929 Tanach Yomi: Genesis Chapter 1: Genesis-GPT

A short thought on Bereishit chapter one for the 929 Tanach Yomi cycle.Genesis 1: Block Chain CreationBereishit barah elokim et  hashamyim v’et haaertz. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. So begins the Tanach, the Torah, and the book of Bereishit. Every kindergartener has their seven days of creation art project, but what exactly is going on in this first chapter?  big bang theory, a world millions of years old. How do these modern scientific theories fit in with a biblical narrative that recounts creation over seven days? Libraries full of books have been written on this very topic, so a short 929 post would not be remotely adequate to discuss these issues. Instead, we can use this chapter as an introduction to our 929 study, specifically a practice of careful reading of the text itself. In this first chapter there is something unique about the verbs choice: God does a lot of talking and observing.  The phrase “and God said” appears .10 times, the phrase “and God saw” appears 7 times, the phrase “and God called” appears 4 times, and the phrase “and God blessed” appears 3 times. This contrasts with the more active verbs found in chapter 2 of Genesis (more on that tomorrow). Chapter one, therefore can be read as a blueprint or coding of creation. God maps out the various pieces of creation and inputs their functions. The sky and sea are separate, the land should spring forth grass and plants, the birds are in the sky and fish in the sea, and man and animals roam the earth. These creatures are programed to procreate on their own. This seems to fit the narrative where God mostly talks, calls, and sees, but there is very little physical action. Once the computer program is cued up with the special code, we can turn to chapter 2 for the actual  physical creation. For more on the seven days of creation and modern science, I would recommend Rabbi Natan Slifkin’s book on “the Challenge of creation”. Enjoy Bereishit chapter 1.