Hashem created me at the beginning of His course as the first of His works of oldProverbs 8:22 (The Israel Bible™)יְהֹוָה קָנָנִי רֵאשִׁית דַּרְכּוֹ קֶדֶם מִפְעָלָיו מֵאָזHear the verse in Hebrewa-do-NAI ka-NA-nee ray-SHEET dar-KO KE-dem mif-a-LAV may-AZ
The Beginning of God's Work
The wisdom of the Torah (Bible) is described in this verse as the “beginning of His course.” The Hebrew word for ‘beginning,’ reishit (ראשית), is also used to describe the Children of Israel, called reisheet t’vuato, ‘the first-fruits of Hashem’s (God's) harvest’ (Jeremiah 2:3), and it is also the first word of the Book of Genesis, describing the creation of the world. The Sages connect the three uses of this word and teach that Hashem created the world for the sake of Israel and of the Torah. God created a world in which the Children of Israel are to follow the Torah, and thereby serve as a model for the rest of the nations.
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