Put Yourself in the Story of Creation

What happens when we put ourselves into the art of creating the world that we wish it to be?

As we begin reading the Torah again, Pirkei Avot teaches, “With 10 utterances, the world came into being.”

The Rabbis ask, “Does God not have the power to bring the world into being with one word alone?”

The answer: God chose 10 utterances in order to punish the wicked who destroy the world in 10 utterances, and to give a reward to the righteous who maintain that the world was created in 10 utterances. 

From this, we learn that a lot of little pieces make a whole. While our private actions matter, our collective action serves our ultimate goals.

The Derech Chaim, a commentary on repentance, explains that the human being has a different perspective of the world than God. For while God saw creation as one utterance, we saw it as 10.

Shabbat concludes creation. Sforno, the Italian commentator, teaches that God blesses creation with a neshama yeteira, an extra soul for each Shabbat of all time. 

While this extra soul is often spoken about in metaphorical terms, there are moments where that soul becomes real, moments where we understand that the words we utter can create an entire world. 

This past Yom Kippur, the Sinai Temple clergy composed a new martyrology liturgy. While we remembered Rabbi Akiva and the Roman decree against Torah study, we also dedicated the time to the heroic martyrs of Oct. 7.

We concluded with a story of hope.

Lauren Dolinka is the Sinai Akiba Academy lower school director.

Lauren traveled to Israel in April with other Jewish educators. Lauren was pregnant at the time and she and her husband Mike, wanted to name their child after an Oct. 7 hero.

Lauren learned the story of Aviv Baram, the security chief of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, and was so moved. But one Aviv was not enough. After reading an article about Aviv Eliyahu, the chief of security of the NOVA festival, they named their son Aviv, after two heroes they had never met. 

A few weeks ago, Lauren’s husband, Mike, a lone soldier on the Gaza border years ago, was speaking to his adopted Israeli family and quickly found out that they knew Aviv Baram. Today, the Dolinkas are in touch with Aviv Baram’s family.

As Lauren came down from the bima, I quietly asked her, 

“But what about Aviv Eliyahu? Do you know anything about him?” 

Lauren told me, “Rabbi, I wish I did, but all I know is the article I read.”

This week, I received a call from a Sinai Temple member who asked if I had an extra lulav for a visiting Israeli, named Sinai.  The man’s nephew is Shlomi Ziv, one of the hostages rescued in Operation Arnon in June, after 246 days in Hamas captivity.

When I spoke to him, he was adamant that he come to see me to tell me his son’s story.

I said, “Sinai, who is your son?” He told me, “My son is Aviv Eliyahu, the chief of security at the Nova festival.” 

Yes, the same Aviv Eliyahu who Lauren Dolinka named her newborn after.

Last Wednesday, Sinai Eliyahu and his family came to Sinai Temple the day before Simchat Torah. That night began the first yahrtzeit of their son Aviv. 

Yet that morning, an entire new world was created. In front of the entire Douglass Family ECC mini-minyan, as our youngest children sang “Hatikvah,” Lauren Dolinka was introduced to the Eliyahu family, embracing with smiles and tears. 

Later, we learned Aviv’s story and how he saved thousands of people that day. When people were running away to safety, he said these words, lchu lkivun hashemesh, “Go in the direction of the sun.” This echoed the words of God’s utterances the first day of creation, “Let there be light!”

Aviv Eliyahu’s mother then looked at Lauren, and gave her a blessing, all of the characteristics of her son, Aviv,  that she wishes for baby Aviv — a life filled with joy, happiness, and shemesh sunshine.

As Jews, the calendar tells us it is time to create the world again.

Remember, God did not create this world with one utterance. Rather, there were 10 utterances. We must keep speaking, we must keep sharing, we must keep living. Each of our utterances and words matter so that one day we will eventually create that ultimate Shabbat, where the neshama yeteira, that extra soul, will be felt. While the world was created in 10 utterances, we are an am echad lev echad; we are one people with one heart.

Remember, God did not create this world with one utterance. Rather, there were 10 utterances. We must keep speaking, we must keep sharing, we must keep living. 

This year, let us fill our world with light and say the words of Aviv Eliyahu, lchu lkivun hasheemsh — let’s head to the direction of the sun.

Rabbi Erez Sherman is Senior Rabbi of Sinai Temple.