[Intro — spoken, warm, one guitar underneath] פָּרָשַׁת בְּרֵאשִׁית — sit down. This is where all of it starts. [Chorus — sung, full male choir, warm and open] בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹקִים — in the beginning He made the world, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ — the heavens and the earth. He spoke, and there was something. He looked, and it was good. [Spoken Word — warm storyteller over soft guitar] At the start there was nothing you could stand on. Unformed, desolate, darkness over the face of the deep, and the breath of God moving above the water. And then a voice. יְהִי אוֹר — let there be light. And there was light. He saw the light was good and He separated it from the dark and gave them both names. Evening, morning, day one. Then a canopy inside the waters. Then the sea pulled back to one place so the dry land could be seen. Then grass, and herbs with seed in them, and fruit trees carrying their own seed inside the fruit. Every time, the same line: וַיַּרְא אֱלֹקִים כִּי־טוֹב — and God saw that it was good. [Spoken Word — steady, building slightly] Two great lights in the sky, the big one to rule the day and the small one the night, and the stars with them. Water swarming with living creatures, birds across the face of the sky, and a blessing on all of it — פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ — be fruitful and multiply. Animals out of the ground, every one of its own kind. And then, on the sixth day, a sentence He had not used all week: נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ — let us make man in our image. Male and female He created them, blessed them, and handed them the whole world for food. Then He looked at everything together and said something new: וְהִנֵּה־טוֹב מְאֹד — and behold, it was very good. [Spoken Word — quieter, close in] The heavens and the earth were finished, and on the seventh day He stopped, and He blessed that day and made it holy. He formed the man out of dust from the earth, וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים — and blew into his nostrils the breath of life — and man became a living soul. A garden in Eden, the Tree of Life in the middle and the Tree of Knowledge beside it, one job, לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ — to work it and to guard it — and one rule. Every tree but that one. [Chorus — sung, full male choir, warm and open] בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹקִים — in the beginning He made the world, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ — the heavens and the earth. He spoke, and there was something. He looked, and it was good. [Spoken Word — plain, unhurried, no drama] לֹא־טוֹב הֱיוֹת הָאָדָם לְבַדּוֹ — it is not good for the man to be alone. Every animal came to be named, and none of them was a helper for him, so his wife was built from his own side. The serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field. She saw the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes; she took, and ate, and gave to her husband, and he ate. And the first question God asked a human being was אַיֶּכָּה — where are you? Each one passed the blame along, and each one heard what would follow: the serpent on its belly, pain in bearing children, and for the man a ground that grows thorns, בְּזֵעַת אַפֶּיךָ תֹּאכַל לֶחֶם — bread by the sweat of your face, until you return to the dust you were taken from. And then, before He sends them out of the garden, He makes them coats of leather Himself and clothes them. [Spoken Word — the last one, low and steady] Kayin brings from the fruit of the ground; Hevel brings from the firstborn of his flock and from the best of them, and Hevel's offering is regarded and Kayin's is not, and his face falls. God speaks to him first, while there is still a choice: הֲלוֹא אִם־תֵּיטִיב שְׂאֵת — if you improve there is forgiveness — and if not, sin is crouching at the opening, its desire toward you, וְאַתָּה תִּמְשָׁל־בּוֹ — but you can rule over it. He did not, and in the field his brother was killed, and God asked him where his brother was, and he said he did not know. Then six words hold the door open for next week: וְנֹחַ מָצָא חֵן — and Noach found favor. [Chorus — sung, full male choir, warm and open] בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹקִים — in the beginning He made the world, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ — the heavens and the earth. He spoke, and there was something. He looked, and it was good. [Outro — spoken, almost no music, then one guitar chord] He spoke, and there was something. He looked, and it was good.
