Beraishis

As we begin a new cycle of the Torah reading the אוצר התורה brings our attention to the first word of the Torah, בראשית, beginning. Rashi tells us that the word בראשית is a contraction of two words, בשביל ראשית, because of the things that are referred to as ראשית, meaning that the world was created on behalf of the things that are called ראשית. The two things Rashi explains that are called ראשית are the Torah and the Jewish people. Everything that was and will be created, from the beginning of time until the end, came into being to serve the Jewish people, who were destined to accept, study and fulfill the Torah. As the Rambam writes, “it is possible that a person will build a breathtaking palace which serves no other purpose except to one day provide shade for a righteous man. The entire cosmos is that palace and the Jewish people are that righteous man who justify each molecule of creation.

There is an interesting dialogue in the Gemara that can be better understood based on this concept. The Gemara tells us that when the Moshiach comes, Hashem will hold up a Torah scroll and announce that whoever occupied themselves with Torah should come forward and receive their reward. The Romans will step forward and say, “Master of the world, we built many places for public gathering, many bathhouses and greatly increased the financial stability of the nation of Israel. All this we did so that the Jews would be able to practice and study Torah.” Hashem will reply, “Fools! Everything that you did, you did for yourselves.” Then this dialogue will repeat itself with all the nations of the world. Now this is hard to understand; how can it be in a world of truth that the nations will be so brazen to lie straight to Hashem?

Reb Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik explains that if you look at Hashem's answer, He doesn't call the nations, liars, he calls them fools. Why? Because they are not lying, what they did was really for the Jews, for the world was created for the Jews and the Torah, who are called ראשית. Therefore, whatever they did was inspired from Above to benefit the Jews. Nevertheless, since their motives were completely selfish, they deserve no reward. Fools, for by just having the right intentions, they could have gotten credit for the work that they were doing anyway.

The Trans-Siberian railway exemplifies this point. Over a period of decades, the cruel czars of Russia had the peasants lay the Trans-Siberian railway. Fantastic amounts of money and a great many lives were invested to run a railway through the most inhospitable parts of Siberia all the way to the port at Vladivostok which faces toward Japan and the Far East. At the time, the project seemed to make no sense and many wondered why it was done. Years later, the Brisker Rav said we see why this railroad was made. When the students of the Mirrer yeshiva escaped the Nazi inferno and arrived in Shanghai, China by way of Siberia and the Trans-Siberian railway, the whole thing become clear. The railway and all that went into it were justified for it was for the sake of saving the Torah and the yeshiva students that the railway was created. בשביל ראשית, this is another example of the nation’s creating something for the Jews who are called ראשית.

Let's take this opportunity to recognize the things that we are doing anyway. Instead of just going through the motions, recognize that we are doing it for Hashem and His Torah, insuring that one day our reward will be great!