Breishit- Balancing Theology and Science

Breishit bara Elohim et hashamayim v’et ha’aretz. V’ha’aretz haitah tohu vavohu v’hoshekh al p’nei t’hom v’ruah Elohim m’rahefet al p’nei hamayim

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was on the face of the emptiness, and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the water (Breishit 1:1-2, page 2)

Most books begin on page 1. They may have introductions, prefaces, indices, and tables of contents, all usually marked with roman numerals, but the story begins on page 1. Jewish books, especially theological books, begin on page 2. We were not present at the beginning. God is One, there is no other. This numbering system is the first theological statement in a Humash. The verses above begin the second.

Torah is a fascinating text in concept. It reads like a morality tale. It reads like a history. It even reads like the science of evolution. It is all and none of these. Torah is first, foremost and only a theology. It is a written explanation of what Jews believe and, at least some of the time, why. Torah is also all of these. It is the story of our people with a public history. It teaches us creation. It teaches midot, values. We can learn a lot from Torah on how to approach literature, history, science and ethics. Nevertheless, when we move Torah beyond theology, we lose sight of its purpose. Breishit is a perfect example of this. Breishit bara Elohim et hashamayim v’et ha’aretz. How do we translate this? Just the first word is a minefield. Breishit – B’reishit – In the beginning – At the start – In beginning, all these are correct, and none are. So difficult is it to choose that many translations will simply state, “B’reishit, God created…” Thus they demonstrate the uncertain meaning of the Hebrew while not losing the full meaning. For Hebrew speaker the word is enough. For the non-Hebrew speaker, the full meaning cannot be conveyed, but by leaving the transliterated word, the mystery is maintained.

A couple of weeks ago Jesse and I had a fascinating conversation about parashat Breishit. A friend of his had tried to examine the first creation story in Breishit literally. How could God create light then the sun and moon? How are heaven and earth created before heavenly bodies? Jesse and I discussed the purpose of the words. Are they there to give us a science lesson? Clearly no. But can we see science in them? Yes.

Breishit bara Elohim et hashamayim v’et ha’aretz. V’ha’aretz haitah tohu vavohu v’hoshekh al p’nei t’hom v’ruah Elohim m’rahefet al p’nei hamayim. I prefer to examine the meaning of each word. For me this is the creation of space. Hashamayim is space. Ha’aretz refers to the building blocks of matter. Can ha’aretz only refer to our earth? Is it only planet Earth or is it the land and the soil? Whatever ha’aretz is, it is unformed and chaotic. It is only in the Divine light that we are calm and can open to learning. We cannot know the original meaning, but we can find the meanings that speak to us. Midrash teaches us sheveim panim laTorah; there are 70 faces to the Torah. Albert Einstein once said, Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind. It’s up to each of us to find the balance and he face that can speak to us.