"Bereishit Bara": In numerical value, [the letters also equal] "On Rosh Hashanah the world was created."

Bereishit: In numerical value, [the letters also equal] "With the Torah He created", because the world was created because of the Torah which is called "Reshit". Alternatively: In numerical value, [the letters also equal] "6 Orders [of the Mishnah]". Alternatively: The numerical value is "Israel is chosen among the nations", and also in numerical value "613 He created", that He created the world for the sake of Israel keeping the 613 commandments. "Bereishit", He created firmament, land, heavens, sea, abyss. Alternatively: First Elohim saw that Israel would accept His Torah.

Chaos and void (tohu vabohu): [This phrase appears] two [times]. Here, and the other one is (Jeremiah 4:23) "I have seen the earth and behold, it is chaos and void." [This] teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw the destruction of the Temple when He created the world, [and] that it would be in the year tohu (the letters that are equal to the number, 411); since, behold the first Temple stood for 410 years and was destroyed in the 411th year. And the second Temple stood the numerical equivalent of [the word,] hayita (420), and this is [why it states] "vehaarets haita" ("and the earth was;" which is the phrase that precedes tohu in this verse). And afterwards, [it is written], "darkness," a hint to the exiles. And so is it expounded in Bereishit Rabbah 2:4. Another explanation: "and the earth was chaos and void" has a numerical equivalent (gematria) of 'two thousand years without Torah.'

And the spirit of God was hovering: has a numerical equivalent (gematria) of 'this is the spirit of messiah.'

And darkness was upon the depths: There are two [places this appears] according to the tradition: here and the other is (Job 38:19) "and darkness, where is its place?" This [refers to] what they stated (Chagigah 11b), that one should not ask, "What is before, what is after?" The explanation of "and darkness, where is its place?" is that one should not ask, "what was the place of darkness [at] first.

And the spirit of God: [This phrase appears] two [times] as a relational [or possessive phrase]. Here, and the other one is (II Chronicles 24:20) "and the spirit of God clothed Zecharya." One could here too read [as if it was written], "and the spirit of God clothed;" the explanation [of which] is that because of His clothing, He said, "let there be light," after which is written, "and there was light." This is what our Rabbis, of blessed memory, expounded (Bereishit Rabbah 3:4), "from a little of his clothing, He created light."