10 Oct BERESHIT: G-D’S SIGNATURE

Whenever an author
or artist completes
his work, he makes
a point of appending
his signature to the work. Somewhere
on the title page of a book or a corner
of a painting, we will find the author’s
signature.
In Parashat Bereshit, right at the
beginning of the Torah, G-d puts His
“signature” on the world’s creation.
Our Sages tell us, “Hotamo Shel
Ha’kadosh Baruch Hu Emet” – G-d’s
signature is “Emet” – truth. The final
letters of the first three words of the
Torah – “Bereshit Bara Elokim” – are
“Tav,” “Alef” and “Mem” – the letters
of “Emet.” And the final three words
of the creation story – “Bara Elokim
La’asot” – likewise end with “Alef,”
“Mem” and “Tav,” again spelling
“Emet.”
The centrality of “Emet” might also
explain the reason why the Torah
begins with the letter “Bet,” rather

than with the first letter of the alphabet
– “Alef” – as we might have expected.
The numerical value of “Emet” is 441,
and when we add the digits (4+4+1) –
a system called “Mispar Katan” – we
arrive at 9. “Sheker” (“falsehood”),
meanwhile, has the numerical value
of 600, which results in a “Mispar
Katan” of 6. When we add together
the first three numbers – 1+2+3 – we
arrive at 6, and we arrive at this sum
when we add every series of three
letters after that. For example, 4+5+6
equals 15, and the combined value of
the digits is 6. Likewise, when we
add 7+8+9, we arrive at 24, and the
two digits combine to equal 6, and so
forth. But if we start at the number
2, every three numbers combine to
equal 9. Thus, 2+3+4=9, and then
5+6+7=18, and the two digits of 18
combine to equal 9, and so on. Hence,
the Torah begins with the second letter,
“Bet,” which has the numerical value
of 2, rather than “Alef,” which has the
value of 1, because 1 begins a process

of “Sheker” (6),
whereas 2 begins the
process of “Emet”
(9).
The Torah is the
only purely “true”
book, because it
was written by the
Almighty, whose
signature is truth.
There is no other
book in the world
that we cannot
question at all. Even honest and
reputable publications contain errors.
I recall once a local publication ran
a story about a brief, three-day trip
that I once took. I assume this wasn’t
intentional, but the article was riddled
with mistakes and inaccuracies.
Anything we ever read or hear must be
taken with some degree of skepticism,
because the writer or speaker is flawed
and imperfect, and any information
he conveys reflects, to one degree

or another, his personal biases and
agendas. But the Torah is perfectly
true. We can and must accept every
single word fully, wholeheartedly and
unhesitatingly.
Each year, when we start the Torah
anew, we must recognize how
fortunate we are to be able to study
and practice the ultimate truth, the
Torah, which expresses the wisdom
of the Master of the world, whose
signature is “Emet.”