Rashi, quoting Rabbi Yitzchak, asks why the Torah begins with the story of creation rather than with the first mitzvah given to the Jewish people: the commandment to sanctify the new month (Rosh Chodesh). Since the Torah is meant to teach laws and commandments, it would seem logical to begin there. Rashi answers that the creation story establishes God’s authority over the world—since He created it, He has the right to give the Land of Israel to whomever He chooses. This serves as a response to any nation that might claim the Jewish people took the land unfairly.
On a deeper level, Jewish mystical tradition sees a strong link between creation and the birth of the nation of Israel. While Genesis describes the beginning of the universe, the Book of Exodus describes the formation of Israel as a people. Remarkably, the Talmud teaches that the world was created in the month of Nisan—the same month in which the Israelites were freed from Egypt and received their first mitzvah. This overlap shows that the creation of the world and the creation of Israel as a nation are spiritually connected.
Mystics also draw a parallel between the Israelites’ slavery in Egypt and the concept of tzimtzum, the spiritual contraction God performed to make space for the world. The Exodus then becomes a moment of divine expansion and light, similar to the initial act of creation. The giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, linked to the ten utterances through which God created the world, further connects Israel’s story with the universe’s origin.
Another key theme is humility, expressed through the small letter alef in the word vayikra (“and He called”), which begins this Torah portion. According to the Midrash, Moses wanted to downplay his special relationship with God, and so he asked to write vayikra (which implies closeness) without the alef, like the term used for the wicked prophet Balaam. As a compromise, God allowed him to write it with a small alef, symbolizing Moses’s deep humility.
This small alef also hints at God’s own humility. When the divine presence filled the Tabernacle, Moses couldn’t enter until God “contracted” His presence to make room for him. This mirrors the original tzimtzum, when God made space for the world. According to the Talmud, wherever God’s greatness is found, His humility is found as well.
Each mitzvah embodies this paradox: through finite acts, we connect to the Infinite. Like the small alef, mitzvot contain within them a contraction of God’s essence, allowing us to experience divine presence in everyday life.