Yesh Maayin

The Berditchever Rebbe explores and explains the multitude of meanings hidden behind the first word of the Torah, Bereishis.

He cites the Zohar HaKadosh in much of this inquiry, which includes the creation of something from nothing — ex nihilo, yesh maAyin. Ayin (אַיִן) as in Ain Sof (אֵין סוֹף), the term translated as “without end,” “endless,” or the Infinite. This is a term often employed when referring to Hashem.

He expounds on the word Bereishis by explaining that it can be broken down to its essence as bara yesh — Hashem having created the very notion of “ex-IS-tence,” that is, yesh. Yesh translates to “there is.” Indeed, “is” is phonetically derived from, and sounds like, yesh. “Is” defines the quality of existence, something that was a non-entity prior to Creation. Thus, existence itself did not exist — something that may seem incomprehensible to those who exist.

When the Berditchever Rebbe describes Creation as Hashem having bara yesh, yesh maAyin — ex nihilo — perhaps there is yet another dimension and purpose to this insight.

Chazal tell us that the purpose and ultimate realization of Creation was to create man. It is man’s purpose to experience the pleasures, challenges and reality of this physical world within a divine context. Indeed, the world was created for man. That is why we celebrate Rosh Hashanah — not on the day the world was created (the 25th day of Elul), but rather on the first day of Tishrei, when man — Adam — was created, on the sixth day of Creation.

The letter aleph is formed with three components: a yud above and a yud below the center component, the letter vav. Numerically, these letters combined yield a total of twenty-six, which represents the numerical value of the Tetragrammaton. The four-letter holy Name of Hashem represents the measure of mercy, and is a most holy and intimate Name. It also represents how Hashem transcends time itself — time having been created for man, whose time is finite, unlike our Creator, for whom time is simply a construct for His creation.

Indeed, the first mention of אִישׁ — ish — in the Torah is found in Bereishis 4:1. Chava states: “Vatomer, kanisi ish es Hashem” — “I have acquired a man with Hashem.” Rashi explains that Hashem was a partner in the creation of their first offspring, Kayin.

Noteworthy in this context is how the introduction of ish is explicitly connected to Hashem, and is attributed to His involvement in man’s very creation, with man being the very purpose of creation itself. This passage refers to the first man to be conceived and born. Thus, it can be inferred that the intimacy and proximity of the Ain Sof to man did not stop with Adam, who was created from the earth itself and was not “born.” The passage explicitly states man’s close association with Hashem.

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The creation of man, and the name itself — ish — possesses the essence of creation itself. The yesh (יֵשׁ) of ish (אִישׁ) is coupled with, and attached to, the aleph which precedes it. Hashem preceded man’s existence, shown as the letter aleph which precedes the yesh of the word ish.

This suggests that the אִישׁ — man — is by definition the purpose of Creation: yesh, following the aleph. As bara yesh means Hashem having created the very notion of “ex-IS-tence,” the symbol of Hashem, the aleph, immediately precedes it, creating the very name of “man.”

“Naming” in the Torah has profound significance. It was Adam’s task to name the animals. “Hashem” is translated as “the Name,” which is ineffable and most holy. Thus, names are meant to represent their quality and essence.

It also suggests that the act of Creation, along with the purpose of the creation of man, is man’s intimate connection and closeness to Hashem, as the naming of man as ish indicates. Thus, the purpose and essence of Creation itself is intimately connected to our own existence, both in the literal and existential sense.

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Bereishis bara is revealed as containing the same numerical value (gematria) as the phrase:

Chazal (the Chida) describe how the numerical value of this pasuk contains the numerical equivalence — with two kollelim, counting each of the two words as a unit — of:

As the prayer of Shema ideally represents the core belief of every Jew, it can be asserted that its equivalence to the first two words of the Torah, announcing the creation of the world, expresses the very purpose of creation itself: Hashem is One, His Creation is One, and everything that exists — yesh — is part of that Oneness.

Indeed, the Kli Yakar notes on Devarim 6:4 that the first letters of Shema Yisrael — שׁ־י — actually spell out the word yesh. This aligns with the thesis that all of existence, creation itself, indeed all that exists — yesh, “is” — is for the purpose of recognizing that Hashem is One. This message is, of course, delivered via Hashem’s Chosen, Israel. Ultimately, the hope is that one day all the nations of the world will recognize His Oneness.

The Kli Yakar further expounds on the deeper meaning behind this holy prayer. He describes how the mitzvah of tefillin, contained within the first paragraph of Shema, expresses Oneness with Hashem. He cites Tosafos in Chagigah 3b: “HaKadosh Baruch Hu and Israel serve as witnesses for each other,” citing Yeshayahu:

The Kli Yakar continues: “And this is the matter associated with tefillin: just as we place them on our heart and on our hand to unite HaKadosh Baruch Hu, so does Hashem seal us in His heart and on His hand,” citing Shir HaShirim:

“This serves to make us, Israel, one nation in the Land — that both Israel and Hashem serve as witnesses to each other in the matter of Oneness,” as Israel, the Torah and Hashem are One, notes the Berditchever.

The Kli Yakar continues: “Within the tefillin is the Name Shin Dalet Yud — a Name of Hashem. The shin appears on the head tefillin, and the yud appears on the hand.” The first letters of the two words of the Shema — שׁ־י — spell out the word yesh. This yesh represents the reward that “is”: Olam Haba, the World to Come. Thus, contained within the yesh of the first letters of Shema Yisrael, together with the placement of the two tefillin, which also carry these same letters, the very existence and reality of Olam Haba is expressed.

Generally, when we think of Creation, we think of the heavens and the earth — and of course, man. The Kli Yakar tells us that with the utterance of the Shema, and by wearing tefillin, we express the existence of the next world, something that did not exist before Creation.

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As discussed above, the concept of Hashem creating the universe ex nihilo — yesh maAyin — may now be seen in a new light.

Yesh maAyin is classically interpreted as the creation of something from nothing: ex nihilo, something out of nothingness. But an alternate perspective on the Hebrew word Ayin reflects a deeper understanding of creation itself. Ayin can be read in Hebrew as Ain, as in Ain Sof. Ain Sof, as noted above, translates to “without end,” the Infinite — a Kabbalistic term for Hashem. Expounding on this alternate reading of Ain as in Ain Sof reveals a very important concept: yesh maAyin can now be understood as yesh maAin Sof. This translates to “that which exists derives from the Infinite” — from Hashem.

Thus, anything and everything which exists is attributable to, and sourced from, Hashem. This notion is exactly parallel to the phrase which Jews are required to recite twice daily, the Shema Yisrael.

The Shema Yisrael represents the Jew’s declaration that Hashem is One. The last two words of this phrase equate Hashem with One. This “equation” states that the Infinite is equal to One! That means that everything which exists is One. This perfectly aligns with the assertion above that all which exists — yesh maAin Sof — derives from Hashem.

Thus, in the declaration of Shema Yisrael, we remind ourselves that Hashem is One, and that everything which exists — yesh — is derived from Hashem: yesh maAin Sof.

The very purpose of Creation is for us, and for the entirety of creation, to declare that Hashem is One and His Name is One. Everything and anything which exists is derived not simply from nothingness, ex nihilo. Its existence is totally attributable to its derivation from the Infinite: bara yesh — yesh maAin Sof.

Me’Ayin yavo ezri is not a question. It is a declaration: my salvation comes from Hashem. The Ayin is the Ain Sof — Hashem.

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© J.S. Silverstein · Beor Panecha