Etty Hillesum - Genesis 1: 1-28
Les écrits d'Etty Hillesum. Journaux et lettres 1941-1943 (The writings of Etty Hillesum. Diaries and letters 1941-1943. Complete edition). Paris: Seuil, 2008, 1081 p.
1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 6 And God said, "Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." 7 So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8 God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 9 And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it." And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God morning, the third day. 14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 16 God made the two great lights - the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night - and the stars. 17 God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. 20 And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky." 21 So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. 24 And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind." And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." 27 So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."
Friday morning [November 28, 1941], quarter to nine.
There are times lately when an isolated phrase from the Bible sheds new light for me, rich in substance and informed by experience. "God created man in his own image." "Love your neighbor as yourself." Etc.
p. 233
Sunday morning [June 28, 1942], 9 a.m.
After five charcoal tablets and a mint on an empty stomach, read chapter 1 of the book of Genesis. What really impressed me: "The earth was deserted and empty. There was darkness over the Abyss and the spirit of Elohim hovered over the waters." And maybe it's cheeky, but overall I find this chapter 1 very naive. Those "great whales" especially are touching.
From several sides, I have already tried to force my way into the Bible. Once through John, another through the Psalms, etc. And now I've decided to start with the first letter of the Old Testament, and every morning on an empty stomach I make some progress. Still, I would have to ask my Bible-reading friend one day why I find this first chapter so touchingly naive. –
p. 632.
Letter to Han Wegerif and others. Westerbork, Tuesday, August 24, 1943. (excerpt)
After a night like that, I thought for a moment in all sincerity that it would be a sin to smile again. But later on I thought that some people had left smiling - although this time only a few. And in Poland, there may be someone to smile from time to time - although, from this convoy, very few, I fear.
When I think of the faces of the soldiers in green uniforms of the armed escort, my God, those faces! I examined them one by one, hidden in my observation post, behind a window. Nothing has ever frightened me as much as those faces. I wondered about this word that is the guiding thread of my life: "And God created man in his own image." Yes, this word has had a difficult morning in my home.
I have told you many times that neither words nor images are sufficient to describe nights like this one. However, I must try to give you an account of it: we feel that we are always the eyes and ears of a part of Jewish history, and sometimes we also feel the need to be a small voice. We have to keep each other informed of the events taking place in the four corners of the world, each one of us has to contribute so that, after the war, the mosaic can be recomposed, covering the whole world.
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