1998/5759

            Besides the official names of the books of the Torah, which tend to be the first world of the first Pasuk, each of the books has another name that Chazal gave to it.  The name of Sefer Breishit is Sefer Yetzirah- The Book of Creation.  The entire book, not just the first two chapters that describe the actual physical creation is about the creation of our world.

            Besides the creation of the physical realm in which we reside, the book is also the story of the development of mankind and the society in which he lives.  Everything that happened was a new event and in itself was an act of creation.  The feeling of thrill that anything has for us was constantly occurring and it was not until the creation was finally complete that the normal feeling of repletion and toil that exists in life set in.

            The generation of the flood showed us what happens to those that sin, and the people of Bavel showed us what happens to those that attempt to undermine the authority of God.  Hate, jealousy, love and deceit were all created through the events of this Sefer.  According to the Ramban, all events in the lives of the patriarchs teach us a lesson of how to properly live our lives.  So the stories of their lives that make up the balance of the book complete the creation of man by teaching how he should navigate through the challenges that life will bring upon him.  Through a thorough analysis of the entire Sefer we can deduce many important lessons on exactly how to lead the proper path to God as our forefathers did.