Order emerges from chaos. The primordial state of this
universe is disorder the creation process is defining the disorder boundaries
This is my translation of the first three sentences in
Genesis, it s very challenging translating those almighty words from the Hebrew
origin, for me those few sentences encapsulates the owe and attraction I have
to the bible and the reason why I read it every day.
Genesis – chapter A
a-
At first God created the
skies and the earth
b-
And the land was in topsy-turvy
and darkness on abyss and God spirit hovering on the water
c-
God ordered let there be
light and there was light
Those 3 first sentences of the bible hold a great and
unresolved mystery I ll try to summarize it in the following questions:
What was the origin
of our known universe?
What is the first
known matter from which planets and galaxies evolved?
Is our universe a onetime phenomenon or a part of cyclic
cosmic events?
For what? What could
be a divine goal in creating the universe and human beings?
Those are eternal questions asked by humanity from first
known recorded history humongous amount of books were written about the
Genesis book and its exegetics, the question is why I bother myself to add more
in this abundant subject.
I hope the answer will clarify in the end of this short
essay.
The Hebrew word that initiates the bible is Bereshit the
translation ‘at first’ diminishes the meaning of this unique word it is not
only the first action but the origin of all beginnings.
The easiest escape is accepting the God creation, no
explanation needed. God as the supreme metaphysics metaphor with omnipotent
powers decided and created this universe. Science and big bang theory are out
of the equation.
If at first God created the skies was he doing something
before that? And if the skies? Where? The Genesis story is not the story of
Planet Earth only but the creation of the universe we live in, so where could
the skies – the first element created by God- be located if there are no
planets or Earth to host it.
The Dalai Lama had a great answer when he was asked, from
where our universe emerged; his answer was from another universe.
So this is a perpetual question what the first note that
ignited it all was.
At the second sentence appears in the original Hebrew 2
words that are unique only in this chapter those are ‘Tohu Vavohu’ I translated
it into topsy-turvy as the closest interpretation to total chaos I could find.
The scenario is a totally darkened world (the Sun stars and Moon where created
on Wednesday) on which there is constant movement of God spirit that is in the
midst of the creation process. There is another question to ponder about; there
is no introduction of this God. God or Elohim in Hebrew is the third word in
the bible. God appears as if he was in our minds forever no explanation needed.
God created the world we live in, issued a set of rules we should obey and from
this point on we are alone in this game.
The third sentence is for me the most amazing one in the
bible – let there be light and there was light
What kind of light exactly? The Sun and stars were created
on Wednesday, so from where this light came? This is the third creation:
First – skies
Second - earth
Third - light
There are scholars that claim the light is the forth
creation and the third is water that is mentioned in the second sentence
In 27 words (in the original Hebrew version) the chaos
starts to take shape, no more darkness and a clear division between up and down
Earth and Sky.
This is the bible story which I read over and over again;
the more I delved into the Genesis story the more it was obvious to me that it
is an allegory. Orthodox Jews would severely refute my theory, for them the
bible is the most sacred book of humanity and was transmitted by God itself to
Moses on Mount Sinai. For me it is the first description of the primordial
forces at play that are the architypes of all that determines human life since
then. There is matter at this stage of the universe and what started it all is
an ignition in the void the light is energy that has several forms of
appearance as magnetism or matter.
Those three sentences describe the journey from disorder to
order, there can’t be order if there was no disorder before and there can’t be
a mountain without a pit.
The most amazing fact about the third creation – the light
is that it was created for God’s eyes only there was no one else to witness
this magic, no human beings, no other living creatures and no stars as
witnesses.
It was God that approved every day’s creation and decided to
continue.
The human being is created on Friday, I have a different
special essay for this day as well but for this first day where everything
began we might consider a different type of reading
The earth, water and skies are but three levels of condensed
energy like gas-liquid-matter
And the light is the energy source. God in this sense is
light and order against the primordial state of abyss and disorder
This is the human journey as well an energetic combustion of
sperm and ovum creates life that grows and develops clear borders against the
outside chaos till the spirit leaves the body to join the light that ignited it
all.
Have magic in your life
Ted Barr
Yom Kipur October 12, 2016. Ramat Hasharon
