Parashá Beraishis

Rabbi Kalman Packouz

GOOD MORNING! The story is told of a gorilla that escaped from the zoo. They looked all over for him until they finally found him in the public library.
The gorilla had 2 books in front of him -- the Five Books of Moses and Darwin's Origin of Species. Everyone was wondering what the ape was doing when a rabbi sitting nearby piped up, "It's obvious! He's trying to figure out if he's his brother's keeper ... or his keeper's brother!" For thousands of years people have debated whether God created the world or whether the world always existed. More recently, people debate whether God created life or life randomly evolved.

This week I would like to demonstrate with an eggshell that God directly created life. Rabbi Avigdor Miller wrote a beautiful little book, The Universe Testifies (not readily available, though I'll recommend another fascinating book later). In it he writes, "All eggshells are capable of withstanding the stress of birth. Yet no eggshell is too strong to be broken open by the emerging chick or larva. If this miraculous adjustment was true even only in the eggs of a single species, it would constitute a marvel of purposeful design which would give the lie to any attempt at explanation by accident.Thousands of degrees of thickness were 'possible'; that the shell is not too thick and not too thin is incontrovertibly the work of a Designer.

"But it 'happened' to all insects, birds and reptiles, without even one exception. There is no species whose eggshells are too fragile to survive the stress of birth.

There are no species whose eggshells are so tough that the offspring cannot emerge.
And there never were. There is not even a single fossil to testify to the millions of imaginary generations which failed to achieve this two-way miracle. For every species that 'succeeded' in achieving the precise thickness, there should have been millions that failed. Where are the fossils of eggs that were crushed at birth, or that forever imprisoned the embryo?

Or where are such 'experiments' being carried on by nature today? There is not a single instance.

"The theorists wish to persuade the public that there once existed a situation where eggshells were too thick to be breached ... or eggshells were too fragile to withstand the stress of birth and were crushed before the embryo could develop."

This means that for interminable generations these birds (and reptiles, and insects) either failed to propagate -- which would make it rather hard to evolve.

Or, it means that the birds and reptiles and insects 'managed' to reproduce without a viable eggshell. Finally, the miraculous double-adjustment 'happened'. It did not merely occur once, but it became part of the DNA permanent replication process - in each and every species. "This miracle of the exact degree of thickness (not too thin to be unable to resist the stress of birth, and not too thick to resist the efforts of the embryo to emerge) occurred to all egg-laying species. The degree of thickness of the eggshell happened to be precisely suited for each kind. The hummingbird evolved a delicate eggshell, and the ostrich succeeded in evolving a stout eggshell.

"An additional stroke of good fortune was the fact that the chick in the egg 'evolved' a nail whose special function is to aid in breaking out of the shell. Another fortunate accident was the 'evolution of the egg-hatching instinct' which is essential for the development of most embryos. And it certainly was fortunate that the mother bird 'developed' the instincts and processes and organs of reproductions which produce the egg..."

A new book presents a purely factual, scientific approach in regards to the "Theory of Evolution". While the level of detail is worthy of university biology professors, the average reader will be able to grasp the extreme complexity, the virtual impossibility of even the smallest process necessary for evolution. Writes the author, Jonathan Conleigh, the book "demonstrates by the very rules and definitions of the theory itself, that the Theory of Evolution fails at every level of development." Interested in a fascinating and challenging read? You won't be disappointed by The Hoax Called Evolution available at your local bookstore, by calling 800-693-3515 or online at EvolutionHoax.com (you can read the first chapter online).


TORAH PORTION: Beraishis, Genesis 1:1 - 6:8

The Five Books of Moses begins with the Six Days of Creation, the Shabbat, the story of the Garden of Eden -- the first transgression, consequences and expulsion; Cain & Abel, the ten generations to Noah, the Almighty sees the wickedness of man in that generation and decrees to "blot out man" (i.e.. the flood).
One of the most profound verses in the whole Torah is "And God created man in His own Image." Since God does not have a physical being, this means that we are endowed with free-will, morality, reason and the ability to emulate God Who bestows kindness. Also, if we really appreciate that we are created in the image of God, we realize that we have intrinsic worth. Therefore, there is no need to be depressed wondering if you have intrinsic worth!

DVAR TORAH:
based on Growth Through Torah
pelo Rabino Zelig Pliskin
The Torah states, "And the Almighty saw all that He made and behold, it was very good" (Gen. 1:31). Why does the Almighty need to tell us that it was very good?
Rabbi Avigdor Miller comments on this verse: "When one does not know what he possesses, he is poor. Imagine that you purchased a vacant lot and erected a house on it; and you dwelt there thirty years. Then, one night, the telephone rings, and you hear a quavering old voice: 'I must inform you that I am the last survivor of a group that buried a chest of gems on the premises where your house now stands. I am about to die, therefore I wish you to know.'
Now you are so joyous that you cannot sleep. You are wealthy! However, in reality, for the past 30 years you were the legal possessor of the unclaimed treasure. What makes you happy today instead of 30 years earlier? The knowledge of what you possess!
"Knowledge of what you possess is the true wealth. If you are unaware of what you have, or are only faintly aware of its true nature, you actually do not possess it. Thus: 'He who gives someone a gift should let him know' (Talmud, Baitzah 16a). When giving someone a watch, do not remove the slip which states that 'this watch has an unbreakable crystal, 17 jewels, is shockproof, waterproof, and antimagnetic.' Let the person fully enjoy your gift. Therefore, when the Creator gave this world to us, He informed us that all He created was very good." The Creator declares: 'My children, besure to be happy, for I give you that which is very good!"


CANDLE LIGHTING: Jerusalem 4:36 Miami 6:47 Guatemala 5:31 HongKong 5:50 Honolulu 5:57 J'Burg 5:50 LA 6:15 KOAH Porto 6:12 Melbrn 6:09 Mex. City 7:03 New York 6:15 Singapore 6:38 Toronto 6:47

"QUOTE OF THE WEEK":A person without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder -- Thomas Carlyle


Dedicated by theServants of the Almighty from Joseph Matua

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabino Kalman Packouz