I know I am dating myself. 
Did you ever watch Get Smart?
It is a very old, and in retrospect, very ridiculous TV show that depicted a bungling secret agent who was trying to fight an evil international organization called KAOS. 
KAOS was trying to achieve global domination by spreading chaos, anarchy and disorder. 
KAOS was predicated on the chaos which begins our Torah portion, Breishit, in the beginning.
We are now beginning the Torah reading anew. 
We have the opportunity to study the Torah which is not a story book or a history book but rather a manual on how to live our lives. 
Every detail mentioned has a practical and timely application for us. As we start again we bring  our present experience and the Torah informs us, in real time, how to move forward. 
The Torah begins by telling us that the primordial existence was one of chaos, it was dark and empty. 
Gd does not destroy the chaos, Gd speaks light into it. 
How is that meaningful to us?
Plainly put, we live in chaos every day of our lives. 
Sometimes it’s a chaos which is thrust upon us and other times it is a chaos of our own making. 
This week I lost a dear friend. 
When my husband began his educational journey in Baltimore he barely knew a soul. My friend and her husband took him in and treated him like a member of the family. When I came along I was warmly included in the family embrace. The early years of my married life are imprinted with the wonderful experiences of spending time with this special woman and her family. In the words of her nephew who eulogized her “her home was full of people,laughter, and possibility. Looking back through a child’s eyes, they were living the dream”. 
She always knew just what to say, and she shared her words of wisdom and kindness very liberally. 
Then chaos descended on my friend. Her life was beset with tremendous challenges. I can’t even write them out because listing them would make light of their severity. 
Yet throughout she never lost her faith, her humor or her wisdom. She kept the family going despite extreme trials and tribulations. Four months ago she was diagnosed. And now she has left us. 
The chaos breeds so many contradictions. 
Even though we know that Gd designs and creates our world, at times the whole thing doesn’t seem to make any sense. 
What then is our role?

To make good and proper choices even in the midst of “chaos”. 
Gd created the world by speaking into the chaos. 
When Gd created a human it was by breathing Gd’s spirit, so to speak, into Adam, a soul whose unique quality is speech. 
We learn that words can build worlds, and conversely, they have the power to destroy. 
The numerical value of the Hebrew word Adam equals 45
The numerical value of the word Mah (what) equals 45
What is life man? It’s a bundle of contradictions. 
But as a human we can make a choice to answer the “what”. 
What are we doing with the gift of life we have been bequeathed, whether it be easy or laden with challenges, it is ours to speak light into. 
Each of us has within a divine spark, a piece of Gdliness. 
Gd didn’t build a universe because Gd needed a world to play with for amusement. 
Gd created it so each human, can access their own inner Gdliness , in the chaos of life. 
Rabbi Dovid Trenk had a student who he nurtured to greatness. After a number of years, the student was ready to move on to his next educational opportunity but Rabbi Trenk put up a fight, trying to convince him to stay longer in his school. Rabbi Trenk even dragged the student to a holy sage to adjudicate the argument. The sage ruled in favor of the student, saying it was indeed time to move on. 
Years later Mrs. Trenk told the student that her husband knew all along that it was his student’s time to move on. He only made the whole effort to drive home the point to his pupil that he was worth fighting for. 
Each and everyone one of us is worth fighting for. 
Each of us has that spark of Gdliness and if we can discern it, we can see the light in the darkness, we can feel each other’s pain and spread that light to dispel the dark chaos. 
Then it does not matter if it makes sense, it only matters if we make the effort to access our inner Gdliness and lift up all in our orbit. 
Is there an area in your life that feels chaotic? 
Can you think of one small action you can take to introduce light into the equation?
If you do, perhaps write  that thought on a piece of paper and carry it around for encouragement and direction. 
It will remind you that you can find the way and spread light with a few well placed words. 
May these words be a merit for Devora Golda bas Mordechai who always seemed to know how to rise above, sharing love,light and faith and well placed words through the chaos of her life. 
She always made it seem so full of light. 
Shabbat Shalom and so much love!