The Book of Genesis, or Sefer Bereishit, as a profound blueprint and cause of Jewish history. Drawing from traditional Jewish sources—ranging from the Talmud and Midrash to the mystical insights of the Zohar and the Vilna Gaon—we will uncover how Genesis is not merely a collection of ancient stories but a divine framework that shapes reality, time, and the Jewish people’s destiny. At the heart of our lecture today lies an extraordinary axis: the year 1948 in the Jewish calendar (Anno Mundi, or AM), marking Abraham’s birth, and the year 5708 AM, corresponding to 1948 CE, when the modern State of Israel was reestablished. These two points, separated by millennia yet united by the number 1948, serve as pivotal anchors, illustrating how Genesis encodes the past, present, and future of the Jewish narrative.
To deliver this in about 30 minutes, I’ll structure our journey as follows: First, we’ll examine Genesis as the cosmic blueprint, rooted in its opening word Bereishit and the six alefs of its first verse. Then, we’ll delve into how Torah verses correspond to historical years, with 1948 AM and 5708 AM as our axis. Along the way, we’ll touch on the Vilna Gaon’s teaching that Bereishit contains all 613 commandments, including circumcision, and contrast this with the rejection of Ephraim to highlight the triumph of Judah’s lineage. Finally, we’ll conclude with how these elements affirm Genesis as the cause of history, resonating even with personal stories like my own discovery of Jewish heritage at age 33, as a descendant of Kohanim from the Diaz Ramirez family.
Let us begin at the beginning—Bereishit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve’et ha’aretz: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” From a Jewish perspective, this is no poetic myth but a historical declaration. The Jewish Encyclopedia describes Genesis as “a historical work,” recounting the primal history of humanity and the early story of Israel. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in his writings, calls it a “philosophy of the human condition under God’s sovereignty,” where events like creation, the Flood, and the patriarchal covenants are factual records that set the moral and spiritual stage for all that follows.
Yet, Genesis is more than a chronicle; it is the blueprint of reality itself. Kabbalistic tradition, as articulated in the Zohar, teaches that God looked into the Torah to create the world. The Torah pre-exists creation, and its letters are the building blocks of existence. The Sefer Yetzirah, an ancient mystical text, explains that God formed the universe with 22 foundation letters and 10 sefirot, divine emanations. In Genesis 1:1, we find six instances of the letter alef (א)—in Bereishit, bara, Elohim, et, ve’et, and ha’aretz. The alef, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, symbolizes divine unity and has a gematria value of 1, but its full spelling (alef) means “thousand.” Thus, these six alefs represent 6,000 years of human history, as per the Talmud in Sanhedrin 97a: “The world endures for six thousand years: two thousand years of chaos (tohu), two thousand years of Torah, and two thousand years of the Messianic era.”
This 6,000-year cycle mirrors the six days of creation, with the seventh day of Shabbat foreshadowing eternal rest and redemption. Chabad teachings elaborate that the alef bridges heaven and earth—its form resembling a yud above (divine), a yud below (earthly), connected by a vav (channel). In Genesis, these alefs encode the timeline: the first 2,000 years encompass the chaos from Adam to Abraham, the next 2,000 bring the Torah at Sinai, and the final 2,000 herald the Messiah. We stand today in the sixth millennium, nearing that redemptive threshold, where events like Israel’s rebirth in 5708 AM signal the dawn of Messianic times.
Now, let’s zoom in on the opening word itself: Bereishit. The Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Elijah of Vilna, teaches that this single word contains all 613 commandments of the Torah. In his commentary Aderet Eliyahu, he explains that Bereishit’s six letters (ב-ר-א-ש-י-ת) encapsulate the essence of Jewish law, with each letter or combination hinting at specific mitzvot. For instance, Rabbi Akiva Tatz, in his lecture “Torah: Cause and Reality,” cites the Gaon to highlight how the commandment of circumcision (brit milah) is embedded in Bereishit. The letters bet (ב) and resh (ר) form the root of brit (covenant), directly alluding to Genesis 17:10, where God commands Abraham: “Every male among you shall be circumcised.” This mitzvah is the seal of the covenant, transforming physical creation into spiritual purpose.
