Actually, the English rendition of the start of the Torah is just a close approximation.
The Hebrew word there is "BeReishs"- a better translation than the traditional one is "be"= "in" "reishis"="first things"- Ramban (also known as Nachmanides, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman) states in his commentary that this should be understood as "Amongst the first things". We also see indications that what we read about in the first line of the Torah not being the absolute start of time in the Midrash. I will mention just two Midrashim from Midrash Bereishis Rabba
1) It states that various items were created before the world, some in concept and some completely. Those created were:
The Kisei HaKavod (The throne of glory)
The Torah
The Third Temple
Those created in concept were:
The name of the three patriarchs
The name of mashiach
The Shabbos
2) There is a midrash that states the Torah starts with the letter "נ (bet)" to teach us a lesson. The letter is closed on the right and open on the left, to teach us that we may only inquire of what came after the creation, but that what stood before creation is beyond human understanding (Hebrew is read from right to left- thus the opening of the left would be the way we normally read).
What does it teach us about the nature of time? That prior to the creation fot he world and the time system as we know it, there was osmething else, but something undefinable and of which we have no understanding
This is SUCH a deep question that it requires extensive reading and learning to even comprehend the first words of the Bible. I cannot explain it you without showing you the sources inside and for that you would need Hebrew, since the entire thing is based on Hebrew grammar.
I would like to point out that there are MANY commentators on the Torah (Bible) that not see science and the way the world was created as a contradiction, on the contrary. Just a tiny example: the term "day" is determined by setting of the sun. The sun was not created, according to the Bible, till the 4th "day". Meaning even before that, the term "day" doesn't and cannot apply to our terms. Commentators like Ramban ~1200's (Nachmonedies) speaks of four original elements and of a light/fire/strong that was present in the beginning.
Again its a very deep discussion and I cannot go into it in detail here, but science and recent discoveries match with the Torah/Bible accounts, with the commentators that explain the phrases etc.
p.s. The way the Torah works is that there are any commentators which explain phrases. Therefore, we see the Torah as a deep diamond mine, and you have to dig deep. There are many levels to it. There is the peshat (simple understanding) level but there are layers...
p.p.s I hope this helped, let me know if you'd like some suggestions for books, though if you do not speak Hebrew, it'll be harder...
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Actually, the English rendition of the start of the Torah is just a close approximation.
The Hebrew word there is "BeReishs"- a better translation than the traditional one is "be"= "in" "reishis"="first things"- Ramban (also known as Nachmanides, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman) states in his commentary that this should be understood as "Amongst the first things". We also see indications that what we read about in the first line of the Torah not being the absolute start of time in the Midrash. I will mention just two Midrashim from Midrash Bereishis Rabba
1) It states that various items were created before the world, some in concept and some completely. Those created were:
The Kisei HaKavod (The throne of glory)
The Torah
The Third Temple
Those created in concept were:
The name of the three patriarchs
The name of mashiach
The Shabbos
2) There is a midrash that states the Torah starts with the letter "נ (bet)" to teach us a lesson. The letter is closed on the right and open on the left, to teach us that we may only inquire of what came after the creation, but that what stood before creation is beyond human understanding (Hebrew is read from right to left- thus the opening of the left would be the way we normally read).
What does it teach us about the nature of time? That prior to the creation fot he world and the time system as we know it, there was osmething else, but something undefinable and of which we have no understanding
This is SUCH a deep question that it requires extensive reading and learning to even comprehend the first words of the Bible. I cannot explain it you without showing you the sources inside and for that you would need Hebrew, since the entire thing is based on Hebrew grammar.
I would like to point out that there are MANY commentators on the Torah (Bible) that not see science and the way the world was created as a contradiction, on the contrary. Just a tiny example: the term "day" is determined by setting of the sun. The sun was not created, according to the Bible, till the 4th "day". Meaning even before that, the term "day" doesn't and cannot apply to our terms. Commentators like Ramban ~1200's (Nachmonedies) speaks of four original elements and of a light/fire/strong that was present in the beginning.
Again its a very deep discussion and I cannot go into it in detail here, but science and recent discoveries match with the Torah/Bible accounts, with the commentators that explain the phrases etc.
p.s. The way the Torah works is that there are any commentators which explain phrases. Therefore, we see the Torah as a deep diamond mine, and you have to dig deep. There are many levels to it. There is the peshat (simple understanding) level but there are layers...
p.p.s I hope this helped, let me know if you'd like some suggestions for books, though if you do not speak Hebrew, it'll be harder...
It implies the beginning of creation