Shabbat Bereshit: When Creation Begins Within

The holidays are over. 

The sukkah has come down, the melodies have softened, and life slowly returns

to its rhythm.

And yet, this Shabbat — Shabbat Bereshit — is not just another week.

It’s the moment when everything begins again.

We open the scroll and read the very first words of the Torah:

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Bereishit 1:1)

But creation isn’t just a story from the past — it’s a call to create again, within ourselves.

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The First Shabbat After the Holidays

After weeks filled with intensity — prayer, reflection, and celebration — this Shabbat offers stillness.

It invites us to bring everything we’ve gathered — faith, strength, and clarity — into the ordinary days ahead.

It’s easy to think the spiritual energy of Tishrei fades when the holidays end.

But the sages teach that Shabbat Bereshit determines the energy of the entire year (Baal Shem Tov).

How we begin now — how we greet this new cycle — shapes what follows.

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Creation as Continuation

The Torah doesn’t begin with commandments, but with creation.

Because before we can do, we must be.

Before action, there must be intention.

Each of us carries a small piece of that creative power — to bring light out of darkness, to bring order out of chaos, to rebuild what has been shaken.

“We dance on Simchat Torah not because we have understood the Torah, but because it is ours.”

— The Lubavitcher Rebbe

That same joy of belonging follows us into Shabbat Bereshit.

We’re no longer dancing with the scroll — we’re living with it.

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A Feminine Renewal

Women often embody this quiet creation most naturally — bringing warmth, structure, and meaning into spaces that might otherwise remain empty.

They transform routine into holiness.

The table, the candlelight, the clothing — each becomes a vessel for intention.

Shabbat Bereshit is a moment to breathe, to reset, to choose how you want to begin again.

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Dressing for Renewal

The light of this Shabbat calls for softness, not grandeur — simplicity with meaning.

You might choose:

• Ivory or white — for purity and new beginnings

• Olive or sage green — for growth and quiet resilience

• Bordeaux or wine tones — for grounded strength and warmth

• Touches of gold — for divine light that never fades

It’s not just about dressing up — it’s about dressing with intention.

Because what we wear reflects what we carry inside.

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Holding Light After Darkness

Even as the world continues to hold pain — as we still pray for the release of every hostage and healing for all who suffer — this Shabbat reminds us that light always returns.

Creation began with chaos, but God’s first act was light.

And so, every new beginning, every prayer, every step toward goodness — becomes a way of continuing that creation.

“Joy breaks through all barriers — even the ones within ourselves.”

— The Lubavitcher Rebbe

This Shabbat, we begin again — not from nothing, but from faith.

From memory.

From light.

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