From Genesis To Eternity:
The Promise of Global Salvation & Shalom

The goal of today’s lesson is to discover what Hashem's first order of business was in creation. Specifically we will study what it meant for Him to separate the light from the darkness. In a later study we will examine the depths of this separation and how the first task for Hashem was actually to separate righteousness from unrighteousness.

In this study, we will examine information gathered through diligent studies of the Hebrew scriptures so as to give a firmer foundation of the information we learned in our previous study of Genesis Chapter 1: 1-6 & 14-19.

In the beginning of space and time, Hashem broke through the darkness with His light. This light is the light of Torah, His first created thing. Later, Hashem would promise that through living in and by the light of Torah all of creation can live in utter shalom.

This passage tells us that in the nakedness of their vulnerability, Adam and Havah stood bare in the garden, where The Almighty G-d walked among them, and were not ashamed. They did not hide, they did not cover themselves like the angels did with their wings (as was discussed previously). Shrouded in G-d’s presence and cut from the cloth of Hashem, they lived with, and approached, G-d in confident intimacy. This close, intimate relationship is promised to all humanity, especially Jews, if only we keep Torah and live in the presence of Hashem.

This first marriage of Adam and Eve is an embodiment of sorts of the relationship between Hashem and His chosen people—yay, His chosen Bride—Israel, the Jewish people and the Jewish Nation.

The first act of creation was for Hashem to create His Aleph-Beit, which allowed Him to speak & therefore create all. From the first letter, aleph, to the last letter, tav, Hashem created the promises of shalom and salvation before He even spoke them into creation.

Tav is the last letter of the Hebrew Alphabet. Meaning mark, sign, omen, or seal, it is the symbol of truth, perfection, and completion. It represents the restoration Tikkun תיקון of all of existence....As soon as the Tav is reached, we begin again immediately by going back to the Aleph, the one source of everything. The end is never really the end, but the beginning of something new. Even though the "Tav" was not good for salvation, the cross did (and still does) provide the opportunity to begin again with aleph.

The "good news" is that all mankind can experience the light and shalom of Hashem if only we will turn to Him, love Him, and live by His Torah.