches that the Torah's end is rooted in its beginning, and its beginning is rooted in its end. That is, the Torah has no beginning and no end, but is rather built upon ever climbing spirals of study, in which we rise up each time to a higher level of understanding and new insights. As such, the beginning always connects to the end. 

Let us show one way in which the last and first verses of the Torah connect. Moshe's final words to Israel are full of praise and good tidings for Israel (Deut. 33,29): "Fortunate are you, Israel! Who is like you - a nation saved by G-d, the Shield Who helps you, your triumphant Sword. Your enemies will come cringing to you, and you shall crush their high altars underfoot." This is then followed by the final eight verses of the Torah, speaking of Moshe's death. Some say they were written by Yehoshua bin Nun, and others say they were written in tears by Moshe himself. 

These verses praise Moshe, speaking of his "strong hand" – from which we learn the praise of Israel. For, as Rashi says, this "strong hand" refers to the manner in which he received the Torah in his hands, to which the Midrash adds, in its style, that he actually "snatched" it from G-d – apparently because some angels did not want it to be given to Israel, and yet Moshe emerged victorious over them.

The Torah adds that the next unfortunate stage – Moshe's breaking of the Tablets of the Law as a result of the Sin of the Golden Calf – was done "before the eyes of all Israel," and the Gemara says that G-d agreed that the Tablets had to be smashed (yasher koach she'shibarta). But why does the Midrash say that Moshe's "heart raised him to break" them? What does this phrase mean, especially in this context, and what is the significance of "before the eyes of all Israel"?

We can say that the answer is that Moshe was willing to give up everything and break the Tablets in order to save Israel. He did not want them to be judged, after the Sin of the Calf, as a married woman [nesuah, from the same root as nas'ah, "raised," as in, "his heart raised him"] who committed adultery, liable for capital punishment. This is Moshe Rabbeinu's great love of Israel to which his heart raised him.

This also shows the virtue of Israel, in that the entire Torah is for them, and if, Heaven forfend, they would deserve to be destroyed, the Torah would have no purpose in the world; better to simply smash it before their eyes! 

In the same vein, the Tanna D'vei Eliyahu (a Midrash attributed to the Prophet Elijah) states clearly that when G-d thought to create the world, Israel was first in the plans, even before the Torah. 

Let us now see similar ideas in the beginning of the Torah. B'reshit bara Elokim can be understood as "For the beginning, reshit, G-d created." Rashi says that the Torah is hinting here that the entire world was created for Israel, who is also called Reshit. 

Rashi also says this [paraphrased]: "Should not the Torah have begun with the first commandment given to Israel?  – No, the Torah began with Creation in order to fulfill the verse, "He told His people the power of His works, in giving them the heritage of nations” (Psalms 111,6). That is, if the Gentiles claim that Israel stole the Holy Land from the Seven Nations, Israel will be able to counter that the entire world belongs to G-d and He divides it up as He sees fit, taking the Land from the nations and giving it to Israel." 

Some commentators on Rashi ask: "But this does not answer the question! Why does this important teaching have to come first in the Torah, even before the laws? After all, the word Torah is based on the word hora'ah, instruction!"

Based on the principle that "the end is rooted in the beginning," the answer is clear. The pinnacle of Torah is not just the law, but the revelation of the greatness of Israel! Via Israel, the world learns that the world has a Creator, a Master Who determines which lands belong to which nations – and therefore the story of Creation must come first. Israel must receive the Holy Land, the heritage of nations, for only here can they reveal to the world the message of G-d's Creation.  

Maimonides tells us that there are two ways to attain love of G-d. In Sefer HaMitzvot (Positive Mitzvah 3) he writes: "… by contemplating and studying His commandments" [see there for an elaboration of this important point]." This is of course attainable only by Israel. Elsewhere (Laws of Torah Fundamentals 2,2), the Rambam writes that love of G-d can be attained by contemplating G-d's wondrous works in nature [see there as well]; this is not easy, and only via Israel is the power of contemplation and study and recognition of G-d revealed to the world.

[This article was written in 5761, the 761^st year of the 6^th millennium, and the author concludes as follows:] The numerological value of the words "before the eyes of all Israel" [the final words of the Torah] is 761. Would it be that we merit "the end rooted in the beginning," and that it be revealed before all Israel G-d's strength in giving Israel the Holy Land and in Creation altogether.