Bereishis: When Life Doesn’t Follow the Script

By Aryeh Bienstock

At the end of the 6^th day of creation, the Torah says that Hashem saw that all that he made was very good.

וַיַּ֤רְא אֱלֹקִים֙ אֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֔ה וְהִנֵּה־ט֖וֹב מְאֹ֑ד וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר י֥וֹם הַשִּׁשִּֽׁי׃

However, throughout the opening perakim of Bereshit, we see that things didn’t go so well or seemingly as planned. We have the sin of Adam and Chava with the Etz HaDaat, Kayin killing Hevel, the destruction of the world in the flood, trees that were supposed to taste like their fruit but didn’t, and the story of the sun and the moon.

Rabbi Rosner, in his sefer Shalom Rav, asks: Why didn’t Hashem just create a world where everything worked out perfectly? What is the point of recording these various stories and failures in the Torah?

Rabbi Rosner answers this questions by quoting Rabbi Reisman who quotes his Rebbe, Rabbi Pam, who explains “the Torah begins with things that did not go as planned in life, we must respond to these imperfections by creating an alternate plan. The Torah is teaching us how to move to “Plan B””.  Many times we find ourselves making plans which do not work out, we are not able to accomplish them, and here the Torah is teaching us that sometimes we need to pivot -to adapt, to move to a new plan or a backup plan.

Rabbi Frand quotes Rabbi Soloveitchik who uses a similar idea to explain the Midrash on this pasuk. The Midrash (Bereshis Rabbah 3:7) quotes an opinion that says that Hashem kept creating and destroying the world until he created this world.

Rabbi Soloveitchik explains that this is tied to the mitzvah of “Mah Hu, af attah” — just as Hashem acts, so must we emulate Him. This mitzvah is not limited to specific behaviors.Therefore, Hashem created and destroyed the world multiple times to teach us that if you fail or something doesn’t go as planned try again - move onto your next plan and implement that. Rabbi Frand continues “Failure should not inhibit our creativity and should not inhibit our ambition. We each must become ‘creators of worlds’ in our own limited capacities. If our creations fail, so be it. We can follow G-d’s example and try it again.”

As we emerge from the Yamim Noraim season and mark the return of our hostages, this is an especially meaningful time for reflection — to recognize what went well, and to thoughtfully consider where we may need to pivot, revise, or move forward with our Plan B.