Parashat Bereisheet – 5786

A Work in Progress: God’s Ongoing Creation and Our Role in It

A D’var Torah for Parashat Bereisheet

By Rabbi Scott “Shalom” Klein (AJR ’24)

The opening verses of Parashat Bereisheet describe a familiar scene: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” We are taught that creation unfolds over seven days, each marked by a specific act of divine utterance and artistry. From the light to the firmament, from the trees to the stars, we witness a world being meticulously brought into being. And then, on the seventh day, God rests. The story seems complete.

Yet, a closer look reveals that the creation narrative is not simply a historical account of a completed event. The text states: “Vayekhal Elohim bayom ha-shevi’i melakhto asher asah”—”God completed (or ceased from) on the seventh day His work that He had done” (Genesis 2:2). This specific choice of the root k.l.h (כ.ל.ה) for “completed/ceased” (often translated as “finished”) and its association with the work already done (asher asah) is theologically loaded.

The interpretive tradition, reflected in the Midrash and later Jewish philosophy, drives a wedge between two concepts:

· Beriat HaOlam (Creation Ex Nihilo): The initial, structured act of bringing the cosmos into being from nothing over six days. The cessation on Shabbat, marked by Vayekhal, signifies the completion of this initial, foundational labor.

·  Hiddush HaOlam (Renewing/Sustaining Creation): The ongoing process of preserving existence.

By stating that God completed the work that He had done, the Torah affirms the end of the first phase—God is no longer building the world’s structure—but it does not imply that God has withdrawn His power to sustain it. If God is the ultimate source of existence, then the very act of being requires a continuous, active will from the Creator. Therefore, the moment of completion on Shabbat is interpreted not as divine retirement, but as a shift in divine activity: from a creative act of structuring to a perpetual act of sustaining and renewing. This logic is precisely why our daily liturgy insists that God “renews in His goodness, every day, the work of creation.” The world, in this view, is not a static object but a dynamic, unfolding reality that is constantly being renewed and sustained by divine energy.

This understanding is reflected in our daily prayers. In the Birkhot Keriat Shema, we bless God Yotzer Or, “the one who forms light,” not just “the one who formed light.” We thank God for “the one who renews in His goodness, every day, the work of creation.” This is a radical theological claim. It suggests that the world we see, the sun that rises each morning, and the new life that springs forth are not just the lingering effects of an ancient event. They are, in fact, the direct and present work of a God who is continuously involved in the world.

So where do we fit into this narrative? The creation of humanity on the sixth day is unique. Adam is not simply a creature, but a partner. The Midrash teaches that God asks Adam to give names to all the animals. In this act, humanity is not just receiving the world; we are actively participating in its formation. We are given the ability to name, to categorize, to bring order to the chaos, and in doing so, we become co-creators with God.

Our work, our words, and our choices are not insignificant. When we act with kindness, when we build a community, when we bring a sense of justice to the world, we are participating in the ongoing act of creation. The world is not yet complete. There is still darkness to be illuminated, chaos to be ordered, and brokenness to be repaired. And it is in these very acts that we truly fulfill our purpose—not as passive observers of a finished world, but as active, vital, and necessary partners in the continuous work of creation.