Parshat B'reshet

Hi all in blog land.

Here is most of the Dvar Torah that I gave at my bat mitzvah many many years ago. I first gave this D'var Torah Friday night infront of family in friends, then again Shabat morning at one of the services at shul. Saturday night I did Havdallah - which is why the D'var Torah was about Light. In theory, my bat Mitzvah weekend was parshat Bhar that deals with shmita (which is something we are dealing with in Israel this year) however, naturally in true Greenspan fashion, we chose to do something a little different... remember this was written by a 13 year old... comments and discussion is welcome!....


In the beginning G-d created the heaven and earth. And the earth was without
form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of
G-d hovered over the face of the waters. And G-d said let there be light;
and there was light. And G-d saw the light that it was good; and G-d divided
between the light and the darkness. And G-d called the light Day, and the
darkness he called Night. And it was evening and it was morning the first
day. "
- Parsha Bareshet
"Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us
with His commandments, and commanded us to light the Shabbat candles".
-Blessing of the Shabbat Candles
"Blessed art Thou, Eternal our G-d, Ruler of the universe, Creator of light
and fire.
-Blessing of the Havdallah Candle"
These statements have one thing in common. Light.
On the first day of the world, Hashem created light. On the sixth day, the
day of rest, we use Hashems first creation to welcome it. The women of the
house each light at least 2 candles 18 minutes before sundown. On Shabbat, we
use two candles in order to make Shabbat different and special from the rest
of the week when one candle is sufficient. All women are commanded to light
the Shabbat candles whether at home or away. If there are no women present,
then a man must light the candles.
The ritual of kindling the Shabbat candles is quite simple. It involves 4
parts. These are: first, the lighting of the candles, second the motion of
the hands, third covering your eyes and lastly, saying the blessing.
When the candles are lit, and you move move your hands 7 times over the
candles, and towards your body, one for each day of the week. You then cover
your eyes with your hands and recite the blessing for the candles and then
open your eyes. With the blessing, Shabbat begins. When you open your eyes
the first thing you see on Shabbat is the beauty of the Shabbat Light.
We use 2 candles as metaphors. They represent the 2 words, Zachor,
to remember the Shabbat, and Shamor, to keep the Shabbat.
These are the words that begin the commandment of the Shabbat in the Torah.
One candle may represent the Shabbat and the other represents the other days
of the week. We also say that Hashem is one and his law is the other candle.
Among other symbols are heaven and earth, day and night, light and darkness,
woman and man, and wife and husband. These are the symbols of creation.
Creation of life is a feminine act. It is seen as G-d's feminine side, the
Shekhinah, that rests within us and with us on Friday night.

In the ancient world, Fire was recognized as one of the 4 basic elements of
the world. Fire, water, earth and wind. Fire is mysterious and irresistible.
In the Kabbalah, the image of the multicolored flame is used as a metaphor of
G-d's relationship to the world and man. The flame is a single entity that
is always changing, and still stays a flame. The flame needs the candle to be
alive but it remains separate and distinct. Without the flame the candle is
unfulfilled, in the same way as without G-d, man is unfulfilled.
We can use more than 2 candles. Some women light an additional candle for
each of their children, but once you increase the number from two, you can
never reduce it.
Once the candles are lit, we must not waste the light. We should eat or read
by the light of the Shabbat candles in order to fulfill the mitzvah of the
blessing.
We move our hands over the candles and towards our body to bring the light
and spirit of Shabbat into our soul. This is the final act of preparation
before we say the bracha and Shabbat begins.
Once Shabbat starts, we are prohibited to kindle any fire. Only at the
conclusion of the Shabbat, the Havdallah, are we allowed to create light,
starting the cycle again.
Havdallah means separation. We separate the rest and relaxation of the
Shabbat from the study, work and stress of the week. At Havdallah we use a
candle with at least 2 wicks, symbolizing the 2 candles that were lit to
welcome the Shabbat. We use 2 candles to conclude the Shabbat to make the
Shabbat separate and distinct.
When you say the blessing of Havdallah, you look at your palms, hands and
nails in the light of the candles.
Some of the reasons for for this custom are that:
* Your nails are a symbol of blessing, because they're continually growing.

* The "Neshamah Yetairah"- "additional soul"which every person receives on the
Shabbat is said to be leaving from your nails, and you should be aware of
this for the longest time possible.

* The shadows and light on your palms is symbolic of the Havdallah
(separation) between the weekdays and the Shabbat. If your hands are cupped
so that the light hits your nails, then the palms will have a shadow. A
shadow is the dark opposite of the flame.
* Also to be able to see the difference between the skin of your palms and
your nails. In the midrash it is said that Adam and Eve's skin was as
protective as our nails are and was changed to soft skin when they were cast
out of the Garden of Eden.
At the end of the Havdallah service we spill out a little bit of wine to
put out the flame. This is to show that the candle was lit specifically for
the mitzvah of the Havdallah and is not used for any other purpose.
Light plays a very important role in Judaism. t is used to represent many
things.. Light is the start to many beautiful creations From the Creation
of earth to the creation of the Shabbat. When you light the candles for the
upcoming Yomtivim or Shabbat, take a moment and look at all the beautiful
creations around you. Enjoy the light, Shavoa tov.