Two Millennia, One Message
The first two chapters of the Torah cover the history of the first two millennia.
Although the Torah is principally a record of laws to guide a chosen people, the Divine Lawmaker saw fit to begin with an account of creation and the consequences suffered by mankind for disobeying those laws.
The message learned from the account of creation is that Eretz Yisrael belongs to the Jewish people because the Creator who brought the world into existence awarded this land to them. The banishment of the first man from the Garden of Eden for eating from the forbidden tree and the Great Deluge which virtually destroyed all of sinful mankind are crucial lessons in regard to responsibility.
As we hear these Torah portions read in our synagogues we must internalize the message that emanates from both of them. Eretz Yisrael is ours but we must live up to our responsibilities as Torah Jews in order to ensure that we can enjoy Israel forever.
