We have just celebrated Simchat Torah, rejoicing in God’s Word and beginning a new cycle of Torah reading. Last Shabbat we read Bereshit, the opening portion of Genesis. And fittingly, today’s insight takes us right to the very first word of Scripture: Bereshit —— בְּרֵאשִׁית — “In the beginning.”
Why does the Bible start with the letter Bet (בּ), the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and not with Alef, the first? Wouldn’t it make sense for the book of beginnings to begin with the first letter? Rabbinic tradition offers many answers: Bet (numerical value 2) points to two worlds, this one and the world to come. Or it reminds us that we must approach Torah not as if we are Alef, starting from ourselves, but as Bet, drawing from a tradition already alive before us.
I personally love another explanation: Bet is like a wall — reminding us that “the secret things belong to the Lord,” while only “those things which are revealed belong to us”. What He chooses to reveal belongs to us! Remarkably, in the original Hebrew scrolls, the Bet in the word Bereshit is written larger than the other letters. Even though Hebrew has no capital letters, this Bet stands out like one — emphasizing that here begins the revealed Word of God.
Even more beautifully, God’s message to mankind — בְּרֵאשִׁית — begins with the syllable bar, which means, among and before all the other meanings, “son.” You’ve probably heard the expression Bar Mitzvah with the same word bar, meaning Son of the Commandment. This is a truly precious revelation for those who believe in the Son: the Bible opens not only with “beginning” but also with “Son.” God’s revelation begins with His Son!