Dvar Torah for Parshat Bereshis

Based on Likutey Halakhot, Hilkhot Ribit 5:16-22

The president of the company was a genius, a benevolent genius. In his career he had invented and manufactured many different products, some related to mining, some to farming and others to animal life. He had just finished detailing the plans of his latest idea to the members of his board of directors. He was waiting to get their feedback.

"It's a good idea, Boss," said Mr. Kind. "This invention will be beneficial in many ways, some of which haven't even been thought of yet."

Mr. Verace differed sharply, not only with his colleague, but with his employer as well. "It'll never work. The product you're proposing is going to be built with a self-destructive quality that cannot be avoided. What the machine is doing externally and how it's running internally won't match up. It won't be able to work in tandem with the other machines. It'll end up doing more harm than good."

Mr. Justin was of the same mind as Mr. Kind. "Even where materials and resources are in insufficient supply, this invention will be able to transfer and reallocate them in many ways."

Mr. Paxton said that the invention wouldn't work. It was configured in such a way that the gears would run improperly and would lock together. The resulting friction would overheat the machine and it would, in effect, destroy itself.

The president ordered Mr. Verace out of the room. The other members of the board were shocked. "Mr. Verace is your right-hand man. He's a factor in everything you do. You never make a decision without his agreement. He has to be here!"

While his colleagues were defending him in the boardroom, Mr. Verace was thinking. "The Boss is quite intelligent. Perhaps I'm underestimating him. Everything he's decided to produce till now has worked well. I really do not see how this new invention is going to help. Especially since he wants it to be mass-produced. The more there are of them, the more confusing they will be to one another. On the other hand, if this invention does work, everything the Boss has done until now will work even better than before. Could it be that I'm missing something?" The door opened and Mr. Verace was brought back in.

One's view of the truth, of the facts, is limited. This is true not only of human beings, but of angels as well. This is why the angels (Messrs. Justin, Kind, Paxton and Verace) had different opinions as to whether or not you and I should be allowed to grace God's universe. People do favors and give charity, so Messrs. Justin and Kind were in favor of mankind being created. Mr. Paxton foresaw that people would not always get along. They would often be at cross-purposes and that would lead to disputes. Their points of view are understandable and, each from his point of view, correct. However, Reb Noson asks, how could Mr. Verace, the angel of truth, disagree? God's very seal is truth and everything He does is true. So how could truth disagree?

The answer is because even the angel of truth has a limited perspective of truth. He cannot see or fathom the truth as God does. And neither can we. Each of us sees the truth from his perspective. Each of us is certain - absolutely! - that he is right. Unfortunately, everyone fails, to some degree or other, to appreciate how much he lies to himself and how that distorts and diminishes the ability to perceive the ultimate truth.

The only way to get closer to the ultimate truth is by having faith, by marrying truth to faith. The first mitzvah in the Torah is to get married and have children. Even though the first disagreement in human history occurred because of the appearance of the second human being (to eat or not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge; see Rashi on Ecclesiastes 7:14) and even though the first murder/war took place as a result of the first pair of brothers quarreling over a woman, money and religion (who should marry Hevel's second sister; who owned what; Hevel's offering being accepted when Kayin's was rejected) God still wants us to "be fruitful and multiply." The reason is that the greatest expression of peace and harmony comes about specifically when many different people, with all their different perspectives, agree on the ultimate truth of living life to worship God.

This revelation will have its fullest realization in the era of the Mashiach, when the lessons of the Torah will reach to every corner of the world. Thus, his presence is alluded to at the very beginning of the Torah: "and the spirit of God hovered above the face of the water" (Genesis 1:2; Zohar 1:192b)

Is it possible, in this world, to somehow perceive God's view of the truth? Yes. "Truth will sprout from the earth" (Psalms 85:12). The more one wills himself to remain loyal to God when confronted and challenged by the appetites and truths of this world, the more one can climb to God's point of view - it's worthwhile to create man. (See Tosfot, Eiruvin 13b, s.v. Noach and Maharsha, Makot 23b, s.v. Taryag.)

agutn Shabbos!
Shabbat Shalom!

(Our opening midrash is from Bereshis Rabbah 8:5 and Yalkut Shimoni, Tehilim 834.)