The Aim Of Creation
Is To Keep Unity

RABBI IRWIN GRONER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

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FUTURE PEACE FOR ISRAEL AND THE WORLD
A CONFIRMATION OF THE SCRIPTURAL PROMISES AND

PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE NATIONAL DESTINY OF ISRAEL.

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Let Peace Descend

"Yasher Koach" to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Foreign Minis-
ter Shimon Peres and Deputy Foreign Minister Yossi Be' 'n for a
bold and courageous first step toward peace, security and pros-
perity in the Middle East.
May 5754 be the year for the people of Israel to live and thrive in
a peaceful land.

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e begin reading this
Sabbath the most
important book in
the world, the
Torah. The Torah is filled
with paradox. Its truths are
stated in the form of stories,
parables, and myths which
are so simple that even little
children can understand
them and take delight in
their charm. And yet, the in-
sights of the Torah are so pro-
found that even the most
brilliant of scholars cannot
fully explicate their meaning.
In the description of the
story of creation, consider
how the text addresses the
difference between division
and divisiveness. The former
implies separation for a wor-
thy purpose. The latter in-
volves discord.
Thus, in Genesis 1:4, "And
God divided the light from
the darkness." Separation, in
itself, is not necessarily an
evil. Frequently, it may be a
necssary step in growth and
development. The simplest
form of life, th amoeba, re-
produces itself by means of
division which thus consti-
tutes the very means of its
survival. Surgery is the
process of separating cells or
tissue which are diseased
from those which are healthy,
thereby preventing the
spread of the malady.
The biblical account of cre-
ation indicates that the world
itself came into being as the
result of several successive
acts of division and separa-
tion. The Almighty divided
between the light and the
darkness; divided the waters
which were under the firma-
ment from the waters which
were above; divided between
the day and the night, the
summer and the winter; and
finally, divided between the
six secular days of the week
and the Sabbath of sanctity.
Thus did God bring order
out of chaos through a sys-
tematic process of division.
But there is one crucial el-
ement in creation which God
significantly intended to be
whole, an undivided unity.
That element was the Lord's
crowning glory — man. When
woman, the opposite sex, was
created, she was recognized
in the words of Adam as
"bone of my bone and flesh of
my flesh." The test declares

Irwin Groner is senior rabbi of

Congregation Shaarey Zedek.

"Now therefore shall a man
leave his father and his moth-
er and shall cleave unto his
wife and they shall be one
flesh."
The unity of mankind was
the supreme purpose of the
Creator. The Talmud cites an
illuminating exchange of
views on this theme between
two of the great scholars of
the second century.
Rabbi Akiva said: "And
thou shall love thy neighbor
as thyself: This is the great
principle of the Torah." Ben
Azai said: "This is the book of
the generations of man: That
is the great principle of the
Torah."
At first glance, it is difficult
to establish a connection be-
tween the statement of Rab-
bi Akiva and that of Ben
Azai, whose meaning is ob-
scure. A deeper examination

Shabbat Bereshit:
Genesis 1:1-6:8
Isaiah 42:5-43:10.

of the words of Ben Azai,
however, will serve to reveal
that he was laying the foun-
dation for Rabbi Akiva's
statement. It is as though
Ben Azai were answering this
question: Why is so little de-
tail supplied in the story of
the first man, the most im-
portant biographical account
ever written? So many ques-
tions could be asked: From
what particular section of the
earth was the dust taken
from which Adam was cre-
ated? What was the color of
Adam's skin? What did Adam
look like? How did Adam wor-
ship? Where did Adam actu-
ally live?
The Midrash, the oral tra-
dition, offers interpretations.
Adam was created from dust
gathered from every conti-
nent. Adam was neither
black, white, yellow, brown or
red. Adam was neither Se-
mitic nor Nordic nor Mongo-
lian nor Teutonic nor Anglo
Saxon. He was the composite
of all these colors and races,
for he was the ancestor of all
humanity. Adam revered
God, and no more description
is needed. Adam is the spiri-
tual ancestor of men and
women of all religions and no
religion.
The biblical creation story
is the ultimate refutation of

