Tuesday, August 16, 2011

In the Beginning

...God created heaven and earth, the stars and the moon, the cows and the chickens (ok, maybe it was the eggs)...and then came man.  Man sinned, evil came upon the world, and we are forever responsible to atone for that sin - toil, labor pains, hardships and self-perfection.  And life goes on...  Obviously this cannot be understood superficially, void of depth and meaning, but on a very rudimentary level...kid, this is it.  Your grandpa Adam did a nono - here's a flashlight, don’t get lost in the dark.  Be good and wait for the redemption.  Try to make sense of all this, but don’t over think it!  G'luck.

Ok.  Not really, but it seems like there are far too many people who live that way.

What often is not emphasized is that Adam was granted with a tremendous quality; he was the prized product of his Creator.  Analytically, he was God’s self-portrait – bestowed with a Tselem Elokim (God’s image) - no pun intended.  Growing up, I understood that because we are created b’Tselem, it is our duty to make a Kiddush Hashem (sanctify His name) and not misrepresent Him in any way.  While this is true, and I still believe and try to live up to that – It has come to mean so much more to me.


When I was 14 or so, my family went to Niagara Falls.  Yup, they were pretty much all they’re cracked up to be…incredible.  But standing there, with the stars shining above me and the waters rushing below, I could not help but be entranced by the image before me.  The Canadian skyline, with its lights winking playfully took my breath away, and I thought ‘yes, God created something so awesomely amazing as the falls, but people aren’t that bad either.’  I felt almost guilty thinking that…but it wasn’t until years later that my thought was, kind of, justified.  I learned that God created man…to create.  He gave us the power, in His image, to build, produce and bring light into this world – both literally and figuratively.  We build upon what he established.

And so still, whenever I happen to be driving at night past the New York skyline or flying over a city ablaze with lights, I am captivated by the beauty and by our power.

No comments:

Post a Comment