Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, had an interesting take on this week’s Torah portion, Beresheit.

In Kaplan’s interpretation, God in the first of the two stories of creation in Genesis is actually “the reification of the idea of the Creative Laws that make the universe a cosmos, rather than a chaos.” The opening chapter of the Torah, he states, “conveys the idea that Nature’s God, the personification of the process of Creative Law, produced a creature which would, in turn, function like the Creator . . . creatively transforming the chaos of violence into order.”

Kaplan believed that “The moral implication,  of the traditional teaching that God created the world is that creativity, or the continuous emergence of aspects of life not prepared for or determined by the past, constitutes the most divine phase of reality.”

"The main purpose of the opening chapter of the Torah is not to give an account of creation but to teach that the world, as God created it, is a fit place for man to achieve his godlikeness, or salvation."

In other words, the world as we know it, is a place for us, as individuals, to express our creativity.  When we are being our most creative, we are actualizing our neshemah, our soul, that unique part of us that was “breathed into us” at birth.  And, through that breath we access our creativity, revealing the divine nature that is within us.  And that very creativity can act as a catalyst for tikkun olam, repair of the world

What is interesting to note is that Kaplan saw Creativity as the most divine phase – not charity or compassion, not religious devotion, or adherence to ritual.  And, each of us is blessed with this ability to form something new.  And he also said that it wasn’t something we planned or something that required us to focus on the past.  In essence, he was saying that to be creative one has to have kavannah, or the ability to pay attention in the present moment.

As a writer, I string words together to form sentences which ultimately become paragraphs, essays, a novel.  As a knitter, I take yarn and form stitches which ultimately become a scarf, a sweater, an afghan.  And, you too, can make manifest God’s gifts as you go through your daily lift.  As it says in the Talmud “Every blade of grass has its Angel that bends over it and whispers, “Grow, grow.”

This past year, I had the unfortunate experience of having to deal with two legal situations.  In both disputes, the people involved did not want to follow the rules of the contract.  They didn’t feel that their obligation was fair…even though they had signed on the dotted line.

In this week’s Torah portion, Netzavim, Moses delivers instructions that are very strict.  He knows that his time with the Israelites is coming to an end and he knows that the chance of his people dispersing far and wide is strong.  So, he outlines very specific guidelines which, if not followed, will bring very dire consequences.

Why be so harsh?  Why be so restrictive?  What Moses understands is that without adherence to specific laws, the possibility of his people surviving as a community is small.  He mentions that there will be temptation to stray, but that the laws will bring individuals back to God.  And, he also says that he is leaving them with written laws to which they can refer in order to stay on the correct path.  He knows that without these concrete guidelines, chaos and anarchy will rain.

Back in modern day court, in the first dispute, the judge ruled in my favor.  The defendant was livid and requested permission to make a plea before the bench.  His argument was based on what he deemed his past generosity and, in his opinion, what would be the most fair outcome.  The judge listened patiently and then replied, with great compassion.  He said that he hears cases day in and day out and it is his job to abide by the law.  If he were to stray from his interpretations and rulings and make his decisions based on anecdote or perceived fairness, he would not be doing his job.  And, his rulings would be inconsistent which, in turn, would cause havoc in the community. 

Moses ends his speech by telling his people to choose blessings over curses.  And, in effect says, that these rules and laws are to protect not harm.  And, that by following them, they will flourish as a people and survive as a community.  The judge, too, concluded by telling the defendant to count his blessings.  His final words were that in five years this supposed breach of fairness would just be a blip on the radar and that he should move on. 

In other words, the judge, like Moses, was advising to “choose life” in order to move forward, choose life in order to ensure one’s survival, choose life for the sake of one’s family, and choose  life for the successful future of the larger community.