Breishis
The body and Soul of the Torah

Bereishis Bara Elokim, in the Beginning G-d created. Kabbalah teaches that the Torah's opening words form the very building blocks of creation. The word Bereishis contains within it all of the Torah's teachings. Every letter of Torah is integral and deliberate. This must certainly be true of the very first letter, the letter Beis. It kicks-off the Torah's narrative and is the letter through which G-d directs His creative energy.
The introduction to the Zohar describes how each of the letters of the Alef-Bet, came before G-d for a ‘job interview' competing for the opportunity to begin the Torah. Working backwards from Tav (the final letter of the Alef-Bet) G-d dismissed each of the letters. Finally came the second letter of the alphabet - Beis. As the source of blessing (the first letter of the word Beracha), Beis got the job.
Little Alef remained outside. G-d asked why he hadn't entered like the other letters. ‘Master of the World' said Alef, ‘I saw each letter get rejected and thought: why would I (the starting letter of the word Arira - cursed) be any different? Anyway, you have already given Beis this greatest of honours!'
‘Don't worry,' G-d assured little Alef, ‘It is you with your humility who is truly the head of all the letters. Beis may be the first letter of the Torah, but I have an even greater role for you.'
For 26 generations Alef waited until the Giving of the Torah, when G-d proclaimed: Anochi Hashem Elokecha, I am the Lord your G-d - the first of the Ten Commandments.
The Torah has 2 dimensions: It is wisdom to be studied and comprehended, yet on a deeper level the Torah is a divine gift beyond human comprehension, which binds us to G-d. The first dimension focuses on our individual capacities for understanding, which will differ from person to person. The second aspect emphasizes our humility and surrender to something far beyond our finite grasp.
Starting the Torah with the letter Beis alludes to us that the intellectual body of Torah, encapsulated in its words and meaning is of secondary importance. Before the Beis of Bereishis must come the Alef - connection and surrender to G-d. This surrender gives meaning and inspiration to our study. The Alef dimension is epitomised by the Ten Commandments, when all of the Jewish people heard G-d's voice and were utterly overwhelmed by the Divine revelations of the Torah.
This is the uniqueness of our connection to Torah. The non-Jewish world may recognise the wisdom of the Torah but they have no inkling of its essence. The Talmud describes how king Ptolemy ordered 72 Rabbis to translate the Torah into Greek. G-d gave them divine insight to make certain textual emendations so that the Torah could not be distorted to support idolatry. Instead of writing Bereishis Bara Elokim, which may have been interpreted (G-d forbid) that a different deity called Bereishis created G-d, they rearranged the words to read Elokim Bara Bereishis.
For Ptolemy the text of the Torah starts with an Alef because for him the body of the Torah, its history and philosophy, is all that there is. But for us the written word of the Torah begins with a Beis. The Alef, the soul of Torah as G-d's supernal wisdom lies within our soul, and our inseparable connection to G-d, the source of Torah.

~ Rabbi Yoni Johnson

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