Before the first star blazed, before the first wave rolled, before the first breath was drawn, there was God. And then, the Voice. Genesis 1:1 is not a sentence, it is a thunderclap across eternity. Seven Hebrew words that demolished pagan mythology, established divine sovereignty, and laid the foundation stone of all reality. In this master-series episode, we descend into the mystery of the opening word that conceals infinite wisdom—exploring Rashi's grammatical wrestling, Ramban's mystical depths, Ibn Ezra's philosophical precision, and the Talmud's cosmic secrets. We examine the verb that shatters chaos without struggle, the Name that speaks justice into existence, and the totality of heaven and earth bowing before their Creator. This is not myth. This is the roar that began everything.

Sources & Further Study:

Rashi on Genesis 1:1

https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Genesis.1.1

Ramban (Nachmanides) on Genesis 1:1

https://www.sefaria.org/Ramban_on_Genesis.1.1

Ibn Ezra on Genesis 1:1

http://davidblumenthal.org/GenTradIbnEzraRamban.html

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis 1

https://www.sefaria.org/Bereishit_Rabbah.1

Midrash Tanchuma, Bereishit on the letter bet

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/137074/jewish/Bet-Vet.htm

Talmud Chagigah 12a on creation and expansion

https://www.sefaria.org/Chagigah.12a

Genesis Chapter 1 with classical commentaries

https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.1.1?with=all

Vilna Gaon, Aderet Eliyahu on Bereishit

https://beithashoavah.org/2025/08/bereishit-as-history/

Targum Onkelos on Genesis

https://www.sefaria.org/Onkelos_Genesis.1

Proverbs 8:22 (Torah as beginning)

https://www.sefaria.org/Proverbs.8.22

Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism (1955)

Oxford Chabad Society, Commentary on the Torah - Genesis

https://oxfordchabad.org/media/pdf/1248/oNmh12486853.pdf

Jewish Quarterly Review on Creation Theology

https://jbqnew.jewishbible.org/index/books-of-the-bible/genesis/big-bang-theory-creation-bara-sudden-expansion/