Bereishit: Return to Gan Eden

25 Tishrei 5782
Erev Shabbat Kodesh 
Parashat Bereishit - Mevorchim

[Yes, this is a re-run.  I hope you like it just as much the second time around.]

Many people believe that history follows a straight line with its starting point being Genesis 1:1 and its ending point being the Final Redemption.

This picture illustrates how most people envision time.  

Time is a construct of the physical universe and does not exist on the spiritual plane.  Time is measured and counted according to the progression of the celestial bodies and our planet - all of which circle an orbit in space.  In fact, Judaism teaches that time is circular, not linear, as we also see from the yearly cycle of holidays.  

But, for time to be circular and able to draw on the light of each holiday at its appointed place in the cycle and yet not repeat the same moment in time, it must be a spiral.

But not just any spiral, it has to be a spiral with no beginning and no end.  Or rather, its beginning and its end are the same place.

What this means for us is that Bereishit, "in the beginning," we were in Gan Eden, and with God's help, in the "end," at the final redemption, we will once again find ourselves back where we started - in Gan Eden.  The difference being, we'll be back to stay.

All of history is about returning to Gan Eden.

~ SHABBAT SHALOM ~