Bereshith

Torah Portion 1-1 Bereshith (Genesis) 1:1-2:4

Has anyone wondered how light was created on the first day but the luminaries were created on the fourth day of Creation? What was the “light” created on the first day? In this lesson, we are going to provide evidence that the “Light” established on the first day of Creation was the Torah which was later written down by the Prophet Moshe. The passage says He created “Light”. This could be a reference to physical “light” but it could also be a reference to spiritual “light”.

The Hebrew word translated as “light” is “RWA” and is pronounced as “or”. It has an Edenics connection to the English word for “order”. We turn on the light to organize our houses and put them into order. It is much more difficult to do so when it is dark. The function of “light” is to create “order” which is the function of our Father’s Laws. The same word translated as “light” in Bereshith (Genesis) 1:3-5 is used to describe the Laws of Yahuah written by the Prophet Moshe in the following passages.

The Torah is “RWA”. The Word of Yahuah is an “RWA” for our path. The Hebrew word “torah” can be interchangeable with the Hebrew word for “light”. It is not a metaphor. The Torah is actual “Light” which brings order to the earth. The commandments in the Torah divide or separate the behaviors that are “light” and behaviors that are associated with “darkness”. Let us consider the commandment that tells us not to covet in Shemoth (Exodus) 20:17.

“Coveting the belongings of someone” else is a behavior associated with darkness. “Not coveting a neighbor’s belongings” is a behavior associated with the light. The commandment creates the division. It creates a boundary between “light” and “dark”.

Let’s consider a simple example. I have a plate of chocolate chip cookies. My son comes into the house after playing outside. He sees the plate of cookies and starts eating them. He has not done anything wrong. But if I say to him as he enters the house, “no cookies before dinner,” I have established a boundary line between “good” behavior and “bad” behavior. Here is an illustration:

With my statement, I have established “good” behavior as well as “bad” behavior. Now, if my son eats cookies before dinner, he will suffer negative consequences for eating them because this is prohibited. This is how Yahuah “created evil”. He did it by establishing the Laws written in the Torah.

When He spoke the Laws into existence, He created “good” as well as “evil”. Every single Law written by the prophet Moshe defines behaviors that are “good” and are associated with “light” as well as behaviors that are “bad” which are associated with “darkness”. This understanding gives us a new perspective on the following words spoken by our Messiah.

When we obey the Laws of our Father, we are doing behaviors associated with the “light”. We are hearing and obeying the Laws of our Father written by the Prophet Moshe. People will see that we are honest, trustworthy, kind, loving, loyal, faithful and compassionate. They will be drawn to us. Our Messiah is relating our “light” to “good” works.

Because our Father’s Standard was established on the first day of Creation, this is how Yahuah was able to make a distinction between behaviors that were “good” and behaviors that were “evil” before the flood. He made the following observations:

Here is the question we must ask ourselves:

How did our Father define “wickedness” and “evil” behaviors?

He had to have a standard by which He used to judge the people. He had to have a set of Laws that defined acceptable behaviors as well as wicked behaviors. In our previous illustration, “Not coveting” is the acceptable behavior and “Coveting the belongings of another” is defined as “wicked” or “evil” behavior. Based on this evidence, ALL of the people with the exception of Noach were disobeying the Laws of Yahuah written by the Prophet Moshe. This is why all the people before the flood were destroyed.

How many people today are hearing and obeying the Laws of Yahuah written by Moshe?

Anyone who is familiar with the Laws written in the Torah can see that not very many people groups are obeying His Laws. In fact, a huge majority are trampling upon them severely. It is clear that we are living in days similar to those experienced by Noach and his family.

We know the Laws written by Moshe is the standard our Father used because of the following Law:

This Law tells us to use the same weights to judge all people. We do not let one murderer free while we stone another murderer for the same exact crime. This is unjust. ALL people are to experience the same consequences for the same crimes and the punishment must be in equal weight to the crime committed. This is righteousness and justice.

Yahuah judges ALL people by the same measure. He does not use one standard to judge one group of people and another standard to judge another group. He used the same standard in the beginning, during the flood event, as well as with Sodom and Gomorrah, the House of Yashar’El, and the House of Yahudah. It will be the same measure He uses at the end of the age because He is righteous and just.

Let’s consider our cookie example. I have twin boys. I tell one that he cannot eat cookies before dinner but I allow the other to eat cookies before dinner. This is unjust and unrighteous. I have used two different standards for my children which is not right.

Testimony tells us that false balances are an abomination to Yahuah.

Yahuah would not commit an abomination by using different standards to judge others. We are all going to be judged according to His standard established in the very beginning. It was the very first thing our Father established in the Creation account.

Lastly, at the end of the sixth day of creation, our Father said that everything He had created was “very good”.

The underlying Hebrew word translated as “good” is “something that functions properly”. From the perspective of our Creator, everything that He had created including man and woman “functioned properly”. Sin had not entered His creation at this point. Our Father defines behaviors that are “functional” and “dysfunctional” in His eyes in the following passage:

According to this passage, “functional behaviors” include the following:

• Loving Yahuah your Elohiym
• Walking in His Ways
• Guarding His commandments, statutes and judgements
• Hearing and obeying His Voice
• Cleaving to Him

Our Father does not change. These are the same “functional” behaviors established in the very beginning of Creation. In the beginning, Adam and Chavah did not lie, steal or commit adultery. They were made in the image of Yahuah Elohiym who does not lie, steal or commit adultery. Testimony says that Yahuah is “Light” Himself and no darkness dwells in Him.

Yahuah does behaviors that are in complete alignment with His Laws because He is Light. He created Adam and Chavah to obey His Laws because He created them to be in His Image and His Likeness. When we hear and obey the Laws of Yahuah, we are bearing His Image and Likeness.