Ohr HaChaim Yomi: Yitzhak Levi’s weekly question and answer on Parashat Bereshit, drawing on the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh, Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar.
Question: Parashat Bereisheet. Hashem creates the entire world. Light. Darkness. Oceans. Animals. Man. Everything is beautiful.
And then…Adam and Chava eat from the one tree they were specifically told not to touch. One rule! They had one rule! And suddenly, Hashem is handing out punishments.
The snake loses its legs. Chava will experience pain during childbirth. Adam will have to work the land to produce his food.
Sounds pretty harsh, right? But here’s something fascinating. Even within these punishments, Hashem leaves room for tremendous blessings.
The Answer: Hashem’s Mercy Doesn’t Disappear When We Sin
Let’s start with the snake. Hashem curses the snake to crawl on its belly. No more legs.
Now, at first glance, that’s a pretty serious downgrade. But think about it.
The snake can still move remarkably quickly! And now, without legs, it can slither into holes, cracks, and crevices that would have been difficult to enter before.
The punishment is real. But the snake wasn’t left helpless. Even here, we can appreciate Hashem’s mercy.
What About Chava?
Hashem tells Chava:
“In pain shall you bear children.” ”םיִנָב יִדְלֵּת בֶצֶעְּב“
Now that’s no small punishment. But Midrash Rabbah Bereisheet teaches something beautiful.
During the pain of childbirth, a woman may feel that she never wants to go through such an experience again.
Yet Hashem allows her desire for her husband to return. Why? Because the pain of childbirth was never meant to bring an end to the blessing of children. Think about that.
Even within the punishment, Hashem preserves the possibility of love, family, and future generations.
The pain is temporary. The blessing of bringing life into this world can last for generations.
And Then There’s Adam…
Hashem tells Adam:
“By the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread.””םֶחֶל לַכאֹּת `יֶּפַא תַעֵזְּב“
Gone are the days of walking through Gan Eden and picking whatever you’d like. Now Adam has to work. Plant. Harvest. Grind. Bake.
At this point Adam is probably thinking: “All this because I wanted a little fruit?!”
But here’s the beautiful part. There is a special satisfaction that comes from enjoying the fruits of your own labor.
Imagine someone gifts you an entire barrel of the finest wine. Wonderful!
Now imagine you spend weeks harvesting grapes, pressing them, preparing the wine, and finally producing one small bottle yourself.
Which bottle will you appreciate more? Probably the one you made.
Not because it tastes better. But because you poured yourself into it. Hashem’s punishment introduced hardship.
But within that hardship lies the opportunity to experience accomplishment, pride, and appreciation for what we’ve worked to create.
Reality Check
Let’s be honest. Nobody enjoys being punished. Nobody wakes up and says: “Hashem, things have been going a little too smoothly lately. You got anything for me?”
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But Bereisheet teaches us something extraordinary. Sometimes the very circumstances we consider difficult contain opportunities we never would have appreciated otherwise. The snake still finds shelter. Chava can experience the joy of motherhood. Adam discovers the satisfaction of hard work.
The consequences remain, but so does Hashem’s kindness.
Modern Application: Looking for the Blessing Within the Difficulty
We all experience challenges. Financial setbacks. Disappointments. Plans that don’t work out.
And our first reaction is usually: “Why is this happening to me?” A fair question.
But perhaps Bereisheet encourages us to ask another: “What good can I discover or create even within this difficulty?”
Not every hardship comes with an obvious blessing. And we’re certainly not expected to enjoy suffering.
But if Hashem’s mercy was present even when Adam, Chava, and the snake were being punished… How much more should we strive to recognize His kindness in our own lives?
Final Thought
The very first parasha of the Torah teaches us something remarkable. Hashem is not only merciful when we do everything right.
He remains merciful even when we do something wrong.
Adam sinned. Chava sinned. The snake sinned. And all three faced consequences. But none was abandoned entirely.
Because Hashem’s justice and mercy are not opposites. They can exist together.
And perhaps that’s the greatest lesson to begin another year of Torah learning: Sometimes Hashem doesn’t remove the difficulty. He places the blessing right inside it.