Since moving to Houston, my family and I have been taking in all the sights and sounds of a new town, a new home, and a new community. We have enjoyed the warm fall weather, the horses on the drive to school, and getting to be a tourist in our new home for a bit. Many have asked us how New Jersey and Houston differ and what we may miss from living there. We have fond memories of our time in New Jersey and are enjoying forging new ones in Houston. Yet, last night, we finally felt what it was like being the outsider as my wife and I took in the first game of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park.
We, and the 10 other Yankee fans, were alone in a sea of varying shades of orange and yellow. Some might say we were misguided, that we should have adjusted our allegiances. My wife has never seen me less animated at a baseball game. I was very active, just engaged differently than most around us. I sat there listening to all that was going on around me and wondering, “Is this what Adam felt like?”
In פרשת בראשית, this week’s Parsha, Parshat Bereishit, we find Adam, the first human created, alone attempting to find his purpose and place in the world he was forged into. He greets all of the animals as he is tasked by Hashem to give them names and he notices that each one of them is coupled with a mate. However, it is Adam alone amongst all those cherishing life around him.
חז״ל, our rabbis, have taught us that Hashem is the only perfect entity and that His creations are made in His image:
וַיִּבְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ אֶת־הָֽאָדָם֙ בְּצַלְמ֔וֹ בְּצֶ֥לֶם אֱלֹהִ֖ים בָּרָ֣א אֹת֑וֹ
And Hashem created man in the image of Hashem - Bereishit 1:27
Just as the creator was a perfect being, the creations were molded in the manner of a perfect creator with precise measurements, designs and qualities. If that is so, it would lead us to believe that Hashem designed it so that Adam should be alone. That was the blueprint from the beginning yet Adam did not see it that way. Neither did Hashem:
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֔ים לֹא־ט֛וֹב הֱי֥וֹת הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְבַדּ֑וֹ אֶֽעֱשֶׂה־לּ֥וֹ עֵ֖זֶר כְּנֶגְדּֽוֹ
And Hashem noticed that it was not good that Adam was alone and he created a match to support him - Bereishit 2:19
We are left to wonder, which is it? Was this the perfect master’s design all along or did an error occur along the way?
Back to Minute Maid Park. The ebb and flow of the game went as most would assume. One team scored first, followed by the next and back and forth they went. If you were not listening carefully you wouldn’t have heard it. If you were not attuned to it you would not recognize its existence. The sound of the tension, anxiety and uncertainty that presented itself in the game. The same sound emanated from Adam and was heard by Hashem. Hashem heard that it was not good for Adam to be alone and put the wheels in motion to respond. As we leave the House of Hashem, the tent that we have inhabited for the past month and then some to simply come out unchanged then we have missed the mark. Thus, Hashem provides us with the chance to hear the sound once again in the form of פרשת בראשית and the story of Adam and Chavah.
This week’s פרשה allows us the chance to remember that we are not the same people that entered the months of Elul and Tishrei. We are something different than our original form. If we ignore this new identity Hashem will hear that it is ״לא טוב״, that it is not good. We were given the gift of life for a reason. We earned the right to be in this moment. And now the real work begins.
Hashem has set the guidelines as he did for Adam and Chavah. Are we ready?