Other commandments flow from Bereishit’s letters as well. The bet symbolizes belief in God (Mitzvah #1), the foundation of monotheism declared in creation. Resh hints at Shabbat observance (Mitzvah #155), resting as God did after six days. Shin evokes the prohibition against idolatry (Mitzvah #2), affirming God’s unique sovereignty. Tav, the final letter, points to establishing courts of justice (Mitzvah #176), ensuring righteousness in the land. The Zohar in Bereishit 8a reinforces this: “Bereishit contains all the commandments, for each letter unfolds a moment in time, from creation to redemption.” Midrash Tanchuma on Bereishit 1 adds: “The world was created for the Torah and the covenant of Israel, hidden in Bereishit.” Thus, Genesis is the cause of history—the Torah’s laws embedded in its first word drive the narrative forward, from creation’s blueprint to humanity’s moral journey.
This brings us to the axis of our lecture: 1948 AM and 5708 AM. In traditional chronology, as detailed in Seder Olam Rabbah, Abraham’s birth occurs in 1948 AM, approximately 1813 BCE. This marks the pivot from chaos to the Torah era, as Abraham’s covenant initiates the Jewish people’s mission. Mystically, each Torah verse corresponds to a year, per the Vilna Gaon: the 1,948th verse is Exodus 14:13, where Moses declares, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will work for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall never see again.” This verse depicts the splitting of the Red Sea, a miraculous redemption fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 15:13–14: slavery followed by liberation. Midrash Shemot Rabbah 21:5 links it directly: “For the merit of Abraham, I will split the sea.” Thus, 1948 AM—Abraham’s birth—aligns with a verse of national birth, the Exodus as the first step toward the Promised Land.
Fast-forward to 5708 AM, or 1948 CE, when the State of Israel was reestablished after 2,000 years of exile. This modern miracle echoes Abraham’s covenant, fulfilling promises like Deuteronomy 30:3–5: “God will restore you to the land.” The corresponding 5,708th Torah verse is Deuteronomy 16:18: “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.” Ramban comments: “This ensures righteous governance in the land, the foundation of dwelling securely.” In 1948 CE, amid the ashes of the Holocaust, Israel declared independence, establishing a just society in the ancestral homeland—a direct echo of Abraham’s legacy.
The numerical parallel—1948 AM to 5708 AM—is no coincidence in Jewish thought. It reflects divine synchronicity, where history cycles through the 6,000-year timeline encoded in the six alefs. Abraham’s birth in the second millennium initiates the Torah era; Israel’s rebirth in the sixth heralds Messianic fulfillment. As Rabbi Tatz notes, the Torah is the cause of reality—events unfold from its blueprint.
To contrast this redemptive arc, consider the rejection of Ephraim, a theme woven into Genesis’s tribal history. In Genesis 48–49, Jacob blesses Ephraim above Manasseh, yet later scriptures reveal Ephraim’s fall. Psalm 78:67 states: “He rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loved.” Rashi explains this as the transfer of kingship to David after the Northern Kingdom’s idolatry. Hosea 4:17 laments: “Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone.” Seven verses in total point to this rejection, including Hosea 5:9 (“Ephraim shall become a desolation”) and Jeremiah 7:15 (“I will cast out… the offspring of Ephraim”). Ephraim’s sins—idolatry and division—contrast with Judah’s fidelity, leading to the Southern Kingdom’s survival and eventual restoration in 1948 CE. This shift, foreshadowed in Genesis 49:10 (“The scepter shall not depart from Judah”), underscores Genesis as history’s cause: tribal choices ripple through time, culminating in Judah’s triumph.
On a personal note, as someone who discovered my Jewish heritage at 33, from a Crypto-Jewish family—the Diaz Ramirez line, descendants of Levi with my grandfather a Kohen—this axis resonates deeply. My uncles’ DNA confirmed our Kohen marker, tracing back through Mexico and Germany, possibly linking to ancient priests like those in Abraham’s era. Circumcision, encoded in Bereishit, symbolizes this covenantal continuity, much like Israel’s rebirth in 1948 CE.
In conclusion, Genesis is the blueprint and cause of Jewish history—a divine text where letters like the six alefs map 6,000 years, words like Bereishit encode 613 commandments, and verses align with pivotal years. The axis of 1948 AM and 5708 AM binds Abraham’s covenant to Israel’s modern miracle, transforming exile into redemption. As the Zohar teaches, “God looked into the Torah and created the world.” May we continue to study this blueprint, finding our place in its eternal narrative. Thank you for your attention—questions are welcome.
