Brookwrite

The Rest of the Storah

by Doug Brook
Southern Jewish Life columnist

The Talmud is replete with making something from nothing, though never for nothing's sake. But when did nothing begin?

In biblical times, there was no concept of the number zero. While most rabbis agree that zero was not needed until the first game played by the Chicago Cubs, it did appear in Western civilization slightly earlier than that. But not in biblical times.

The Bible is filled with instances of mankind's inability to measure nothingness. For example, the Big G asked Job "where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding." Job was speechless, which in the biblical sense speaks volumes.

Farther back, the second verse of the Torah is able to describe the nothingness that existed before The Beginning only as, "the earth was without form and void." Later, when Adam and Eve realized they were naked, they made garments of fig leaves simply because they couldn't conceptualize wearing nothing.

When did zero become a part of Judaism as a stand-alone digit? Earlier than some scholars believe, as proved by the recently-discovered Mishnah tractate Bava Gump, which reveals the never-before-seen verse zero for every chapter of the Torah.

The Talmud spends a lot of time expanding on the words of the Torah, but never as overtly as Bava Gump's disclosure of whole verses of divine text that went missing simply because nobody knew how to count them.

These verse zeroes are more than mere antecedents to each chapter, they provide valuable insight into what surrounds them.

For example, everyone knows Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning, the Big G created the heavens and the earth." Now, Genesis 1:0 answers the centuries-old question of why, saying, "Because it seemed like a good idea at the time..."

Some verse zeroes have a flair for dramatic structure. For example, Genesis 2 concludes by relating that Adam and Eve "were both naked, the man and his wife, but they were not ashamed." Genesis 3:0 continues, "Behold, a naked man and his wife, alone in paradise, wherein for all of eternity nothing could possibly bring ruin to it." Then comes the more familiar 3:1, "Now the serpent was cunning..."

Sometimes the verse zeroes simply provide a smoother segue for the events in two chapters. Genesis 3 ends with Adam and Eve exiled from Eden. Genesis 4 begins, "Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain..." Genesis 4:0 better ties these events together by stating, "For a long time, the exiled man and his wife were looking around for something to do."

Occasionally, a verse zero will be more esoteric, with less overt theological purpose. After the flood waters receded for Noah and Joan of Ark, Genesis 9:0 says "And, due to the multitude of days of rain and floodwaters, Noah and his sons sneezed." This seems odd and insignificant until one continues reading Genesis 9:1, which begins, "And God blessed Noah and his sons..."

Once in a while, a verse zero provides insight into human nature in biblical times, showing how it was surprisingly similar to modern times. Abram made his covenant with the Big G, as Genesis 17:27 says, "And all the people of his household, those born in his house and those bought with money from foreigners, were circumcised with him."

Genesis 18:0 relates, "And all the men of Abram's household would not speak to him, for forty days and forty nights, leaving Abram all alone."

There are many more examples -- one per chapter -- but one particularly demonstrates how Jews were stereotyped even as slaves in Egypt. Exodus 9 ends saying, "And Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not let the children of Israel go out, as the Big G had spoken through the hand of Moses."

Exodus 10:0 continues, "And Pharaoh's arteries were hardened as well, because of his diet, which resolved Pharaoh to keep the Israelites enslaved, believing they had doctors to cure him."

Doug Brook is a writer in Silicon Valley who worked long and hard to zero in on this subject. For more information, past columns, other writings, and more, visit http://brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, become a fan at facebook.com/the.beholders.eye.