## Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Bereshit

###### Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Bereshit 5:1
[Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Bereshit 5:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Midrash%20Tanchuma%20Buber/s/Bereshit/r/5:1)

[בראשית ברא אלהים]. זש"ה ואהיה אצלו אמון (משלי ח ל), מהו אמון, אמר ר' יהודה בר אלעאי אומן בתורה, היה הקב"ה מביט בתורה ובורא את העולם, הוי ואהיה אצלו אמון, מה כתיב בראשית ברא אלהים, אין ראשית אלא תורה, שנאמר ה' קנני ראשית דרכו וגו' (שם שם כב), הוי בראשית ברא אלהים.

**Midrash Tanhuma, S. Buber Recension; trans. by John T. Townsend, 1989.:**
[(Gen. 1:1:) IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED]:¹⁴ 29(31); see *Tanh*., Gen. 1:1. This text is related (to Prov. 8:30): AND I WAS WITH HIM AS AN CONFIDANT. What is the meaning of CONFIDANT 'MWN? R. Judah bar Il'a'y said: That he was an expert *'WMN* in the Torah. The Holy One would scrutinize the Torah as he was creating the world. Ergo: AND I WAS WITH HIM AS A CONFIDANT. What is written (in Gen. 1:1)? IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED. There is no BEGINNING but Torah, as stated (in Prov. 8:22): THE LORD ACQUIRED ME¹⁵ AS THE BEGINNING OF HIS WAY. Ergo: IN THE BEGINNING (i.e., in Torah) GOD CREATED.

footnotes:
¹⁴ Gen. R. 1:1 ; TDER
¹⁵ “Me” here refers to wisdom, which is regarded as the equivalent of Torah.