Torah (Judaism)
Beresheit 1:1 – 2:4
The Torah begins with “Beresheit”
(“In the Beginning…”), and provides an accounting for the Creation of the
Universe. This seems very logical and
appropriate, and provides a proficient foundation for understanding the
continuing narrative and mitzvot (commandments) that are provided throughout
the Torah. Because the Torah begins with
such “weighty” topics, conversations regarding this subject can perceivably
continue ad Infinitum. It seems
appropriate to also include that within Orthodox and many Conservative
Synagogues, the community reads from the Torah each week, completing the entire
Torah within an annual cycle. This cycle
is completed each year on Simchat Torah (which actually occurs yesterday, on
Tuesday); and the next Torah Parashah
for this Shabbat is: “Beresheit.” This Parashah, regarding Creation, brings
together the linearity of logic and reasoning, with the alinearity of
spirituality and metaphysics, and the relationship that humanity is to maintain
amidst the elements, and the relationship between Israel and Adonai (God).
“When God began to create
Heaven and earth—the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface
of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—God said, ‘Let there be
light’; and there was light. God saw that the light was (benevolent), and
God separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light Day, and the darkness (Elohim) called Night. And there was evening and there was morning,
a first day.
“God said, ‘Let there be an
expanse in the midst of the water, that it may separate water from water.’ God made the expanse, and it separated the
water which was below the expanse from the water which was above the
expanse. And it was so. God called the expanse Sky. And there was evening and there was morning,
a second day.
“God said, ‘Let the water
below the sky be gathered into one area, that the dry land may appear.’ And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the
gathering of water (Elohim) called Seas.
And God saw that this was (benevolent).
And God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees of every
kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.’ And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants of every kind, and trees
of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that this was (benevolent). And there was evening and there was morning,
a third day.
“God said, ‘Let there be
lights in the expanse of the sky to separate day from night; they shall serve as signs for the set times—the
days and the years; and they shall serve
as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth.’ And it was so. God made the two great lights, the greater
light to dominate the day and the lesser light to dominate the night, and the
stars. And God set them in the expanse
of the sky to shine upon the earth, to dominate the day and the night and to
separate light from darkness. And God
saw that this was (benevolent). And
there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
“God said, ‘Let the waters
bring forth swarms of living creatures, and birds that fly above the earth
across the expanse of the sky.’ God
created the great sea monsters, and all the living creatures of every kind that
creep, which the waters brought forth in swarms, and all the winged birds of
every kind. And God saw that this was
(benevolent). God blessed them, saying, ‘Be
fertile and increase, fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds increase
on the earth.’ And there was evening and
there was morning, a fifth day.
“God said, ‘Let the earth
bring forth every kind of living creature:
cattle, creeping things, and wild beasts of every kind.’ And it was so. God made wild beasts of every kind and cattle
of every kind, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth. And God saw that it was (benevolent). And God said, ‘Let (Us) make man in (Our)
image, after (Our) likeness. They shall
rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the whole earth,
and all the creeping things that creep on earth.’ And God created man in (Elohim’s) image, in
the image of God (Elohim) created him;
male and female (Elohim) created them.
God blessed them and God said to them, ‘Be fertile and increase, fill
the earth and master it; and rule the
fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on
earth.’
“God said, ‘See, I give you
every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has
seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours
for food. And to all the animals on
land, to all the birds of the sky, and to everything that creeps on earth, in
which there is the breath of life, I give all the green plants for food.’ And it was so. And God saw all that (Elohim) had made, and found
it very (benevolent). And there was
evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
“The heaven and the earth were
finished, and all their array. On the seventh
day God finished the work that (Elohim) had been doing, and (Elohim) ceased on the
seventh day from all the work that (Elohim) had done. And God blessed the seventh day and declared
it holy, because on it God ceased from all the work of creation that (Elohim)
had done. Such is the story of heaven
and earth when they were created.”
(Beresheit 1:1 – 2:4).
Gospels (Christianity)
Matthew 1:1 – 17
Mark 1:1 – 13
Luke 1:1 – 7
John 1:1 – 18
“The book of the genealogy of
Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
“Abraham was the father of
Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his
brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father
of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and
Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon
the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the
father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.
“And David was the father of Solomon
by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the
father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa, and Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah
the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of
Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos,
and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his
brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
“And after the deportation to
Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of
Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of
Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and
Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father
of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan,
and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of
Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
“So all the generations from
Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation
to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the
Christ fourteen generations.” (Matthew
1:1 – 17).
The Gospels begin with the
Gospel According to Saint Matthew, and asserts the familial lineage of Jesus
thorough the tradition of Judaism all the way to Adam, and the story of
Creation, that is provided within Beresheit.
This is actually (and interestingly) distinct from the manner in which
the 3 additional Gospels of Saint Mark, Saint Luke, and Saint John each
respectively begin. The Gospel According
to Saint Mark references the Jewish Prophesies of the emergence of Moshiach,
and describes Jesus’s baptism, in beginning the narrative of how these
Prophesies are manifested. The Gospel
According to Saint Luke actually begins as a letter to Theophulus, and
describes the birth of Jesus’s “predecessor,” “proclaimant,” and cousin, John
the Baptist, born to Zechariah and Elizabeth.
The Gospel According to Saint John begins with a rather vehement
proclamation of Jesus as, “The Word,” and essentially equating Jesus with Deus
(God).
