Parsha Page

  Shalom
  to you,

Wellsprings of Torah,  www.TorahWellsprings.org
Rick Wills - Messianic Elder,  Mishareth@TorahWellsprings.org

Parsha 1:  Bireshith - In the Beginning

Torah:  Genesis 1:1-6:8

    1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and earth. The earth was unformed and void, darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water.

    So we begin another Torah cycle by returning to Genesis. But in our minds we hear the echoes of Deuteronomy and the last reading in the Torah cycle from last week. And there in Deuteronomy 32:10-11 we read that God - or the Ruach, His Spirit - hovered over His people as they were in the wilderness that was void and unformed.

    This Spirit of God is the Ruach, which can be translated Spirit, wind or breath. We will see it in each form.

    In Chapter 1 we read the entire creation of the world. On the first day He created the light and darkness. The second day He created the firmament and sky. On the third day the gathering of the firmament into dry land and seas, the vegetation. On the fourth day the lights in the sky, the stars, the sun, and the moon. On the fifth day He created the animals in the waters and sky; and then the animals of the land. On the sixth day He created man - male and female. Finally, on the seventh Day, He created a day of rest, so we may be refreshed.

    Day six begins in verse 24 “God said “Let the earth bring forth each kind of living creature-…”. But when it is time for man to be created, HaShem pauses and says in verse 26 “Let us make humankind in our image, in the likeness of ourselves…”. Where does that likeness come from? We see in Chapter 2, verse 7, “Then Adonai, God, formed Adam (a person) from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, so that he became a living being.”

    This breath is the Ruach. It is the same Ruach that in Ezekiel 37 finally brings life into the dry bones that had been covered with muscle, sinew and skin, but lacked life.

    It is the same Ruach that in Exodus 14 divides the water so the people can pass through as they escape from Egypt.

    Chapter 2 begins with God blessing and sanctifying the Shabbat, then tells of the Garden in Eden, and the naming of the animals. And lastly the creation of woman out of man as a companion and helper.

    Chapter 3 relates the sin of Adam and Eve. In Genesis 3:6, the Torah says,

    "When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it had a pleasant appearance and that the tree was desirable for (making) one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her; and he ate"

    And what was their sin? The simple act of eating from a forbidden tree? Was it not more complex, such as believing that Adonai had made them incomplete, imperfect, lacking in wisdom? And that by following the advice of the serpent, they could improve on the design and wishes of God. Is that not the same sin of the serpent, where we see in Isaiah 14:14 that he said “I will make myself like the Most High”.

    This is followed by their expulsion from the Garden and their punishment. After they sinned, Adam and Eve needed to be clothed. To cover their nakedness, God made the clothing from skins. This required the death of an animal because of their sin.

    Chapter 4 relates the story of how their first child, Cain, became a murderer.

    Chapter 5 outlines the genealogy of the descendants of Adam and Eve through Noah, Shem, Ham and Japtheh.

    Then in Chapter 6, we see the people become increasingly evil. In verse 7 we hear Adonai say, “I will wipe out humankind, whom I have created, from the whole earth….”

    But always, God has a plan for redemption. We read the beginning of that plan in verse 8 “Yet Noach (Noah) found grace in the sight of Adonai.”


Haftarah:  Isaiah 42:5-43:28

    A connection of this reading to the Torah portion is that in 17 Hebrew words, verse 5 summarizes the first two chapters of Genesis.

    42:5 “Thus says God, Adonai, who created the heavens and spread them out, who stretched out the earth and all that grows from it, who gives breath (Ruach) to the people on it and spirit (Ruach) to those who walk on it”.

    In fact, the entire account in Isaiah parallels Genesis 1 through 3. Israel is created to be a light to the Goyim (Gentiles) and they are to guide mankind to Adonai’s service. But Israel falls into sin by abandoning God’s Torah. Thus they have the consequence of being plundered by other nations.

    But God is with them always. In Isaiah chapter 43, verse 1 reads “But now this is what Adonai says, He who created you, Ya’akov, He who formed you, Isra’el; ‘Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you; I am calling you by your name; you are mine.’When you pass through water, I will be with you; when you pass through rivers, they will not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire, you will not be scorched - the flame will not burn you. For I am Adonai, your God, the Holy One of Isra’el, your Savior’”


Chadasha:  Matthew 3:16, Luke 1:35, John 20:21-23, Acts 5:15, 2 Timothy 3:16

    I have chosen several passages that correlate to the Torah and Haftarah portions. They all speak of the workings of the Ruach – the Spirit.

    Matthew 3:16 is the account of Yochanan (John the Baptizer) after he immersed Yeshua (Jesus). As Yeshua came back up out of the water, Yochanan saw the Spirit of God – the Ruach - coming down upon Him like a dove. Just as the Ruach had hovered over Israel like an eagle hovers over its young.

    In Luke 1:35, the angel Gabriel explains to Miryam (Mary) how she will bear a son “The Ruach HaKodesh will come over you, the power of Ha’Elyon will cover you.” So we see the power of the Ruach to bring life – even Yeshua (Salvation) Himself.

    John 20:21-23 shows Yeshua coming to His talmadim (disciples) after His crucifixion. 21 “Shalom aleikhem!” Yeshua repeated. Just as the Father sent me, I myself am also sending you.” Having said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Ruach HaKodesh! If you forgive someone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you hold them they are held.” Here is the power of the Ruach to provide forgiveness of sins.

    And in Acts 5:15, we read of the miracles that the talmadim performed by the power of the Ruach HaKodesh. The verse reads (King James Version) 15 “Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.” This is the overshadowing of the Ruach bringing health and healing out of sickness.

    2 Timothy 3:16 reads “All Scripture is God-breathed (Ruach) and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living. So the Ruach breathes, and we have the Torah and the rest of Scripture.

    In Genesis, while hovering over the surface of the waters, the Ruach – the Spirit – participates in the creation of a world out of an unformed mass. And in the rest of Torah, the Ruach participates in the creation of a nation out of a people that was in a wilderness.

    In the Haftarah, the Ruach is in the people. And throughout the Brit Khadasha, the Ruach hovers over, or overshadows God’s people, for His purposes.

    And at the end of this service, as Elder Rik spreads his Tallit with his hands, and pronounces the Aharonic blessing over us, think of the Ruach hovering over us, overshadowing us, imparting Adonai’s blessing, His power, His healing, His Torah, His life!

    And in all our lives, may all the Glory be to God.


Baruch Hashem,
George Robinson