Saturday, September 4, 2010

Happy Birthday Everything!


1 IN THE beginning G-d created the heaven and the earth.

2 Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of G-d hovered over the face of the waters.

3 And G-d said: 'Let there be light' And there was light.

4 And G-d saw the light, that it was good; and G-d divided the light from the darkness.

5 And G-d called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
Thus is the opening of the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Torah, the Hebrew (Jewish) Bible. It tells the story of how G-d created the Universe.
Today is the traditional day of the beginning of Creation, as recorded in the first chapter of Genesis. While other religions 'start' their calendar from the founding of the religion, the Jewish calendar begins with Creation. In Jewish consciousness, every nation is integral to humanity: Non-Jews were welcome to bring offerings to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, which the prophet Isaiah referred to as the "house for all nations." Technically, the Jewish calendar does not begin until day six of Creation (Rosh Hashana), which commemorates the birth of mankind. This is because human beings are the pinnacle of Creation, enjoined to protect the world and to utilize all its resources to bring the world to its spiritual completion.
Just a little food for thought on this Sabbath.

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