Breishis

The Gemara brings: Rav Simla’ee was doresh: the Torah starts with chesed and ends with chesed. It starts with the chesed of Hashem making cosnos or, clothing for Adam and Chavah.  The Torah ends with the chesed of Hashem burying Moshe Rabeinu.  We know that Hashem’s creating the world was a very great chesed as it says in Tehillim עולם חסד יבנה. Why then doesn’t the Gemara bring that as the first chesed in the Torah?

One answer is that we shouldn’t think Hashem created the world and left, chas v’shalom!  Hashem is always doing chesed with us by keeping us alive and well.

Another answer is that the chesed of creation was necessary for the world’s existence, while the chesed after the briyah was a chesed of extras and luxuries.  The cosnos or were not necessary, for Adam and Chavah had made their own clothes.  Hashem, however, did chesed with them and made special cosnos or. Avi Mori shlita gave an example of this and asked: why do we only have a zeicher to the annanei hakavod with the Yom Tov of Sukkos, and not to the mon and be’er?  Avi Mori shlita answered because the mon and be’er were necessities, while the annanim were something extra. A person needs food and drink to live, however the annanei hakavod gave protection from the sun which was an extra.

Rav Sheinberg zatzal answered with a mashal.  One has a guest and serves him delicious foods.   The guest throws the food and breaks the dishes.  If the host would pat him on the back with a smile and invite him back it would be a very great chesed.  So too with the chesed of the cosnos or.  Although Adam and Chavah were chotay and mekalkail the creation of Hashem, Hashem still gave them clothes and did chesed with them.

May we be zoche to recognize Hashem’s constant chasadim every second of our lives, including all the extra chasadim!