If you have a friend to help,
it takes between five and ten minutes
to roll a Torah scroll back
from the end to the beginning.
That's a lot longer than it takes to click
from episode Vezot Ha'bracha to Bereshit
on a website of Torah cartoons,
but it's really cool to watch
the whole story rewind.
So, we've been here before.
Remember what happened,
in the beginning of things?
Things got split up into days.
Day One. There's nothing except
the spirit of God hovering over
the face of the waters.
Then - Let there be Light! Day and Night.
God saw that it was good –
or, as the Torah says in Hebrew, "ki tov."
Day Two. The waters get divided
into lower waters and upper waters –
"the Heavens."
Day Three. Dry land and water.
Earth and Sea. God saw, ki tov,
that it was good.
Then we got plants, grass,
fruit trees, and seeds!
And, it's written again – ki tov!
Two ki tovs in one day!
Day Four. Luminaries.
Meaning, things that shine light.
The sun, the moon, and the stars.
God saw that this, ki tov, was good.
Day Five.
Life in the waters and the heavens.
Sea-monsters, creeping animals, birds.
God blessed them to be fruitful and multiply.
God saw – ki tov – that it was good.
Day Six. Lions and tigers and bears.
And all the other animals. God saw – ki tov –
that it was good
and decided to make the human
in God's own image!
So, God created humans, male and female,
and then blessed them
to be fruitful and multiply.
And God saw everything – and, check it out,
it's written, "Hinei tov me'od."
It was very good.
Day Seven. God had completed everything,
and so, God ceased working.
God blessed the seventh day,
and hallowed it.
(PS: Later on in the Torah, God tells us
that this is why we have to remember
and keep Shabbat holy.)
So okay – can we scroll back for a minute
to Day Three? Which in modern-speak
would be called Tuesday?
Why does the Torah mention twice
that God saw that things were ki tov -
that they were good? Try out these reasons:
On Day Two, God didn't mention
whether anything was good or not!
Maybe this was a chance
to make up for that.
Or what about this:
Dealing with water took two days
(Day Two and Day Three),
so maybe God waited to declare
whether things were good or not
until Day Three.
Or maybe, things are so very tov
because Day Three was the first day
that life appeared!
Trees, grass, seeds:
Maybe God just liked nature a lot?
Or finally, maybe Tuesday
is just a really awesome day?
We finished reading the Torah this week
on the holiday called Simchat Torah.
Just yesterday, it seems we were reading
about the death of Moses,
and yet here we are, today, starting again,
hearing the story of creation.
The Torah's world is still pretty empty.
There's no Garden of Eden.
No tree of knowledge, no serpent,
no sibling rivalries, no matriarchs,
or patriarchs or Pharoahs or slavery
or burning bushes or Red Sea crossings
or manna or commandments or Tabernacles
or quailstorms or kings or, well, Torahs.
So when the Torah tells us 'pamayim ki tov,'
that something was good enough
to mention it twice – we say hallelujah!
Let's do the whole thing again!
Reruns? That's how we roll!
So enjoy a second trip, or a third,
or a thirtieth through the Torah.
There's always more to see, and to say.
And if you're watching this
at Simchat Torah-time – as Jews
all over the world celebrate finishing up,
and starting to read the Torah again,
Chag sameach!
Producer: Sarah Lefton
Animation Director: Nick Fox-Gieg
Animation: Colleen MacIsaac
Editorial Director: Matthue Roth
G-dcast Theme Music: Tim Cosgrove
Written and narrated by Sarah Lefton
Recording by Gabe Schwartz
Special Thanks: Jesse Zilberstein