Doreish Tov on Medrash Rabbah Parashas Bereishis 5769 (1)

Doreish Tov on Medrash Rabbah

Parashas Bereishis 5769

1:1 The Medrash states that Rabbi Hoshia commenced his remarks with the verse that states (Mishlei 8:30) vaehyeh etzlo amon vaehyeh shaashuim yom yom, I was then His nursling; I was then His delight every day. Amon means padgog, a governess. Amon also means michuseh, covered, and amon also means mutzna, concealed and some say amon means rabsa, something great. Proof that amon is padgog is from the verse that states (Bamidbar 11:12) kaasher yisa haomein es hayonek, as a nurse carries a suckling. Amon means michuseh as it is said (Eichah 4:5) haemunim alei tolah¸ those who were brought up in scarlet. Amon means mutzna as it is said (Esther 2:7) vayehi omein es Hadassah, and he had reared Hadassah. Amon means rabsa as it is said (Nachum 3:8) haseitvi mino amon, are you better than No-amon, and the Targum of that verse is haat tava mAlexandria rabsa diyasva bein naharusa, are you better than Alexandria the great city that sits between the rivers? Alternatively, the verse that states amon means uman, a tool of a craftsman. Thus, the Torah was declaring, “I was the tool of HaShem.” Normally when a person builds a palace, he consults with a craftsman and does not rely on his own knowledge. He will have blueprints and notebooks to know how to design the rooms and how to design the smaller rooms. Similarly, HaShem gazed into the Torah and created the world. The Torah states Bereishis bara Elokim, and reishis refers to Torah, as it is said (Mishlei 8:22) HaShem kanani reishis darko, HaShem made me as the beginning of His way. The Medrash here is teaching us a profound lesson. People often talk about the secrets of the universe, implying that the world may have a creator but there are certain things that are not within man’s mental grasp. The Medrash, however, informs us that the opposite is true. Hashem gazed into the Torah and created the world. Thus, it is not the universe that contains mysteries. Rather, the Torah is secret and concealed, but the Torah contains within it great lessons, like the pedagogue who is a fountain of knowledge and only reveals part of his or her knowledge to the student. Thus, the Torah is our teacher, and it is incumbent upon us to plumb its depths and discover its secrets.