In the Beginning or The Beginning of?

It is a famous mistranslation of the Torah’s first pasuk. The King James translation incorrectly writes “Bereishit Bara Elokim Et HaShamayim V’et HaAretz,” as, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” By contrast, ArtScroll and Chabad follow Rashi and correctly translate Breishit 1:1, “In the beginning of God’s creation of the heavens and the earth.” As Rashi notes, the Torah would have used the word BaRishona if it meant to say in the beginning Hashem created the heaven and earth. Moreover, the earth was created only on the third day. Thus, heaven and earth were not the first creation.

Rather, Rashi explains that Breishit 1:1-2 introduces the first creation presented only in pasuk three. The first creation, Rashi insists, is light. Rashi fits well with pasuk three being the first time the Torah records “And Hashem said let there be.”

Light as the First Creation = The Big Bang?

Clarifying that light is the first creation unleashes an earth-shattering possibility. Rashi’s assertion fits perfectly with modern science. The creation of light refers to a burst of energy, which matches the contemporary notion of the universe beginning with the “Big Bang.” The “Big Bang” is a burst of energy convertible to mass, as Einstein taught in his famous equation of E=MC squared—E=energy and M = mass. The initial burst of energy led to the formation of mass, the development of creation.

Equating Breishit 1:3 with the Big Bang also solves the problem of how there could be light on the first day of Creation when Hashem created the luminaries only on day four. The light of day one does not refer to light emitting from a source but rather the burst of energy that was the first step in the world’s creation.

The Big Bang: A Windfall for Torah

Some Orthodox Jews reject the Big Bang Theory as threatening the Torah’s integrity. Quite the contrary is true. First, the Big Bang fits beautifully into Breishit perek 1. Second, it is a dramatic substantiation of the Torah.

From the time of Aristotle and Plato through the 1950s, scientists believed the world is eternal. In other words, they insisted the world had no creation but always existed. The Law of the Conservation of Energy was marshaled as evidence of this presumption. Torah believers held fast to belief in Creation despite its utter rejection by science.

All changed in 1963 when Penzias and Wilson discovered evidence of the Big Bang in the Bell Labs in central New Jersey. Suddenly, science made an abrupt about-face and agreed with the Torah that the world had a beginning. As physicist and astronomer Robert Jastrow famously observed:

“For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance, he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”

Moreover, as many have observed, if there is a Big Bang, there must have been a “Big Banger,” namely Hashem. As Orthodox Jewish astrophysicist Gerald Schroeder quipped, “The Big Bang Theory is the best thing for religion since Moses descended Mount Sinai with the Torah.” There is a challenge regarding the discrepancy in the years since creation—14 billion years vs. 5,784 years—but numerous ways exist to address this concern.

Midrash: The Largest Investors

Rashi also embraces the midrashic interpretation of Breishit 1:1, that bishvil reishit, heaven and earth were created for two things called reishit—the Torah and the Jewish people. Does this midrash mean that Hashem does not care about anything other than Torah and Am Yisrael? It does not. However, Rashi does teach that Hashem is more invested in His special people.

We offer an analogy to help understand the midrash. Imagine a fund manager with hundreds of clients. All his investors except one invested approximately one million dollars in his fund. However, one investor has placed one billion dollars in the fund manager’s trust. While the fund manager devotes attention to each client, special attention is devoted to his largest investor.

Similarly, Hashem loves each human being as he created b’Tzelem Elokim, in God’s image. However, most people are small investors in Hashem since they observe only seven mitzvot. Am Yisrael, by contrast, is analogous to the only billion-dollar investor, as only we keep the 613 mitzvot.

The billion-dollar investor sustains the company, like Am Yisrael maintaining the world. Just as the company was created for the one extra-large investor, Hashem also made the world for Torah and Yisrael.

The midrash is not asserting racial superiority. Converts who observe mitzvot sustain the world as much as native-born Jews. On the other hand, Jews who sadly keep only the seven Noahide laws are no better than the one million dollar investors.

Conclusion

It is sometimes necessary to reject notions embraced by the broader society. On the other hand, we pay a steep price for unnecessarily rejecting every aspect of contemporary society. Those Orthodox Jews battling the Big Bang Theory engage in a needless and counterproductive fight. We must save our struggles to matters that actually are incompatible with the Torah. As Kohelet (3:8) teaches, “Et shalom v’et milchama,” there is a time for peace and a time to wage war.

Rabbi Jachter serves as the rav of Congregation Shaarei Orah, rebbe at Torah Academy of Bergen County, and a get administrator with the Beth Din of Elizabeth. Rabbi Jachter’s 16 books, including a new one on Sefer Devarim, may be purchased at Amazon and Judaica House.