This week, we begin the Torah again from the beginning. Hashem creates the world in six days. On the first day He makes darkness and light. On the second, He forms the heavens, dividing the “upper waters” from the “lower waters.” On the third, He sets the boundaries of land and sea, and calls forth trees and greenery from the earth. On the fourth day He fixes the position of the sun, moon and stars as timekeepers and illuminators of the earth. Fish, birds and reptiles are created on the fifth day; land animals, and then the human being, on the sixth. G‑d ceases work on the seventh day, and sanctifies it as a day of rest.

He forms the human body from the dust of the earth, and blows into his nostrils a “living soul.” Originally Man is a single person, but then, Hashem takes a side from the man, forms it into a woman, and marries them to each other. 

Adam and Eve are placed in the Garden of Eden, and commanded not to eat from the “Tree of Knowledge.”  The serpent persuades Eve to violate the command, and she shares the forbidden fruit with her husband. Because of their sin, it is decreed that man will experience death, returning to the soil from which he was formed, and that all gain will come only through struggle and hardship. Man is banished from the Garden.

Eve gives birth to two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain quarrels with Abel and murders him, and becomes a rootless wanderer. A third son, Seth, is born to Adam; Seth’s eighth-generation descendant, Noah, is the only righteous man in a corrupt world.

Now that Tishrei is over and all the Chagim have passed, we enter a new month with nothing special going on. There is an expression, “and Ya'akov went on his way.” Meaning, that when Ya'akov left his home, he packed “a suitcase” filled with inspiration that would get him through his journey. We must do the same. We must take with us the lessons and inspirations from the high holidays in practical ways that can last the entire year. 

Hashem created Adam and Eve and gave them permission to explore and enjoy the entire world. The only caveat was one tree that they could not eat from. Yet this small prohibition drove them insane and they hyper-fixated on it. In the end, they ate the fruit and were severely punished. In life, we are given an expansive world to enjoy. And yet, just like Adam and Eve, we tend to focus on the small negatives instead of all the good we have. We look at the tiny black dot on a massive perfectly white canvas and then ignore all the beauty around it. If we change our perspective to tune in on the good in life, we will be a lot happier and more grateful. 

It will specifically be our generation - the generation referred to as the heel of the foot, the lowest generation - that will have the ability to elevate all the previous generations through our bringing about the actual geulah. 

At the age of fifteen, the sixth Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, took the position of personal assistant to his father, Rabbi Sholom DovBer, the Rebbe Rashab.

This meant that anyone—even veteran rabbis and prestigious leaders—who came to discuss communal matters with the Rebbe Rashab, would discuss them with his son as well.

Once, the chassid Rabbi Peretz Chein came to Lubavitch. At that time, he was the revered rabbi of Krivkavkeh, a town on the Dnieper River opposite the city of Kremenchuk. Following protocol, he gave a report and discussed certain issues with the Rebbe’s son. While he was talking, the future rebbe took out a coin and began to flip it up into the air, catching it, and re-launching it repeatedly.

Rabbi Chein was taken aback, thinking to himself, “The Rebbe’s son is disrespecting me. After all, I am the rabbi of a large community; this is how he pays attention to what I am saying?!” Out of respect, however, he continued discussing the matter at hand, making no mention of the perceived slight.

At one point, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak missed the coin and it fell to the floor. Rabbi Chein considered picking it up.

“On the one hand,” he reasoned, “it is below my dignity to bend down to pick it up for this young man. On the other hand, this is the Rebbe’s son. I must respect him, if only for his father’s sake.” So he bent down to retrieve the coin.

At that moment, a gunshot rang out and a bullet flew through the window, missing Rabbi Chein’s head by mere inches. Had he not bent down to retrieve the coin, he would have been struck directly in the back of his head!

The bullet was shot by a member of the revolutionary group, the Esseravtzer. Their real target was Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, the future rebbe, who fearlessly combatted their antireligious campaigns. They had, however, mistaken the visitor for his host, since both wore similar hats.

When Rabbi Chein related this story, he concluded: “At that point, I realized one does not ‘play around’ with the Rebbe’s son. I was totally wrong in my misgivings about him and his actions.”

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