The First Day

It is Jewish tradition that one must teach what one knows.  I have long pondered this, asking myself, "What is it one can truly know?  Where is the threshold that holds us responsible for teaching, instead of merely learning?"  Much like faith, I think "the knowing" is a heart condition; thus, what one believes, one must teach.

I believe that the Bible is the whole and complete Word of God, a living Word, eternal, a core part of every living being, as described in John 1:1-5:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.

All things came to be through him, and without him nothing made had being.

In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not suppressed it.

At this time every year, Jews around the world unroll the scroll of the Torah and roll it back to the very beginning, starting over the cycle of readings with Genesis 1:1-13.*  This year, I have committed to "teaching" (I am trusting the Lord to do the teaching!) the daily portion of the Word.  Consider joining with me as we go through the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, also known as the books of Moses or the books of the Law.  I will be quoting from a wonderful translation, the Complete Jewish Bible, which takes no notice of Old or New Testaments, instead treating the scripture as it was intended - a complete, Jewish book.  I will not quote the entire portion, so I invite you to read it on your own to allow God to speak directly to your heart, teaching you far better than my words could accomplish.

Today's reading is, as mentioned, Genesis 1:1-13.

Each morning when I enter my living room, I look out over trees and hills to the reflection of the rising sun.  The sky is pink or golden or bright blue on the best days; solid white on the worst.  That is to say, there is no bad day!  Today, as we read about the creation of this light and these trees, I, too, raise my hands to the Creator and say, "It is good!"  It is easy to imagine that very first day, the moment light separated darkness, earth separated sky, land separated water.  How the angels must have sung!  Much like watching any great artist take a blank canvas and create a world of his own imagination, it inspires awe; yet this "painting" lives and breathes and changes constantly.

Meditate on this creation as you go through your day.  Raise your hands, too, and be thankful for all you see.  And may you be blessed.

*Some traditions vary regarding the actual verses read.