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Beresheet
Genesis 1:1–6:8
Isaiah 42:5–43:10

As the mother of a toddler, I love to read aloud books I enjoyed as a child. When I was young, I particularly loved the Berenstain Bears books — especially “The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Birthday.” In the little story, Sister Bear eagerly awaits her 6th birthday party, which includes cake and ice cream, presents and games, pony rides and a merry-go-round. But before the end of the party, she bursts into tears. It seems that all of the excitement has been a little bit much for the 6-year-old cub. Sister Bear learns the important lesson of moderation — that sometimes a little bit of celebration goes a long way.

As I read the story to my son, I realize that I feel a little bit like Sister Bear at this point in the year: Think “The Berenstain Bears and Too Many Holidays.” After lots of anticipation, we reflected all through Elul, we celebrated Rosh Hashanah, we were solemn and contemplative as we fasted on Yom Kippur, and then we joyfully experienced Sukkot. We danced with the Torah as we began to read from it once again from the beginning. I am exhausted — and I didn’t even host a holiday meal! I can only imagine that you are, too.

Soon, we will enter the month of Cheshvan, a unique time in the Jewish cycle. It is also called Marcheshvan, or “bitter Cheshvan,” presumably because it is a month with no holidays. During Cheshvan, the rhythm of time slows to a distinctly non-celebratory pace. We observe only ordinary moments that are quietly punctuated by Shabbat. I suppose bitter is one word for it. I might also call it a much-needed respite.

As the excitement of Tishrei turns a corner into the steadiness of Cheshvan, we turn our Torah back to the very beginning. With our souls pure and our spirits refreshed, we re-enter our story from its first moments. Parashat Beresheet is our recollection of the earth in its simplest form. In the beginning, there is no question that the world, at its core, is good. The universe is just like us at the conclusion of the High Holy Day season: untainted by the necessities of life on Earth, blameless as the first page in a brand-new story.

Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan, theologian and founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, wrote in his pivotal work “The Meaning of God in Modern Jewish Religion” that “both man and the universe are ever in a state of being created.” In other words, every day, at every moment, we encounter the purity of beginning and the consistent order of continuing. There is always the potential to make sense where there is none.  Creation is still happening, still in process. We are constantly, consistently writing the Torah of our lives as we craft each day around the promises we made to ourselves through the haze of Tishrei’s many holy moments.

It is now time for us to put all of the work and reflection that we’ve done over the High Holy Days into action. Back to the ordinary rhythm of life, it might be easy for us to slip back into our old habits and forget the Al Cheyts (confessions) that we chanted, and the alphabet of sins that we stood to recite. Now that we look back on the High Holy Days from the other side of the gates, it is all too easy for us to be the same people we were before we took this journey of reflection and repair.

We begin our story anew as we roll our scroll once again to Parashat Beresheet. We continue the work of our own creation after the excitement of the High Holy Days has passed and we have re-entered the regular moments of our lives. We carry with us the pages that we wrote throughout our days of reflection, and the vows that we made as we stood together listening to the calls of the shofar. As we make our way out of the exhaustion and euphoria that accompany the Days of Awe, may we move forward into normalcy with intention and inspiration to write the story we are proud to live.

Rabbi Sara Mason-Barkin is an associate rabbi and educator at Peninsula Temple Beth El in San Mateo. She can be reached at [email protected].