By: Noa Notrika
Israel & Overseas Center Manager
As we gather each year for Simchat Torah, we return to the beginning, to Bereshit, the story of creation. With every new cycle, we are invited to reflect on the meaning of creation and what it holds for us at this moment in time.
There are two powerful concepts regarding creation: Yesh Me’ayin (יֵשׁ מֵאַיִן), creating “something from nothing”, and Yesh Mi’yesh (יֵשׁ מִיֵּשׁ) – creating “something from something.” While Yesh Me’ayin speaks to God’s miraculous act of bringing the universe into existence from nothing, Yesh Mi’yesh reflects the process of shaping and transforming the world from what already exists.
As we stand after a year marked by tragedy, when the massacre of October 7 occurred on Simchat Torah, the question of our creative work takes on a deeper meaning. The “yesh” from which we create in the wake of this last year is laden with pain, loss, and complexity. Yet, in the aspects of existence, humans stand apart from other creatures, participating in the divine power of creation and the power of choice. This divine spark within us allows us to be creators within the given world, which still holds so much chaos and confusion—both inside and outside. The power to create offers an optimistic foundation. It allows us to transform that which is turbulent into something meaningful. Now, more than ever, we are called upon to make a conscious choice—not to embrace nothingness, but to take this changed existence and decide what we will create this year for ourselves, for our families, and for our community.
May this Shabbat of Bereshit inspire us to create with intention, drawing from all that we are, and building a future filled with purpose.
Please email Noa Notrika at nnotrika@jewishcolorado.org with questions or comments.