Bhagavad Gita (Hinduism)
Chapter 2:12
The Bhagavad Gita provides a
basic describes of the general Theology of Hinduism. It is essentially a dialogue in the middle of
a battlefield between Arjuna, a righteous warrior, and his charioteer (Sri
Krishna), who is revealed as a “manifestation” of Brahman (God). It is rather difficult to translate the exact
characteristic of this “manifestation” within “Western,” “Avrahamic” terms; some people utilise terms such as, “deity,”
or “incarnation,” however this seems to be less than accurate. And whilst I have yet to absolutely discern
this characteristic, I share the belief of this “manifestation” existing very
much as an Angel, similar to those who visit Avraham, Yaakov, and additional
Prophets. In actuality, the Bhagavad
Gita begins with a dialogue amongst the very enemies of Arjuna, the rival king
and the rival king’s Priest; and the
entirety of the Bhagavad Gita is actually told by the rival king’s Priest. This provides a rather interesting
consideration of balance and honesty: an
individual’s biography and spiritual awakening being told exactly by that
individual’s fiercest enemy. The
Bhagavad Gita also describes the substantial “alinearality” that is emphasised
within Hinduism: that all evidentiary
phenomena are unReal (continually changing and impermanent); and Reality exists exactly beyond the senses,
beyond the notions of “time” and “space.”
Thus it seems appropriate to address the similar topic of “Creation” as
it is similarly presented within Beresheit of the Torah. And to do this, the 12th Verse of
Chapter 2 is provided, which is where Sri Krishna pierces the superficiality of
Arjuna’s experience and ego, and speaks directly to Arjuna’s soul, community
the Divine Infinity, the Spirit of God (Atman) that exists within Arjuna and
all beings. And this essentially, much
like the comparatively linear narrative of Beresheit, establishes the entire
understanding of an individual’s relationship with the entire Universe and with
Brahman (God).
“There has never been a time
when you and I and the kings gathered here have not existed, nor will there be
a time when we will cease to exist.”
(Bhagavad Gita 2:12).
Dhammapada (Buddhism)
Chapter 1:1 – 5
Whilst less authoritative, the
Dhammapada may be considered 1 of the most widely read Holy Scriptures from the
Buddhist cannon. And the Dhammapada
appropriately begins within a very fundamental Buddhist teaching: “Dependent Origination/Arising,” or “Becoming.” The principle is that all the circumstances
that an individual experiences within life and the Universe are the exact
consequence of the individual’s previous thoughts, words, and deeds; and that improve an individual’s experience
within life and the Universe (and to attain Nirvana [Unity with God]), it is
necessary for an individual to improve an individual’s thoughts, words, and
deeds. Whilst this principle may seem to
rest upon the side of “free will,” amidst the continual “free will”/ “Omnipotence”
debate, the emphasis is actually upon “self-empowerment” and accepting
responsibility for an individual’s experiences and behaviour, rather than
continually blaming others for such experiences. And it is through such acceptance that an
individual’s experience within the Universe is appropriately understood,
reconciled, and ultimately Enlightened.
“What we are today comes from
our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of
tomorrow: our life is the creation of
our mind. If a man speaks or acts with
an impure mind, suffering follows him as the wheel of the cart follows the
beast that draws the cart.
“What we are today comes from
our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of
tomorrow: our life is the creation of
our mind. If a man speaks or acts with a
pure mind, joy follows him as his own shadow.
“He insulted me, he hurt me,
he defeated me, he robbed me.’ Those who
think such thoughts will not be free from hate.
“He insulted me, he hurt me,
he defeated me, he robbed me.’ Those who
think not such thoughts will be free from hate.
“For hate is not conquered by
hate: hate is conquered by love. This is a law eternal.”
(Dhammapada 1:1 – 5).
Koran (Islam)
Sura 1
It is appropriate to share
that the opening Sura (chapter) of the Koran is called, “Al Fatihah” (“The
Opening”), and is actually recited on at least 5 occasions each day, within the
Muslim call to prayer. Al Fatihah is a
brief invocation of Allah (God), humbly soliciting guidance towards
righteousness. And this seems to be an
appropriate context within which to understand the Muslim belief of the
Universe and the relationship between an individual and the Universe, and an
individual with Allah (God). The actual
sequence of the Suras within the Koran is actually “unchronological,” and the 1st
revelation that Muhammad (PBUH) experiences with Jibril (the Angel, Gabriel)
addresses a different topic (if I recall correctly). The narrative of Creation, as told within the
Koran, is actually rather similar to that explained within the Torah and
throughout the Tanakh, as well as the New Testament; and is repeated numerously throughout the
Koran. Within these Koranic teachings,
emphasis is placed upon humanity being created from clay/dust/earth, upon the “breath
of life,” humanity emanating from a sperm clot and progressing through
impregnation within the womb of a mor (mother), and the eventuality of each
individual returning to such.
“Praise be to Allah, the Lord
of the worlds,
“The Beneficent, the Merciful.
“Master of the day of Requital.
“Thee do we serve and Thee do
we beseech for help.
“Guide us on the right path,
“The path of those upon whom
Thou hast bestowed favours,
“Not those upon whom wrath is
brought down, nor those who go astray.”
(Sura 1, Al Fatihah 1 – 7).
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