Bereshit, בְּרֵאשִׁית  "In the Beginning"  Genesis. 1:1-6:8

Beresheit / Regenesis 

Poetic notes on the first parashat of the Book of Genesis, Beresheit

In four rivers, flowing with the revelation of love,  

God created the heavens and the earth

From one commandment, one source, one head, 

the four rivers of creation were flowing

The one head of creation was one heart known only to God

These are the four rivers of creation which come from the eternal east 

and flow toward the beginning:

The river of time, carrying the appointed times for meeting God,

The river of space, carrying the appointed place for meeting God

The river of heavenly radiance, carrying the spirits who serve above

The river of earthly foundations, carrying the One Divine Breath of souls

Unlike a mere starting point,

the beginning is the beginning of every instant of the creation's existence

God created the beginning and end as the flowing water of the heavens,

and God created the beginning and the end 

as the flowing water of the earth below,

where he planted Adam within the Garden of Eden

For the earth was in the water and out of the water,

In every instant the earth oscillates between its beginning and its end

God created the earth to be an eye and ear 

to inscribe and seal the waters above

So it was that according to this design 

the word of God divided between the heavens and the earth,

between the flowing heavenly spirit,

and the the flowing earthly soul

For, in one word God created out of nothing but his own love

In one word, he created the world at the beginning 

and the world at the eternal end

In one word he created the world of righteousness which is to come,

which is the goal of all, world without end, amen

For within the beginning he created an end, 

a world in union with Him, the Eternal One

And in one word, Beresheit, "Beginning-of," 

God created the world, the world of redemption,

the world of Regenesis,

in order that the revelation of the four rivers

could be seen and heard from the eye and ear of the earth

In the beginning created God the heavens and the earth

But sadly, the heavens were shocked

and the earth was dismayed

Sadly, the heaven’s joy was dark and unexpressed,

and the earth’s hands were quiet

They were clumsy and trembling and did not clap with praise…

The worlds were ashamed because they knew what was coming

There is a field where truth and beauty grow from the ground

and wisdom and eternal life hang as fruit from the trees,

where the rivers are spirit

and streams flow with waters of kindness

and where souls play inbetween the fingers of God

There is a Garden of Eden

and four rivers flow from there to water the whole earth

We came to be there,

and then we were exiled from there,

even while at that very moment the Anointing Spirit of God

was searching for a place to touch the Temple's face,

hovering so gently over the Torah's waves of creation,

searching for the appointed time to meet with Israel as one,

to unite angels and Adam in one joy and praise for their Creator

Adam was head of the house,

and the priest of prayer at the table

But Adam's eye was wandering in the darkness

The Temple's face was flush with embarrassment...

Then God got gracefully involved with Creation

He got personal involved in assisting Creation

He decided to help 

God explained to Creation what to do

He explained as to a newborn one, a very little one,

God said, "Let there be light!"

Let the heavens have faith

and the earth have thankfulness!

And with faith and thankfulness,

let them have the confidence to taste their joy in their mouths

and let their joy radiate in speech!

Let the earth share like a little sister in the faith of the heavens,

and let the mountains stretch out their hands and clap, Amen!

Let there be light, let there be music!

Let the heavens sing and the earth dance with prayer!

But our eye was too smart and self-satisfied to see

Adam's ear was made for the word of God,

but our ear was filled with whispers 

Then the Garden of Eden cleaned itself 

and washed itself from Adam

In the tent of a thousand years the children sat round 

The offspring of exiled Adam and Eve sat down to hear stories,

stories about the coming Noah

The first mother and father of them all,

grandfather Adam and grandmother Eve,

told stories there in the tent of a thousand years,

in a tent where only the repentant listened

Now the stories the children asked to hear

were about the coming judgment and stormy end,

about the coming Noah,

and the mystery of the future people who after that would come

For surely there would be some little salvation

and the Noah would have some bit of his family saved

Who would survive the coming judgment and stormy end?

Surely, the animals would not perish

Surely, the living souls of the earth would not all be sacrificed!

For the Adam and Eve had heard the Almighty

when He cursed the serpent

God did not curse the woman's seed,

but declared instead that

there would be vindication through the woman's offspring

Clearly, this was a great mystery

concerning a future people,

offspring of the woman still to come

Surely the Noah would see some hope

Surely there would be a shoot sprouting from desolate ground

For the curse of God made the earth a prison planet

and left children wandering in the barrens

The sentence of death was the crushing sword of heaven

It would take the form of a heel upon he serpent's head

Therefore, it was certain that the serpent would yet see its final day

The children in the tent of Adam and Eve listened in fear,

knowing that no one would stand in the day of the judgment storm,

except the righteous Noah,

the Noah of rest foretold to Adam and Eve in secret

All flesh is grass

and its flower is washed away in a flood,

believer and rebel alike

All except a little remnant

All the earth was touched by the great corruption,

No flesh would prove worthy to survive

This is because they did not see the greatness of their worth to God

Even so, the righteous Noah would find grace

in the eyes of the Eternal Holy One

The light and music of God’s grace had grown dim and quiet,

but in the heart of Noah would be found a spark

to reignite it and carry grace forward to a future family, 

a seed of the woman, 

a nation yet to come

The children of the thousand year tent

therefore composed laments,

softly sung songs and somber music,

Combining mourning with joy,

they sang songs of how one day

their spirits would be rescued from the grave,

and their souls would return in the great Regenesis

And so it was that the four rivers of the revelation of love,

which had come from one head east of the beginning,

returned to one head in the end

This place of return 

was the place of the waters of genesis, of beginning,

East of the beginning was the place  

of the waters of regenesis

For it was necessary that the word of creation

first have the power of regenesis

before it had the power of genesis

Therefore the word of creation is called the Torah waters

For the Torah waters from above its letters

met with the Torah waters from beneath its letters

Then the waters of judgment receded

and the dry ground appeared

And salvation came to Noah

And regensis came to the souls which were given to him to save

And God put a rainbow between the lines of His Torah

and made by it a promise to Noah,

that there would be a covenant among his offspring

This is the covenant of day and night,

that when God would bring the beginning to an end,

and turn the world inside out and upside down,

it would be in all Creation an act of salvation and not destruction

For it is the desire of God

to hear the music of joy and not of mourning,

filled with the brilliant light of human peace and victory

Therefore He said to Noah,

This rainbow that

 you see, call that rainbow, Abraham

This covenant that you see foretold in the sky, 

call that covenant, Abraham and Sarah

and their offspring after them

For it is they whom God will bring up out of the land of corruption,

like an army of God with their feet like wings,

crushing the satan beneath their heel,

obeying God’s commandment, 

their faith conquering all unholiness

They shall be saved out of darkness, 

marking with light the month of God's salvation

It shall be the first month of Creation

Each family for its own household shall take a lamb,

to hear and do the Torah of God with that lamb

For then the music of God's light and grace

will resound in all the river spheres

And God will rest in joy

He will wipe away the dark tear with the mitzvah of light

Noah built a ship to ride the judgment waters

until the dry land of respite appeared,

and only a few were saved with the animals

Abraham built a tower suspended in the air

And ran out to invite into it all who came near

And there they will remain

until the lava of evil explodes and cools

and hardens upon the earth and its nations

For then the son of Abraham will come

to bring Jerusalem down to the ground

and everywhere the land will blossom with the spiritual rose,

beginning God's creation of the heavens and the earth